Hanham Woods Academy has won praise from Ofsted for encouraging its students to “Dream Big”.
A team from the education watchdog spent two days assessing the school, during which time they met leaders from the school and its trust, spoke with parents and pupils, and carried out a range of inspection activities.
Although the visit was an ungraded inspection, Ofsted confirmed Hanham Woods has ‘taken effective action’ to maintain the standards which earned the school a ‘Good’ rating previously.
Inspectors highlighted the “ambitious curriculum”, “calm and orderly” atmosphere and “high quality support” given to pupils.
In her report, lead inspector Sarah Favager-Dalton said: “The school has high aspirations of what all pupils can achieve. Pupils are encouraged to ‘dream big’ about their futures.
Ofsted noted: “In recent years, pupils have typically achieved well. However, the school’s published outcomes in 2024 were below national averages. This is not typical for the school and is not reflected in the quality of education pupils receive currently.”
To improve further, Ofsted said, the school should ensure children remembered what they had learned, should improve pupil attendance and should communicate with parents better.
Steve O’Callaghan, Principal at Hanham Woods Academy, said: “This is really proud moment for me as principal, to see the hard work of colleagues, students and the wider community recognised as we continue our improvement journey.
“We welcome the outcome of the inspection and are actively pursuing further improvement to give children the best chance of success.”