Sunderland school 'needs to do better' after Ofsted identifies inconsistencies in behaviour, expectations and quality of teaching

The school was judged by Ofsted as requiring improvement in all areas.

While inspectors said the majority of pupils behave well, they also highlighted there are a minority who “do not behave as well as they should” and cause disruption to some lessons.

The report identified a lack of consistency in expectations of teaching staff and application of the school’s behaviour policy as a contributory factor.

Inspectors said: “Not all staff have the same high expectations for how pupils should behave. When pupils do not make the right choices, there are not clear systems in place to help them improve their behaviour.

"Teachers do not apply the behaviour policy consistently. This leads to perceptions of unfairness from pupils. Additionally, some aspects of the behaviour policy lack clarity.

“Leaders should ensure that the behaviour policy is clear and consistently applied.”

The report did highlight that school leaders have designed a curriculum which is “broad and ambitious” and commended some subject leaders for having “thought carefully about what pupils will learn” and praised some teachers for delivering the content clearly and checking on understanding.

However lead inspector Katie Spurr said this “is not the case in all subjects”.

She added: “Some teachers deliver the curriculum more effectively than others. Some pupils are moving through the curriculum swiftly, but this is not always the case. In some lessons, the activities pupils complete are not well matched to what teachers want them to learn.

"Sometimes teachers are not checking pupils’ understanding before moving on. This means gaps in knowledge are sometimes not identified. Leaders should ensure teaching is of consistently high quality across the school.”

Ms Spurr also highlighted that pupils, and in particular disadvantaged students, are not “achieving well enough”.

She said: “In some subject areas, the curriculum is not ambitious or precise enough about what pupils will learn. This means pupils are not achieving well enough. Leaders should ensure all curriculum thinking is suitably ambitious and carefully organised.

"Disadvantaged pupils do not achieve as well as their peers. Most of these pupils do not benefit from the wider enrichment opportunities that are in place in

school. Leaders should ensure there are effective strategies in place to ensure that disadvantaged pupils achieve well and are engaged with the wider life

of the school.”

However, the report did praise the provision for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and prioritisation of literacy.

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Inspectors said: “Pupils with SEND broadly achieve well. Teachers ensure that these pupils can access the curriculum alongside their peers and benefit from an inclusive environment.

"Pupils who find reading difficult are provided with regular support to help them catch up quickly.”

Inspectors also praised the school for the “wide range of extra-curricular opportunities” with leaders having “thought carefully about how to develop pupils beyond their academic subjects”.

Careers guidance was identified as a strength of the school.

The report also highlighted how the school was in a “period of transition” with changes in leadership, including an interim headteacher.

The new leadership team was praised for being “ambitious for what pupils can achieve” and “raising expectations and challenging staff” to do better.