Thorns Collegiate Academy

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 12 March 2024

As Thorns Collegiate Academy has improved, more pupils are rising to the challenges set by leaders and staff and are increasingly proud of their school. Many pupils are happy at school. Staff care about pupils' well-being and safety. They want the best for all pupils and set high standards for them. Many pupils are involved in wider school life, for instance helping to organise the Christmas fair, participating in 'Thorns got talent' and making 'random acts of kindness' in the local community. Staff run an increasingly diverse range of clubs and many pupils actively take part. Pupils are also encouraged to be leaders in their school, from running the 'patchwork alliance' that promotes diversity and equality to being 'maths ambassadors'. The school has done much to develop a culture that celebrates success, reinforces high standards and is truly inclusive. Pupils are increasingly signing up to this ethos. They attend well. The school is uncompromising in its insistence that pupils are in school and are ready to learn. Most pupils behave well and work hard. However, some older pupils do not, to the frustration of others. This behaviour, combined with some variability in pupils' learning in the classroom, stops some pupils from doing as well as they could.

What the school should improve

• The school has not fully created a culture where all pupils share the important values and beliefs that underpin school life. As a result, some pupils struggle to show respect and behave appropriately during the school day. The school should ensure that it develops a culture where all pupils share a set of common values that place mutual respect and high standards of behaviour at its core.
• The school has not ensured that pupils who find it difficult to behave get the support they need so that they can continue to learn the curriculum and improve their behaviour. As a result, these pupils do not keep up with their learning and are not always helped to learn from their mistakes so that they behave well. The school should ensure that when pupils are removed from lessons, they get effective support so that they learn how to behave appropriately, and they keep up with their learning.
• The school has not ensured that the curriculum is implemented well in all aspects of pupils' learning. In too many classrooms, teachers do not check that pupils understand and remember the important knowledge they need, or quickly address pupils' misconceptions as they emerge. This means that in some subjects pupils do not learn the intended curriculum sufficiently well. The school should ensure that all staff consistently check pupils' knowledge and understanding across all subjects so that all pupils make the progress they should and achieve the best possible outcomes.
• The school's strategic plan to ensure that all disadvantaged pupils learn well and develop as young adults is in the early stages of implementation. As a result, the school is not currently addressing the additional barriers faced by all disadvantaged pupils. The school should ensure that it is supporting all disadvantaged pupils in all facets of their education so that they achieve well and successfully take their next steps in education, employment or training.

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