Setting

Joy Hardwick Oscott Manor School Old Oscott Hill Kingstanding Birmingham B44 9SP

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Education act 2005 to Oscott Manor School

Following my visit to your school on 10 December 2012, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to report on the findings of my visit. Thank you for the help you gave me and for the time you made available to discuss the actions you are taking to improve the school since the most recent section 5 inspection.

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Education act 2005 to Oscott Manor School

The visit was the first monitoring inspection since the school was judged to require improvement following the section 5 inspection in October 2012. It was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005.

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Evidence

During the visit, meetings were held with the headteacher and other senior leaders, the Chair of the Governing Body, a representative of the local authority, the school council and a national leader in education (NLE) who is providing support to the school. The school improvement plan was evaluated. A range of documentation was reviewed including the outcomes of a recent peer review undertaken by the NLE and the outcomes of a recent round of internal lesson observations.

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Context

There have been no significant changes since the recent inspection which judged the school to require improvement. The school still has plans to relocate to a new site in September 2013. Serco Inspections Cedar House 21 William Street Edgbaston Birmingham B15 1LH T 0300 123 1231 Text Phone: 0161 6188524 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk Direct T 0121 683 3258 Direct email :rachel.dayan@serco.com

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Main findings

The school accepts that the outcomes and priorities for the recent inspection are the right ones and these judgments were further supported by a peer review which took place in November. Leaders have made suitable plans to strengthen the quality of teaching and learning in the school. Since the inspection, the headteacher and the senior leaders have devised a “Moving to Good Action Plan” which gives an overview of the support which teachers, who have recently taught lessons graded as 3 or 4, can expect in improving their teaching. A programme of workshops has been established so that subject leaders can coach colleagues in how they can incorporate different curriculum areas in to their lessons. Following a recent meeting with the local authority school support officer, several strategies for collecting and using data are being considered to develop this area. Training has been requested by senior leaders in how to assess the progress made by the pupils. There are plans that all

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Main findings

teachers will receive training, so that they understand this area and know how to incorporate it in to their planning.

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Main findings

The school development plan has incorporated the main areas requiring improvement identified in the inspection. It needs further refinement, by being linked to subject improvement plans and by providing some milestones for each area so that progress can be closely tracked. There is little evidence of visits to school by governors and they are looking at ways to rectify this, by the use of a pro-forma for recording visits and any impact. The headteacher is also seeking support from the local authority so that the governing body is familiar with the types of questions it should be asking to hold leaders to account.

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Main findings

Senior leaders and governors have begun to take effective action to tackle the areas requiring improvement identified at the recent section 5 inspection. Following the visit to the school, HMI recommend that further action is taken to:

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Main findings

 work with the local authority and HMI in order to strengthen the role of the governing body.  improve staff’s understanding of how assessment data contributes to well- targeted planning and improved teaching.  ensure that senior leaders are proficient in summarising their work so that governors benefit from more succinct reporting.  work with HMI to strengthen the quality of teaching and assessment  co-ordinate work between the school’s leaders, governors and local authority so that the proposed relocation does not negatively impact on improvements

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Main findings

Ofsted will continue to monitor the school until its next section 5 inspection.

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External support

The local authority support officer and headteacher have worked well in partnership to co-ordinate a range of appropriate support to the school. This is helping to improve the quality of teaching and strengthen leadership. The link with the national leader in education has been a strong element of this support as she has already started to identify where training is needed and to provide it. More work is required on identifying local schools where there is outstanding practice, so that staff can observe it.

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External support

I am copying this letter to the Chair of the Governing Body and the Director of Children’s Services for Birmingham.

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