Manchester Enterprise Academy

Manchester Enterprise Academy

Address: Simonsway, Wythenshawe, Greater Manchester, M22 9RH Unique reference number (URN): 135874

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Safeguarding standards met

The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, pupils are made safer and feel safe.

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How we evaluate safeguarding

When we inspect schools for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:

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How we evaluate safeguarding

Met: The school has an open and positive culture of safeguarding. All legal requirements are met. Not met: The school has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all legal requirements are met.

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This school requires special measures

His Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that this school requires special measures because it is failing to provide an acceptable standard of education, and the persons responsible for leading, managing or governing the school are not demonstrating the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

The school provides an appropriate programme of personal development and wider opportunities beyond the curriculum. The programme encourages pupils, including those who are disadvantaged, to reflect on a range of social and cultural issues. For example, during the inspection, pupils learned about Holocaust Memorial Day in assemblies and took part in a moment of whole-school reflection. Pupils share their knowledge of the school’s ‘fantastic futures’ curriculum more confidently than other aspects of their learning. They learn about risks to their health and safety through suitable relationships and sex education, and health education. They are knowledgeable about consent, online safety and risks in modern British society, such as knife crime. The school provides opportunities for pupils to develop their character, for example, by volunteering in the community or taking on a position of responsibility. Pupils gain an understanding of democracy, including by voting for

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

Leaders make sure that pupils do not miss out on the personal development offer. They identify when pupils need encouragement or support to get involved. Disadvantaged pupils participate well in schemes, such as the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, helping them to develop their confidence and resilience. Pupils value the effective pastoral support and care. Specialist staff provide additional support to pupils who face barriers and challenges in their day-to-day lives.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

The school's programme for careers education, information, advice and guidance is comprehensive. It provides pupils with appropriate information about the options that are available to them when they leave school. Leaders make sure that pupils receive targeted, independent careers advice from external specialist staff. All pupils benefit from this advice, including those who attend alternative provision and those who access the school’s ‘Greenwood’ provision. This support is personalised and is particularly helpful for pupils, who may struggle to secure employment, education or training when they leave school.

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Inclusion Needs attention

Many pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), and pupils who face other barriers, do not receive the support that they need to access their learning. Leaders do

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Urgent improvement

not ensure that they have the information they need to evaluate the quality of the provision for pupils with SEND accurately. As a result, they do not reduce barriers to these pupils' learning well enough.

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Urgent improvement

Leaders have recently improved strategies to support pupils when they transition into school. This work is having a positive impact. There are effective arrangements in place to identify and assess the needs of pupils with SEND and those with other barriers to learning. Leaders provide staff with information about how best to support these pupils. However, they do not check carefully enough that staff use this information consistently well when delivering the curriculum.

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Urgent improvement

The school caters well for pupils with a wide range of complex needs, including those who are newly arrived in the country and pupils with severe mental health needs. Leaders engage effectively with external organisations to support and integrate these pupils into school life. For example, the school works closely with a charity that helps families at risk of being homeless. Leaders also use pupil premium funding effectively to provide these pupils with additional support. When necessary, leaders make appropriate use of alternative provision for those pupils who would benefit from it.

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Achievement Urgent improvement

Due to weaknesses in the curriculum and in teaching, pupils have not achieved well over time. For the past 3 years, pupils’ progress and attainment, including for pupils with special educational needs and or disabilities, have been significantly below national averages. This picture of poor achievement is also reflected in the experience of current pupils across different year groups. Their work does not reflect the demands of the planned curriculum. Current pupils have considerable gaps in their knowledge and do not achieve well.

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Achievement Urgent improvement

Some examination outcomes for disadvantaged pupils have been close to that of disadvantaged pupils nationally. However, this has varied. Over time, the achievement gap between disadvantaged pupils and other pupils has not narrowed consistently.

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Achievement Urgent improvement

Overall, pupils are not prepared well enough for their next stages in employment, education or training.

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Attendance and behaviour Urgent improvement

Pupils’ attendance, including for those who are disadvantaged and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, has been low and declining for a number of years. Persistent absence for these groups of pupils has also risen. The school has prioritised strategies to improve attendance. Recently, leaders’ approach to tackling poor attendance has been more cohesive than was previously the case. However, this work has not had a positive or sustained impact on the attendance of the majority of pupils. Leaders do not ensure that the school environment is consistently orderly and calm. Typically, staff do not support pupils to display positive attitudes towards their learning. Leaders do not ensure that staff understand and use the school's behaviour policy consistently to challenge low-level, poor or disrespectful behaviour effectively. As a result, a significant minority of pupils do not behave well in lessons or during social times.

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Attendance and behaviour Urgent improvement

Leaders respond appropriately to serious incidents of discrimination, violence and abuse. However, some pupils experience bullying. This creates a negative, and sometimes tense, school environment for many pupils who want to learn and enjoy school. As a consequence, many pupils do not thrive and succeed as well as they should.

