King's Academy Lord Wilson

Overview

LWS Academy is a special school for boys with social, emotional and mental health difficulties, rated as ‘Good’ across all inspection categories. The report highlights that pupils benefit from ‘specialist support and care’ within a calm environment where ‘mutually warm and kind relationships’ foster trust and safety. Leaders have established high ambitions for pupil achievement, particularly in English and mathematics, resulting in many students having clear plans for their future.

Strengths

• Staff are ‘expertly trained’ to understand complex needs, providing ‘seamless’ support that helps pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities learn well.
• The curriculum is ‘sequenced and ambitious’, with precise adjustments made to help pupils catch up on learning gaps and progress effectively.
• A ‘robust’ reading strategy ensures pupils develop vital comprehension skills, with skilled teachers closing phonics gaps to build confidence.
• Leaders make ‘highly effective use of alternative provision’, offering practical experiences in areas such as mechanics, construction, and the armed forces to prepare pupils for adulthood.
• Staff feel ‘supported and valued’, buying into the school’s vision and working collaboratively to ensure pupil success.

Areas to improve

• Leaders must ensure curriculum changes are fully embedded in all subjects so pupils ‘build coherent knowledge effectively over time’.
• A ‘cohesive and sequenced approach’ is needed for personal development and wider opportunities to better develop life and employability skills.
• Leaders must implement additional strategies to reduce ‘persistent absence’, which remains too high and prevents some pupils from fully benefiting from school.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective, with staff well trained to spot risks and leaders taking ‘tenacious and effective action’ to keep pupils and families safe.