St George's Academy

Inspection of St George's Academy Westgate, Sleaford, Lincolnshire NG34 7PP

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Overall effectiveness Good

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

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Overall effectiveness Good

The principal of this school is Mrs Laranya King. This school is run by a single academy trust. The trust is overseen by a board of trustees, co-chaired by Mr Graham Arnold and Mr Nigel Horner. 18–19 June 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at St George’s Academy are polite and respectful. They enjoy positive relationships with the staff and value the sense of community that they feel in the school. Pupils told inspectors that they feel safe and that they trust staff to keep them safe.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school is aspirational for all. Staff encourage pupils to ‘aim high’. However, in recent years, pupils in key stage 4 have not achieved as well as they should. The school has taken effective action to address this. The curriculum has been improved. The school has implemented strategies to address barriers to learning, such as poor attendance and weaker literacy. Sixth-form students achieve well in academic and vocational courses. Many leave the school to ambitious destinations.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Expectations for pupils’ behaviour are high. When pupils do not behave well, or when bullying happens, the school takes robust action to deal with incidents quickly and effectively.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school provides a range of extra-curricular opportunities to support pupils’ wider development. These include community and charity projects. There are opportunities for pupils to pursue their talents in sport and the arts. Many pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), benefit from these opportunities.

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better?

The curriculum is broad and ambitious. At key stage 4, the majority of pupils take the full range of subjects that make up the English Baccalaureate. At key stages 4 and 5, the school offers a very broad range of vocational courses alongside more traditional academic options. These courses are very well chosen to match pupils’ interests and ambitions.

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better?

In all subjects, the curriculum identifies the important knowledge that pupils will learn. This curriculum is sequenced well so that pupils are exposed to increasingly complex knowledge as they progress. In the sixth form, the curriculum is challenging. It supports students well to gain the knowledge they need to be prepared for their next steps in education or employment.

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better?

In most lessons, the curriculum is delivered well. Staff present new knowledge clearly and help pupils make connections to what they have learned before. Staff check pupils’ learning carefully and address misconceptions quickly. However, this is not the case in all lessons. Sometimes lessons do not focus precisely enough on the knowledge that pupils need to learn and remember. Sometimes gaps in pupils’ knowledge and misconceptions are not addressed.

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better?

Most pupils with SEND access the same curriculum as their peers. For others, the curriculum is adapted to meet their needs. However, despite recent improvements, 18–19 June 2024

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the systems in place for identifying pupils’ needs and supporting teachers to adapt the curriculum are not consistent. Staff do not always have the precise information they need about pupils’ particular needs and targets. The school has made sure that staff have received training in strategies to support pupils with SEND. However, these are not applied consistently across the school. As a result, some pupils with SEND do not achieve as well as they should.

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The school has prioritised reading. Staff quickly identify pupils who have gaps in their reading knowledge. They provide personalised support for these pupils. Across the curriculum, there are opportunities for all pupils to develop fluency and comprehension skills, and to build their vocabulary.

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In ‘life skills’ lessons, pupils and sixth-form students benefit from a well-considered curriculum for personal, social, and health education (PSHE). Pupils learn how to stay safe and keep themselves physically and mentally healthy. They learn about healthy relationships, British values, and equality.

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Pupils across the school receive a wealth of information about future opportunities in education and careers. There are opportunities to meet with employers and apprenticeship providers. In the sixth form, most students take part in work experience. They are well supported with personalised advice about future options.

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Most pupils attend school well. They behave well and have positive attitudes to learning. The school has recently increased its capacity to help pupils who need extra support to attend school regularly or meet the school’s high behaviour expectations. Caring pastoral staff provide well-considered, effective support.

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Staff are proud to work at the school. They support the school’s aspiration for all pupils. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the school has experienced an increase in the number of disadvantaged pupils, pupils with SEND, and pupils with social, emotional and mental health needs. Leaders have thoughtfully identified strategies to support these pupils and provide a high-quality education for all. However, they have not yet established robust systems to check the effectiveness of all of these strategies. This means that they cannot be sure that all of their work is having the desired impact.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Currently, staff do not always receive the precise information they need to support all pupils with SEND effectively. The systems in place for identifying pupils’ needs, and for sharing information with staff about pupils with SEND, are not as rigorous as they need to be. As a result, some pupils do not always get the support they need to achieve as well as they could. The school needs to ensure 18–19 June 2024

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that the needs of pupils with SEND are identified precisely and that all staff meet the needs of these pupils effectively.  The delivery of the planned curriculum is not consistent across the school. Some lessons do not focus sharply enough on the knowledge that pupils need to learn. On occasions, pupils’ misconceptions are not addressed quickly and effectively. As a result, some learning is insecure, and some pupils do not achieve as well as they should. The school needs to make sure that the curriculum is delivered consistently well by all staff so that all pupils achieve well across the curriculum.  The school does not have robust systems in place to monitor the impact of all of the strategies it has employed to support its vision to provide a high-quality education for all. As a result, it is not always clear that these strategies are implemented as effectively or as efficiently as they might be. The school needs to

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ensure that it employs robust routines for monitoring the effectiveness of its work.

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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). 18–19 June 2024

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provision

Number of pupils on the school roll 2351

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sixth form

Co-chairs of the trust Graham Arnold and Nigel Horner

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sixth form

Website http://www.st-georges-academy.org

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sixth form

Date of previous inspection 29 January 2019, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is situated over two campuses. The Sleaford campus accommodates pupils in Years 7 to 13 and is located at Westgate, Sleaford, NG34 7PP. The Ruskington campus accommodates pupils in Years 7 to 11 and is located at Sleaford Road, Ruskington, NG34 9BY.  The school is part of the Sleaford Joint Sixth Form in collaboration with Carre’s Grammar School, Northgate, Sleaford, NG34 7DD and Kesteven and Sleaford High School, Jermyn Street, Sleaford, NG34 7RS. This means that some sixth-form students attend some of their lessons at those schools.  The school uses two registered alternative providers.  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. 18–19 June 2024

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Information about this inspection

The inspector(s) 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 education provision.  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 their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors met with the principal, the head of school from the Ruskington campus, and other school leaders.  The lead inspector met with representatives of the board of trustees, including the co-chairs.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: mathematics, science, geography, art, and physical education (PE). For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors also discussed the curriculum and visited lessons in some other

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Information about this inspection

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 considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  Inspectors met with pupils from a range of year groups, including pupils with SEND, to hear about their experiences at the school.  Inspectors met with a range of teaching and non-teaching staff.  Inspectors considered responses to pupil and staff surveys as well as Ofsted Parent View.

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Inspection team

John Spragg, lead inspector His Majesty's Inspector

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Inspection team

Dave Gilkerson His Majesty's Inspector 18–19 June 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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