Sir Bernard Lovell Academy

Overview:

The Sir Bernard Lovell Academy has been judged to have an exceptional standard, with leaders and staff working above the standard expected of them. The school has a strong curriculum, effective teaching, and a positive culture of safeguarding. Pupils are proud of their school and enjoy their learning, with high attendance and good behaviour.

Strengths:

• The school has a broad and ambitious curriculum, with leaders carefully setting out what pupils will learn.

• The quality of teaching is highly effective in many areas of the curriculum, with teachers explaining concepts clearly and helping pupils to practise and reinforce their learning.

• Pupils are supported to maintain a high standard of written work across all areas of the curriculum.

• The school has a strong focus on safeguarding, with leaders and staff fulfilling their specific responsibilities and establishing an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility.

• Pupils are well prepared for adult life through the high-quality personal development programme.

Areas to improve:

• Post-16 students do not achieve as well as they should in their qualifications, with some not being as well prepared for the next steps into education, employment or training as they should be.

• The school has not ensured that students consistently develop appropriate knowledge and skills in the sixth form.

• The strategies staff employ to support pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are used more effectively in some areas of the curriculum than others.

Safeguarding:

The safeguarding standards are met, with leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfilling their specific responsibilities and having established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed.