Horizons Academy Bexley

Horizons Academy Bexley

Address: Lensbury Way, Abbey Wood, SE2 9TA Unique reference number (URN): 144407

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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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Achievement Expected standard

Pupils are well supported to overcome any barriers that they may face to their learning and/or wellbeing. Pupils build up their self-esteem and independence. They become proud of all that they achieve.

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Achievement Expected standard

Pupils who stay at the school until the end of Year 11 gain the qualifications that they need to successfully sustain their next steps when they leave school. Many pupils in other year groups successfully return to mainstream education. This includes primary-age pupils on short-term placements who return to their home school. Pupils on the medical pathway take great steps forward in relation to their more complex social, emotional and mental health needs. This includes achievement of those goals that are set out in their education, health and care plans.

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Achievement Expected standard

Pupils make clear progress from their starting points and typically close gaps in their learning, notably in their literacy and numeracy. For example, pupils who need more personalised support successfully build up their reading fluency. Sometimes, pupils with higher academic starting points from their initial assessments are not as well supported to deepen their knowledge and understanding.

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Attendance and behaviour Expected standard

Most pupils did not regularly attend school prior to starting here, so leaders rightly prioritise improving pupils' attendance. Leaders and staff work successfully with families and external agencies to reduce the barriers that negatively influence pupils' views of school. For some pupils, this starts with a part-time timetable that builds up over time. Overall, pupils' attendance markedly improves. That said, secondary-age pupils' punctuality for the start of school is not as high. These pupils miss out on activities that take place at the beginning of the school day.

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Attendance and behaviour Expected standard

Staff work well together to help pupils learn how to develop positive learning habits. Over time, pupils rise to the school’s expectations of them. This is particularly evident in the primary phase and key stage 4. Staff use a range of de-escalation approaches to help keep things calm. Staff develop very positive working relationships with pupils. They treat pupils with courtesy and respect. Sometimes, staff who work with pupils on short-term placements at key stage 3 do not apply the school’s behaviour approaches consistently. When this happens, pupils are not as well supported to adapt their behaviour.

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Attendance and behaviour Expected standard

Incidents of any bullying or discrimination, while rare, are taken seriously and dealt with effectively.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

The school’s curriculum is ambitious. Pupils in Years 10 and 11 who embark on long-term placements benefit from a range of qualifications that meet their needs, interests and aspirations well. Pupils who study work-related courses, for example in construction, benefit from learning in high-quality environments. Pupils get to use the resources that they are likely to encounter in the workplace. Primary-age pupils learn in a language-rich environment. The outdoor provision is also well resourced.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Pupils on the 12-week 'refocus' placements, such as in the primary phase, similarly benefit from a curriculum that meets their needs. It includes a sharp focus to identify and close any gaps in pupils' reading and numeracy, including where phonics teaching is needed. Pupils learn how to better manage their emotions and focus their attention.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

While the curriculum is typically taught well, there can be some variation in quality. For example, occasionally, teachers do not place enough emphasis on the subject-specific knowledge and skills that pupils should know and remember in the secondary phase.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

School leaders, with the support of the trust, regularly review the quality of the curriculum. They are rightly planning to further improve provision for writing. Collectively, staff benefit from a range of training opportunities that help them to develop their teaching expertise.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders and staff work effectively to gather the information they need to identify pupils' needs, academic starting points and barriers to learning. This helps everyone to hit the ground running so that pupils receive the academic and therapeutic support that is required. Leaders prioritise the development of pupils' social, emotional and mental health (SEMH). Staff build in opportunities for pupils to work towards their SEMH targets throughout the school day. While staff know pupils well, sometimes the adaptations that they make during lessons, for example in their activity choices, do not meet pupils' needs as well as they could.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders put multi-agency working at the heart of their approach. This includes regular communication with social workers, therapy staff and those who provide additional support to help pupils stay safe. They are particularly successful in securing an education, health and care plan for pupils who arrive at the school with unidentified needs. Leaders use additional funding, such as the pupil premium, carefully. They check that their decisions have the intended impact.

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Inclusion Expected standard

A particular strength is the school’s outreach service. This helps build inclusive practice across Bexley, for example to enable pupils to remain in mainstream education. Outreach also supports parents and carers, for example through well-attended workshops that help them to meet their child’s needs at home.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders have lots to celebrate about their partnership work. Their successes have a positive impact on pupils, for example through outreach work that helps mainstream schools and their ongoing support for families. Leaders know the local community inside out. They are highly responsive to pupils' changing circumstances. They know where to access support, including in response to any safeguarding concerns that arise. The trust supports the school well. This includes their checks on the quality of the school’s work. Those with responsibility for governance carry out their roles with confidence and clarity. They have a wide range of knowledge and experience to understand the context of the school’s work. Trustees and members of the local academy board do not take things at face value. They choose to visit the school to meet pupils and staff and to ask questions. Collectively, leaders have an accurate understanding of what the school does well and what

