Ofsted praises 'kind and happy' Redwood Park Academy after inspection highlights 'extremely good' behaviour

Redwood Park Academy, located in Wembley Grove, Cosham, has been described as a ‘kind and happy’ place where ‘pupils behave extremely well’ following an Ofsted inspection which took place on April 23 and 24.

The inspection outlined that the school has made changes to its organisation and, as a result, ‘there is more consistency between how learning is organised’.

The Ofsted report said: “The curriculum has been revised to be increasingly ambitious for pupils’ achievement. Pupils learn a broad range of subjects. Staff have better information about pupils’ starting points than they had in the past.

“Alongside this, staff adapt what they teach to help pupils meet the short-term targets from each pupil’s education, health and care (EHC) plan.”

The staff have an understanding that repetition is crucial for pupils to retain important information which causes students to ‘achieve well’.

Louise Quaid, executive principal of Redwood Park Academy, said: “We are pleased that Ofsted has recognised the strong, supportive environment we have created at Redwood Park and the impact of the changes already made to raise expectations and better meet the needs of our pupils.

“We are absolutely committed to ensuring every child continues to grow in confidence, independence and achievement.”

The Ofsted also said that most pupils attend school regularly and there is support for families who need it to ensure pupils come to school more often.

Sharon Burt, CEO of Solent Academies Trust, added: “This report rightly acknowledges the dedication of Redwood Park’s staff and leadership in delivering an outstanding standard of education, care and support to our children and young people.

“We are proud of the work that has taken place and confident in the school’s continuing positive direction of travel.

“As a Trust, we will continue to work in close partnership with the school as it builds on its strengths and drives further improvement for every pupil and their families.”

The report said there are some areas for improvement with the ‘support for the weakest readers’ needing more organisation.

It said: “The books pupils use to practise reading are not always matched precisely enough to the sounds that they are learning. Pupils do not practise reading the sounds they know regularly enough.

“As a result, some pupils who have gaps in their phonics knowledge do not make the improvements they should.”

For more information about the Ofsted report for Redwood Park Academy, click here.