Discovery Academy

Overview

Discovery Academy continues to be a good school, providing a welcoming environment where staff build positive relationships to help pupils overcome barriers to learning. The report highlights a calm, orderly atmosphere with strong support for personal development and effective safeguarding arrangements.

Strengths

• Pupils feel welcome and supported, with staff working hard to build positive relationships and help them overcome learning barriers.
• The curriculum is well thought out in most subjects, with careful consideration given to sequencing, such as in history and art.
• Reading is promoted effectively through daily sessions and high-quality phonics training, with targeted support for older pupils who have fallen behind.
• Leaders cater well for pupils’ personal development, offering diverse opportunities including sports, arts, and leadership roles.
• Staff feel well supported by leaders and report that it is a "happy place to work."

Areas to improve

• In a few subjects, the precise knowledge pupils are expected to learn is not clearly identified, creating gaps in their knowledge over time.
• The attendance of some pupils remains too low, meaning they miss out on essential learning; the school must improve oversight and work with families and agencies to address this.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.