XP Gateshead

Overview

Pupils enjoy an “exciting educational experience” at XP Gateshead, characterised by a “unique expeditionary curriculum” that connects learning across subjects. The school fosters a “tight-knit community” where pupils feel a strong sense of belonging and flourish socially. Leaders maintain a “clear and ambitious vision” for providing a rounded education that helps pupils become better people.

Strengths

• Pupils display “excellent attitudes towards their learning and each other,” supported by “exceptional” behaviour strategies and weekly community meetings.
• The curriculum is “broad and ambitious,” with pupils achieving well and developing “self-confidence and pride” by presenting work to external audiences.
• Staff “expertly build” upon character traits developed during initial outward-bound adventures, creating an “exemplary focus on personal development.”
• Crew sessions are “meticulously planned” to support reading fluency and help pupils “understand and celebrate difference in society.”
• Leaders forge “positive links in the local community,” enhancing careers provision, while staff enjoy collaborative planning and manageable workloads.

Areas to improve

• The school should refine the writing curriculum, as “key knowledge... has not been clearly identified,” leading to variation in pupils’ ability to write with sophistication.
• Steps for improving writing are “not as clear as they are in other curriculum areas,” resulting in inconsistent depth of understanding regarding sophisticated writing techniques.

Safeguarding

The report states that “the arrangements for safeguarding are effective.”