Lyndon School was inspected by Ofsted on 9th and 10th May 2018.  This visit is the first inspection following Lyndon School becoming a sponsored academy under the Summit Learning Trust. After the thorough two-day review, I am delighted to inform you that the inspection team confirmed that the new Academy has significantly improved.  Whilst the headline judgment is that the school requires further improvement to be good;  the school’s leadership and management is now judged as ‘good’ and, more importantly, capable of delivering further planned improvements.

We are firmly of the belief that strong and effective leadership is essential in securing our ambition that every student thrives both academically and socially. Our Senior Leadership Team is emblematic of our values and mission statement and is relentless in the pursuit for excellence at Lyndon.

Key findings from Ofsted Inspection May 2018.

• The Principal and an ably supportive new senior team share an uncompromising vision of improvement in the school. They have worked tirelessly and effectively to improve pupils’ attendance, behaviour and progress. Their self-evaluation is detailed and accurate, showing that they know their school well.
• Leaders have designed a coherent and broad curriculum. As a result, pupils’ progress at key stage 3 is strong and progress at key stage 4 is improving.
• Leaders know their school well. Their actions to improve the school are effective.

• Leaders have developed a coherent key stage 3 curriculum in which assessment is embedded. This allows them to track pupils’ progress confidently at key stage 3. The new curriculum is regularly reviewed, and leaders have invited tough external scrutiny over it. This scrutiny has led to many improvements and tweaks, further enhancing the curriculum. They identify those pupils at risk of not meeting basic expectations in English and mathematics early in Year 7. This enables effective interventions to be put in place to help pupils make better progress across the curriculum.
• Leaders’ systems to improve teaching are well designed. The training programme for teachers is informed by monitoring in classrooms, work sampling and analysis of pupils’ progress. Leaders know teachers’ strengths and areas for improvement. They work effectively to improve teaching, support teachers’ professional development and increase the rate of pupils’ progress.
• Leaders have introduced new assessment systems which are well integrated into the curriculum.

• Current pupils have benefited from a longer period of stable and improved teaching. In addition, teachers’ improved assessment accuracy and a clearer curriculum mean that they can be more confident about how well pupils are progressing towards their targets. As a result, pupils’ progress is much stronger for current key stage 4 pupils.
• Where there are subjects in which pupils are a little behind, leaders know about these issues. They are temporary problems that are being addressed, as opposed to deeper, systemic issues. Where groups of pupils are behind, leaders have effective interventions which are supporting their improved progress.
• The vast majority of pupils at key stage 3 are making good progress towards their challenging targets. Disadvantaged pupils and those with SEN and/or disabilities are making better progress than previously.

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• Leaders think carefully about pupils’ welfare. They take an innovative approach to make sure that they support pupils effectively.
• Pupils wear their uniform smartly, are mature in school and the majority have good attitudes to their learning. They have chances to participate in leadership opportunities through the prefect scheme and these prefects are positive ambassadors for their school.
• Pupils say that bullying is rare. They say that they feel safe in school and that if bullying issues occur, they have confidence in staff to deal with it.
• Leaders have introduced a regular meeting of a panel of staff with responsibility for pupils’ welfare. This panel brings together a range of expertise and a sharp focus on improvements in pupils’ well-being, engaging external agencies when needed. This panel works effectively to reflect leaders’ commitment that no pupil should ‘fall through the net’.

A copy of our full report is available below

Lyndon Academy Report May 2018

Should you have any questions or wish to receive a hard copy, please do not hesitate to contact the school.

You can also access our report directly from the Ofsted Website https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk