Preston School Academy

Overview

Leaders are “ambitious for all pupils,” fostering an “inclusive community where pupils are happy.” The school provides a “wide and varied curriculum” with a strong focus on enterprise, ensuring pupils build understanding “effectively over time.” Staff maintain high expectations, and pupils feel safe due to clear routines and effective support for those with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

Strengths

• The curriculum is “carefully and appropriately adapted” for pupils in the autism base, who are “well prepared for what they do next.”
• A “strength of the school” is the careers programme, which offers “high-quality work experience” through links with local employers.
• Staff use strategies to “check what pupils know and remember,” using this information “effectively to plan what pupils do next.”
• Pupils “enjoy reading a diverse range of texts” and develop confidence, with early readers receiving “effective help to catch up quickly.”
• Governors and leaders act effectively on feedback, leading to staff who “talk positively about their workload.”

Areas to improve

• Leaders should ensure they provide regular opportunities for staff to develop their knowledge of curriculum content, as current training offers “limited opportunities for developing subject expertise.”
• Leaders should consider more systematic ways to analyse patterns around safeguarding to get a “clearer picture of emerging trends across the school.”

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are “effective,” with strong relationships allowing staff to identify concerns quickly, though leaders do not always evaluate safeguarding patterns over time.