Stockingford Academy

Inspection of Stockingford Academy Cross Street, Nuneaton, Warwickshire CV10 8JH

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Inspection dates: 23 and 24 January 2024

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Previous inspection grade Not previously inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Overall effectiveness Good

The headteacher of this school is Gillian Bowser. This school is part of Inspire Education Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Lois Whitehouse, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by David Bermingham. 23 and 24 January 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils love their school. They know that the adults care about them and will listen to them. Pupils thrive in the caring environment. The school’s values of excellence, resilience, nurturing, fairness and partnership are evident in how pupils and adults treat each other.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high expectations for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). In the past, expectations were not high enough, and pupils did not achieve as well as they should. However, there has been significant improvement since the school became an academy, and now pupils are learning and remembering more, which is helping them to achieve well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave well at Stockingford Academy. There are warm, respectful relationships between staff and pupils. Pupils learn to understand and talk about emotions in themselves and others. They recognise that, at times, some pupils find it hard to manage their own behaviour but know that adults will deal with this well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils learn to be responsible by taking on leadership roles, such as those of school councillors, eco-councillors, and house and sports captains. They learn about recycling, raise money for charity and support local food banks. Pupils enjoy meeting visitors, such as authors, theatre companies and firefighters, to enrich their learning.

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better?

The school has developed a well-sequenced, ambitious curriculum. In core subjects, the school has clearly defined what it wants pupils to know. Teachers check pupils’ learning and provide extra support to those who need it. This means that pupils build their knowledge in these subjects and generally achieve well. However, for some foundation subjects, the school is still refining its work to identify the most important information that pupils should know. As a result, pupils are not always clear about what they have learned.

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better?

Teachers explain learning clearly and design appropriate activities to engage pupils. The school and trust have provided staff with the training and subject knowledge they need to assess pupils’ learning effectively. Staff provide pupils with helpful feedback where needed. In Reception, well-trained staff are knowledgeable about how to support children’s learning. Adults plan activities that focus on the children’s needs. As a result, the children in Reception show a high level of motivation and curiosity. They work both independently and with each other to develop positive relationship skills.

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better?

The school prioritises pupils’ reading. Everyone enjoys and values reading. Right from the start, staff in early years ensure that children build their vocabulary through speech and language activities. All staff receive training to enable them to teach phonics effectively. They support pupils who need help with reading to catch up. Pupils benefit from reading books that accurately match the sounds they know. 23 and 24 January 2024

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Pupils also enjoy the carefully chosen books that teachers read to them each day. All this helps pupils to develop into fluent and confident readers.

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The school’s provision for pupils with SEND is a real strength. Leaders identify and understand pupils’ needs very well. Clear plans for each child with SEND give staff the information they need to provide precise and effective support. The Hive and The Haven provide bespoke support for pupils with more complex needs from expertly trained staff. This provision is highly personalised, with clear, individualised targets linked to pupils’ learning and social and emotional development. Pupils are happy and they thrive in The Hive and The Haven.

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Pupils have positive attitudes towards learning. From the start of Reception, children learn how to follow instructions, listen, share and take turns. Pupils are proud of their work and are keen to talk about it. The school’s hard work to improve attendance has improved rates of attendance for many pupils. Despite this, some pupils are still absent too often. This means that these pupils are not able to benefit from the good education provided by the school.

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Pupils follow a personal development curriculum that supports them to learn how to keep themselves safe when online and in the wider world. Pupils learn about managing money by planning their own enterprise schemes to raise funds for exciting trips. They learn about important topics, such as equality and diversity. As a result, they respect and celebrate differences between people. However, there are limited opportunities for pupils to broaden their aspirations for future careers and education and to extend their understanding of fundamental British values. Pastoral support for pupils and their families is highly effective. The Nest is a calm space where pupils get support with well-being, learning and social skills. All pupils benefit from daily ‘R’ time, which allows them to reflect on their successes and mistakes and prepares them for the next school day.

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The school is led and managed well. The trust provides effective support and challenge to the school. It checks that the school’s actions have the intended impact on the quality of education for pupils. Leaders balance decisions about improvements with demands on staff workload. Staff are united and work with positivity and purpose to put the needs of pupils first.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some foundation subjects, it is not always clear exactly what pupils are learning because the precise knowledge pupils need to know is not explicit in the curriculum. This means that pupils do not always build their learning securely 23 and 24 January 2024

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over time. The school should continue to refine the curriculum in some subjects, so that teachers know exactly what pupils need to learn.  Pupils do not experience enough opportunities to learn about fundamental British values or to raise their aspirations for future careers and education. This means that some pupils are not as well prepared to make the most of their future life in modern Britain as they could be. The school should ensure that opportunities to raise aspirations and to develop pupils’ understanding of British values are purposefully planned and delivered.  Some pupils are absent from school too often. These pupils miss important learning. The school should continue to extend and develop the strategies that it uses to improve attendance, including its work with parents and carers.

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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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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ is used to mean pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND); pupils who meet the definition of children in need of help and protection ; pupils receiving statutory local authority support from a social worker; and pupils who otherwise meet the criteria used for deciding the school’s pupil premium funding (this includes pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years, looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 23 and 24 January 2024

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 The school does not make use of any alternative provision.  The school operates a breakfast club and an after-school club.  Stockingford Academy converted to become an academy in September 2019.  The school has two specially resourced provision units. The Haven is an eight- place enhanced communication and interaction provision for children with an education, health and care (EHC) plan. The Hive is an eight-place specialist resource provision for children with social, emotional and mental health needs who have an EHC plan.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. 23 and 24 January 2024

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 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.  This was the first routine inspection the school had received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in reading, mathematics, design and technology, science, and art and design. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.

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 The inspectors held meetings with the headteacher, the deputy headteacher, other senior leaders, curriculum subject leaders and the special educational needs coordinator.  Inspectors met with the leaders responsible for early years, disadvantaged pupils, and behaviour, attendance and personal development.  The lead inspector met with representatives of the local governing committee, representatives from the board of directors of the trust and other members of the trust’s team.  Inspectors examined a range of school documentation, including leaders’ self- evaluation, improvement plans and records of governance.  The inspectors spoke with groups of staff and took account of views shared through the staff survey.  During the inspection, the inspectors met with groups of pupils both formally and during less structured parts of the day.  The inspectors took account of responses to Ofsted Parent View. The inspectors

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spoke informally with parents on their arrival at school.  The lead inspector listened to a sample of pupils in Year 1, Year 2 and Year 3 reading to a familiar adult.

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Inspection team

Corinne Biddell, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Benjamin Taylor Ofsted Inspector 23 and 24 January 2024

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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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