All Faiths Children's Academy

Overview

This ungraded inspection found that aspects of the school’s work “may not be as strong as at the time of the previous inspection,” prompting a future graded inspection. Despite “significant leadership changes” and a decline in national test achievement, the school maintains a positive culture where pupils show pride and staff establish clear routines. The new leadership team has taken “decisive action” to address these issues, though some improvements remain in their early stages.

Strengths

• Pupils “show pride in belonging to their school” and actively uphold values such as kindness, creating a welcoming environment.
• The curriculum is broad and balanced, including British Sign Language, which enables deaf pupils to “engage fully in school life and achieve well.”
• Staff in the ‘Tree Tops’ provision offer expert support, promoting positive deaf role models so pupils learn that “disability is not a barrier to success.”
• Early years staff build positive relationships with families, quickly identifying children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) to provide targeted help.
• Most pupils attend very well, striving for rewards and focusing during lessons in a “calm and orderly” environment.

Areas to improve

• Staff must ensure they have the expertise to identify and address gaps in phonics knowledge so pupils read and spell with fluency across the curriculum.
• The school should develop assessment practices to more precisely identify what pupils know, preventing teaching from moving on before new knowledge is securely grasped.
• Teachers must adapt learning based on pupils’ different starting points and SEND needs to ensure all pupils achieve their full potential.

Safeguarding

The report states that “the arrangements for safeguarding are effective.”