Queen Elizabeth's Academy

Overview

Inspectors judged the school to be ‘Good’ across all categories, noting that leaders have worked hard to ‘improve this school rapidly’ since the previous inspection. The report describes a calm environment where pupils are ‘happy to attend’, show ‘positive attitudes’, and feel safe. Leaders have established a supportive culture that prepares pupils well for life in modern Britain.

Strengths

• The provision for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is identified as ‘a strength’, with teachers knowing needs well and ensuring equal access to learning.
• Teachers possess ‘strong subject knowledge’, provide ‘clear explanations’, and routinely check pupil recall to deepen understanding.
• Behaviour is high quality; the ‘vast majority of pupils behave well’, and leaders ‘do not tolerate disruption to learning’.
• Pupils understand the school’s Christian values and feel that ‘everybody feels welcome’, benefiting from a wide range of clubs and sports.
• Staff report that leaders ‘care about their workload and well-being’, contributing to a positive staff culture.

Areas to improve

• In some subjects, curriculum planning is ‘not responsive enough to the needs of pupils’, failing to address misconceptions or build effectively on prior knowledge.
• Leaders must ensure all subjects prepare pupils adequately for their ‘next steps in education’, as some planned learning does not yet support future aspirations sufficiently.
• Leaders need to continue working with parents to improve attendance for all pupils, as current measures are not yet ensuring every child is in school to learn.

Safeguarding

The report states that ‘the arrangements for safeguarding are effective’, with staff trained to identify risks and leaders acting ‘decisively’ to provide timely support.