Uplands Academy

Inspection of a school judged good for overall effectiveness before September 2024: Uplands Academy Lower High Street, Wadhurst, East Sussex TN5 6AZ

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Inspection dates: 14 and 15 January 2025

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Outcome

Uplands Academy has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

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Outcome

The headteacher of this school is Chris Connor. This school is part of MARK Education Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the executive headteacher, Anna Robinson, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Clare Collins. The executive headteacher is responsible for this school and one other.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school fosters a keen sense of community where manners, acceptance, respect and kindness are central to its ethos. Pupils enjoy school and feel safe. Their learning is supported by strong relationships and constructive guidance. The school has high expectations for behaviour and engagement. Pupils appreciate the way that their teachers know them well, and this helps to maintain a focused classroom atmosphere. Behaviour is largely positive, and low-level disruption is addressed effectively.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils value opportunities to develop their leadership skills. Members of the student council provide useful feedback that helps to shape school decisions. Membership also benefits individual pupils as they develop their own leadership and organisational abilities.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school offers a broad extra-curricular and enrichment programme. Many pupils enjoy the music clubs, sporting events and the drama productions. Additionally, pupils appreciate the assemblies, tutor time discussions and personal development conversations that help them to navigate life in modern Britain. This includes considering protected characteristics, healthy relationships and online safety.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils also benefit from the school’s ambition for their academic achievement. Recent improvements in pupils’ reading skills help them to access the broad curriculum on offer. Outcomes in public examinations have improved overall. 14 and 15 January 2025

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

The school’s curriculum has undergone significant change in recent years. It is carefully designed and sequenced to ensure content is broad, balanced and ambitious. There is clear understanding of what needs improvement, not least the low outcomes for some groups of pupils in 2024 examination results. At the fore of the school’s work is building consistency in staff implementation of learning activities as is intended. Overall, this is supporting pupils to build their knowledge over time.

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

The curriculum is designed to build systematically on pupils’ prior knowledge. Generally, learning is adapted carefully to meet the varying needs of pupils, including those who are disadvantaged and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The attainment gap between these pupils and their peers is beginning to close. The curriculum provides opportunities for pupils to deepen their understanding such as through the challenges provided in further mathematics and triple science. This encourages pupils’ commitment to achieving well and helps to develop their independence.

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

The emphasis on literacy and subject-specific vocabulary is a key strength of the school. The school has acted decisively to promote reading. The school identifies pupils who need further support in reading or have gaps in their phonics or comprehension knowledge. Interventions are put in place to help these pupils to catch up and keep up.

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

Teachers introduce new knowledge in an engaging way that prompts pupils’ curiosity. They demonstrate expert subject knowledge, with non-specialists receiving well- considered support. Teachers in the sixth form make effective use of their subject knowledge. Learning tasks are sufficiently demanding and encourage students to produce work of a consistently high standard. There is a school-wide focus on routinely checking pupils’ understanding. When this is successful, staff use this information to adjust lessons accordingly. This supports pupils to understand their next steps and to build their knowledge well. However, this is not yet implemented as consistently as the school intends.

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

Attendance remains a high priority for all. The school has introduced a wide range of highly effective strategies to get pupils back into school. These actions have resulted in increased attendance and decreased persistent absence. All pupils know how important attendance is to support them to achieve well.

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

Pupils’ moral and social development is integrated across the curriculum. This supports pupils’ understanding of the world around them. There is a strong commitment to culture and equality as well as fundamental British values. A strong focus on personal development actively supports pupils’ well-being. Pupils are well informed about courses and providers through high-quality careers education. Year 11 pupils, in particular, are confident about their next steps.

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

The school benefits significantly from the trust’s support. This includes regular visits from trustees and strong links with the other school in the trust. The trust provides extensive 14 and 15 January 2025

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training opportunities and expert guidance for subject leaders, as well as supporting attendance, behaviour and safeguarding.

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Trustees and governors understand their roles and carry their responsibilities out effectively. They ensure that leaders are held to account for the quality of education. All staff are aware of their roles and responsibilities in protecting pupils from harm. They are proud to work at the school. Issues regarding heavy workloads have been addressed and staff well-being is a priority. Feedback from parents and carers is more mixed: while many praise the support provided for their children, particularly with transition or adaptations for their SEND, a significant minority express dissatisfaction with communication from the school. The school’s actions to address this have not yet been completely successful.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 There is still some variation in how well the curriculum is implemented. Consequently, not all pupils and groups of pupils achieve as highly as they could. The school should ensure that staff use available information about pupils’ learning so that pupils develop knowledge securely and systematically.  Some parents are dissatisfied with their interactions with the school. This has led to lack of parental confidence, which in turn hampers pupils’ confidence in their school. Leaders should continue their efforts to ensure the ongoing support, understanding and engagement of parents and the wider community.

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Background

Until September 2024, on a graded (section 5) inspection we gave schools an overall effectiveness grade, in addition to the key and provision judgements. Overall effectiveness grades given before September 2024 will continue to be visible on school inspection reports and on Ofsted’s website. From September 2024 graded inspections will not include an overall effectiveness grade. This school was, before September 2024, judged to be good for its overall effectiveness.

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Background

We have now inspected the school to determine whether it has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at that previous inspection. This is called an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school’s work has improved significantly or that it may not be as strong as it was at the last inspection, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection. A graded inspection is carried out under section 5 of the Act. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, 14 and 15 January 2025

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behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

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This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the predecessor school, Uplands Community College, to be good for overall effectiveness in July 2013.

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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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form

CEO of the trust Anna Robinson (Executive Headteacher)

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form

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 Uplands Academy is part of the MARK Education Trust.  Uplands Academy converted to become an academy school in September 2022. When its predecessor school, Uplands Community College, was last inspected by Ofsted, it was judged to be good for overall effectiveness.  The school’s sixth-form provision is undergoing a phased closure, with no sixth-form provision from September 2025.  The school currently uses two registered and two unregistered alternative providers.  Since the last inspection, there have been changes to the school leadership team, including the appointment of a new headteacher in September 2023. 14 and 15 January 2025

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 The school meets the requirements of the provider access legislation, 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

 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation of 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 leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors focused inspection activity on the following groups of subjects: English, modern foreign languages and humanities; and mathematics, science and technology. For each group of subjects, inspectors visited a sample of lessons, talked with groups of staff, 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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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors reviewed the policies provided on the school website. They looked at attendance records, behaviour logs and curriculum documentation. Inspectors met with leaders, staff and pupils. The lead inspector met with trustees, local governors and a representative of the local authority.  Inspectors looked at the responses to the Ofsted Parent View online questionnaire and additional written comments received from parents and carers. They considered the survey returns completed by staff and pupils.

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Inspection team

Paul Metcalf, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Anne Cullum 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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