Enrich Academy

Enrich Academy

Address: Pontefract Road, Crofton, Wakefield, West Yorkshire, WF4 1LL Unique reference number (URN): 149408

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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 significant improvement

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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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Leaders have started to develop the curriculum to ensure that it gives pupils the breadth of knowledge and skills that they need. Leaders have recently introduced new qualifications at key stage 4. This year, Year 11 pupils completed additional vocational qualifications that they could not access in the past. However, there is more work to do to broaden the curriculum further to enable pupils to study for qualifications that meet their needs and interests.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Leaders have made significant changes to the curriculum in several subjects, including English and mathematics. They have revised the design and content of the curriculum so that it better matches pupils' interests and abilities. Leaders have started to improve the order of knowledge in the curriculum so that pupils have ample opportunities to revisit learning and build their knowledge over time. This is a very recent development and it is too soon to evaluate the impact of this work.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

The quality of teaching is inconsistent. Staff do not adjust tasks to help pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities or other barriers to learning. Staff do not regularly check if pupils understand their learning. This means that some pupils do not secure the important knowledge that they need before moving on to the next step in their learning.

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Inclusion Needs attention

Leaders do not identify pupils' needs with enough precision. Leaders have started to put into place thorough systems for identifying pupils' needs. This work is still at an early stage of development. Leaders review the provision for pupils' needs to evaluate its impact on pupils' learning and wellbeing. However, leaders do not understand pupils' needs precisely enough. As a result, the school's review process does not typically lead to precisely aligned, effective support for pupils.

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Inclusion Needs attention

Leaders use additional funding to improve attendance and provide more wider curriculum opportunities for disadvantaged pupils. Some pupils are starting to benefit from the extra- curricular activities, but disadvantaged pupils still attend school less often than their peers.

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Inclusion Needs attention

Staff do not adapt their teaching effectively to support pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities. This is because leaders do not typically identify pupils' needs with enough precision. For example, at times, staff do not know which pupils require extra support with their basic reading skills. Teachers sometimes give pupils reading tasks across the curriculum that do not precisely match pupils' reading skills and abilities. Pupils who are known to social care get the appropriate support that they need. Staff regularly check on their progress across the curriculum. They work effectively with a range of external agencies to make sure that these pupils access the same opportunities as their peers.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

While the school requires significant improvement, aspects of the school's work have recently started to improve. This is, in part, the result of the considered actions taken by trust and school leaders. The school's improving provision is having a positive impact in some areas. For example, leaders are beginning to see evidence of their earlier actions to improve safeguarding come to fruition. Nevertheless, there continues to be a considerable amount of work to do to ensure that pupils' attitudes to their education improve and rates of attendance increase. Pupils' low attendance is contributing to low levels of pupil achievement.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

Governors have identified failures in oversight that led to them not having a sufficiently rigorous overview of the school's performance. They have put in place measures to improve this. Governors have also ensured that there is additional resource to add capacity to the school's leadership. This is supporting leaders to address the numerous challenges that the school currently faces.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

Staff typically feel positive about the school. They are well supported by leaders. Leaders are thoughtful about staff workload. Leaders have improved the professional development that staff receive. This professional development is starting to have a positive impact on staff knowledge and skills.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

Leaders seek support from the trust and other agencies to improve the school. They work closely with the local authority to access various support services for vulnerable pupils.

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Personal development and wellbeing Needs attention

Leaders have very recently started to develop and extend the personal development programme. They have designed a curriculum that covers important parts of personal, social and health education (PSHE). This PSHE curriculum reflects pupils' local context and needs.

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Personal development and wellbeing Needs attention

The personal development programme covers important topics such as healthy relationships, knife safety and open water safety. The programme is starting to have a positive impact. Pupils have an understanding of how to keep themselves healthy and safe. They are able to talk about important concepts such as democracy and tolerance. However, sometimes the personal development programme does not follow a logical sequence. This prevents some pupils from revisiting important concepts and deepening their understanding of what they learn over time.

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Personal development and wellbeing Needs attention

Leaders are adding additional experiences and opportunities to the curriculum. They recognise that many pupils missed out on some experiences earlier in their school history. Pupils benefit from fishing, playing various sports, learning to cook simple meals, visiting the cinema and enjoying outdoor learning adventures. Pupils value and enjoy these opportunities.

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Urgent improvement

There is a carefully constructed careers programme that covers some important elements of careers education. Pupils receive independent advice and support to plan their next steps in education. Leaders ensure all pupils get this important support, even if their school attendance is poor. Leaders arrange for the careers adviser to call or visit pupils at home, if needed. Pupils do not get the opportunity to do external work experience. However, leaders have begun to provide some opportunities for pupils to explore different aspects of a workplace at school. For example, older pupils have prepared food for the school prom in the school's catering kitchen. Pupils have also organised a hair salon in the hair and beauty classroom. In spite of this careers provision, some pupils still leave school without a clear plan in place for their next steps in education, employment or training.

