William Lovell Church of England Academy

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 10 March 2026

Pupils feel safe and can be themselves in this friendly school. They enjoy positive relationships with caring staff, who treat them with ‘unconditional positive regard’. The school works hard to get to know each pupil as an individual. Many pupils say they enjoy coming to school. However, a significant number of pupils do not attend well. They miss out on learning. Pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, do not achieve as well as they should. Pupils are not being prepared well for the next stage of education. While pupils’ experience of learning is starting to improve, teaching is not yet consistently effective. Some groups of pupils receive support to get better at reading, but many others miss out. They have gaps in their reading, writing or mathematics knowledge. Leaders know that the curriculum and teaching need to improve to ensure that pupils achieve more highly. The school has set high expectations of how pupils conduct themselves. Most pupils meet these expectations consistently. As a result, the school is calm and orderly. On occasion, there are disruptions to learning or pupils do not treat each other well. When this happens, leaders ensure that pupils get good support to behave better next time. As a result, suspensions are falling. Pupils say bullying does not happen often. They trust the school to deal with it if it does. Pastoral support is a strength of the school. Pupils benefit from a well-planned programme of personal development that includes a range of clubs and activities, like chess, rugby and singing clubs. Pupils get high-quality careers information and guidance. They value the opportunity to do meaningful work experience. As a result, pupils have ambitious plans for further education, work or training.

What the school should improve

• Leaders must continue to act swiftly and decisively to improve the attendance of all pupils, particularly disadvantaged pupils and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities.
• Leaders must make sure that their actions to improve the curriculum lead to significant improvement in the achievement of pupils, particularly disadvantaged pupils.
• Leaders must continue with their strategy to ensure that the curriculum is taught effectively and consistently well across all subjects.
• Leaders must ensure that pupils at all stages get the support they need to secure their foundational knowledge, especially in literacy, so that they can access the curriculum.
• The trust, including those responsible for governance, must ensure that their work to support and challenge the school continues to lead to sustainable improvements.

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