St Edward's Church of England Academy

Inspection of St Edward’s Church of England Academy London Road, Romford, Essex RM7 9NX

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Outstanding Leadership and management Good Sixth-form provision Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Previous inspection grade Not previously inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005 17–18 May 2022

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy being part of a welcoming and close-knit community. They said the school feels like a family. This helps them feel safe. Older and younger pupils get on well together. Pupils are respectful of their teachers and of each other’s different faiths and cultures. They adhere to the school’s values of humanity, optimism, perseverance and excellence. Through the personal development curriculum, pupils further develop these as character traits.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff expect pupils to work hard so they can get the best out of life. Pupils rise to the challenge. They behave well in lessons and around the school. There is very little disruption. Pupils engage well with learning. They are articulate in class. They enjoy reading aloud as well as sharing their ideas and opinions. They are also confident to speak out in the unlikely event of bullying. Pupils would report any concern to a member of the safeguarding team or a trusted adult.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils said that teachers listen to their views. When a group of pupils expressed an interest in Manga comics, they were able to set up their own club. In the sixth form, students asked if they could do competitive sport. This is now on their timetable every fortnight.

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better?

The curriculum is broad and ambitious in all subjects. It considers pupils’ local context. In the small sixth form provision, students can choose from a range of courses. The curriculum is ambitious for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Teachers know their pupils well. There is some inconsistency in how well teachers scaffold learning for pupils with SEND. In a small number of cases, this affects pupils’ progress.

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better?

Subject leaders have thought about the knowledge they want pupils to learn and the best order in which to learn it. For example, in Year 9, pupils learned about the geographical features of southern Africa. They moved on to study tourism in Kenya. Teachers share their curriculum plans with pupils. This helps pupils to prepare for what comes next. They can see the progress they have made.

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better?

Opportunities are provided for pupils to return to key themes and concepts. This helps consolidate their learning. In English, teachers revisit concepts such as tragedy and comedy. Pupils read a wide range of texts. These include Chaucer, Shakespeare and Orwell, as well as modern authors like Malorie Blackman. Pupils enjoy this variety.

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better?

Teachers check pupils’ understanding regularly. This process is less effective when teachers are working outside their subject specialism. They find it more difficult to tease out pupils’ misconceptions. In some cases, this lessens pupils’ engagement 17–18 May 2022

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with the curriculum. Teachers assess pupils’ progress more formally after each unit of work. Typically, they provide helpful feedback to pupils which they use to make improvements.

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Teachers encourage sixth form students to extend their learning beyond the classroom. Teachers provide students with articles, podcasts and videos to study. These enrich students’ subject knowledge in preparation for their next steps. Teachers encourage sixth form students to use ambitious, subject-specific vocabulary. This teaching begins lower down the school. It is more effective in some subjects than in others.

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Leaders have a clear strategy to ensure that all pupils are confident, fluent readers. This includes the use of online programmes and extra teaching. Leaders have built in opportunities for wider reading in all subjects. It is hoped these strategies will embed and impact on weaker pupils’ confidence with reading over time.

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The school offers high-quality personal development for all pupils. The personal, social and health education curriculum is well planned. It revisits topics such as consent in an age-appropriate way. Leaders respond when issues emerge that might affect pupils’ well-being. They organised a recent assembly on the consequences of sending inappropriate text messages. Pupils access a rich diet of extra-curricular clubs and activities. Leaders analyse patterns of attendance. They want to ensure there is something for everyone. In Years 7 to 9, pupils develop character through the ‘HOPE’ passports. Parents and carers receive a personal development report twice a year. Sixth form students have redesigned the school chapel. This provides a space for quiet reflection. The extensive careers programme begins in Year 7. Sixth form students receive excellent advice and guidance in applying for university and apprenticeships.

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Leaders and members of the trust have worked hard to improve the school. Governors have established procedures to better hold leaders to account. Staff are appreciative of the support they receive with their workload. They are proud to be part of a warm school community.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

With the help of the trust, leaders have created a strong culture of safeguarding. They ensure that all staff are trained in the latest safeguarding updates at the start of the year. This training is refreshed regularly. For example, staff have recently learned about the signs of harmful sexual behaviour.

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Safeguarding

Leaders share their knowledge of contextual safeguarding issues. These include the dangers of social media and county lines. Leaders work closely with external agencies. They are tenacious in following up referrals to social services. Leaders liaise with the police and many charities. Their record-keeping is detailed. This extends to making appropriate checks on all staff working with pupils. 17–18 May 2022

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Due to the small size of the school, some staff are required to teach outside of their subject area. Although support is available, these teachers sometimes lack subject-specific knowledge. This makes it difficult for them to identify pupils’ misconceptions. Leaders must ensure that teachers working outside their subject areas are given high-quality training. This will ensure that pupils get a consistently strong experience across the curriculum.  Subject leaders plan the curriculum with high ambition for pupils with SEND. This ambition is not met consistently because some teachers do not adapt resources well enough. This impacts on the progress of a small number of pupils with SEND. Leaders must ensure that their monitoring of classroom provision for pupils with SEND is robust.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View 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. 17–18 May 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10227782 Type of school Secondary Comprehensive School category Academy converter

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sixth form

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 The school became part of the Unity Schools Partnership on 3 April 2018.  The school makes one use of alternative provision. This is a tuition service run by Havering local authority.  The school meets the requirements of the Baker Clause, which requires schools to provide pupils in Years 8 to 13 with information about approved technical education qualifications and apprenticeships.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. 17–18 May 2022

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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 school leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation.  Inspectors met with several senior staff, including the headteacher, the leaders with responsibility for behaviour and safeguarding and other members of the senior team. Inspectors also met with members of the governing body and the trust’s chief executive officer.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: art, English, geography, mathematics and science. For each deep dive, inspectors met with subject leaders, looked at curriculum plans, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors spoke to the leaders of history, modern foreign languages, music and physical education.  Inspectors spoke to leaders about reading.

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 Inspectors observed behaviour during lessons, breaktimes and throughout the school day. Inspectors spoke to a range of staff about their views on pupils’ behaviour, their workload and well-being.  Through conversations with leaders, pupils and staff, inspectors examined the effectiveness of safeguarding. Inspectors looked at records relating to safeguarding, including pre-employment checks and records of work with external agencies.  Inspectors considered the views of parents and staff through Ofsted’s online surveys.

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Inspection team

Lisa Strong, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Jonathan Newby Ofsted Inspector 17–18 May 2022

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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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