Woodfield Academy

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 19 November 2024

The school has high ambitions for every pupil. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) learn the curriculum alongside their peers. In the past, the school did not always act effectively to support pupils' learning. This meant that pupils did not achieve as well as they could. New leaders and the trust have introduced many improvement strategies to address this. However, some staff are not implementing the new teaching approaches consistently well. This slows the positive impact of this work. Pupils enjoy learning and attend school regularly. They are friendly and polite. Positive relationships between staff and pupils are commonplace. The 'One Woodfield' core values permeate the school. Pupils understand what the school expects of them in terms of conduct. However, when pupils cause disruptions to lessons, the school does not deal with incidents of poor behaviour consistently well. The school provides many opportunities for pupils to develop their personal qualities. They are taught about keeping safe and the importance of positive relationships. Many attend the school's extra-curricular offer, such as the popular drama production. Additionally, pupils go on educational trips, including residential stays. The school provides pupils with effective advice about their next stages of education and possible career paths. As a result, pupils are well prepared for their next steps.

What the school should improve

• Not all staff consistently implement the new approaches to teaching the intended curriculum in lessons. As a result, these have not fully had the desired impact on sustainably improving pupils' achievements across the curriculum. The school should ensure staff receive the support they need to deliver the curriculum effectively so that all pupils know more and remember more.
• Some staff do not use checks on what pupils can do and have learned with enough rigour. They do not typically spot the gaps in learning pupils have. They then do not routinely match learning to pupils' needs or adapt their teaching to fill any gaps. This slows the learning of pupils. The school should ensure that all staff have the expertise to support pupils' learning effectively.
• Some staff do not apply the school's behaviour policy consistently well. When this happens, some pupils become disengaged from their learning and low-level disruption occurs. The school should ensure staff receive the support needed to consistently apply the behaviour systems to allow all pupils to meet the school's high behaviour expectations.

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