Dyson Perrins CofE Academy

Dyson Perrins CofE Academy Yates Hay Road, Malvern, WR14 1WD

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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 Requires improvement 3 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Leadership and management Requires improvement 3

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a school that requires improvement.  Overall, students are not making enough progress. In mathematics students’ achievement is improving but it is not yet good enough.  Although teaching is good in some subjects, work is not always pitched at the right level. It is too easy for some and too difficult for others.  The achievement of Key Stage 4 students eligible for the pupil premium (additional government funding) is below that of other students.  Disabled students and those who have special educational needs make below-average progress.  The sixth form requires improvement because achievement is not as high as it could be.  Senior leaders’ actions to improve the progress of specific groups of students have not had enough impact.  The governing body does not hold academy leaders to account well enough for the quality of students’ achievement.

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The school has the following strengths

 The proportion of students gaining five or more GCSEs at grades A*-C, including English and mathematics, has risen steadily over the last three years.  There is some outstanding teaching in religious education, physical education and English.  Behaviour and safety are good. Students show respect for each other and their teachers. This reflects well on the academy’s ethos.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 35 lessons. Five of these were joint observations with senior leaders.  Discussions were held with the headteacher, the Chair of the Governing Body, senior leaders, other staff, and groups of students.  Inspectors took account of the 35 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) and the 32 responses from the staff questionnaire.  Inspectors analysed examination results and scrutinised a range of other evidence including the academy’s self-evaluation and improvement plans, records relating to behaviour, safety and attendance, lesson monitoring information, safeguarding documentation and examples of students’ work.

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Inspection team

Lisa Fraser, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Thomas Walton Additional Inspector Jerry Seymour Additional Inspector Sa'ad Khaldi Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The academy is smaller than the average secondary school, with specialist status for sport.  The large majority of students are from White British backgrounds.  The proportion of students who speak English as an additional language is below average.  The proportion of students for whom the school receives the pupil premium (additional funding for children in the care of the local authority, for those from service families and for students known to be eligible for free school meals) is below average.  The proportion of disabled students and those with special educational needs who are supported at school action is above average. The proportion of students at school action plus or who are assessed with a statement of educational needs is above average.  The school has specially resourced provision for twelve students with autism spectrum disorders.  The school meets the government’s floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for

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Information about this school

students’ attainment and progress.  Dyson Perrins C of E Academy converted to become an academy school in February 2011. When its predecessor school, Dyson Perrins C of E Sports College, was last inspected by Ofsted, it was judged to be satisfactory overall.  Forty-one students attend off-site alternative provision with a range of providers including the Bridge Outdoor Education Centre, South Worcestershire College, Worcester College of Technology, YMCA Worcester, Overdrive Malvern, The Fold Café, Hayswood Equestrian Centre and the Youth Development Centre in Worcester.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching, particularly in mathematics, to at least good by: - adjusting work to match more closely the needs of every student in the class, including disabled students and those who have special educational needs - sharing good practice to establish better teaching across all subjects - encouraging students to respond to the feedback given through teachers’ marking - developing the independent learning and investigative skills of all students, especially in the sixth form.  Improve the effectiveness of leaders and managers by:  ensuring the curriculum meets the needs, abilities and aptitudes of all students, particularly in the sixth form  evaluating the impact of initiatives on students’ achievement and making adjustments when necessary  improving the academic support for Key Stage 4 students supported by the pupil premium  ensuring the governing body provides greater challenge for senior leaders in holding them to

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Achievement requires improvement because not enough students make good progress overall, and particularly in mathematics.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Students enter the academy with skills in reading, writing and mathematics which are broadly average. There is a rising trend in attainment and in Year 11 the proportion of students gaining five or more passes at GCSE A*-C grades, including English and mathematics, has risen steadily over the last three years. Although results are now in line with that expected nationally, given students’ starting points, students are not making as much progress as they could.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 In English, students achieve well because teaching is good and sometimes outstanding. Achievement in some subjects is significantly better than average. Students achieve well in core science, English literature and physical education. Senior leaders have taken tough decisions to improve the quality of teaching in mathematics. As a result, attainment in mathematics is rising, but not as fast as English.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Students are entered early for GCSE examinations in mathematics. Some students are happy to gain a pass and do not always push themselves to get the best grades they can. Other students do not get the opportunity to improve their pass to a better grade. As a result, not enough students are making expected progress in mathematics.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Pupil premium funding has been targeted at eligible students in Key Stage 3. Funding for these students is spent on a range of support at Key Stage 3, including extra-curricular clubs, behaviour support and smaller classes in English and mathematics. As a consequence their progress has improved and they have begun to close the attainment gap with other students. Students in Key Stage 4 have received some support which has not had sufficient impact. As a result their rates of progress and attainment are below those of similar students nationally.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Disabled students and those with special educational needs are well-supported in lessons by high-quality teaching assistants. In some lessons teachers use the good information they have about students’ needs to plan lessons which have a suitable level of challenge for all. Overall, however, disabled students and those with special educational needs are not achieving as well as expected nationally.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Students with statements for autism spectrum disorder achieve well as a result of good specialist support leading to a phased integration into mainstream classes.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Large numbers of Key Stage 4 students study off-site for one or two days a week with a range of alternative providers. Some are studying on Level 1 courses. Although this is broadly suitable for these students, some are capable of studying at a higher level. Other students are successful at Level 2.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Students join the sixth form with average starting points. However, standards in both A-level and BTEC subjects are too low.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 The overall quality of teaching requires improvement because students are not making as much progress as they should. During the inspection, not enough lessons were good or outstanding, although no lessons were inadequate. This closely matches the academy’s own view of teaching.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Sometimes teachers talk for too long at the start of lessons; this means more active learning is delayed so some students lose interest. Typically, teachers plan the same work for all. As a result, the work is too easy for some students and too difficult for others.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 In the best lessons, teachers make use of the information available to plan lessons which allow disabled students and those with special educational needs to join in and make a valuable contribution. However, this is not always the case.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Students’ work is marked regularly but students do not always act upon teachers’ helpful comments which would enable them to improve.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teaching in the sixth form is characterised by a positive working atmosphere and strong relationships. However, learners are too passive in lessons and rely too much on their teachers to provide the answers. Students are not always set work which encourages them to show initiative and think for themselves.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 A small minority of lessons are outstanding. In a Year 11 religious education lesson, for example, the teacher’s excellent subject knowledge, high-quality explanations and good variety of resources enabled students to make outstanding progress in developing their exam techniques. In a Year 11 physical education lesson on volleyball, students made outstanding progress as a result of watching their performance on a video camera in order to pinpoint specific ways to improve, and responding to the teacher’s personalised feedback and guidance.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Students have positive attitudes to learning and show respect for each other and their teachers. Older students say they value the extra support with their studies that they receive from teachers outside of lessons.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 When given the opportunity to collaborate, students work well together in lessons. Students understand that other people may have views which are different from their own. For example, debates in religious education on ethical and moral dilemmas and opportunities to discuss topical issues in English are particularly enjoyed by Year 11 students.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Around the academy, students behave in a responsible manner so that breaks and lunchtimes are calm and orderly. Students are polite, courteous and friendly. The academy listens to students’ views through the school council.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Attendance is above-average and permanent exclusions are very rare. Robust systems are in place to ensure that behaviour is good and fixed-term exclusions are lower than that expected nationally. Middle leaders, known as ‘year achievement co-ordinators’, are effective in securing students’ good behaviour in addition to maintaining a good focus on monitoring students’ academic performance. Good systems for rewarding behaviour and achievement motivate students to do their best.  