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

There is a palpable sense of teamwork at Horizons Academy Bexley. Staff feel well supported with their wellbeing. They access a range of ongoing training and development that helps them to fulfil their different roles and responsibilities.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

The quality of careers advice and guidance is a strength of the school’s work. Pupils of all ages benefit from a range of ways, including access to different qualifications, to learn about the world of work. Staff adapt careers provision to meet pupils’ needs well. For example, they work with external agencies to ensure that no pupils fall out of education, employment and/or training.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

Staff offer various enrichment opportunities. These include trips and Friday enrichment sessions where pupils can take part in cooking, games and sports. Leaders also ensure that pupils’ voices are heard, for example to help them engage in local projects. One recent example involved pupils engaging as peer researchers in a London-wide Mayor of London project that focused on bullying and relationships. Leaders are rightly looking to widen pupils’ participation in the enrichment offer.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

Leaders carefully design the content of the personal, social and health education (PSHE) curriculum. This includes for pupils on short-term placements. Leaders work in partnership with a range of agencies to help pupils learn how to stay safe, both offline and online. Pupils learn how to manage risks in relation to topics like knife crime, exploitation and mental health. The school’s assembly programme reinforces important messages about life in modern Britain, including the need to respect everyone’s differences. Sometimes, pupils' knowledge and understanding of the taught content of PSHE is not as detailed. Leaders are currently reviewing how to best support pupils to remember more of the PSHE curriculum.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

Pupils reflect fondly about their time at this school. They are confident in the pastoral support that they receive. Leaders do not hesitate to reach out to external agencies whenever they need to step in and give any pupil further support. Pupils talk positively about the difference staff make to their social, emotional and mental health.

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

Pupils develop their resilience, confidence and self-esteem during their time at this school. Their attendance improves, often significantly so. Secondary-age pupils on long-term placements successfully gain a range of qualifications, including in GCSE and work-related courses. These pupils are well supported to find the right next step for when the time comes to leave school. Other pupils who are on short-term placements, such as those in the primary phase, build up the academic and personal development that they need to successfully return to their mainstream school. Pupils across the school make gains in their literacy and numeracy.

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

Teachers know pupils well. Pupils have very positive relationships with the range of staff who work with them. Pupils learn in well-resourced classrooms and teaching spaces, for example to learn construction, hair and beauty and food technology.

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

Teachers generally adapt their teaching, when needed, to meet pupils’ different needs and starting points. Sometimes, pupils who have higher prior attainment from their initial assessments are not challenged in their academic learning as well as they could be.

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

The school’s work to help pupils to make gains in their social, emotional and mental health is something to celebrate. This success can be seen in lots of different ways, for example with primary-age pupils learning how to cooperate and take turns, through to older pupils learning how to develop a more positive mindset.

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

Pupils are well looked after. This includes everyone doing all they reasonably can to keep pupils safe and free from any bullying and/or discrimination. Parents and carers talk positively about how the school helps to identify and meet their child’s needs. The school offers pupils a range of enrichment experiences, such as different trips and activities. Pupils fully benefit from a well-developed careers education curriculum. They hear regularly from, and engage in visits to, a range of employers.

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Next steps

Leaders should ensure that staff who work with pupils at key stage 3 have the skills to apply the school’s behaviour approaches consistently so that these pupils are more effectively supported to adapt their behaviour. Leaders should ensure that staff have the expertise to adapt their teaching, where required, to better match pupils’ starting points and deepen pupils’ subject-specific knowledge and skills. Leaders should further improve pupils’ punctuality for the start of school so that more pupils benefit from the activities and learning that take place at the beginning of the school day.

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About this inspection

This school is part of London South East Academies 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), Sam Parrett, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Rama Venchard.

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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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School capacity

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

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School capacity

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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School capacity

Inspectors spoke with a variety of school and trust leaders, including the headteacher, CEO, trustees and representatives from the local academy board. They also spoke with staff from the local authority, including the virtual school. Inspectors spoke with a range of leaders from local schools who use the school as an alternative provider and/or the outreach service.

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School capacity

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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School capacity

The inspectors confirmed the following information about the school:

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School capacity

The school currently uses no alternative provision.

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School capacity

The school has undergone a significant change since the last inspection: the headteacher took up their post in July 2024.

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School capacity

The recorded number of pupils on roll does not fully reflect the number of pupils who attend the school. This is because the school offers a range of referral pathways, including 12- week placements. This means that pupils often start and leave the school at different times across the academic year. At the time of the inspection, there were 76 pupils on roll. All pupils have special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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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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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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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. 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

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

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