Inspection of The Archbishop Lanfranc AcademyMitcham Road, Croydon, Surrey CR9 3AS

Inspection dates:	4 and 5 March 2025
The quality of education	Good
Behaviour and attitudes	Good
Personal development	Good
Leadership and management	Good
Previous inspection grade	Requires improvement

The principal of this school is Simon Trehearn. This school is part of The Bec Trust, which is a single-academy trust. The trust is overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Alan Buckland.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy attending this friendly and welcoming school. They strive to achieve the academy values of teamwork, accountability, leadership and aspiration. Caring relationships with staff encourage pupils to try their best. Staff listen to pupils and take their views seriously. This helps pupils to feel happy and safe.

The school has improved the curriculum on offer for pupils since it was last inspected. Leaders want pupils to achieve well and drive this ambition forward through their focus on developing teaching and learning. As a result, many pupils achieve well and secure meaningful qualifications by the time they leave school.

The school provides strong pastoral and academic support. Staff make sure that help is available if pupils need it. For example, the school offers mental health support and counselling as well as academic mentoring. Year 11 pupils value the additional revision classes provided.

The school provides many opportunities for pupils to develop their talents and interests. All pupils undertake a weekly enrichment lesson on topics such as philosophy, debating, first aid and team building. Many pupils take on leadership roles including prefects, student council members, house representatives or reading champions. Pupils also take part in music, sports and drama events. Recently, a group of pupils performed Shakespeare at a London theatre.

What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The school has designed a curriculum that is ambitious for pupils. Subject leaders use the national curriculum to guide what is taught to pupils across each year group. Careful thought has been put into the key knowledge and vocabulary that pupils should learn. For example, in English, pupils in Year 10 learn to discuss social class and hierarchy in ‘An Inspector Calls’ as well as patriarchy and regicide in ‘Macbeth’.

The school ensures reading is a high priority. Pupils read a range of quality texts. Leaders are acutely aware that many pupils have lower starting points in relation to reading. The school identifies and provides support for pupils to read fluently, confidently and widely. The school’s well-used library plays an important part in promoting a love of reading. Pupils at the earlier stages of speaking English as an additional language receive well-targeted support to read with increasing accuracy.

The school identifies pupils’ needs precisely. Teachers adapt resources and methods to help pupils with SEND learn the school’s ambitious curriculum. As a result, pupils with SEND achieve well and develop increasing independence and confidence. Typically, teachers demonstrate strong subject knowledge. The school works hard to ensure that staff use effective teaching approaches. However, on occasion, teaching does not present new information to pupils clearly enough. In some instances, timely checks on pupils’ understanding of new content are not precise. This results in pupils finding some content confusing and moving on to new learning before they are fully ready.

Pupils’ conduct is positive, and there are high expectations for pupils’ behaviour. Typically, they are polite and considerate. In a few lessons, there are incidences of disruption to learning. Teachers manage these situations well to minimise the impact on the learning of others. Pupils who have recently joined the school in Year 7 say they feel welcome and supported in their move to secondary school.

The school has introduced a well-designed programme to support pupils’ personal development. They find out about different faiths and beliefs, as well as healthy relationships and consent in an age-appropriate way. Pupils speak highly of the careers guidance they receive, including learning about sixth form and apprenticeships. All pupils in Year 10 take part in work experience. The school also provides a range of additional opportunities that develop pupils’ character. For example, pupils take part in ‘academy day’ trips, school culture days and sports clubs such as basketball, table tennis and dance.

Leaders and governors share the same ambitious vision for the school. However, monitoring and oversight of some aspects of the school’s work are not as sharp as they could be. Staff, including those in the initial stages of their career, appreciate the support and extensive training they receive. They feel that leaders pay due care and consideration to their well-being. Staff value being part of the school community.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• On occasion, teaching does not present information to pupils clearly and ensures that checks on pupils’ understanding are precise. As a result, some pupils have gaps in their learning and develop misconceptions. The school should ensure that it checks pupils’ learning systematically and responds to any gaps or misconceptions swiftly, so pupils are fully ready for new learning.
• Clear oversight of some aspects of the school’s work is not fully established. This means that the school does not have a sharp understanding of the effectiveness of its actions or the impact on the quality of pupils’ education. The school should ensure that leadership at all levels, including those responsible for governance, has appropriate information about all areas of the provision offered to pupils and uses this information to ensure and assure the quality of this provision improves over time.

How can I feed back my views?

You can use Ofsted Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school, or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

In the report, 'disadvantaged pupils' is used to mean pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND); pupils who meet the definition of children in need of help and protection; pupils receiving statutory local authority support from a social worker; and pupils who otherwise meet the criteria used for deciding the school’s pupil premium funding (this includes pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years, looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route).

School details

Unique reference number	141210
Local authority	Croydon
Inspection number	10345990
Type of school	Secondary comprehensive
School category	Academy sponsor-led
Age range of pupils	11 to 16
Gender of pupils	Mixed
Number of pupils on the school roll	785
Appropriate authority	Board of trustees
Chair of trust	Alan Buckland
Principal	Simon Trehearn
Website	www.lanfranc.org.uk
Dates of previous inspection	14 and 15 September 2022, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

Information about this school

• The school is part of The Bec Trust.
• The school makes use of one registered alternative provision.
• The school meets the requirements of the provider access legislation, which requires schools to provide pupils in Years 8 to 13 with information and engagement about approved technical education qualifications and apprenticeships.

Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. During a graded inspection, we grade the school for each of our key judgements (quality of education; behaviour and attitudes; personal development; and leadership and management) and for any relevant provision judgement (early years and/or sixth form provision). Schools receiving a graded inspection from September 2024 will not be given an overall effectiveness grade.

• Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation about the quality of a school’s education provision.
• Inspectors discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.
• During the inspection, inspectors met with the headteacher, members of the school senior leadership team, a selection of subject leaders, teachers and support staff.
• Inspectors met with representatives of the trust, including the chair of the trust board.
• Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: mathematics, history, science, English and physical education. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.
• Inspectors also discussed the curriculum in some other subjects.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, inspectors reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils, and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.
• Inspectors considered the responses to Ofsted’s online survey for parents and carers, Ofsted Parent View, and surveys for staff and pupils.

Inspection team

Christian Hicks, lead inspector	His Majesty’s Inspector
Ed Simmons	Ofsted Inspector
Peter Gale	Ofsted Inspector
Eliot Wong	Ofsted Inspector

The Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted) regulates and inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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