Biscovey Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

From the moment pupils join in Year 3, the school promotes and lives out its 'Dare to Dream' vision for pupils. It achieves this through a laser-like focus on academic success. Typically, the school's expectations for pupils are high.

This supports most pupils to achieve well academically. As a result, they are well prepared for the next stage of their education.

The school has a calm and orderly feel.

It adjusts the provision skilfully for pupils who struggle to follow the school's expectations for behaviour. In lessons, most pupils engage closely with their learning. Staff and pupils have warm relationships.

This helps pupils feel they can share op...enly any worries they have. Consequently, pupils feel safe and well cared for. The school deals with incidents of bullying swiftly and effectively.

The school is rightly proud of its strong offer for pupils' wider development. It ensures that pupils experience visits beyond the locality in contrasting locations. For example, pupils attend an international rugby match.

Pupils develop a strong pride in their local community through the school's hosting of its annual May fayre. They learn the importance of teamwork through success in sports tournaments.

What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The trust's partnership with the school is a successful one.

It has varied its level of support appropriately, depending on the school's needs. For example, during the pandemic, standards of behaviour declined. The trust moved swiftly to help the school and provided training for staff to ensure that systems for behaviour were understood and applied consistently.

Consequently, pupils' attitudes to learning are now positive. However, although the school is now on a more stable footing, the trust continues to make regular checks on the school's performance, along with the hub council. As a result, the trust knows the school well and holds its leaders to account robustly.

The school has a well-established and ambitious curriculum. It uses its close links with the infant school to ensure that pupils' previous learning is considered carefully. This means that pupils build on their knowledge in a logical way.

The success of pupils' learning over the long term is evident in pupils' outcomes at the expected standard at the end of key stage 2 in reading, writing and mathematics. However, this has not come at the expense of a broad and balanced curriculum. Pupils enjoy a rich diet of subjects in which they typically learn well.

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) benefit from precise support to help them learn alongside their peers. The school has a rigorous approach to the identification of pupils with SEND to ensure this support is put into place quickly.

The school's curriculum identifies the essential knowledge that pupils need to know.

Teachers use this information to implement the curriculum well. Teachers ensure that they teach the key knowledge effectively and check carefully whether pupils have learned it. This helps pupils to learn new knowledge securely.

However, sometimes the activities which pupils complete do not help them to deepen and extend their knowledge as well as they could.

Reading has a high priority in the school. The school has ensured that there is a consistent approach to reading throughout all year groups.

This means that pupils continually learn and apply their reading skills well as they move through the school. Staff identify any pupils who fall behind and help them to catch up quickly. Pupils learn to appreciate a range of genres through the reading curriculum.

Pupils benefit from a series of residentials designed to build their resilience. They develop their talents and interests well through clubs and well-considered experiences. For example, pupils record a song in a professional recording studio.

This helps them to develop a love for the arts.

There is a strong sense of shared vision. Staff have highly positive views of the direction of the school.

Many parents and carers hold similar views. They feel that staff care for their children well.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Occasionally, teaching does not consider well enough what pupils already know and can do. At times, the activities which pupils complete do not help them to deepen or extend their knowledge as well as they could. The school should ensure that, where this is the case, the activities pupils complete are well considered to extend and deepen their knowledge.

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