Ellesmere College

Ellesmere College Ellesmere Road, Leicester, LE3 1BE

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 This inspection: Requires improvement 3 Achievement of pupils Requires improvement 3 Quality of teaching Requires improvement 3 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

 Not enough students make good progress, because not enough teaching is good or better.  Teachers do not always make it clear what individual students’ are expected to learn from the activities provided.  Some of the activities can be too easy.  Students are not always told how well they are learning and what they need to do to improve.  Students’ reading skills are not taught well enough in the different subjects.  Despite some strengths, the sixth form requires improvement because not enough students make good academic progress.

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The school has the following strengths

 The drive of the new co-principals and the new senior leadership team has significantly improved teaching since 2011.  Staff ensure that the atmosphere of the college helps learning and students are well cared for.  Students’ behaviour is good both in and out of lessons. They enjoy being at school and feel safe.  Students make good progress throughout the college in communication and social skills.  Governors give good support and challenge the college to improve further.  Parents and carers’ views of the college are positive, and they are happy to recommend the college to others.  Sixth form students are helped to be independent and have good opportunities to learn about jobs.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed 21 lessons, of which 19 were jointly observed with senior staff. In addition, an inspector made a number of short visits to lessons.  Meetings were held with staff, the Chair of the Governing Body and two other governors, a representative of the local authority and with students. The views of staff were also gained through a questionnaire completed by 45 staff.  Inspectors observed the college’s work, and looked at a range of documents including those concerning safeguarding, records about behaviour and attendance, data on students’ progress, planning and monitoring documents, and samples of students’ work.  Inspectors took account of 30 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) and discussions with two parents.

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Inspection team

Kathy Yates, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Andrew Lyons Additional Inspector Debra McCarthy Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Ellesmere College is a larger than average secondary special school which caters for students with moderate learning difficulties.  The college’s population has changed considerably since the last inspection in September 2009. An increasing number of students have additional needs such as social, emotional and behavioural difficulties, speech, language and communication difficulties and autistic spectrum disorder. All have a statement of special educational needs.  There are far more boys than girls at the college. Over half of the students are known to be eligible for pupil premium (additional government funding), which is significantly above average.  The proportion of students from ethnic minority backgrounds or who speak English as an additional language is also high compared to the national average.  Since the last inspection the leadership team has changed. Prior to the appointment of the

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Information about this school

current two co-principals in 2011 the college was without a permanent headteacher for nearly two years.  Others in the senior team have taken up their roles in the last year. A new head of English was appointed in 2011 following temporary appointments since the previous Ofsted inspection.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve teaching so that it is good or better, by ensuring that:  information that is gained from checks on students’ progress is used to plan work that is well matched to their individual needs  teachers have clear targets for exactly what each student is to learn in each lesson, and tell students what they are  written and verbal feedback on their work tells students how well they are learning and what they need to do next to improve  staff are given training in phonics so they are able to effectively support planned opportunities for students to develop and practice their reading skills in all subjects.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Although standards are rising achievement is not yet good because not enough students make consistently rapid progress from their low starting points on entry. This is because, in too many lessons, students do not make good progress in their learning.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Progress still requires improvement in reading. This is because the training of staff to improve reading has mainly centred on the English department, and staff who teach other subjects have not been trained in teaching the links between sounds and letters (phonics). As a result, English staff are effective in developing the reading of the students they teach, but other staff do not pay enough attention to students’ reading skills and opportunities to accelerate progress are missed.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Another reason progress is not always rapid is that in less successful lessons teachers do not make it clear enough what is to be learnt from the activity students are doing. In these lessons, although students are happily taking part in a range of activities, they do not all know what they are aiming for and so it is harder for them to be sure they are focusing on the right things.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Students’ progress in communication and social skills is good across all key stages. The college’s “layered intervention” team provides specialist teaching programmes for those with speech and communication difficulties, for students who speak English as an additional language and for those in receipt of pupil premium.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 The college’s data does not show significant differences between the achievement of boys and girls or students who start at different levels and have different needs. There are no significant differences between the achievement of students for whom the college receives pupil premium money and that of other students at the college.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 The quality of teaching is improving but not enough is good to lead to consistently fast progress. Too many lessons require improvement.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Marking and other feedback are not always detailed enough so students sometimes do not always have a good enough understanding of how well they are learning and what they need to do to improve.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 In good or better lessons students are set challenging individual targets. Teachers and other adults carefully monitor their progress and so they can use information about what students can already do to plan the students’ next steps and set work that has the right level of challenge. In lessons that require improvement, the work is not so well matched to the students, which results in it being too easy for some.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Where teaching is good, teachers also closely check how well students are learning throughout the lesson and adapt tasks set to each individual student, so that they make good progress.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teaching assistants make a valuable contribution when they work with small groups; for example in a Post 16 personal, social and health education lesson they skilfully questioned students so they were able to complete their written tasks without being told exactly what to do.  Teachers and other adults establish a calm and purposeful atmosphere in lessons. They readily give praise and encouragement, which adds to students’ confidence and self-esteem.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 In most subjects there are good opportunities for students to practice speaking or communicating using visual symbols and this helps students to develop these skills well. Inspectors saw some good examples in lessons for students who have more complex needs, which enabled them to learn with less adult help.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teachers and teaching assistants provide students with good opportunities to share and learn together. They spend a good amount of time helping students to listen carefully and respond to the feelings of others, which promotes their spiritual, social, moral and cultural development well.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Students behave well around the college and in lessons. They are keen to learn and they work well with others. For example, in physical education they learn how to follow rules, keep themselves safe and work with others.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Behaviour is not yet outstanding because in lessons where work is too easy, students’ attention wanders a little and this slows the rates at which they learn.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Relationships between staff and students are extremely positive and students show they feel safe by the way they approach adults and each other at the college.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The college has an effective ‘layered approach’ (a combination of strategies) to managing behaviour, which has enabled students with challenging behaviours to succeed in their learning both in college and on their external placements. They are managed well so they do not generally disrupt the learning of others, and the staff successfully encourage them to participate.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Students learn well about how to keep safe at school and in the community. Parents and carers indicate that they feel their children are safe and secure at all times. They are confident that any type of bullying will be dealt with effectively. Older students were able to explain how they kept themselves safe whilst using computers.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Students who spoke to the inspectors reported they enjoy school and have a clear sense of what is right or wrong. They said that the college was their ‘second home’; they felt safe and were ‘well cared for’.

