St. Barnabas CE First and Middle School – Ofsted: January 2020 REQUIRES IMPROVEMENT

 

This report recognised the hard work of the new leadership team in stemming the previous decline of the academy and in ‘implementing suitable plans to drive improvements across the school.’

Inspectors recognised the strengths in Early Years, ‘Staff gain a strong understanding of children’s needs quickly and plan to meet these needs very well. Staff model language carefully to help children develop their communication skills rapidly. Children have a wide range of learning experiences to develop all areas of their learning. For example, forest school sessions develop children’s understanding of the wider world. Staff and children develop warm and supportive relationships. Because of this, children are confident and are not afraid to tackle the challenges of the ambitious and well-sequenced early years curriculum. ‘

Curriculum leaders were praised for their work in revising the planning for the curriculum and basing this on prior learning. However, inspectors felt leaders now needed to ensure work was sufficiently challenging and that the recent changes in approach and progression were being followed in each class.