E-ACT Venturers' Academy

Overview

Venturers’ Academy is a special school for pupils with autism where staff build "positive and trusted relationships" to support pupils’ well-being and behaviour. While the school is in a period of transition with "considerable change" to leadership and staff, the overall quality of education is currently inconsistent, meaning pupils "do not achieve as well as they should."

Strengths

• Pupils benefit from "positive relationships" in a "caring school" where bullying is "exceptionally rare."
• Staff know pupils’ individual needs well, using individual plans to help manage behaviour effectively.
• Personal development is promoted well, helping pupils develop "self-confidence," "meaningful friendships," and strong social skills.
• The sixth-form provision is strong, with an "ambitious" curriculum that supports students’ transition to adulthood through work experience and enterprise skills.
• Subjects such as physical education and personal, social and health education are implemented strongly.

Areas to improve

• The implementation of the curriculum is "too variable in quality," including in the early years, preventing pupils from learning as effectively as they should.
• The school must improve communication with staff and parents to rebuild confidence lost due to frequent staff changes and unclear reasons for recent changes.
• Strategies to improve attendance are new and have not yet shown impact; the school needs to embed these to return attendance to pre-pandemic levels.

Safeguarding

The report states that "the arrangements for safeguarding are effective."