Thomas Bennett Community College

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 5 October 2022

Leaders have worked relentlessly to create an inclusive and caring culture throughout the school. They have been successful and staff, governors and pupils now describe this school as a 'family'. Pupils are proud of their school. Those who are new to the school feel welcome. Pupils feel happy and safe here. They trust adults in school to help them if necessary. Bullying is very rare and, when it does happen, staff deal with it quickly and sensitively. Leaders have high expectations of all pupils. Pupils study a broad range of subjects. Subject leaders have thoughtfully reviewed their curriculum design and how well it is taught. Teachers mostly support and challenge pupils effectively, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Relationships between teachers and pupils are positive. Most pupils contribute to a calm and positive working environment in lessons. At social times, a small number of pupils sometimes struggle to regulate their behaviour. Staff are on hand to support these pupils if necessary. The personal development programme teaches pupils about healthy and safe lifestyles and prepares them well for the future. Pupils appreciate the provision of a range of extra-curricular activities and leadership roles.

What the school should improve

• Teachers in some subjects do not consistently ensure that pupils embed key knowledge in their long-term memory. As a result, some pupils are not able to remember and use what they have learned well. Leaders must ensure that all teachers have effective strategies to help pupils recall and apply key knowledge fluently before moving on to new learning.
• The school's behaviour expectations and culture are not as well embedded in social time as in lessons. This means that a few pupils do not always behave as well outside lessons as they do in class. Leaders must ensure that behaviour systems and inclusion strategies are consistently applied to all areas of school life so that all pupils self-regulate more effectively, including in unstructured time.
• Some strategies to support pupils in the early stages of reading are in their infancy. This means that reading support is not always targeted as well as it could be to enable all pupils to become fluent readers. Leaders must implement their chosen phonics programme fully.

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