When Leigh Academy Halley was chosen as one of the first schools to be inspected under the new Ofsted framework, we were excited and nervous in equal measure – and even more so when the report arrived last week.
As a mixed 11 to 18 comprehensive school in Kidbrooke, south-east London, we are proud to serve a richly diverse community as part of Leigh Academies Trust, but the school has not always lived up to its potential.
When it joined the trust in 2018, confidence among families was low. Routines were inconsistent. Poor behaviour too often disrupted learning. However, seven years later, Ofsted has awarded us “exceptional” in five areas and “strong standard” in two.
Inspectors noted a raft of positives: pupils behave well, attendance is significantly above national averages and pupils feel a deep sense of belonging.
This is a significant moment – not because of a badge or an accolade, but because it reflects seven years of sustained, deliberate work to build a school that genuinely changes lives. So how did we do it?
Clear accountability
Since the trust took over the school in 2018, one key priority has been ensuring a clear set of expectations – especially around behaviour.
This has meant putting a big focus on creating a disruption-free learning environment with a respect code that makes it clear no student has the right to undermine the learning of others. It has also meant taking swift, consistent action when standards fall.
Every evening, the leadership team reviews all behaviour logs to ensure immediate follow-up and strong communication with families. This consistency is a gift to young people: it creates safety, focus and success.
Linked to this, we have banned all mobile phones in school, too.
High expectations for all
Halley serves one of the most deprived wards in the country – 40 per cent of students are eligible for free school meals, we have above-average numbers of pupils with education, health and care plans, and more than 30 per cent speak English as an additional language.
Plus, many pupils join us at non-standard points in the year.
But our response has never been to lower expectations. We raise them – and match them with care, structure and ambition.
This includes a comprehensive transition and induction programme for new students, and a skilled EAL team to support English language acquisition.
Attendance
Attendance has been a particular strength, as inspectors recognised, with attendance above national averages in every year group and persistent absence below national levels.
This has been achieved through robust, well-understood systems, relentless communication with families about the importance of being in school every day, and swift, supportive intervention when patterns of concern emerge.
Schools within schools
One key change has been to organise the academy around a “small-school model” – three “small schools” in the main school and one in the sixth form.
This means each “small school” has its own leadership and pastoral team, ensuring that every student is known well and supported effectively.
It gives students a powerful sense of identity and belonging, and families a clear, trusted point of contact.
A broad curriculum offer
Curriculum ambition has been equally critical, and we believe in mastery of the core within a broad, balanced and coherent curriculum.
To this end, we are proud to be an International Baccalaureate World School offering the IB Middle Years Programme in key stage 3, a broad GCSE and Btec offer at key stage 4 – with over 80 per cent of students following the English Baccalaureate – and the IB Careers Related Programme, alongside T levels, in key stage 5.
This means we can always find a mix of pathways that support learners, rather than a one-size-fits-all model, ensuring students stay engaged throughout their time with us.
Facilities, development and engagement
Over the years, we have invested heavily in staff, including weekly CPD, instructional coaching through Steplab and remote PPA time to offer flexible working.
This has kept staff turnover low and made supply teaching unnecessary, ensuring that we develop a deep level of expertise and knowledge among staff – both pedagogically and institutionally – and students develop long relationships with staff.
We have also created a digital strategy that ensures every student has a Chromebook, fully integrated into Google Classroom, so they feel ready for the world of work.
Furthermore, our personal development entitlement ensures that students receive over two hours of planned personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education each week.
Linked to this, we provide access to more than 50 clubs and societies, cultural capital days and weeks, work experience, residentials and international opportunities.
We have also developed relationships with key partners such as the Tallow Chandlers livery company and with Teach First and the Children’s Literacy Trust to recruit great teachers, and enhance the academic and pastoral interventions we offer.
Trust support
We also rely heavily on the support, challenge and investment of Leigh Academies Trust.
This takes the form of everything from subject specialist curriculum advisers helping to refine curriculum design, to senior leaders benefiting from forums and development sessions and central services teams ensuring that we have dependable support at scale, so we can focus on teaching, inclusion and pupil outcomes.
What comes next
Our work is not finished. We are a learning community in the truest sense, always seeking to improve.
Nonetheless, our Ofsted outcome is a vindication of the approach we believe in and testament to the hard work of all of our staff in every role.
Education changes lives. Every young person who walks through our gates deserves an exceptional education – and that is the standard we hold ourselves to, every single day.
Ben Russell is principal of Leigh Academy Halley
You can now get the UK’s most-trusted source of education news in a mobile app. Get Tes magazine on iOS and on Android
