The Violet Way Academy

Overview

The Violet Way Academy is rated as ‘Good’ across all inspection categories, maintaining a high standard of education and care. Pupils benefit from a ‘warm, nurturing environment’ where staff show ‘great care’, helping children feel ‘safe and happy’. The school places a strong emphasis on personal development, with pupils encouraged to ‘reach for the stars’ and achieve their full potential.

Strengths

• Staff know pupils well and provide effective support for those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), enabling most to access the curriculum.
• Reading is a high priority; daily phonics sessions are delivered well, helping most children start reading ‘fluently and with confidence’.
• Pupils behave well, showing respect to staff and each other, and are well supported to regulate their emotions when challenged.
• The curriculum in many subjects is carefully sequenced, allowing pupils to build on prior knowledge, particularly in mathematics.
• Leaders engage well with staff, who feel valued and are ‘proud to work at the school’.

Areas to improve

• In some subjects, pupils do not learn key information in a logical order, resulting in gaps in understanding important curriculum parts.
• Pupils lack sufficient opportunities to practise writing at length, causing them to sometimes forget basic skills such as correct letter sizing and punctuation.

Safeguarding

The report states that ‘the arrangements for safeguarding are effective’.