John Locke Academy

Strengths

• Early years provision is highly effective, with children flourishing in communication, language, reading and writing.
• A highly inclusive culture ensures all pupils, including those with SEND and disadvantaged pupils, feel known and valued.
• Reading and phonics are a high priority and are taught consistently well.
• Pupils behave well, are polite and respectful, and bullying is rare and dealt with effectively.
• Attendance is broadly in line with national averages and leaders work well with families to improve it.
• Leaders provide clear direction and have built a high-morale, well-supported staff team.
• Trustees know the school well and provide effective strategic support and accountability.
• The curriculum is broad, ambitious, well sequenced and linked to the local context.
• Pupils' outcomes are typically in line with or above national averages and are improving over time.
• Personal development and pastoral care are effective, with a range of clubs, visits and pupil leadership roles.
• Safeguarding standards are met within an open and positive culture.

Areas for Improvement

• Disadvantaged pupils' outcomes remain closer to national averages, with a persistent gap compared with non-disadvantaged pupils.
• Teaching is not consistently highly effective across all classes and subjects.
• Gaps in pupils' writing knowledge, such as punctuation, are not always addressed fully effectively.
• Leaders' impact is not yet reflected in consistently strong standards over time in every area.
• Attendance, while broadly average, is not yet above national levels over time.
• Tracking of pupils' learning in the personal development programme, including extracurricular participation, needs sharpening.
• Pupils' understanding of some British values, particularly individual liberty, is less secure.
• Leaders need sharper ways of identifying where gaps in pupils' PSHE knowledge lie.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools