The Ropemakers' Academy

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 21 June 2023

Pupils love coming to school. They arrive each morning with big smiles on their faces. Pupils feel happy, safe and enjoy the warm welcome from caring staff who give them time to settle. Staff are trained well to reduce anxieties. They do all they can to sort out any worries or concerns that pupils may have. Within weeks of arriving at the school, pupils are settled and often making good strides in their understanding of the curriculum. Leaders have high expectations regarding behaviour. The schools' nurturing approach means that any challenging behaviours are managed in a caring way. This means that pupils are usually in the right mindset to learn. If there is any bullying, staff are really good at sorting it out quickly. Leaders expect pupils to try their best in lessons. Pupils try hard to meet this expectation. They listen carefully to the teacher and follow instructions well. In one lesson for example, pupils followed the recipe instructions to make fruit kebabs very carefully. Parents speak highly about the school. They appreciate the nurturing approach built on love, compassion and kindness and that pupils benefit from a wide range of therapies such as speech and language, art and occupational therapy.

What the school should improve

• Some pupils in key stages 3 and 4 do not attend school regularly enough. This means that they miss valuable learning time which impacts negatively on their achievement and preparation for the next stage of their lives. Leaders should continue their work to support pupils to attend school habitually.
• Those with responsibility for governance have not ensured that policies, including some statutory policies, refer specifically to this school and are fully up to date. Although this has not had a negative impact on pupils, there is the potential for key statutory information to be missed. The local governing body should take responsibility, as outlined in the scheme of delegation, for the monitoring cycle of policies and to ensure they reflect current government guidelines.

Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)