A Nottinghamshire school has been found to be in need of improvements following its latest Ofsted inspection. Arnold Hill Spencer Academy was inspected on January 24 and 25 for the first time since its previous inspection in December 2017.
Whilst the school was graded 'Good' for its quality of education, personal development, sixth form provision and behaviour and attitudes, the school was graded as 'Requires improvement' for its leadership and management. Due to this the school's overall effectiveness was deemed to be requiring improvement.
The report states: "Pupils enjoy learning at Arnold Hill Spencer Academy. Staff have high expectations of pupils’ conduct. Lessons are calm and orderly. Most pupils behave well at breaktimes and lunchtimes. There are positive relationships between staff and pupils."
It was also stated in the report that "leaders have ensured that there is a well-planned and ambitious curriculum in place" and "teachers have good subject knowledge." Matt Robertson, Principal at Arnold Hill, said: "To see Arnold Hill graded as ‘good’ in the key areas of Quality of Education, Behaviour & Attitudes, Personal Development, and Sixth-form provision is very pleasing and reflects the wide range of significant and sustained improvements we have made since our last inspection in December 2017.
"Whilst it is lovely to have our strengths and progress recognised by Ofsted, we acknowledge there are some areas which still require improvement and can reassure our parents and carers that we continue to strive to provide the very best for our students by further developing our curriculum offer for students on alternative provision and investing further in staff professional development through partnership with the Spencer Alliance for Leadership and Teaching (SALT).”
In regards to what the school can do to improve, the report stated: "There are minor weaknesses in safeguarding arrangements. Some records do not contain enough detail. Actions that staff take to safeguard pupils are not always recorded quickly enough.
"This means that crucial details could be missed. Leaders need to ensure that all incidents and actions are recorded as quickly as possible." The report goes on to state: "leaders have not ensured that there is clear communication between staff who are responsible for pupils in alternative provision.
"This means that leaders are not always clear about what is working well and what needs to improve for these pupils. Leaders should ensure that there is a clear system for recording information for all pupils who attend alternative provision.
"Leaders should also ensure that communication improves between staff who oversee this area of the school’s work so that those responsible have clear and effective oversight of the provision for these pupils."
Speaking of the report, Fraser Mitchell, Director of Secondary Education, said: "I'm pleased to see high-quality teaching from subject experts recognised in every area of the school, as well as orderly, good behaviour being praised, alongside the existing strengths of the sixth form.” SAT CEO, Paul West, added: "Arnold Hill Spencer Academy has made great strides since joining our Trust in 2018, and we are pleased to see many of these successes represented in this most recent Ofsted report.
"We will continue to work with leaders at the academy to provide the best possible support and resources for further improvement."
READ NEXT:
