Badger Hill Academy

Badger Hill Academy

Address: Marston Road, Kilton Lane, Brotton, Saltburn-by-the-Sea, North Yorkshire, TS12 2XR Unique reference number (URN): 143618

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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 Strong standard

Attendance is a clear priority for the school. Leaders’ approaches to help pupils to attend well are successful. Leaders create a very welcoming and calm school. Consequently, pupils enjoy school, attend well and arrive on time. They are keen to learn. Leaders use thorough, regular analysis to spot patterns of absence early. They put in place timely and targeted support to work constructively with families to remove barriers. The school celebrates pupils' attendance. These actions are supporting attendance, overall, with a positive impact on many individual pupils.

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Attendance and behaviour Strong standard

Pupils consistently behave very well. Leaders' expectations are clear and staff apply them consistently. Pupils know the behaviour systems well and aim to live out the ‘Badger Values’. Staff recognise and celebrate pupils' positive behaviour. The well-established inclusive and supportive culture creates a clear sense of belonging. During social times, pupils play cooperatively and make good use of the space and equipment available. They know that discrimination is not tolerated. Incidents of bullying are very rare, and when they occur, staff deal with them quickly. Where pupils need additional help with their behaviour, staff identify this early. They provide well-considered support to enable pupils to meet leaders' high expectations.

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Early years Strong standard

Leaders prioritise the early years. They ensure that children benefit from a positive and purposeful start to their education. They have carefully extended the provision to include children who are 2 years old in the Nursery Year. Staff create a warm and welcoming environment where children feel safe and ready to learn. Well-established routines help children to settle quickly, develop independence and grow in confidence. Staff provide a well-organised environment and a wide range of experiences that support children’s development across all areas of learning.

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Early years Strong standard

Leaders ensure that the curriculum supports children to develop the knowledge and skills that they need for future success. Staff focus on developing children’s communication and language skills from the outset. This supports children in making friends with one another and communicating their needs effectively.

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Early years Strong standard

All members of staff know the children well and are involved in their learning. They identify children's next steps accurately and shape learning to fill gaps in knowledge and skills. Staff provide effective support during focused teaching and throughout the provision. They adapt learning carefully and ensure that children who need additional support participate fully in learning. These adaptations help children to deepen their understanding. Children achieve well from their starting points and are well prepared for Year 1.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders establish highly effective systems that enable them to quickly identify and thoroughly understand pupils’ needs. Leaders review pupils' progress in great detail. They routinely check the provision that is in place for pupils who are disadvantaged, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The school makes sure that all staff have the necessary expertise to support these pupils to achieve well over time.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders work effectively with external agencies to ensure pupils receive the right help. Careful transition arrangements help pupils and their families to feel supported when joining the school. The school forms highly positive partnerships with parents and carers. When staff review pupils' progress, they consider the views of the pupil and their parents. This means that pupils’ evolving needs are widely understood and the progress that they make is celebrated.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Leaders use well-considered approaches to make effective use of additional funding to support disadvantaged pupils and remove any barriers to their learning. The school actively promotes pupils’ academic and wider opportunities. Participation in extra-curricular activities is high among disadvantaged pupils. This funding has a notable impact on their achievement. Over time, these pupils achieve better than disadvantaged pupils nationally.

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Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard

Leaders ensure that a comprehensive programme is in place for pupils’ personal development. This is ambitious and tailored to meet the needs of the whole school community. The extensive enrichment programme makes a significant contribution to pupils’ character development and learning. Pupils gain the experiences that they need to become confident and resilient learners. Older pupils are proud of their leadership roles and their contribution to the life of the school.

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Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard

Disadvantaged pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, are at the centre of all activities. They benefit from a wide range of opportunities, including clubs, sporting competitions and activities beyond school, such as performing at a regional concert venue. Leaders check pupils’ involvement closely to make sure that there is equity in the offer.

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Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard

Leaders tailor the curriculum for personal, social and health education to meet pupils’ needs. The curriculum helps pupils to understand risks that they may encounter offline, healthy relationships and ways to manage their own health and wellbeing. Pupils have clear strategies to keep themselves safe online. They know how to raise any issues about anything that makes them feel uncomfortable when using the internet.

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Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard

Leaders place a particular emphasis on careers education. This supports pupils in thinking about their future and developing high aspirations for themselves. Through the visits to school from local employers, and pupils' visits to local industry, the school forges purposeful community links. Pupils have a keen understanding of the range of jobs available in the area.

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Personal development and wellbeing Strong standard

Pupils learn about fundamental British values very well and confidently relate them to school life. For example, in the early years, children learn about democracy by voting for the fruit they would like at snack time. Pupils are highly respectful of one another. They are very well prepared for life in modern Britain.

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Expected standard

Pupils and families benefit from the bespoke pastoral provision available in school.

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Achievement Expected standard

Pupils consistently achieve well from their starting points in English and mathematics. This is particularly the case for pupils who are most disadvantaged. Staff ensure that pupils, especially those at the early stages of reading, writing and mathematics, gain accuracy and fluency in the basic skills they need for future success. Pupils’ work in these subjects is of a consistently high quality.

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Achievement Expected standard

Pupils' outcomes in external tests at the end of key stage 2 consistently sit above national averages in reading, writing and mathematics. Disadvantaged pupils achieve better than their peers nationally. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities make impressive progress in these subjects from their starting points.

