A city suburb school 'requires improvement' after an inspection by Ofsted found pupils were “underachieving”.
Orion Academy in Knights Road in the Blackbird Leys area was established in February 2020 and caters for students aged between 10 and 18 years old.
Inspectors visited the school on Tuesday, June 4, and were left unimpressed with what they found, handing the ‘requires improvement’ label to this institution.
Personal development at the school was ranked as ‘good’ but the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes as well as leadership and management were all ranked as ‘requires improvement’.
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The school, which has 83 pupils enrolled, had issues with the teaching during the inspection which Ofsted believes is leading the students to underachieve.
“The quality of teaching is inconsistent,” read the report.
“Teachers do not always have the subject knowledge needed to deliver the curriculum confidently.
“Some staff adapt their lessons in response to pupils’ needs or what pupils know, while others do not.
“This leaves some pupils disengaged and unable to access their learning.
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“As a result, some pupils are not making the progress they should do [and] not achieve as well as they should.”
Another perceived issue at Orion Academy is a poor attendance record for students which Ofsted addressed after the inspection.
“Too many pupils do not attend regularly, which means they miss out on everything the school has to offer,” continued the report.
“Rigorous systems are in place to establish pupils' whereabouts and seek assurances about their wellbeing.
“However, the school is yet to develop an effective strategy to improve attendance.”
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The Oxford Mail approached Orion Academy for comment over the Ofsted report.
A spokesperson for The Gallery Trust said: “Before the inspection took place, we were aware of the areas requiring improvement but the various initiatives we had begun to introduce had not had sufficient time to bed in fully and achieve the expected positive outcomes.
“The inspectors, however, acknowledged the excellent work that is underway to drive standards and found that Orion Academy is ‘now on a positive journey’.
“They were particularly impressed by the way in which we build students’ self-esteem and judged personal development as ‘good’.
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“This has been an important focus for the school as we seek to create an inclusive, welcoming school environment in which every student can thrive.
“We know there is further work to be done but we are encouraged by the inspectors’ findings and are confident that the steps we are already taking will enable us to accelerate improvement in all areas.
“We have an excellent team at the helm at Orion Academy who are working hard to give students the educational opportunities they deserve.
“Whilst we remain committed to driving standards at Orion Academy, we are heartened that our Northern House Academy has recently been judged 'outstanding' by Ofsted.
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“Northern House Academy joined The Gallery Trust in similar circumstances to Orion Academy and over the past four years we have transformed standards dramatically.
“We are confident we can achieve the same turnaround at Orion and give our students an exceptional school experience.”
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