Queen Katharine Academy

Inspection of Queen Katharine Academy Mountsteven Avenue, Walton, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire PE4 6HX

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

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The interim principal of this school is Rick Carroll. This school is part of Thomas Deacon 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 (CEO), Scott Hudson, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Mark Potter. 25 and 26 March 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

Many pupils enjoy attending school. Staff greet pupils at the entrance each morning to remind them about the schools’ expectations of behaviour and learning. This helps pupils to feel safe and to be ‘ready to learn’.

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What is it like to attend this school?

In lessons, the majority of pupils behave well. However, the school has not ensured that a significant minority of pupils consistently behave with respect for adults and other pupils. Around the school, particularly in social times, too many pupils behave in a way that leaves other pupils feeling afraid or unsafe. Despite this, pupils are safe in this school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

New leaders in place acknowledge that there is significant work to be done to address bullying in the school. While staff encourage pupils to report instances of bullying, many pupils do not do this because they do not have the confidence that staff will deal with the issues that arise.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The curriculum has been recently reviewed. It sets out clearly what pupils need to know and when they need to know it. However, the teaching does not align to the ambition of the curriculum. Pupils do not develop a secure understanding of the subjects they study. As a result, most pupils do not achieve well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

‘Pupil leaders’ are proud of the work they do to improve the school for others. They value the opportunity to fundraise, work within the local community and to raise awareness of environmental issues with their peers.

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

Since January 2025, new acting leaders are addressing the areas of weakness in the school. The introduction of new policies, systems and processes are providing better clarity to staff. For example, the new behaviour policy clearly sets out how staff respond to behaviour concerns. This is helping to build a more consistent approach to managing behaviour in the school. However, as a result of how recently many of the changes have been made, the impact of these actions is not yet evident.

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

The curriculum is not delivered effectively enough for pupils, including those pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Teachers do not have the expertise they need to use the most effective strategies that support pupils to learn and remember the curriculum content well. Teachers move on to new learning before they check what pupils already know and understand. Therefore, teaching is not delivered based upon what pupils have learned and understood. Consequently, there are significant gaps in pupils’ knowledge throughout the curriculum. This contributes to pupils’ weak outcomes at the end of key stage 4.

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

Until recently, the school has not identified the needs of pupils with SEND quickly enough. The school are at an early stage of identifying a significant number of additional pupils with SEND. While plans exist and are in place for some pupils with SEND, teachers do not 25 and 26 March 2025

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make use of the information to make adaptations to their teaching that supports pupils with SEND to achieve well enough.

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The school actively encourages pupils to continue their education into sixth form. By contrast to the rest of the school, the quality of education and student behaviour in the sixth form is stronger. Teachers are experts in their subjects. They use this expertise to help students catch up from their various starting points and to understand new curriculum content. Teachers build learning in small steps and provide support which more precisely meets the individual needs of students, including those students with SEND. Students are able to discuss their learning confidently with each other using subject-specific vocabulary. As a result of the effective use of assessment by teachers in the sixth form, students know, and can articulate, what they need to do to improve. While results in the sixth form are below national outcomes, students do achieve well from their starting points, and in many cases catch up in their studies.

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The school is developing a culture of reading. Staff encourage pupils to read a range of books. Pupils enjoy the regular form times, which include the ‘register and read’ initiative, where teachers enthusiastically read to them. Where pupils are at an earlier stage of learning to read, the school provides useful specific support through a bespoke phonics programme. While this is effective at supporting pupils to read, there is some inconsistency in how well the support matches individual pupils’ needs. Consequently, a few pupils’ reading skills do not develop as quickly as they might. This impacts upon how well pupils develop as fluent readers and, subsequently, on their successful access to the rest of the curriculum.

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The majority of pupils behave well in lessons. However, when minor disruptions occur, teachers do not consistently apply the new behaviour policy. There are a significant number of pupils who demonstrate challenging behaviour. This has led to high levels of suspensions and exclusions, which in turn are having a detrimental impact on the below national average attendance and high levels of persistent absence. The school is now actively helping pupils by putting appropriately focused part-time timetables in place and working with external agencies, who provide targeted pupil support.