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Achievement Expected standard

Some pupils’ understanding of the wider subject curriculum, and their recall of learning, is less consistent than that of English and mathematics. This is due to some inconsistencies in the teaching of the wider subject curriculum. However, pupils are generally well prepared for their next stage in learning.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders have developed a broad and ambitious curriculum that helps pupils build knowledge and skills successfully over time. Pupils excel in English and mathematics, as they develop fluency through learning that builds in a logical sequence. In Reception and key stage 1, staff teach phonics systematically. Staff revisit previously taught sounds and words, match books carefully to pupils' reading abilities and use questioning effectively to develop understanding. Teachers provide pupils with the knowledge that they need to write with accuracy across a range of genres.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Teachers understand pupils' needs and make appropriate adjustments that help many pupils who face barriers to learning, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities, to participate successfully in lessons.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

In the wider subject curriculum, some pupils are less secure in their learning than in English and mathematics. Some find it difficult to recall and apply their previous learning. This is because there are some inconsistencies in the way that staff teach the curriculum. In some classrooms, teachers' use of questioning and checking of pupils' prior knowledge have not identified gaps in learning or misconceptions effectively. Consequently, some teachers do not routinely identify the concepts that need to be revisited, or adjust learning well enough, when pupils struggle.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders have overseen many changes to the school in recent years, including the opening of a provision for 2-year-olds. The trust supports school leaders well in improving aspects of the school. Leaders’ actions have led to improved attendance, inclusion of pupils and achievement in English and mathematics over time. Leaders are revising aspects of the wider subject curriculum and embedding a consistent approach to teaching across the school. It is too soon for these actions to have had a positive impact on pupils’ learning in these subjects.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders prioritise high-quality, research-based training. A comprehensive training package supports all staff, from those early in their career to senior leaders. Leaders are highly visible as they work alongside staff, acting as role models and setting the expected standards in school.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The trust has detailed oversight of the school’s effectiveness. Leaders benefit from the network support and core training provided. Members of the local governing board validate information provided by leaders through school visits. They actively promote staff wellbeing and a manageable workload for staff, as does the trust.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Parents and carers are extremely positive about the school's work. They value the open communication with teachers and leaders and being included in the decision-making about their child.

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

Pupils and their families experience a warm welcome at this nurturing and inclusive school. Pupils build positive relationships with staff. They know whom to turn to for help if they need it. Bullying is extremely rare. Staff deal with it promptly if it arises. This helps pupils to feel safe. Pupils' behaviour is very positive. They strive to live out the ‘Badger Values’. Pupils show kindness and respect to one another. They enjoy the culture of praise where adults reward them for making the right choices and trying their best. Pupils enjoy coming to school and attend very well.

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

Pupils experience an ambitious curriculum that staff usually teach well. Pupils develop secure knowledge in reading, handwriting, spelling and mathematics from an early age. Many leave at the end of Year 6 with above-average attainment in national tests.

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

Staff support pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities, disadvantaged pupils, pupils known to social care and those facing additional challenges very well. They quickly identify pupils who face barriers to their learning and provide timely support. Leaders check the impact of this support closely and adapt provision when needs change. As a result, these pupils progress well through the curriculum from their starting points. They are purposefully included in school life.

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

Pupils feel valued and well supported. They build positive relationships with staff and with one another. They benefit from a broad range of opportunities, including clubs, performances, educational visits and experiences linked closely to the curriculum. Pupils value the careers education and the opportunity to find out more from employers about the types of jobs in the area. Pupils also develop a secure understanding of fundamental British values. They learn how to contribute positively to their school, local community and life in modern Britain.

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Next steps

Leaders should ensure that teaching across the wider curriculum subjects identifies and fills pupils' knowledge gaps and misconceptions so that pupils develop secure and detailed subject knowledge. Leaders should enhance their systems for checking the quality of teaching to ensure that staff teach the curriculum to a consistently high standard across all subjects and year groups.

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About this inspection

This school is part of Northern Education 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), Jane Wilson, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Mark Sanders OBE.

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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

This inspection took place on 15 and 16 September 2026.

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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 CEO, trust leaders and school leaders during the inspection. An inspector spoke with a representative of the trustees and a member of the local governing board.

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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 currently uses no alternative provision.

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About this inspection

Since the last inspection in November 2022, the school has opened a provision for children who are 2 years old.

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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.

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Facts and figures used on inspection

The inspector(s) used this data during the full inspection on 15 September 2026

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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 6 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 needs support 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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Pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standards in a combined reading, writing and mathematics measure.

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in reading

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in reading.

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing.

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Pupils reaching the expected standard in mathematics

The percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in mathematics.

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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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mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in reading

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in teacher- assessed writing.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in mathematics.

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average

‘S’ in the table above indicates the data has been suppressed, which is usually due to small cohorts. The suppression rules applied by the DfE when publishing the data have been mirrored and applied in the report card.

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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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mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics, including the disadvantaged gap.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in reading

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in reading and the disadvantaged gap.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in teacher-assessed writing

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in teacher- assessed writing and the disadvantaged gap.

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Disadvantaged pupils reaching the expected standard in mathematics

The percentage of disadvantaged pupils meeting the expected standard in mathematics and the disadvantaged gap.

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gap

‘S’ in the table above indicates the data has been suppressed, which is usually due to small cohorts. The suppression rules applied by the DfE when publishing the data have been mirrored and applied in the report card.

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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

You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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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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