The Academy of St Nicholas

Enterprise South Liverpool Academy Horrocks Avenue, Garston , Liverpool , L19 5PF

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Not previously inspected This inspection: Requires improvement 3 Achievement of pupils Requires improvement 3 Quality of teaching Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2

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This is a school that requires improvement. It is not good because

 While teaching is good in the majority of lessons, not all is of this quality. This means not all students make the progress expected.  Students known to be eligible for free school meals make less progress than others. Only 36% of these students gained five or more A*-Cs at GCSE (including English and mathematics) in 2012 compared to 62% of other students.  Students make less progress in mathematics than they do in English. As a consequence, their examination results in mathematics are lower.  The sixth form requires improvement. While AS and A level results rose in 2012, there is too much variability between subjects.

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The school has the following strengths

 In the two years since the academy opened, the Principal, senior leaders, the governing body and sponsors have been successful in bringing about important improvements.  The quality of teaching has been improved and is now good. Leaders have been determined in their efforts to support those teachers whose teaching was not, or is not, of this quality.  The attendance of students has risen quickly from low to average.  Students behave well and speak with pride about the academy. Their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good.  The academy met government floor targets in both 2011 and 2012. In 2012, 53% of students gained five or more A*-Cs at GCSE (including English and mathematics) and all students achieved a qualification.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors visited 37 lessons on the academy’s two sites and at the Dove Centre. Thirty-five teachers were observed. Of the lessons observed, five were carried out jointly with academy leaders.  Inspectors also went on learning walks, for example, at break times and during lessons.  Inspectors looked at students’ work during lessons and looked at a sample of work in mathematics.  Five groups of students met with inspectors: a group from Years 7 -9 and groups from Years 10, 11, 12 and 13.  Meetings were held with representatives from the governing body and sponsors, leaders and staff.  There were no responses on Parent View. Inspectors took account of the academy’s own information gained from parents.  Questionnaire responses from 45 members of staff were analysed.  Inspectors looked at a range of documentation including that relating to student performance, the academy’s evaluation of its performance, records of teaching and safeguarding.

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Inspection team

Mark Williams, Lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Jane Jones Her Majesty’s Inspector Kath Harris Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The academy opened in September 2010. It is about average in size.  The proportion of students known to be eligible for the pupil premium is well above average. The pupil premium is extra funding given by the government for schools to use with pupils in the care of the local authority and those known to be eligible for free school meals.  There are fewer girls than boys.  The majority of students are from White British backgrounds.  The proportion of students with disabilities or special educational needs (those supported at school action, school action plus or with a statement of need) is higher than the national average.  The academy is due to move into new accommodation on the Horrocks Avenue site in September 2013.  The academy meets the current floor standards for attainment, which are the minimum standards set by the government.  The academy holds a number of awards, including the ‘International School Award’; the ‘National

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Information about this school

Standard for Enterprise Education’; ‘Investing in the Community’; ‘Go 4 It’; ‘Healthy Schools’; ‘Green Tree School’; ‘Garden Organics’; and the ‘O2 Media Awards’.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Academy leaders have identified the right priorities for improvement. Most importantly, to ensure all students across the academy make progress that is at least in line with national expectations, leaders should: - improve the quality of teaching across the academy by continuing their work in supporting and challenging those teachers whose teaching is not yet good - ensure regular on-going support is put into place between planned training sessions for newly qualified teachers and those teaching in their non-specialist areas - extend the role of lead teachers in checking how well their subject areas are performing - review the innovative curriculum taught to Year 7 students to ensure it is providing the b est opportunities for students to achieve its aims.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Students generally enter the academy with skills and abilities lower than those expected. This is not the case for all students. Some, for example, have attained Level 5 in the national tests for 11 year olds. However, not all students make the expected progress they should from these starting points. This is particularly the case for some groups of students, including those known to be eligible for free school meals and those who are more able. This is because the extra support funded by the pupil premium has not had time to influence achievement and the more- able students are not always given hard enough work to challenge them in lessons.  There are a number of valid reasons why overall the progress of students is not in line with expectations. First, the academy has not had time to influence all students for all of their secondary school careers. Students in Years 9 to 13, for example, began their secondary school

