Lift Aylward

Inspection of a good school: Aylward Academy Windmill Road, Enfield, London N18 1NB

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Outcome

Aylward Academy continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy coming to school. The school’s motto ‘find your remarkable’ is upheld by staff and pupils. Leaders encourage pupils to be ‘big hearted’. This value is realised through the equality ambassadors. These pupils champion equality and look out for others. Pupils regularly learn about ‘amazing people’ in society to inspire them to achieve their best. For example, pupils learned about Mary Seacole and Katherine Johnson.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders encourage pupils to have a voice. The student union is active. They regularly ask pupils how they could improve practice in school. Leaders want pupils to have a personal view on the curriculum and topical issues. Leaders ask pupils to ‘be the change you want to see’. Leaders have high expectations of pupils. These expectations are evident as you walk around the school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel safe and understand how to behave well in lessons. Pupils and teachers are clear on what the expectations are. Parents and carers speak positively about teachers and how they help pupils. Pupils describe the school as being a ‘community’. They value the friendships that are formed here. Pupils said that bullying was rare. Bullying ambassadors are available to support pupils.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Extra-curricular learning opportunities extend the curriculum. Leaders have offered a range of clubs, from gardening club to chess club

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

Pupils described the school as ‘ambitious’. This ambition was seen in the work that has gone into developing the curriculum offer since the last inspection. Governors outlined the work on curriculum plans and the support that the trust had provided.

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

Curriculum leaders plan lessons so that knowledge is delivered in stages, for example when learning about clothes in Spanish. Pupils first learn how to correctly use the verb ‘to wear’ and then add words to describe the colour of the clothes. In the sixth form, in a 1–2 July 2021

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Turkish lesson, pupils received helpful feedback after an assessment which helped them to make improvements to their work. This staged approach helps pupils to build their knowledge in many subjects.

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Teachers make sure that if pupils do not understand key content in a lesson they quickly support pupils to overcome the problem. In French, teachers corrected the misunderstanding of ‘magasins’ so that pupils could correctly remember key vocabulary. In science, teachers use questions in the lesson to redirect teaching and teach key ideas again, if needed. This helps pupils to be clear about knowledge learned in subjects. Pupils are achieving well in many subjects.

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Teachers are knowledgeable about the subjects they teach. They have additional support from the subject specialists in the trust. All teachers provide opportunities for pupils to recall and revisit previous learning at the start of the lesson through ‘do now’ tasks. In English, pupils could recall key concepts like ‘socialism’ and ‘capitalism’ correctly. This knowledge helped them to understand the play ‘An Inspector Calls’ by J B Priestley. Teachers plan opportunities for pupils to go over key knowledge so that it is embedded, and pupils will remember it. In science, pupils were encouraged to remember and use ‘photosynthesis’. Pupils’ work showed that this had been learned previously. However, pupils in key stage 3 could not recall information from previous learning as easily. In history, pupils struggled to see how their previous learning about the First World War could help them to understand new learning about the Second World War.

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Pupils behave well in lessons and are engaged with their learning. Teachers encourage pupils to use academic vocabulary. In English lessons, pupils were correctly using words like ‘hierarchy’ and ‘misogyny’. The focus on vocabulary supports pupils who speak English as an additional language. Pupils confidently used subject-specific vocabulary across lessons. Leaders encourage all pupils to read widely and often. Pupils have access to an electronic library of books that is appropriate to age and stage of reading.

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Pupils with special educational needs and or/disabilities (SEND) access the same curriculum as their peers. Pupils with SEND said they were encouraged to be ‘independent’ by their teachers. They valued the support they received to help them become more independent. ‘The Hub’ provides a range of individual interventions for pupils with SEND in school to support their learning.

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Leaders encourage leadership opportunities for sixth-form pupils. The Year 12 gender ambassadors led an assembly on powerful women in science to their peers. Leaders provide regular opportunities for pupils to learn about contemporary issues. Pupils took part in a tutor time activity on tackling racism in football. Leaders have mapped out where the relationships and sex education curriculum is further embedded in different subjects across the school. For example, in English, pupils learn about discrimination. Mental health is a priority.

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Leaders and governors support the well-being of staff and pupils. Staff describe their subject teams as a ‘family’. Teaching staff recognise the work that leaders have put into reducing workload. 1–2 July 2021

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff receive regular training on safeguarding. Staff described the steps they would take in school to identify and act on any concerns about a child. Leaders regularly gather pupils’ views about their safety. They act quickly if any concerns are raised. Pupils knew who to talk to if they were worried about themselves or their friends.

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Safeguarding

Leaders are acutely aware of local contextual challenges. For example, pupils receive timely training on the risks of county lines and issues around consent and sexual harassment. Pupils know how to stay safe online. Leaders work with external agencies to set up safe spots in the local community to keep pupils safe when they are not in school. The trust supports the school with safeguarding procedures.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 While the curriculum in key stages 4 and 5 is planned so that pupils can make links to previous learning, this is not yet the case for all subjects in key stage 3. This means that pupils do not have opportunities to develop a deep knowledge across the curriculum in key stage 3. Leaders should make sure that the key stage 3 curriculum is well planned so that pupils can make links between knowledge previously learned and new knowledge.

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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 or outstanding school, because it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find some evidence that a good 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 second section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good on 6 November 2012.

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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. 1–2 July 2021

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

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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. 1–2 July 2021

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School details

Inspection number 10195729 Type of school Secondary comprehensive and 16–18

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provision

Number of pupils on the school roll 1,433

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form

Website https://sites.google.com/aetinet.org/aylwar dacademy/home Date of previous inspection 6 July 2016, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is part of the Academies Enterprise Trust (AET).  The school is a larger-than-average secondary school.  A high proportion of pupils speak English as an additional language.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is above the national average.  The school uses four alternative providers.

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Information about this inspection

 This inspection was carried out under Section 8 of the Education Act 2005. 1–2 July 2021

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 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school, and have taken that into account in our evaluation of the school.  Inspectors held meetings with senior leaders from the school. Inspectors met with four members of the local governing body, including the chair of governors, and two senior representatives from the AET.  Inspectors did deep dives in the following subjects: English, modern foreign languages, physical education, history and science. As part of this, the inspection team visited lessons, spoke to pupils about their learning and reviewed their work. Inspectors met with subject leaders and teachers. Inspectors also looked at pupils’ work and spoke with leaders in other subjects. Inspectors listened to pupils read and spoke to pupils about their reading experiences.  Inspectors visited assembly and tutor times.

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 Through discussion with leaders, pupils and staff, inspectors considered the effectiveness of safeguarding. Inspectors looked at records relating to safeguarding, including pre-employment checks for staff and work with external agencies.  Inspectors met with groups of pupils and spoke to pupils in lessons to consider their views on the school.  Inspectors observed behaviour in lessons and at breaktime. Inspectors spoke to a range of staff about behaviour, their workload and well-being. Inspectors considered the 19 staff responses and 78 pupil responses to Ofsted’s surveys.  Inspectors considered the two responses to Ofsted’s survey for parents, including written comments.  Year 11 had just completed transition work into the sixth form and were no longer in school. Year 13 were no longer in school.

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Inspection team

Lucy Bruce, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Andrea Bedeau Her Majesty’s Inspector 1–2 July 2021

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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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