High Point Academy

Overview

High Point Academy is described as a “nurturing and inclusive school” where pupils are “happy, safe and well cared for.” The report highlights that staff are “highly skilled at understanding the barriers to learning” for pupils with autism, resulting in pupils who are “settled and content.”

Strengths

• Behaviour and attitudes are rated Outstanding, with pupils embodying the school’s ‘ACE’ values of “ambition, challenge and encouraging independence.”
• Personal development is rated Outstanding, with pupils given responsibilities such as caring for the school dog and opportunities to follow interests in music, dance, and sports.
• The curriculum is carefully designed with two pathways to support pupils, including practical life skills like changing fuses and filling holes in walls.
• The needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are met “exceptionally well” through tailored resources, visual aids, and communication systems.
• Staff successfully “reignite pupils’ love of books and reading” through daily activities, helping those who arrived with negative views of reading.

Areas to improve

• In some subjects, specific knowledge is not clearly defined or sequenced, which “slows pupils’ learning.”
• For a small number of pupils at early reading stages, phonics is not taught in a “systematic and progressive way,” preventing them from catching up as quickly as they could.

Safeguarding

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