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The well-designed personal development programme helps pupils understand the risks they may face in their local community and when online. While the school provides a broad range of clubs and activities, the school does not engage pupils in these opportunities well enough. As a result, pupil attendance at these clubs is low. Pupils are not taking the additional opportunity to develop their wider talents and interests.

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The school is clear about the actions needed to improve standards in the school. Actions are taking place to improve outcomes in many areas. However, these are very recent and there is still too much inconsistency in how staff enact these changes. Consequently, the difference the changes are making is not currently enough to secure the impact needed to ensure pupils behave and achieve well.

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Staff are proud of their school. While they acknowledge workload is high, they feel that the school are considerate of this as leaders make much needed changes in the school. 25 and 26 March 2025

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Weaknesses in leadership over time have led to a decline in standards. New leaders are addressing this but the changes being implemented are very new and the differences they are making has not been fully realised. The school should continue to make the necessary changes, including develop staff expertise so standards are raised, particularly in behaviour, learning attitudes and achievement.  Aside from sixth form, too much teaching does not precisely meet the needs of pupils throughout the school. This is because teachers do not consistently apply the right strategies or use assessment effectively enough to be able to identify what pupils know and need to learn next. As a result, over time, pupils have underachieved and continue to do so in most cases. The school should ensure that teachers are supported and well equipped to choose the right teaching strategies that precisely meet the needs of pupils. Teachers also need support to develop their expertise to be able to effectively

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

use assessment to identify and close gaps in what pupils know.  Many pupils with SEND do not have the appropriate adaptations made to learning they require. This prevents them from fully accessing the curriculum and achieving well. The school needs to identify the adaptions required and implement these effectively for every pupil with SEND. This is so that the needs of all pupils with SEND are met, and they are able to fully access learning to be successful.  Systems for managing behaviour are very new and are currently not used consistently well across the school. As a result, there are a significant minority of pupils who do not behave well. This leads to pupils not always feeling safe around the school. The school needs to ensure the behaviour systems are consistently used so that behaviour is managed well by all staff to create an environment where pupils feel safe  The school does not actively promote the broad range of experiences beyond the

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

curriculum that are on offer well enough. As a result, only a small proportion of pupils engage with the wealth of enrichment opportunities on offer. The school needs to work with pupils to encourage pupils to engage with activities beyond lessons, to support them to further develop their varied talents and interests.

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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. 25 and 26 March 2025

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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). 25 and 26 March 2025

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provision

Number of pupils on the school roll 1676

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form

Date of previous inspection 5 and 6 December 2019 under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The acting principal took up post as an interim measure in January 2025.  Since the previous inspection, a number of senior leaders have left the school and new ones have joined.  The school has a higher-than-average proportion of pupils from a disadvantaged background.  The school uses three registered and one unregistered provider for alternative provision. 25 and 26 March 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 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 (quality of education; behaviour and attitudes; personal development; and leadership and management) and for any relevant provision judgement (early years and/or sixth form provision). Schools receiving a graded inspection from September 2024 will not be given an overall effectiveness grade.

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Information about this inspection

In accordance with section 44(2) of the Education Act 2005, His Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that this school requires significant improvement, because it is performing significantly less well than it might in all the circumstances reasonably be expected to perform.

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Information about this inspection

Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision.

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Information about this inspection

 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 carried out deep dives in these subjects: English, mathematics, science, history, music and business. 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 visited lessons to evaluate the curriculum in some other subjects.  Inspectors met with the acting principal and other members of the senior leadership team, including the leaders of attendance and behaviour and SEND.  Meetings were held with the chair of trustees and members of the academic committee.  A meeting was held with the CEO.  Inspectors reviewed a range of documentation provided by the school, including

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Information about this inspection

records for behaviour management, attendance and information about alternative provision. An inspector spoke on the telephone with representatives of two of the alternative providers.  Meetings were held with members of support staff within the school.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, 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. 25 and 26 March 2025

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 Inspectors spoke to a significant number of pupils across all key stages, formally and informally.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons, around school and at social times. They considered pupils’ views about behaviour in school. They spoke with staff about pupils’ behaviour and their workload and well-being.  Inspectors considered responses to Ofsted’s pupil and staff surveys. They considered responses to Ofsted Parent View, including free-text comments.

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Inspection team

Wayne Jarvis, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Jane Burton Ofsted Inspector 25 and 26 March 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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