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

careers in schools different to the academy. Second, there has been a history of student underachievement and low attendance. Third, teaching quality across the academy has not always been good enough.  Good teaching quality now, and effective work to bring the attendance of students to national average levels, has led to improved rates of progress. Where groups of students are identified sharply, their needs in lessons are usually met. Disabled students and students with special educational needs are examples of such groups. There are indications that national expectations of progress are being met in Year 8 because these are the students for which the academy has been totally responsible. This bodes well for the future.  Academy leaders have recognised that some students have needed additional help in the basic skills of reading, writing, speaking, listening and mathematics. All teachers have regard for this

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

in their lessons whatever the subject they are teaching, although some are more effective than others in putting this into practice. In the Year 7 innovative curriculum, currently named ‘Creating Futures’, opportunities through history and music are taken well to improve these skills. In other aspects opportunities are missed. Also in Year 7, the ‘Small Learning Community’ is also helping to develop young students’ confidence and ability in the use of spoken and written English. In 2012, the performance of girls dipped in mathematics while it improved in English.  Examination results at GCSE improved markedly in 2012. As in 2011, government floor standards which highlight minimum grades students should get were met. For the first time all students in Year 11 gained at least one qualification. Results in English were better than those in mathematics.  Students in the sixth form gained better results at AS and A level in 2012 than in 2011. This is

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

because teaching quality has improved and students are more appropriately placed on courses than in the past. Some subjects which under performed in 2012 have been dropped. Overall, though, achievement of students in the sixth form requires improvement.

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The quality of teaching is good

 When inspectors visited the academy in November 2011 too much teaching was no better than satisfactory or what Ofsted now calls requires improvement. Teachers gave too little attention to what students should learn as a result of their teaching.  The strong and determined leadership of those in charge of developing teaching has brought about much needed improvement so that the overall quality is now good. The recent improvements in students’ progress, while still variable, are a direct result of this better quality teaching. Teachers are better at working with students and explaining clearly to them what they need to learn and how to go about it. They are also better at getting students involved in lessons. The result is that students are not only learning, they are also enjoying their lessons.  Even in the minority of lessons where teaching requires improvement, students generally enjoy their work. However, in lessons of this quality, students are more likely to lose interest and

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The quality of teaching is good

rarely make good progress. In such lessons, teachers do not always set work at the right level.  Teaching in some subjects and areas is particularly strong. In English and the sixth form, for example, inspectors found that lessons involved teachers asking students challenging questions on a regular basis. Students in these lessons were encouraged to think of their own answers and to work together to present ideas. In other lessons, such as in drama and in geography, teachers developed the speaking and listening skills of their students well which led to the students being to talk clearly about what they had been successful at and what they needed to do to improve. In such lessons, students make up for any lost ground and some make good progress.  A small amount of teaching is outstanding in quality. What stands out about these lessons are the ways in which students, no matter their ability, are always pushed on to do the very best

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The quality of teaching is good

they can. They make, without exception, at least good progress. In these lessons, teachers change what they have planned if they need, to ensure no-one slips behind. Relationships are excellent and students support one another fully in lessons, offering well-thought out suggestions to how their friends may improve their work. In one physical education lesson, for example, all students improved their racquet skills in badminton.  The quality of how teachers and other adults check up on how well students are doing has improved and is good. When teachers mark work they usually give clear advice to how students could improve their work. In some cases, though, this advice is not as clear and on a very few occasions evidence of marking is absent.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Good improvements have been made by leaders to ensure students behave well and are kept safe in the academy. The government’s requirements for keeping students safe are met.  The academy is a calm and orderly place. There was no need for teachers to patrol the corridors during the inspection as students were in the places they were meant to be. Relationships between staff and students are based on mutual respect. Overall, behaviour was good.  Students spoken with during the inspection talked openly about how behaviour had improved and how they feel safe. They have good reason to say these things because the academy’s records show adults and students have high and consistent expectations of behaviour. The number of incidents of less than good behaviour has reduced significantly as have exclusions.  Good improvements have been made in bringing attendance up to national averages. Leaders and the governing body have used extra funding, from the pupil premium for example, to

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

pinpoint individuals whose attendance has been poor. In addition, the targeting of students at risk of failure has also been successful as shown in every Year 11 student gaining at least one qualification in 2012. A number of students have also benefitted from opportunities to work at the Dove Centre in order that they do not drop out of education altogether. Inspectors found that such students were developing much more positive attitudes than they had in the past.  The values, beliefs and attitudes demonstrated in the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of students is good. Students appreciate the chaplaincy. They also understand well the similarities and differences between different religions such as Hinduism and Islam as well as differences in the tempo, dynamics and pitch in African drumming and Brazilian dancing. In addition, they articulate well their opposition and distaste for any form of discrimination.

