Wyvern St Edmund's Academy

Inspection of a good school: Wyvern College Church Road, Laverstock, Salisbury, Wiltshire SP1 1RE

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Outcome

Wyvern College continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Wyvern College is a small school for boys sharing a site with St Edmunds Girls’ School. Subjects share leadership, teachers and classrooms across the two schools. Boys and girls learn together in many lessons.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils told inspectors that the school had improved since the changes. Behaviour in lessons is much better. Pupils learn more and have more GCSE subjects to choose from in Year 10. Pupils feel safe. If there is bullying, staff deal with it quickly.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Parents can see the difference. One parent said, ‘I think the leadership team have done an incredible job in creating the learning campus. I have huge respect for their drive, commitment and dedication.’ Another parent stated, ‘My son has blossomed at Wyvern, he loves it very much.’

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What is it like to attend this school?

Teachers have high expectations for the boys, and the boys have responded well. Wyvern College is a happy, well-run school where boys can flourish.

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

The headteacher is totally committed to ensuring that pupils get the best education possible. The move to combine Wyvern College with St Edmunds School has widened the curriculum available to Wyvern pupils. There is more specialist teaching and access to resources than before.

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

Leaders have thought carefully about what pupils need to know. An effectively planned curriculum means that pupils are learning well in most subjects. Curriculum leaders ensure that there is careful organisation of learning. Teachers use thoughtful ways to recap and review knowledge. This is helping pupils to know and remember more. However, this approach could benefit students even further, if used in all subject areas. For example, in modern foreign languages, pupils are sometimes not given time to develop confidence in using a new language. In the past, this has resulted in small 30–31 January 2020

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numbers choosing French as an option at key stage 4 and the numbers of pupils achieving the English Baccalaureate (EBacc) have been low. The languages department has a new leadership team. With support from senior leaders, there are plans in place to bring about improvement.

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Pupils’ personal development has a very high priority in the school. Threaded through lessons, personal development days, tutor periods, assemblies and after-school activities, pupils learn how to keep themselves safe and become creative, caring and collaborative individuals. Leaders ensure that pupils can access a very wide range of events and activities. This supports the school’s vision for pupils to become ‘the best version of themselves that they can be’.

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Behaviour in lessons and around the school is calm and orderly. Pupils say how much easier it is to learn now that pupils behave well. Relationships between staff and pupils are warm and caring. Pupils feel well cared for and know that there is always someone to whom they can go if they have a problem.

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There are efficient systems in place to support pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Assessment of pupils’ needs is thorough, and staff receive regular training and updates.

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Staff report that they like working at the school. They say that they feel valued and that leaders have worked with them to ensure that their workload is manageable.

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The Magna Learning Partnership and school governors work alongside school leaders to offer appropriate support and challenge. The trustees worked very closely with the school leadership team to bring Wyvern College and St Edmunds School together. Leaders consulted parents and carefully monitored the effect on staff and pupils. As a result, the merging of the two schools has been very successful.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

The headteacher, together with staff, governors and trustees, gives the safety and well- being of pupils the highest priority. This ensures that there is a very strong culture of safeguarding in the school.

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Safeguarding

Staff receive appropriate training in safeguarding issues and procedures. Staff and pupils know how to report any concerns. Governors check safeguarding arrangements and systems carefully.

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Safeguarding

The safeguarding team refers cases to social care when necessary. Leaders complete all required checks on new staff. They keep accurate records of their checks. 30–31 January 2020

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Some curriculums are less successful, such as modern foreign languages. Senior leaders must provide support to the curriculum leaders so that there is consistent implementation of a structured and sequenced curriculum. This will ensure that, over time, pupils know more and remember more. Pupils will then develop greater confidence in these subjects.

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Background

When we have judged a school to be good we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good. This is called a section 8 inspection of a good school or non-exempt outstanding school. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find some evidence that the school could now be better than good or that standards may be declining, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will convert the section 8 inspection to a section 5 inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the first section 8 inspection since we judged the predecessor school to be good.

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How can I feed back my views?

find out what other parents and carers think. We use Ofsted Parent View information when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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How can I feed back my views?

If you are the school and you are not happy with the inspection or the report, you can complain to Ofsted .

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. 30–31 January 2020

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School details

Inspection number 10122359 Type of school Secondary Comprehensive

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 In 2018, the trustees appointed the headteacher of St Edmunds as headteacher of Wyvern School as well as St Edmunds. This created the Wyvern St Edmunds Learning Campus, with the two schools sharing a single leadership team.  Wyvern College joined the Magna Learning Partnership multi-academy trust in 2017.  The school uses one alternative education provider – The Wasp Centre.  Wyvern College is a Church of England school, a member of the Salisbury diocese.

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Information about this inspection

 We held meetings with the headteacher, deputy headteacher, governors, trustees and CEO of the Magna Learning Partnership. Inspectors met with a range of teaching and support staff.  We did deep dives in: modern foreign languages, mathematics and English. This involved meetings with curriculum leaders, visiting classrooms, meeting teachers and talking to pupils about their work. 30–31 January 2020

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 To inspect safeguarding, we checked the school’s single central record of recruitment and vetting checks. We looked at the school’s safeguarding policy and interviewed the designated safeguarding lead. We spoke to a range of staff and pupils.

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Inspection team

Mark Burgess, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Matthew Collins Ofsted Inspector 30–31 January 2020

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regulates and inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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