King Harold Business & Enterprise Academy

King Harold Business & Enterprise Academy

Address: Broomstick Hall Road, Waltham Abbey, Essex, EN9 1LF Unique reference number (URN): 136342

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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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Attendance and behaviour Expected standard

Leaders provide effective, strategic leadership of attendance. They implement robust systems, targeted interventions and close monitoring when a pupil's attendance dips. Consequently, attendance is improving overall and is now above the national average. Inclusive approaches, such as ‘ACE mentors’, enhanced pastoral support and bespoke adjustments, are helping to improve attendance for many pupils. As a result, persistent absence has reduced over time. Leaders rightly recognise the need for continued, focused intervention to sustain these improvements. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are now attending more frequently, although this remains less often than their peers.

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Attendance and behaviour Expected standard

Pupils behave well. They are sensible and respectful in lessons. This is underpinned by well ‑ established routines, clear expectations and effective staff supervision. Pupils feel safe around school and are happy. Pupils speak overwhelmingly positively about support such as the 'PALS' hub. This support is effective in helping pupils who may face additional challenges or need extra help and guidance. Sometimes, pupils feel there is variability in how staff deal with some concerns. This impacts their confidence to report some incidents. In contrast, pupils feel concerns around discrimination are taken seriously and dealt with promptly.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The school has a well ‑ embedded approach to identifying, assessing and meeting pupils’ needs. Clear systems help to identify any barriers to learning and wellbeing early. The school collaborates well with families and external services, such as social care professionals, the virtual school and health services. This effective inter-agency working ensures that these pupils receive high-quality pastoral care and academic support.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The pupil premium strategy is sharply focused. Pupils who are disadvantaged are matched with 'ACE' mentors who help them to navigate their time at school. This strategy is having a positive impact on pupils’ attendance and engagement and the relationships between pupils, families and school.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities benefit from effective, targeted help. Strategies, including small ‑ group or personalised approaches, lead to improved engagement and better progress for some pupils.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The school carefully considers provision for pupils facing wider barriers, such as those related to mental health. It provides a range of effective support for these pupils, including safe spaces, mentors and alternative start ‑ of ‑ day routines. These are effective. They help pupils to manage their anxiety and regulate their emotions. The school’s use of alternative provision is appropriate. Placements carefully match pupils’ interests and needs.

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Achievement Needs attention

Overall attainment and progress are modest. Many measures remain below national comparisons. Disadvantaged pupils typically achieve more closely to similar pupils nationally. This indicates strategies are largely effective for this group. However, weaknesses in how the curriculum is taught mean that some pupils are still not achieving as well as they should.

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Achievement Needs attention

Leaders have identified weaknesses in pupils’ core skills such as writing, which is one of the key contributors to weaker overall achievement. They have introduced targeted support, including phonics and numeracy interventions. While these actions are beginning to strengthen pupils’ confidence and access to the curriculum, the work is recent and not yet embedded consistently. This means important gaps remain for some pupils. More positively, reading interventions enable many pupils to catch up swiftly. This supports improved engagement with learning across subjects.

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Achievement Needs attention

Pupils' broader preparation for adulthood is well considered. Pupils are developing the skills, confidence and awareness needed for future transitions.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Despite the curriculum being thoughtfully designed and typically well sequenced, it is not implemented consistently well across all subjects. For example, in some lessons, weaknesses in basic skills such as handwriting, presentation and the recall of prior learning continue to act as barriers. These weaknesses can limit pupils’ progress and success in their learning.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Leaders have a clear strategic approach for improving the curriculum and teaching. For example, the school has established approaches that help identify gaps in pupils’ knowledge and skills. Staff are provided with appropriate professional learning. Early signs of positive impact are emerging, including increased use of questioning strategies and improved checking of pupils’ learning. However, the effectiveness of teaching remains varied.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Where teachers demonstrate strong subject knowledge, they anticipate misconceptions and use questioning skilfully to guide thinking. Here, pupils engage more deeply and achieve better. In contrast, staff do not always adapt teaching well enough to the specific needs of individual pupils. As a result, some pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities can be overly reliant on adult support. Leaders are acting to strengthen staff confidence and practice in this area, but these improvements are not yet securely embedded.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

While leaders demonstrate a clear understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for development, they rightly recognise that the impact of their work remains inconsistent and is yet to secure consistently high-quality provision across all subjects. For example, training on assessment approaches has been completed, but the implementation of this remains mixed. At times, a lack of cohesion between different levels of leadership slows the pace of improvement. Sometimes, the accuracy of leaders’ evaluations is not sufficiently precise, limiting how effectively these are used to inform further improvements.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

Leaders do provide appropriate direction, focused on improving the quality of teaching and pupils’ outcomes. They have clarified expectations of staff. They provide a breadth of appropriate professional learning opportunities, which are prioritised.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

In some areas, leaders have made notable improvements. Attendance continues to increase. Similarly, behaviour has strengthened, creating a calm environment where pupils can learn. Pupils feel safe and well supported, with initiatives such as ACE supporting those pupils who are disadvantaged.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

Those responsible for governance demonstrate strong commitment to the school and have the capacity to support necessary improvements. They maintain suitable oversight, supplementing this with external scrutiny. However, governance activity is not always sharply aligned to school improvement priorities and does not consistently provide incisive challenge and support to school leaders. There is not always a close enough focus on the impact of agreed strategies on pupils’ outcomes.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

Staff wellbeing is prioritised effectively by leaders. Staff, including early career teachers, are largely positive and feel their wellbeing and workload is supported. Leaders maintain positive relationships with parents, who value the school’s commitment to staff wellbeing and pupil safety. Many recognise the improvements in the school while acknowledging there is more to do.

