Barnsley Academy

Overview

Barnsley Academy has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection. The school is described as a "welcoming and vibrant place" where most pupils enjoy their education and form positive relationships with staff. Leaders have strengthened the curriculum and teaching quality, resulting in improved behaviour and attendance, though some improvements require further embedding.

Strengths

• The school provides a "wide variety of activities" that enhance education, including musical instrument lessons and visits to places of worship.
• Staff receive "high-quality training" and apply it with "increasing consistency and skill," helping pupils remember important knowledge.
• There are "strong systems for identifying pupils who require additional support," including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).
• Behaviour has "significantly improved," with lessons described as "calm" and enabling pupils to focus on learning.
• Pupils are "knowledgeable about the fundamental British values" and receive effective careers advice and guidance.

Areas to improve

• The school should embed recent improvements to attendance systems to ensure increases in attendance are sustained, as previous absence rates were too high.
• Leaders must develop stronger communication with parents to ensure concerns are understood and addressed, fostering better partnership.
• Improvements in how the curriculum is taught need to be fully embedded to reduce variation in achievement between groups of pupils and across subjects.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.