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Curriculum and teaching Urgent improvement

Leaders do not have an accurate understanding of the quality of curriculum and teaching. While well-ordered subject curriculums set out what most pupils should learn, teachers lack the expertise to deliver these curriculums successfully. Some learning activities are not matched well to the content of the curriculum. Teachers do not use the information about pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) to adapt the curriculum for these pupils appropriately. Assessment information is not used effectively by teachers to identify and resolve gaps in pupils’ knowledge. As a result, across different key stages, pupils struggle to develop their knowledge of key concepts or deepen their understanding in many subject areas.

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Curriculum and teaching Urgent improvement

Pupils in the school’s ‘Greenwood’ provision study a curriculum that lacks breadth and ambition. They spend less than the recommended 32.5 hours a week in school. The curriculum is not tailored well enough to meet the needs of these pupils. This limits their achievement and hinders how well prepared they are for the next stage of their education.

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Curriculum and teaching Urgent improvement

Recently, the school has put appropriate strategies in place to identify and rectify gaps in pupils’ reading and numeracy knowledge. Pupils in Year 7 and Year 8 who need this support are beginning to benefit. However, the legacy of weak teaching, coupled with low attendance, means that the majority of pupils, particularly in key stage 4, do not have the basic knowledge that they need to be successful.

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Leadership and governance Urgent improvement

The trust and the local governing body have not held leaders to account effectively for the decline in the quality of the school’s provision. There is a lack of ambition for what pupils can achieve academically. Leaders have acted too slowly to secure much-needed improvements, including in pupils’ attendance and behaviour. The school's self-evaluation processes are not effective. Trustees, governors and leaders do not have a shared understanding of what is working and what needs to get better.

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Leadership and governance Urgent improvement

Leaders and those responsible for governance act in pupils’ best interests, when considering pastoral support and pupils’ wellbeing. This includes for pupils who are disadvantaged, pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities or other vulnerable pupils. For example, the school invests in high staffing levels to support pupils who need therapeutic and mental health support. Staff have mixed views about how well they are supported to carry out their roles. Previous issues with recruitment and retention in some subject areas have been resolved. Typically, staff appreciate the recent improvements to support them to balance their workload. They value the newly introduced training programmes aimed at developing their professional knowledge and expertise. However, despite these improvements, the actions of leaders and those responsible for governance are not swift enough. They are not having the impact

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Leadership and governance Urgent improvement

necessary to bring about significant improvements in pupils’ experiences and achievements.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

The expectations that trustees and leaders have for pupils' academic achievement is low. This includes for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those with additional barriers, such as pupils who speak English as an additional language. There are considerable weaknesses in how well teachers deliver the curriculum for all pupils. Pupils do not consistently enjoy their learning. Their achievement across most areas of the curriculum is poor.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Many pupils express a desire to work hard and achieve highly, and these pupils behave well. However, leaders have not provided the support that a significant minority of pupils need to manage their behaviour. These pupils behave in an unruly way and refuse to follow the school rules. Some pupils feel intimidated by this behaviour. Some experience bullying that is not always dealt with as quickly and effectively as it should be by staff. This poor behaviour negatively affects how well many pupils enjoy school and achieve their best. Additionally, too many pupils do not attend school often. This contributes to the gaps that many pupils have in their knowledge.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Typically, pupils trust staff to care for them. They know that there are staff they can talk to when they have a worry or concern. Pupils appreciate the school's recent focus on kindness, linked to the rewards and sanctions that they receive. Pupils take advantage of the varied clubs and wider experiences that are available to them. These develop pupils' social skills and their understanding of the wider world. For example, they enjoy netball and library club. Pupils benefit from mentoring support from a local football academy. The school ensures that pupils access cultural experiences, such as visiting the theatre.

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Next steps

Trustees and leaders must take rapid action to secure much-needed improvements in the quality of the curriculum and teaching that pupils receive. Trustees and leaders must ensure that they evaluate the work of the school effectively so that areas of weakness are identified accurately and resolved swiftly. Leaders must ensure that any adaptations to the content, order and delivery of the curriculum are well thought through so that the curriculum is suitably ambitious for all pupils. Leaders must ensure that teachers have the expertise to deliver the curriculum effectively, including their use of assessment strategies and resolving gaps in pupils’ knowledge, so that pupils learn all that they should. Leaders should ensure that teachers have the knowledge and skills necessary to adapt the curriculum, so that pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and pupils with other barriers to their learning get the support they need.

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Next steps

Leaders must fully embed the improved attendance strategies so that more pupils, including those who are disadvantaged and have SEND, attend school often. Leaders must ensure that all staff are well equipped to uphold the school’s behaviour policy consistently and robustly, so that the poor behaviour of some pupils is dealt with effectively and does not hinder the enjoyment and achievement of others.

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About this inspection

This school is part of The Prospere Learning 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), Andrew Park, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Jenny Andrews.