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Personal development and wellbeing Needs attention

Leaders demonstrate strong ambitions for pupils’ personal development and wellbeing. This vision is reinforced through a positive rewards culture, including certificates, form awards and kindness cards. However, the intended impact is weakened by variability in implementation. Pupils experience inconsistencies, such as in the amount of curriculum time allocated and staff's confidence in delivery. This means that pupils' lived experiences vary and do not yet fully reflect leaders’ ambitions, particularly in older year groups.

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Personal development and wellbeing Needs attention

Pupils show a secure understanding of how to stay safe online. Relationships, health and sex education is suitable and covered through talks and the curriculum. Topic areas that discuss personal safety are often those that pupils can recall more confidently, for example the dangers of grooming. However, pupils’ knowledge of other topics is less secure. For example, they have a limited grasp of the fundamental British values and the protected characteristics.

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Personal development and wellbeing Needs attention

Pupils demonstrate positive attitudes and behaviour and engage confidently in discussions with peers and adults. Interactions are polite and respectful, contributing to a calm and orderly environment. The ‘PALS’ support hub contributes to pupils feeling safe and supported. The use of this hub is reviewed regularly so that it remains responsive and not static. The rewards culture reinforces positive conduct and shared values, supporting pupils’ social and moral development. There is a clear emphasis placed on careers education within the personal development programme. Pupils are able to articulate clear next steps for their futures. Pupils benefit from careers guidance interviews, work experience and external partnerships. These contribute effectively to their preparedness for post ‑ 16 pathways. They feel well supported with their next steps.

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Personal development and wellbeing Needs attention

The school's extra-curricular programme gives pupils the opportunity to participate in clubs and trips. However, access to these enrichment opportunities is sometimes limited. This results in missed opportunities for some pupils to develop their talents and interests.

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

Pupils experience school as a safe and orderly place to learn. Many show resilience and commitment to their education, particularly when barriers to learning are actively addressed. Pupils benefit from targeted support. This support is improving pupils' engagement and attendance. It helps pupils to progress from their individual starting points.

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

Pupils enjoy learning most when teaching is purposeful and structured. However, their experience in classrooms can vary. While some pupils progress well, others do not always benefit from high-quality teaching. In some lessons, pupils do not always get the adaptations they need to successfully access the lesson and move on.

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

Pupils largely feel included in the daily life of the school. They describe positive, respectful relationships with staff and peers. Pupils feel listened to, particularly through trusted adults. Student leadership roles, such as the school parliament, are helping pupils to develop confidence and share their views.

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

Many pupils feel a sense of community fostered through rewards, kindness initiatives and mentoring. However, access to broader experiences beyond the classroom is uneven. While careers opportunities are strong, enrichment and extra-curricular participation are less consistent. Not all pupils benefit equally from activities that extend the curriculum and nurture interests and talents beyond academic learning.

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

Pupils are aware of how to stay safe both online and offline, reflecting a strong safeguarding culture and vigilant oversight. Behaviour is generally calm and respectful, with clear routines that support regulation and attendance. Most pupils attend regularly. Some pupils feel less confident in reporting issues and would like greater confidence in how staff follow them up.

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

The school’s ambition for pupils is to flourish as confident, well ‑ rounded individuals. Many pupils develop these positive traits. Pupils who face greater challenges benefit from targeted emotional and behavioural support. This helps them to regulate, reset and re-engage with the school day.

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Next steps

Leaders should ensure that staff at all levels have the skills to drive the necessary improvements. This includes improving the sharpness of evaluation and ensuring consistent implementation of the agreed strategies. Leaders should ensure that teachers use assessment effectively to adapt their lessons in order to meet pupils’ needs. Leaders should reduce the variability in how the school’s personal development programme is taught. They should ensure that pupils’ experiences fully reflect leaders’ intent and that pupils learn securely what is taught in the school’s personal, social and health education curriculum. The trust should ensure that those with responsibility for governance consistently provide effective support and scrutiny to leaders’ work, including through effective evaluation of the impact of changes on pupils’ achievement.

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About this inspection

The headteacher of this school is Andrew Jones.

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About this inspection

This school is part of the Kemnal Academies Trust, which means that other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Russell Hobby, and is overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Catherine McGuinness.

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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

Inspectors spoke with members of the school leadership team, the chair of the trust, members of the trust and the chair of the local governing body.

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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

The inspectors confirmed the following information about the school:

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About this inspection

The school makes use of 6 unregistered alternative provisions.

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Team inspectors:

Rowena Simmons, Ofsted Inspector Sally Nutman, Ofsted Inspector Emma Matthews, 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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national average

2024/25 (revised) 17.9% 25.8% Close to average

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national average

2023/24 (final) 20.0% 25.8% 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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national average

2024/25 (revised) 30.5 34.9 Close to average

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national average

2023/24 (final) 32.0 34.6 Close to average

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national average

2022/23 (final) 31.7 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) -0.75 -0.57 Close to average

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national average

2022/23 (final) -0.47 -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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national average

2024/25 (2 term) 8.2% 8.1% Close to average

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Persistent absence

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

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national average

2024/25 (2 term) 23.7% 21.9% Close to average

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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

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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