Cambridgeshire secondary school once rated ‘inadequate’ now making ‘positive progress’

The SEN school still has more improvements to make concerning behaviour and learning.

A Cambridgeshire SEN secondary school has been recognised for making “positive progress” after being rated inadequate by OFSTED last year. A monitoring inspection was carried out at Riverside Meadows Academy on February 10 to check if the school had improved.

The school was judged to “require significant improvement” in June 2025. A new assistant head teacher responsible for curriculum and teaching was appointed in January 2026. A new CEO and executive team members were also appointed to the Horizons Education Trust.

In a report published on April 20, OFSTED said new leaders and trustees working at the school “have brought much-needed stability”. The report read: “In a short period of time, they have put into place effective systems and processes to reshape curriculum pathways, track attendance, address more challenging behaviours and improve governance.”

OFSTED reported that the school needs to make further improvements to “guide staff on how to teach the new curriculum”. Pupils have a “mixed view of behaviour” with some dealing well with the new policy while there is still some ‘unwelcome’.

The report notes that overall attendance is improving but it still remains low. However, fewer students are on part-time timetables and there have been fewer suspensions since the last inspection.

Riverside Meadows Academy has designed and reshaped its curriculum for both key stage 3 and key stage 4 pupils. The report said: “The school has checked it has an accurate picture of pupils’ starting points, including in reading.

“A realignment of class groupings is underway. This is to ensure pupils are following a pathway that is best matched to filling gaps in knowledge and to their aptitudes, therapeutic needs and interests.”

Kate Lovegrove, the Co-Headteacher of Riverside Meadows Academy, said: “We are pleased with the outcome of this first visit. There is still much work to do, but it is encouraging that inspectors have recognised we are focusing on the right priorities and taking the right steps in the right order.”