Unified Academy

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 8 July 2025

Pupils are proud to be part of the school. They talk positively about the difference that the school has made to their lives. All pupils have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Many pupils have experienced difficulties in other settings or have not attended regularly. The school works hard to foster a culture of belonging and inclusion. This is helping to develop pupils' self-esteem and confidence. Behaviour around the school is generally calm and positive. This helps pupils to feel safe. Sometimes pupils can find it difficult to meet the school's high standards for behaviour. When this happens, they are given tailored support to help them. Pupils speak enthusiastically about being given a fresh start and being encouraged to try again when things go wrong. Relationships are fundamental to the school's success. Staff take time to build these with pupils. The school uses different strategies to support pupils to regulate their emotions. Much work has been done to develop the school's curriculum since the previous inspection. Pupils learn a broad range of subjects and have the opportunity to gain a variety of qualifications, including in boxing and sports leadership, as well as GCSEs. However, many pupils have gaps in their learning. These are further exacerbated by pupils' low attendance. These gaps are not always identified by staff. As a result, pupils do not consistently learn as well as they should.

What the school should improve

• The school's work to address poor attendance has not been impactful for some pupils, who continue to be persistently absent. This means they develop gaps in their knowledge. The school should continue to embed strategies to ensure pupils attend regularly.
• Staff do not consistently use the school's assessment systems to identify gaps in pupils' knowledge. This means that pupils do not always learn as much as they should. The school should ensure that staff understand how best to identify these gaps and tailor learning to address these effectively.
• Staff are not always clear on the small steps that some pupils need to take to achieve longer term outcomes. This means pupils do not always learn as well as they should. The school should continue their work to develop the systems in place and ensure all staff know how to precisely identify the support that pupils need.

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