Portland Academy

Overview

This ungraded inspection found that Portland Academy’s work “may have improved significantly across all areas” since the previous inspection, prompting a future graded review. The school is described as a “happy school, where pupils and staff flourish,” offering a “highly considered and personalised educational experience” for pupils with special educational needs.

Strengths

• Staff “expertly match teaching to pupils’ special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND),” helping learners become “increasingly confident, resilient and independent.”
• The “bespoke pathway curriculum” is “broad, balanced and meets pupils’ needs highly effectively,” with a strong emphasis on communication using consistent tools.
• Pupils achieve “exceptionally well” in a “safe and nurturing environment,” supported by “warm and respectful relationships” and high staff expectations.
• Preparation for adulthood is robust, featuring an “excellent and diverse work experience programme” and opportunities like running the school café or ‘Port Mall’.
• Staff well-being is high, with teachers valuing that their training “impacts directly on pupils’ high outcomes” and sharing workload effectively.

Areas to improve

• The report identifies no significant areas for improvement.

Safeguarding

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