a school not in a category of concern of Archbishop Sentamu Academy

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 1231 www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Louise Beasley Interim Principal Archbishop Sentamu Academy 1 Bilton Grove Hull HU9 5YB

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Sentamu Academy

This letter sets out the findings from the monitoring inspection that took place on 24 April 2025 on behalf of His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills. The monitoring inspection was carried out under section 8(2) of the Education Act 2005 and took place because the school meets the monitoring threshold as set out in the Monitoring Inspection Handbook .

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Sentamu Academy

The purpose of a monitoring inspection is not to grade the school’s key and (where applicable) provision judgements, but to identify and report on the school’s progress. It is to highlight to the school and parents any improvements that school leaders have made since the school’s previous graded inspection.

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Sentamu Academy

During the inspection, I discussed with you and other leaders from the school and the trust, including the chief executive officer (CEO), members of the trust board and local governing board the actions that have been taken to improve the school since the most recent graded inspection. We discussed the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. I also reviewed records of the school’s work to safeguard pupils, spoke with groups of staff and pupils, visited a sample of lessons and spoke with representatives of the Diocese of York. I have considered all this in coming to my judgement.

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Leaders have made progress to improve the school, but some aspects of the

school need further improvement. The school should take further action to:

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Leaders have made progress to improve the school, but some aspects of the

 ensure that initial actions to address the concerns of staff, including those relating to their well-being, are built upon, so that staff are well supported to perform their roles and provide high-quality provision for pupils.

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Main findings

Since the previous inspection, the school has experienced significant changes in staffing. In addition to you taking on the post of interim principal, the trust has also deployed an executive principal and other members of the trust central team to work in the school. This has contributed to increasing staff confidence. Some departments, such as mathematics and geography, have also experienced changes in staffing. Although a number of vacancies are currently being covered on a temporary basis, you anticipate making appointments to these posts before the end of this term. Beyond this, the school has taken the decision to close the sixth-form provision at the end of the current academic year, once students have completed their qualifications.

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Main findings

Pupils’ outcomes in national assessments have improved slightly since the previous inspection but remain too low. The school has reviewed aspects of its curriculum. This is most evident at key stage 3, where many subjects have new curriculums that are common across the trust. Staff appreciate these changes. New schemes have provided clarity about what pupils need to know and be able to do, as well as reducing staff workload. The school has provided staff with training to strengthen how effectively the curriculum is taught. Many aspects of this training are reflected in improvements in pupils’ experiences in lessons. Despite this, there remains inconsistency in how well the curriculum is taught. For example, sometimes, staff do not identify and address pupils’ misconceptions well enough. Pupils’ knowledge of subjects is not strong enough and is particularly fragile for those who have missed learning through absence. Too many pupils

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Main findings

continue to find it difficult to recall important information or apply what they know independently.

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Main findings

The trust has provided additional support to increase the school’s leadership capacity. This has helped to strengthen systems, such as those relating to behaviour. As a result, leaders are now better placed to identify and act on areas of strength and weakness in the school. Leaders have begun to act on concerns previously raised by staff, including about their well-being. Staff are cautiously optimistic that these concerns are being taken seriously and addressed. However, there remains work to do to build on the confidence that recent changes offer to staff and pupils, in order to realise sustained improvements across the school.

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Main findings

In lessons, pupils’ behaviour is typically positive. The majority of pupils focus on their learning and behave well. However, there are occasions where pupils’ behaviour falls short of leaders’ expectations. While reducing in frequency, negative behaviours, including in- school truancy, continue to be challenging for staff to manage. There remains further work to do to ensure that the behaviour of a minority of pupils improves and does not disrupt the experience of others. Although rates of suspension remain high, in recent months there has been a clear decline in how regularly these are used to sanction poor behaviour. Similarly, improvements in pupils’ attendance are evident in the most recent term. Despite this, absence remains high and reducing this continues to be a priority for the school.

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Main findings

I am copying this letter to the chair of the board of trustees, and the CEO or equivalent of the Heartwood Learning Trust, the director of education for the Diocese of York, the Department for Education’s regional director and the director of children’s services for Kingston-upon-Hull. This letter will be published on the Ofsted reports website.

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