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The leadership and management are good

 Leaders, the governing body and sponsors have worked relentlessly to create a successful academy since its creation just over two years ago. The journey has not been without difficulty but, quite correctly, those responsible for leading the academy have not turned away from their goal. They have secured much success and demonstrate a good capacity to make the necessary improvements. Students are attending more regularly, those who were at risk of failing are less likely to be so, teaching quality has improved, and examination results risen. Additional funding, such as the pupil premium, has been used well.  There is no sitting back. Leaders understand what they need to do to improve the academy, particularly in ensuring the rates of progress all groups of students make improves so that they move closer to national expectations. The priorities leaders have identified are most appropriate.  While teaching is good, the minority that requires improvement needs to be eradicated. Senior

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The leadership and management are good

leaders are dealing with this well by their support and challenge of those whose teaching is not yet good. Other leaders in the school are being helped and guided in how to check how well their areas of responsibility are performing. Leaders responsible for the checking of teaching quality have an entirely accurate view and are very well placed to drive further improvements. The targets set for teachers (performance management) are appropriate and challenging.  Leaders have made a number of changes in the mathematics department. The current temporary leader in this subject has a good grasp of the features that make teaching in mathematics good and, more important, the influence these have on the quality of students’ learning.  Leaders have in place good plans to support newly qualified teachers and those teaching in their non-specialist areas. What is not as clear is how such teachers will be supported in between

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The leadership and management are good

these sessions.  The curriculum is good and always developing. It supports students’ personal skills and development well, particularly those students at risk of failure. Newer developments to the curriculum include work by representatives from the sponsors to engage local businesses to ensure those at risk of dropping out do not do so. Where aspects have not worked well, in some subjects in the sixth form, for example, changes have been made, even to the point of removing them.  The innovative curriculum in Key Stage 3, ‘Creating Futures’ in Year 7 and ‘Enterprising Minds’ in Year 8, for example, has engaged the interest of students very well and has enabled them to understand better issues such as sustainable development. The curriculum in Key Stage 3 has been enhanced further by the introduction of law and Mandarin. While viewed by students as a very positive experience, the structure of ‘Creating Futures’ in Year 7 over one day per week

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The leadership and management are good

means fatigue can creep in towards the end of the day resulting in its aims not always being met.  The governance of the school: - Fulfils its statutory responsibilities. - Has set challenging targets for the Principal to achieve. - Holds the academy to account for its performance well. - Demonstrates a commitment to the life of the academy and ways of engaging the wider community, including business, in it.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding An outstanding school is highly effective in delivering outcomes that provide exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. This ensures that pupils are very well equipped for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 2 Good A good school is effective in delivering outcomes that provide well for all its pupils’ needs. Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 3 Requires improvement A school that requires improvement is not yet a good school, but it is not inadequate. This school will receive a full inspection within 24 months from the date of this inspection. Grade 4 Inadequate A school that has serious weaknesses is inadequate overall and requires significant improvement but leadership and management are judged to be Grade 3 or better. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors. A school that requires special measures is one where the school is

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Grade Judgement Description

failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the school’s leaders, managers or governors have not demonstrated that they have the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors.

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School details

Unique reference number 136119 Local authority Not applicable Inspection number 399825

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School details

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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School details

Type of school Secondary School category Academy Age range of pupils 11-18 Gender of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils in the sixth form Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 974 Of which, number on roll in sixth form 157 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Mr M Sunderland Headteacher Mr J Pendlebury Date of previous school inspection Not previously inspected Telephone number 0151 294 3150 Fax number 0151 494 2841 Email address j.pendlebury@esla.org.uk guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234 , or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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School details

You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when and as part of the inspection.

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School details

You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk, or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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School details

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 Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work- based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please

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School details

telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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School details

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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