Tower Road Academy

Overview

Tower Road Academy continues to be a good school, described as “nurturing, friendly and ambitious” with high aspirations for pupils. The inspection confirms that the school provides a high-quality education where pupils feel safe, behave exemplarily, and are well-prepared for life in modern Britain.

Strengths

• The curriculum is “well sequenced and ambitious,” breaking learning into small steps with a strong focus on vocabulary and subject-specific language.
• Staff deliver an “effective reading curriculum” with well-trained phonics instruction, ensuring pupils become fluent readers matched to appropriate books.
• The school is “highly inclusive,” with leaders relentlessly removing barriers for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) through effective support cycles.
• Personal development is central, with pupils engaging in community activities, clubs, and roles like “School Parliament” to become “confident and active citizens.”
• Leaders and governors provide strong support, ensuring staff feel valued and well-trained, while parents view the school as being “at the heart of the community.”

Areas to improve

• Teachers do not consistently check what pupils know and can do, meaning some are not appropriately challenged to deepen their learning.
• Leaders should develop assessment approaches to help teachers identify what has been learned and clearly determine the next steps in pupils’ learning.

Safeguarding

Safeguarding is effective, with leaders creating an “open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.”