Corby's Lodge Park Academy receives requires improvement Ofsted grading, falling just short of good

Corby’s Lodge Park Academy has been rated as requires improvement in its latest Ofsted report, falling short of a good grade in behaviours and attitudes.

The school was ranked good in all areas other than behaviours and attitudes, which was ranked as requires improvement.

Despite improvements being needed, it’s clear from the report that the school is attempting to improve. It is the first time in the history of the academy that the quality of education has been recognised as good.

Inspectors noted the ‘ambitious curriculum’ Lodge Park offers and recognised the strengths in their teaching.

The report states: “The school has high expectations of what pupils can achieve.

“The ambitious curriculum has been designed to make sure that all pupils gain sufficient knowledge to achieve well.

“The curriculums for all subjects have been carefully sequenced so that pupils can build on their existing knowledge and deepen their understanding over time.

“Pupils learn the vocabulary they need to discuss their learning and express their own ideas.

“The school quickly identifies pupils who need extra help with reading. They receive effective support to develop reading fluency so that they can access the curriculum.”

In the report the school was also praised for its support for pupils, including sixth formers, pupils with disabilities, and pupils who speak English as an additional language.

The school was praised for its ‘well-planned careers programme’, something they won a prestigious award for back in November.

It was also noted that the school’s arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

In regards to behaviour and attitudes, the area the school fell short in, the report states: “Most pupils behave well. They are polite and respectful and try hard in lessons.

“However, a small minority of pupils do not behave as well as they should. They truant from lessons and disrupt the learning of others.

“Some pupils are frustrated that poor behaviour is not always dealt with effectively. They told inspectors that they do not always feel safe in the school because of the way some pupils behave.”

The report outlines what the school must do to improve.

It says: “The routines that are in place to support pupils to behave well are not clearly understood by all pupils. They are not consistently applied by all members of staff.

“Furthermore, staff do not always address incidents of poor behaviour effectively. A significant minority of pupils truant from lessons and disrupt the learning of others. The school needs to ensure that routines, and consequences for poor behaviour, are commonly understood and applied consistently.

“Too many pupils are removed from lessons or suspended from school for incidents of poor behaviour. Pupils do not always receive effective support to correct their behaviour so that they can return to lessons successfully.

“The school does not have robust systems for quickly identifying when pupils need help to regulate their behaviour. As a result, these pupils miss too many lessons. The school needs to ensure that all pupils are supported to behave well so that they can remain in lessons and benefit from the curriculum.”

Ofsted will visit the school again within two years to check that the necessary actions have been carried out.

Sue Jones, executive principal of Lodge Park Academy, said: “We are delighted that the hard work leaders and staff have put into the improvement of Lodge Park has been formally recognised by Ofsted. It is wonderful that the quality of education has been graded as good - a first in the history of the school.

“The team of inspectors rightly praised our demanding curriculum and the success of our sixth form and recognised the excellent behaviour and attitudes of the majority of our pupils and their interest in and enthusiasm for their learning.

“We are already working hard to improve our response to the behaviour of the minority and we are committed to ensuring that all our pupils at Lodge Park are engaged in their learning and contribute positively to the school community.”

Mark Neild, deputy CEO and director of secondary schools at David Ross Education Trust, said: “We are very proud of the team at Lodge Park Academy for their hard work in improving the quality of education at the school and ensuring that pupils have access to such a challenging curriculum which is clearly setting them up well for their future lives at university and beyond.

“We are committed to supporting them in ensuring that all students now take advantage of the clear opportunities for success, progression and enrichment which are on offer at the school.”

Prior to this inspection, Lodge Park were last inspected in July 2021, where they also received a grade of requires improvement which was a step up from the previous inadequate of January 2019.

In 2021 they also fell short of good in only one category, that time being the quality of education.

The report has not yet been released on the Ofsted website but is due to be published in the coming days.