Albany Academy

Inspection of Albany Academy Bolton Road, Chorley, Lancashire PR7 3AY

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Previous inspection grade Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

The headteacher of this school is Peter Mayland. This school is part of Albany Learning Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The headteacher also acts as the chief executive officer (CEO) of the trust. The trust is overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Helen Brown. 5–6 March 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Albany Academy is a friendly and welcoming school. It is a school where pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), feel happy and safe. Pupils know who to turn to if they have any problems. They value the pastoral support that they receive from caring and committed staff.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school is ambitious for all pupils’ achievement. To this end, the school, together with the trust, has developed a broad and balanced curriculum that reflects its high expectations. Pupils typically achieve well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils’ behaviour embodies the school’s high standards. The school is calm and orderly. Pupils are polite and courteous towards each other and to visitors. In the main, pupils behave well in lessons and during social times. They recognise the importance of accepting the differences between people.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school places a strong emphasis on pupils’ personal development. For example, many older pupils enjoy completing the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. Pupils are also offered a range of leadership opportunities, such as becoming high-performance learning ambassadors, where they are encouraged to support their peers. Added to this, there is a variety of clubs that pupils can access, such as sports, chess and card games.

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better?

Following the previous inspection, the school, supported by the trust, made considerable changes to the curriculum. In many subjects, the key stage 3 curriculum has been overhauled. The new subject curriculums are suitably ambitious for all pupils, including those with SEND. The school has carefully identified and organised the important knowledge that pupils should learn in these subjects. This is helping pupils to build their knowledge cumulatively as they progress through the curriculum.

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better?

Teachers have strong subject knowledge. For the most part, they use this to explain new concepts to pupils clearly. In many subjects, teachers assess pupils’ knowledge and understanding regularly. When this is done well, it is effective, enabling pupils to secure a strong body of subject knowledge. However, the school’s strategies to check learning and to address pupils’ misconceptions are not fully embedded in other subjects. From time to time, this hinders teachers’ from identifying gaps in aspects of pupils’ knowledge. Occasionally, this slows down some pupils’ progress through the curriculum.

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better?

The school identifies the additional needs of pupils with SEND quickly. It ensures that teachers receive relevant information about how to support pupils with SEND to fully access the curriculum, for example using detailed pupil passports. This enables teachers to meet pupils’ individual needs well. Pupils, together with their parents 5–6 March 2024

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and carers, welcome the considered and appropriate support and guidance that they receive from the SEND team, including in the ‘Base’ room.

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The school fully understands the importance of reading. It has implemented a coherent programme to support those pupils who are not confident readers to improve their reading fluency and comprehension. This approach is helping many pupils to catch up with their peers. The school also promotes reading for pleasure, for instance through ensuring that the library is a welcoming and vibrant area. Pupils across the school have the opportunity to read a wide variety of high-quality texts, including texts that link to the topics that they are learning in the curriculum.

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Pupils display positive attitudes to their learning. Low level disruption in lessons is rare. When it does occur, teachers deal with it swiftly and effectively. The school ensures that pupils and their families understand the importance of regular attendance to school. It rigorously analyses patterns and trends in pupils’ rates of attendance and uses this information well to identify and remove the barriers that some pupils face in coming to school often. As a result of the school’s successful strategies, the attendance of some pupils has increased considerably.

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The personal development offer helps pupils to build and develop their understanding of important topics over time. For example, the school builds in opportunities for pupils to respond to current issues that arise, nationally and within the local community. Pupils learn how to develop healthy relationships and how to look after their mental and physical health. The school is aspirational for pupils’ future success. As such, pupils receive comprehensive information, which guides them to make informed choices about their next steps in education, training or employment.

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Improvements to the curriculum have been made at pace. Most staff are supportive of the positive changes that have been made to the quality of education that pupils receive. A few staff, however, expressed concerns that the school did not consider the impact of the changes to the curriculum on staff’s workload sufficiently well.

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Those responsible for governance fulfil their statutory responsibilities well. Trustees hold the school to account effectively.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some subjects, the school’s approaches to assessment are not used consistently well to check pupils’ understanding. This means that, on occasions, teachers do not know how well pupils have secured essential knowledge or understood key ideas. The school should ensure that assessment strategies in 5–6 March 2024

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these subjects support teachers to identify and address any emerging misconceptions or gaps in pupils’ knowledge.  The rapid improvement that the school has made to the quality of education that pupils receive has inadvertently increased the workload of some staff. A few staff do not feel that they have been as well supported as they could have been during this process. The school should ensure that it fully considers the views of staff, and the impact on workload, when making changes to policy and procedure.

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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). 5–6 March 2024

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 15 and 16 November 2022, and 8 December 2022, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school meets the requirements of the provider access legislation, which requires schools to provide pupils in Years 8 to 13 with information and engagement about approved technical education qualifications and apprenticeships.  The school uses two registered alternative providers for a small number of pupils.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s educational provision. 5–6 March 2024

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 Inspectors discussed the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation.  Inspectors held meetings with the headteacher, other senior leaders, staff, pupils and representatives of the board of trustees. An inspector held a telephone conversation with a representative of the local authority.  An inspector held a telephone discussion with members of staff at two alternative providers.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in English, mathematics, science, modern foreign languages and computer science. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to some pupils about their learning, and looked at samples of pupils’ work. Inspectors also considered the curriculum in other subjects.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and

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considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  Inspectors spoke to staff, including early career teachers, about pupils’ behaviour and their workload in school.  Inspectors considered the responses to Ofsted’s online staff survey. They took account of the responses to Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text comments.  Inspectors considered the views of pupils shared through Ofsted’s online survey for pupils and through discussions held with pupils during the inspection.

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Inspection team

Rebecca Sharples, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Chris Beard Ofsted Inspector 5–6 March 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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