Brayford Academy

Overview

Brayford Academy is described as a “small, supportive school” where leaders have created a “nurturing ethos” and parents feel it is “like a big family.” Pupils are “well cared for,” feel “happy and safe,” and enjoy a wide range of extracurricular activities and trips. The inspection found that leaders have designed an “ambitious curriculum” with high expectations for behaviour, resulting in a “very calm and respectful atmosphere.”

Strengths

• Leaders have ensured the curriculum is “well planned in all subjects” with clear key knowledge for pupils to remember.
• Reading is prioritised, with a “consistent approach to the teaching of phonics” and books chosen to “reflect cultures from around the world.”
• Personal development is a strength, with pupils taking on roles such as “eco rangers and school councillors” with maturity.
• Staff work effectively to meet the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), ensuring they “follow the same curriculum as their peers and they thrive.”
• There is a “strong culture of safeguarding” with staff receiving “frequent and relevant safeguarding training.”

Areas to improve

• Assessment is not used effectively enough in some areas to check that all pupils have retained taught knowledge, meaning some do not “build their knowledge well over time.”
• Leaders need to ensure all staff use assessment effectively across all subjects to inform future learning.

Safeguarding

The report states that “the arrangements for safeguarding are effective,” noting that staff know how to recognise signs of abuse and that leaders are “relentless in their work with external agencies.”