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Achievement Urgent improvement

Pupils do not achieve well. This includes pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities and pupils who are disadvantaged. Too many pupils leave school poorly prepared for their next steps in education.

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Achievement Urgent improvement

Many pupils have large gaps in their basic skills and knowledge. This includes essential skills in reading, handwriting and mathematics. Leaders have not precisely identified, or tackled, gaps in pupils' knowledge across the curriculum. There is insufficient support in place for pupils who need help, particularly with the early stages of reading. This means that pupils do not get effective guidance to close these gaps quickly. As a result, these pupils cannot readily access the curriculum subjects as well as they should.

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Achievement Urgent improvement

Too many pupils are regularly absent from school. Leaders have not ensured that pupils catch up on what they have missed when they return to school after an absence. This means that they fall further behind in their learning, and gaps in their curriculum knowledge widen.

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Attendance and behaviour Urgent improvement

Pupils' attendance rate at school is critically low and much lower than pupils nationally. This includes the attendance of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and disadvantaged pupils. Low attendance leads to pupils missing out on crucial learning and, ultimately, negatively impacts their achievement. Leaders have recently begun to track and monitor pupils' attendance more rigorously. Leaders ensure that pupils are safe when they are not at school. They have identified some of the barriers to attendance for pupils. However, leaders' actions have not improved pupils' attendance.

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Attendance and behaviour Urgent improvement

Leaders have started to address patterns of poor behaviour in school. They have introduced a rewards scheme to encourage pupils to value positive conduct. There are clear rules and routines in place. Staff usually make appropriate adjustments to these rules and routines for pupils with SEND. Pupils understand the school's expectations of them. Typically, pupils think that these expectations are fair. However, staff do not implement the school's behaviour expectations with consistency. The number of pupil suspensions is very high. However, leaders have started to reduce the number of suspensions in recent months.

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Attendance and behaviour Urgent improvement

Bullying and other more serious types of poor behaviour are uncommon. When they do occur, staff address them swiftly.

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

Pupils at Enrich Academy do not achieve well. Pupils come to this school having been excluded from mainstream education. Enrich Academy offers a fresh start for these pupils. Some pupils do not attend school often enough. This means that they miss out on too much of their education, which results in gaps in their learning. This limits the knowledge and skills that pupils gain and need to succeed. Too many pupils leave Year 11 unprepared for their next steps in education, training or employment.

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

Pupils access a broad curriculum. This gives them the opportunity to gain qualifications in a range of curriculum subjects. Pupils make some progress in learning the current curriculum. However, sometimes staff do not address gaps in pupils' previous learning. Pupils who need help with their basic reading and handwriting skills do not receive sufficient support. Staff do not adapt teaching well enough for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities or other barriers to learning. This means that sometimes pupils are unable to complete the tasks that staff have set for them. When this happens, pupils become frustrated and disengage from their learning.

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

Pupils feel safe at school. The school is typically a calm place to learn. Disruptive behaviour does occur, especially during social times. However, staff address such behaviour well. Pupils know that staff will help them if needed. Bullying happens rarely. When it does happen, leaders deal with it effectively.

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

Pupils learn about fundamental British values such as democracy and tolerance of differences. Staff teach them how to manage risks in their local community, such as road safety and the dangers of open water. Pupils learn about the rule of law and the dangers of carrying knives. They also enjoy various wider curriculum activities, such as fishing, boxing, outdoor learning and food technology.

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Next steps

Leaders must ensure that they tackle pupils' barriers to attending school regularly to enable pupils' attendance rates to increase significantly. Leaders must continue to improve the curriculum to ensure that pupils secure the important knowledge and skills that they need to be well prepared for their next stages in education, training or employment. Leaders should ensure that staff implement the school's behaviour expectations, policy and procedures with consistency.

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Facts and figures used on inspection

This was the data available at the time of the full inspection, taken from different sources . More recent data may have been published since the full inspection took place. Leaders should make sure that pupils receive the right support to quickly improve their basic skills in reading, mathematics and handwriting. Leaders should ensure that they quickly and precisely identify pupils' additional needs or other barriers to learning so that staff can make effective adaptations to the curriculum and how they teach it.

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About this inspection

This school is part of Ethos Academy 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), Chris Davis, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Lloyd Nolan.

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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 the headteacher, the CEO, trustees, staff and pupils during the inspection.

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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(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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About this inspection

The school currently makes use of one alternative provision, which is unregistered.

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About this inspection

At the time of the inspection, there were 109 pupils on roll.

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About this inspection

Headteacher: Matthew Allison The inspector(s) used this data during the full inspection on 23 June 2026

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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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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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