The Winsford Academy

Overview: The Winsford Academy is a secondary comprehensive school that requires significant improvement due to its inadequate quality of education and behaviour and attitudes, and requires improvement in personal development and leadership and management.

Strengths:

• The school has redesigned its curriculum to build pupils' knowledge over time.
• The school has strengthened its strategies to improve attendance, although this is beginning to have a positive impact.
• Most staff appreciate the support they receive to manage their workload and well-being.
• The school has improved how it identifies gaps in younger pupils' reading knowledge and provides support for those who struggle with reading.
• The school has begun to tackle the use of derogatory language and unkind behaviour, and has started to provide careers guidance and learning opportunities for older pupils.

Areas to improve:

• The intended curriculum is not delivered well across most subjects, meaning pupils do not build their knowledge well over time.
• Staff do not identify gaps in pupils' understanding and have low expectations of the quality of work that pupils produce.
• The school does not provide enough well-tailored support to help pupils in key stage 4 who struggle with reading.
• Staff do not apply behaviour management systems consistently well, leading to off-task or inattentive behaviour.
• Many pupils, particularly those with SEND, miss school frequently, limiting their progress through the curriculum.
• The school does not ensure that Year 8 and 9 pupils receive sufficient encounters with organisations and employers.

Safeguarding: The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.