St Augustine Academy

Overview

St Augustine Academy is described as a happy place where pupils feel a strong sense of belonging and are warmly welcomed by caring staff. The report highlights significant improvements in behaviour, attendance, and teaching quality since the last inspection, creating a positive environment based on mutual respect. However, overall attainment in national examinations remains below national averages, and there is variation in how effectively assessment data is used to address pupil errors.

Strengths

• Leaders have created a "positive culture of attendance" with rigorous monitoring, resulting in improved rates and reduced persistent absence.
• Behaviour has improved significantly, with "calm and orderly" routines, polite pupils, and a sharp fall in suspensions.
• The curriculum is "broad and ambitious," with teachers who are "experts in the subjects they teach" and provide high-quality training.
• Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are "well supported and cared for" in this inclusive school, accessing the same ambitious curriculum as their peers.
• Staff feel "trusted and well supported by leaders," valuing the consideration given to their workload and wellbeing.

Areas to improve

• Leaders should ensure highly effective teaching is embedded across the school and that teachers consistently use checks on learning to adapt teaching precisely.
• Leaders should maintain their focus on improving attendance and enabling pupils to be highly engaged in their learning.
• There is less precision in checking the impact of support given to disadvantaged pupils, which requires improvement.

Safeguarding

The safeguarding standards are met, with leaders establishing an open culture where safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified and managed.