Students say they feel safe and bullying is uncommon. The academy ensures that students have equality of opportunity and that discrimination is not tolerated. It fosters positive relationships with parents and other agencies.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Older students take responsibility for helping their younger peers by leading the academy’s MAFIA (Mentoring and Friendship In Action). This gives younger students someone to talk to if they are having problems with their studies or at home. It is also successful in resolving difficulties when friends fall out with each other. Parents agree that the academy is a safe environment.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Leadership and management require improvement because neither achievement nor teaching is good.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Senior leaders have brought about improvements in students’ attainment, which has risen steadily over three years. However, several groups of students, particularly those supported by the pupil premium and disabled students and those with special educational needs, are failing to make the progress that they should.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Senior leaders have not evaluated the impact of strategies which may have worked well in the past when the school was seeking to improve achievement from a lower base. Significant numbers of students are still entered early for GCSE mathematics although this has not had a positive impact on their rates of progress. Some students who study at alternative providers are not being stretched to achieve as much as they could. The range of sixth form courses is not appropriate for all students.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Academy development plans identify the correct priorities but do not pinpoint enough specific strategies to tackle barriers to achievement. Senior leaders’ efforts to address the underperformance of specific groups are not sharply focussed. Students supported by the pupil premium at Key Stage 4 have not received enough support as the academy has targeted this funding at students in Years 7 and 8.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Robust action has been taken by senior leaders to improve teaching by tackling underperformance. Decisions on whether teachers should be paid more are carefully considered in the light of whether their performance warrants it. Teachers self-assess their skills against the Teachers’ Standards and this informs the academy’s training programme.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Good links to feeder primary schools enable teachers to share their skills and knowledge and learn from the best practice of primary colleagues, particularly in literacy and numeracy.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 As an academy, the school is no longer obliged to work with the local authority. Good links with other local schools enable subject leaders to keep up-to-date with developments in their subject area.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Several strong new appointments have boosted the senior leadership team over the last year, including in the sixth form. These new leaders have interesting ideas but these appointments are relatively recent and have yet to make an impact on the overall progress made by students.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Senior leaders recognise that the curriculum does not meet the needs of all students. Staff training is now focusing on developing students’ literacy across the curriculum. In the sixth form, several new courses are planned to be introduced next school year. At Key Stage 4 the academy plans to increase the number of students who are studying academic subjects.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The curriculum is enhanced by special days when the whole school follows a particular theme. For example, the technology department recently collaborated with a local company and university to organise a STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) day.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Students’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is a strength of the academy, as shown by students’ good behaviour and their positive interactions with staff. All students appreciate the extensive opportunities to get involved in competitive sport. Well-established links with feeder primary schools give students the opportunity to help with organising sports tournaments. Students in health and social care enjoy getting involved with the local community by visiting old people’s homes. Students’ spiritual and cultural development is promoted through links with schools in Tanzania and Kenya.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The governance of the school:  The governing body brings a range of valuable skills and experience to the academy. Governors have a good understanding of its strengths and weaknesses because they are frequently on site, meeting with staff and students. Governors hold senior leaders to account for students’ attainment but they have not yet had enough impact on ensuring that all students make the progress they should. Governors understand the academy’s use of performance management and its link to staff’s pay progression and have supported school leaders in tackling underperformance. Governors have also had a significant role in the recent restructuring of middle leadership. The governing body recognises that by targeting its spending of the pupil premium at younger students the academy is not doing enough to narrow the gap for these students at Key Stage 4. The governing body seeks to undergo all

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The leadership and management requires improvement

relevant training in order to best support the academy. All statutory requirements, including those relating to the safeguarding of students, are met.

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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 137186 Local authority N/A Inspection number 400165

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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 Academy converter School category Non-maintained 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 749 Of which, number on roll in sixth form 165 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Paul Charman Headteacher David Griffin Date of previous school inspection Not previously inspected Telephone number 01684 564751 Fax number 01684 573 765 Email address office@dysonperrins.worcs.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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