Boston Pioneers Free School Academy

Overview

This inspection found a school where “care and support for pupils and their families are at the centre of every action that staff take.” Pupils are described as polite, respectful, and living out values of “resilience, excellence, ambition, care and honesty” within a “positive and calm environment.” The report highlights that leaders are driven by a “clear moral purpose” and that the curriculum has been successfully revised to help pupils recall learning more effectively.

Strengths

• The curriculum is “ambitious” and helps pupils, including those with little understanding of English, to make “good progress from their starting points.”
• Reading is prioritised, with staff suitably trained in phonics and books matched to pupils’ known sounds to ensure accurate and fluent reading.
• Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are “very well cared for,” with staff identifying needs accurately and providing appropriate support.
• Staff provide “strong pastoral support” and have been “tenacious in its actions to improve attendance,” resulting in improved pupil attendance.
• Behaviour is calm, with pupils showing a clear understanding of “fundamental British values and different cultures.”

Areas to improve

• The school must ensure pupils benefit from “high-quality opportunities to develop and improve their writing across the curriculum” to build writing stamina and reduce errors in spelling, punctuation, and grammar.
• Staff should be supported to “adapt the curriculum effectively” so that pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities do not overly rely on adult support and can learn with greater independence.

Safeguarding

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