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About this inspection

Inspectors carried out this full inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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About this inspection

Following our renewed inspection framework, all inspections are now led by His Majesty’s Inspectors (HMIs) or by Ofsted Inspectors (OIs) who have previously served as HMIs.

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About this inspection

During the inspection, inspectors spoke with the headteacher, the executive headteacher, other senior leaders, members of the local governing body, the vice-chair of trustees, the CEO and representatives from the local authority.

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About this inspection

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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About this inspection

In accordance with section 44(1) of the Education Act 2005, His Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that this school requires special measures because it is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the persons responsible for leading, managing or governing the school are not demonstrating the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school.

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About this inspection

HMCI strongly recommends that the school does not seek to appoint early career teachers. The position regarding the appointment of early career teachers will be considered again during any monitoring inspection we carry out.

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About this inspection

The inspectors confirmed the following information about the school:

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About this inspection

The school makes use of 5 alternative provisions, including 2 that are unregistered.

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About this inspection

A new CEO of the trust was appointed in January 2026.

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Team inspectors:

Sheldon Logue, Ofsted Inspector Geoff Baker, Ofsted Inspector Karen Parker, Ofsted Inspector Charlotte Oles, Ofsted Inspector

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Facts and figures used on inspection

The data was used by the inspector(s) during the inspection. More recent data may have been published since the inspection took place.

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What does this mean?

The total number of pupils currently at this school and how this compares to other schools of this phase in England.

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What does this mean?

The total number of pupils who can attend the school and how this compares to other schools of this phase in England.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils with an education, health and care plan. This covers pupils with more support than is available through special educational needs support.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils with reported special educational support needs at the school.

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What does this mean?

Based on the English Indices of Deprivation (2019) and the school's location, we have calculated whether the school is located in a more or less deprived area.

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What does this mean?

Whether school has Resourced Provision or SEND unit (if applicable).

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English and maths GCSE

Percentage of pupils who achieved grade 5 or above in English and maths GCSE.

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Attainment 8

A measure of pupils' point scores across 8 subjects including maths (double weighted), English (double weighted if both language and literature are taken), 3 EBacc measures and 3 GCSE or technical measures.

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Progress 8

How much progress pupils made between the end of primary school (key stage 2) and the end of secondary school (key stage 4), compared to pupils across England who got similar results at the end of key stage 2.

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Disadvantaged pupils' performance

Disadvantaged pupils are those who have been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years and children looked after.

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Disadvantaged pupils' English and maths GCSE grade 5 or above

Percentage of disadvantaged pupils achieving grade 5 or above in English and maths GCSE.

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(provisional)

2023/24 (final) 19.7% 25.8% Close to average

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(provisional)

2022/23 (final) 16.7% 25.2% Close to average

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Disadvantaged pupils' Attainment 8

A measure of disadvantaged pupils' point scores across 8 subjects including maths (double weighted), English (double weighted if both language and literature are taken), 3 EBacc measures and 3 GCSE or technical measures.

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(provisional)

2023/24 (final) 34.9 34.6 Close to average

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(provisional)

2022/23 (final) 32.0 35.0 Close to average

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Disadvantaged pupils' Progress 8

How much progress disadvantaged pupils made between the end of primary school (key stage 2) and the end of secondary school (key stage 4), compared to pupils across England who got similar results at the end of key stage 2.

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national average

2023/24 (final) -0.86 -0.57 Close to average

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Disadvantaged pupils' performance gap

Disadvantaged pupils are those who have been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years and children looked after. The school disadvantage gap is the difference between the performance of the school's disadvantaged pupils compared to the performance of all non-disadvantaged pupils nationally.

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Disadvantaged pupils' English and maths GCSE grade 5 or above

Percentage of disadvantaged pupils who achieved grade 5 or above in English and maths GCSE.

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Disadvantaged pupils' Attainment 8

A measure of disadvantaged pupils' point scores across 8 subjects including maths (double weighted), English (double weighted if both language and literature are taken), 3 EBacc measures and 3 GCSE or technical measures.

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Disadvantaged pupils' Progress 8

How much progress disadvantaged pupils made between the end of primary school (key stage 2) and the end of secondary school (key stage 4), compared to pupils across England who got similar results at the end of key stage 2.

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Destinations after 16

Percentage of pupils staying in education or employment for at least 2 terms after the end of secondary school (key stage 4).

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Overall absence

The percentage of all possible mornings and afternoons missed due to absence from school (for whatever reason, whether authorised or unauthorised) across all pupils.

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Persistent absence

The percentage of pupils missing 10% or more of their possible mornings and afternoons.

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Exceptional

Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other schools can learn from it.

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Strong standard

The school reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of them.

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Expected standard

The school is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care. This means they are following the standard set out in statutory and non ‑ statutory legislation and the professional standards expected of them.

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Needs attention

The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary improvements.

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Urgent improvement

The school needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of education and/or care.

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Urgent improvement

services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people.

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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