King's Academy Prospect

Overview

King’s Academy Prospect is described as a “good and strongly improving school” where leaders set high expectations for learning and behaviour. Pupils are “aspirational and rightly optimistic about their futures,” benefiting from an ambitious curriculum and effective support that prepares them well for life after school. The report highlights that staff morale is high and that the school has made significant progress since its previous inspection.

Strengths

• Leadership is “highly effective,” with strong processes that allow teachers to focus on delivering a good education.
• The curriculum is “ambitious and designed to include all pupils,” with subject leaders ensuring teachers have secure expertise.
• Support for pupils whose reading is weaker is “especially effective,” and provision for those speaking English as an additional language is “very strong indeed.”
• Pupils learn to be “respectful and responsible,” with bullying not being a major issue and many taking on leadership roles.
• Safeguarding arrangements are “effective,” with issues identified quickly and appropriate help put in place.

Areas to improve

• Provision for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is not always “precisely matched to their needs,” meaning some could achieve more.
• Assessment tasks do not help pupils consolidate knowledge as effectively in some subjects as in others, limiting the depth of learning.
• Leaders must continue work to eliminate occasional use of “derogatory or discriminatory language” and antisocial behaviour at breaktimes.

Safeguarding

The report states that “the arrangements for safeguarding are effective,” noting that staff have up-to-date knowledge of risks and that leaders liaise well with other agencies to support pupils.