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The leadership and management are good

 The co-principals and senior leaders are closely involved with all aspects of the colleges’ work. They have a good understanding of the college’s strengths and areas for development and have made rapid improvements since their appointments.

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The leadership and management are good

 Together they have successfully tackled inadequate teaching and taken big strides towards establishing a position where most is good. They have established the right detailed strategies to further improve it.

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The leadership and management are good

 Teaching is monitored regularly and is linked closely to targets for improving teachers’ performance. Staff receive suitable training in areas of practice requiring improvement. The college has identified appropriate training to support all subject staff in phonics teaching.

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The leadership and management are good

 Senior leaders have ensured that subject leaders are now more effective in monitoring the progress of students in their area, to enable targeted support for individual students not yet making enough progress. Information on students’ progress is checked regularly with teachers, which has raised expectations amongst staff of what students can achieve.

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The leadership and management are good

 The programme of what is taught is suitably flexible so it can be changed to meet the needs of the learners. For example, the college has recently developed an effective way of combining the subjects that must be covered into simple themes for students with complex needs.

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The leadership and management are good

 The sixth form courses provide a good range of work-related experiences, which prepare students well for their choices after school.

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The leadership and management are good

 The budget has been used prudently to reorganise the senior leadership team and to appoint a permanent head of English. The funding received for pupil premium is also used productively, for additional adult support, sensory equipment, and for students to attend external work-related placements and extra activities after school.

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The leadership and management are good

 The college has a well-established, wide range of partners, with whom it works to significantly enhance opportunities and support for students.

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The leadership and management are good

 Procedures for safeguarding are good. All adults working in the college are carefully checked and arrangements for protecting students are rigorous.

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The leadership and management are good

 Parents who responded to the online survey and who spoke to the inspectors would recommend the college to others. They felt staff were very supportive and the college was well led.

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The leadership and management are good

 The local authority knows the college well and has given tailored support to match its needs, as well as providing useful governor training.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  The governing body is knowledgeable and informed about the college’s work; governors know its strengths and areas for development well and are highly committed to improving it further. Governors have had good training to help them play their role as friends who challenge college leaders. They have ensured that judgements on teachers’ performance are carefully checked against students’ progress, so that pay awards are closely linked to improvements in achievement. The governing body keeps a close eye on how well pupil premium is being used and checks the college’s evidence about how it is making a difference to the achievement of students for whom it is intended.

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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 130371 Local authority Leicester Inspection number 402421

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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 Special School category Community special Age range of pupils 11–19 Gender of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils in the sixth form Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 205 Of which, number on roll in sixth form 35 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Vince Hall Co-Principals Lin Richardson and Lisa Pittwood Date of previous school inspection 23 September 2009 Telephone number 01162 894224 Fax number 01162 894121 Email address office@ellesmere.leicester.sch.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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