Athena School, Canvey Island

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils that join this recently opened school have experienced much turbulence to their education previously. The school is a safe space for pupils to start to re-engage with their learning. Staff encourage pupils to have a voice at school. Pupils value this. This helps the school to identify pupils' needs and interests. Staff are starting to build learning around these. This helps pupils develop a positive attitude to education.

The school expects pupils to engage with learning. Pupils are beginning to rise to this. For example, they learn in the local community. This supports pupils to secure some of the important knowledge for their next steps. For example, they grow their understanding of healthy eating and the benefits of a balanced exercise programme through using the local gym. These visits help pupils learn to be responsible when outside school.

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

The school has recently opened and only just admitted its first pupils. It is too early to fully evaluate the impact of its work as much of it is in its infancy. While the school has begun to have a positive impact on the very small number of pupils on roll, this is in the early stages. There is insufficient evidence to make graded judgements during this inspection.

The school identifies the most important knowledge pupils need to understand given their gaps in learning. The curriculum breaks this knowledge down into smaller chunks. This provides staff with useful information to help them plan effective lessons.

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