St Edward's Church of England Academy

Strengths

• Rigorous attendance tracking and tenacious first-day absence follow-up
• Attendance above national average, notably for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND
• Positive pupil behaviour and respectful relationships across the school
• Strong personal development curriculum tailored to pupils’ context
• Comprehensive PSHE and relationships, sex and health education
• Effective careers education from Year 7 with meaningful work experience in Years 10 and 12
• Inclusive culture with early identification of SEND and vulnerable pupils
• Effective use of pupil premium to support disadvantaged pupils
• Strong support for pupils with SEND to access the curriculum
• Knowledgeable governors who meet statutory responsibilities and challenge leaders
• Trust support contributing to improvement across the school
• Staff feel valued and well supported, with manageable workload for most
• Sixth-form students act as mature role models and contribute to the wider school community
• Almost all students secure sustained education, employment or training destinations
• Safeguarding standards met with an open culture of safeguarding
• Wide range of enrichment, clubs and cultural experiences, including annual museum visits
• Church of England ethos underpins a strong sense of community and belonging

Areas for Improvement

• Highly effective teaching is not consistently embedded across the school
• Teachers sometimes ask questions that are not precise enough to develop pupils’ reasoning
• Some lessons provide insufficient opportunities for pupils to sustain writing and develop ideas fully
• Pupils’ writing sometimes lacks depth, including in the sixth form
• Post-16 A-level outcomes are below national averages
• Some aspects of leaders’ evaluation could be sharper so improvement actions are fully embedded

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools