The Boulevard Academy

Inspection of The Boulevard Academy Massey Close, Kingston upon Hull HU3 3QT

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Inspection dates: 14 and 15 January 2025

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

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The interim headteacher of this school is Ray Khan. This school is part of Thrive Co- Operative Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer (CEO), Jonathan Roe, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Ken Battye. 14 and 15 January 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are beginning to benefit from the school’s efforts to improve the quality of their education. However, over time, pupils have not achieved as well as they should in public examinations. Most pupils increasingly enjoy attending this inclusive school. Older pupils recognise the positive changes the school is making.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Many pupils say they are safe in the school. Expectations of how pupils should behave are increasing. Pupils value the support that the school gives them to help improve their behaviour. Older pupils recognise that behaviour is improving. Most pupils say that, when bullying happens, the school acts to address it. However, some pupils feel less safe due to behaviour in unstructured times and in corridors. Despite improvements, instances of poor behaviour are not addressed consistently well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils respond positively to new strategies to improve their engagement in school life. Many pupils’ attendance is improving. This impacts positively on their achievement. Pupils value rewards for high attendance, such as a visit to the tuck shop. Pupils enjoy attending a wide range of clubs, such as darts, choir and basketball. This helps them to feel part of the school community.

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

The school has redeveloped the curriculum in all subject areas. It has identified the key knowledge that pupils should learn. In some subjects, the school checks what pupils have learned well. For example, in mathematics, teachers use ‘check-ins’ to see if pupils understand their work. This helps avoid misconceptions developing. However, in some lessons, the school does not check pupils’ understanding well enough. This means misconceptions in pupils’ learning persist over time.

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

Pupils benefit from increasing consistency to teaching across the school. The school is implementing common approaches to learning across subjects. For example, pupils are given tasks that enable them to practise their skills independently. However, in some lessons, the expectations of pupils are still not high enough. Pupils are given tasks that do not extend their learning sufficiently. When this happens, they do not deepen their learning as well as they should.

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

The school identifies pupils at the early stages of reading. Pupils who need extra help are provided with personalised support. For example, some pupils benefit from phonics support. This helps pupils to develop their reading skills well. The school also encourages pupils to develop a love of reading through a range of approaches. For example, pupils in Year 7 and Year 8 enjoy their weekly reading for pleasure lesson in the library.

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

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are benefiting from the recent improvements the school has made. The school now ensures that adults understand the support that pupils need. In lessons, where appropriate, learning is broken down into ways that often help pupils with SEND to access the curriculum. 14 and 15 January 2025

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However, some of these improvements are recent and pupils with SEND have not achieved well over time.

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The school has made recent changes to improve behaviour and attendance. The attendance of pupils is improving. The partnership work between the school and parents and carers is supporting this improvement. However, this work is not securely in place. There is inconsistency in how behaviour policies are applied. Some pupils share concerns about the impact of poor behaviour in the school.

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Pupils benefit from lessons in personal, social and health education and life skills. These lessons help pupils to understand a wide range of topics, such as health and careers. Pupils have a range of ambitious careers they would like to pursue. These include being a doctor, dentist or chef. However, the school’s work to promote respect for difference and the protected characteristics is not securely in place. Some pupils do not show respect for each other or other diverse groups. Their understanding of these important concepts has not been fully developed by the school.

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Leaders at all levels are ambitious for pupils. They are making Boulevard Academy a better place for pupils. The trust and governing body provide improved support and challenge to help the school to improve. This is making a difference. Staff know that their workload and well-being matter. They know that they are valued. Many changes are starting to have a positive impact. However, the school does not evaluate this impact of improvement actions as well as it should.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 On occasion, the school does not check pupils’ understanding well enough. This means that some misconceptions are not identified and persist over time. The school should develop better ways to check pupils’ understanding to improve their learning over time.  In some lessons, the tasks that pupils are set do not enable them to demonstrate or apply their knowledge and skills in sufficient depth. When this happens, it limits pupils’ progress through the curriculum. The school should help staff to raise expectations and set tasks that enable pupils to learn in greater depth.  The school’s behaviour strategy is not applied with consistent effect. This means that some incidents of poor behaviour, particularly in corridors and at social times, are not addressed well enough. This concerns some pupils. The school should ensure that the behaviour policy is implemented consistently well so that behaviour improves.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The school’s work to promote respect for difference and the protected characteristics is not developed to sufficient effect. Some pupils do not show the respect and tolerance 14 and 15 January 2025

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needed in these important areas. The school should intensify its work to teach pupils about issues relating to equality and address instances where pupils’ actions or words undermine this.  The school’s systems to check the impact of improvement actions are not fully developed. There is variation in how well leaders at different levels understand the impact of their strategies. The school should develop clearer systems to check the impact of improvement work to increase the pace and effectiveness of the school development journey.

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How can I feed back my views?

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). 14 and 15 January 2025

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School details

Local authority Kingston upon Hull City Council

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School details

Date of previous inspection 3 October 2023, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The interim headteacher has been in post since September 2024.  The school joined Thrive Co-Operative Trust in September 2023.  There is a specialist resource provision to support pupils with social, emotional and mental health needs. The provision has capacity for 15 pupils.  The school uses alternative provision for its pupils. Two are registered, and one is unregistered.  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.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. During a graded inspection, we grade the school for each of our key judgements 14 and 15 January 2025

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(quality of education; behaviour and attitudes; personal development; and leadership and management) and for any relevant provision judgement (sixth form provision). Schools receiving a graded inspection from September 2024 will not be given an overall effectiveness grade.

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 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision.  Inspectors discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors met with the headteacher, deputy headteachers, senior assistant headteacher and other member of the senior leadership team.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: English, history, modern foreign languages and mathematics. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  An inspector also discussed the computing and physical education curriculums with the subject leaders and visited a selection of lessons.  Inspectors reviewed a range of school documents, including the school’s self-evaluation

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and improvement plans.  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 considered the views of parents through the responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire for parents, Ofsted Parent View.  Inspectors considered the views of staff and pupils through meetings held with them and through their responses to Ofsted’s online survey.

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Inspection team

Andrew Gibbins, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Richard Wood Ofsted Inspector 14 and 15 January 2025

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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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