Jubilee Academy Mossley

Jubilee Academy Mossley Tintern Crescent, Bloxwich, Walsall, WS3 2SQ

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Not previously inspected N/A 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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This is a school that requires improvement. It is not good because

 The quality of teaching in Nursery and planning across Nursery and Reception is not good enough to reduce gaps in children’s knowledge and skills.  Some weaknesses in teaching hold back pupils’ achievement. Sometimes, pupils are not required to work hard throughout lessons and teachers’ questions are not varied enough to develop their thinking or understanding.  Pupils in all year groups are working below the levels expected for their ages in mathematics. Many pupils find it difficult to grasp mathematical ideas.  Some aspects of leadership are not developed fully enough to enable all staff with posts of responsibility to check up thoroughly on the academy’s work and to contribute fully to school improvement.  Members of the governing body have not yet acquired enough first-hand knowledge of the academy to enable them to play a full role in shaping its future.

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The school has the following strengths

 Senior leaders, members of Academy Transformation Trust and governors are ambitious for the academy’s future. Senior leaders have taken some effective actions to improve teaching.  Pupils’ achievement in reading in Key Stage 1 has improved markedly. Gaps with nationally expected levels of attainment in this skill have closed.  Pupils have good relationships with each other and staff. They know how to stay safe and have positive attitudes to learning. Staff know their pupils well and earn their respect through making consistent use of praise and sanctions to manage their behaviour.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed teaching in 17 lessons taught by 11 teachers and/or teaching assistants. Two of these lessons were observed together with the Principal or the Vice Principal.  Samples of pupils’ work in English and mathematics were analysed. An inspector listened to some Year 2 pupils reading.  Meetings were held with academy staff, a group of pupils, members of the governing body and a regional director of Academy Transformation Trust.  Inspectors took account of the 21 questionnaires completed by staff. There were insufficient responses from parents and carers for these to be recorded on the online questionnaire (Parent View). Parents’ and carers’, and pupils’, responses to the academy’s own recent surveys and written comments made by parents and carers while attending parents’ evenings were considered. An inspector also spoke informally to a few parents and carers at the beginning of the school day.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors looked at a range of evidence including: the work in pupils’ books; the first review of the academy’s effectiveness carried out by the academy sponsors; monitoring records; the academy’s own data on pupils’ progress; the governing body minutes; and policies, procedures and records relating to safeguarding, behaviour and attendance.

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Inspection team

Derek Aitken, Lead inspector Additional inspector Amanda Simpson Additional inspector

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Information about this school

 Jubilee opened as a sponsor-led academy on 1 August 2012.  It is similar in size to most other primary schools.  Most pupils are White British.  The proportion of pupils for whom the academy receives the pupil premium (extra government funding for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals, children who are looked after by the local authority and the children of service families) is well above average. Currently, there are no children in local authority care and no children of service families attending the academy.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported through school action is above average. The proportion of these pupils supported through school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is also above average.  Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage are taught in two part-time Nursery classes and one Reception class.

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Information about this school

 There has been some instability in staffing, including staff changes and redeployment, since the academy opened.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve teaching to good or better by ensuring all teachers make good use of time to:  enable pupils to work hard at all points in lessons  provide pupils with more opportunities to work on their own  increase the number of opportunities for teachers to question pupils in depth, to check their reasoning and in so doing extend their learning.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise standards in the Early Years Foundation Stage by:  improving the quality of teaching in Nursery and the consistency of planning across the setting  sharing best practice effectively between staff.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve pupils’ achievement in mathematics by:  providing pupils with more problem-solving and investigative tasks and better resources to enable them to deepen their understanding of mathematical ideas.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the effectiveness of leadership and management by:  ensuring leadership roles are fully developed at all levels to enable all post-holders to check up thoroughly on the academy’s work and so contribute more fully to its improvement.  ensuring governors undertake sufficient training and acquire detailed first-hand knowledge of the academy to enable them to play a full role in shaping its direction.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

An external review of governance should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and governance may be improved.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Children enter Nursery with levels of skills and knowledge which are well below national expectations. In spite of good teaching in Reception, significant weaknesses in children’s basic skills remain and they start Year 1 with well-below-average attainment.  Children’s progress, especially in Nursery, has been held back by unstable staffing and some weaknesses in teaching. Although this situation has eased slightly, it has hampered staff’s efforts to develop as a unit and plan across the setting for the best ways to improve children’s skills quickly.  Pupils’ progress improves in Key Stage 1 and some gaps start to close. Staff have made very successful use of a computer program to boost pupils’ skills in reading, and pupils’ attainment in this skill is now in line with the national average. Less-able pupils in Year 2 sound out new words correctly. This helps them to read accurately, but sometimes they do not understand what

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

individual words mean.  In Key Stage 2, in spite of a few inconsistencies in rates of progress, most pupils are working at the levels expected for their age in reading and writing. Pupils make good progress in their writing in Year 6 because they benefit from interesting opportunities to practise and develop their command of grammar through writing diaries, letters and biographies.  Attainment in mathematics is below average. Pupils know rules and methods but do not have a deep enough understanding of mathematical ideas nor sufficient opportunities to carry out investigative and problem-solving tasks to enable them to apply their knowledge securely.  There are no significant differences in the achievement of most groups of pupils. As the academy only opened in August 2012, there are no published average points scores for comparing the attainment of its pupils who are eligible for pupil premium funding with those

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

pupils who are ineligible. School data show that the attainment in English and mathematics of the pupils known to be eligible for free school meals compares favourably with that of similar pupils across the country and that of their classmates who do not qualify for this funding. Most disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make good progress from their starting-points, which are sometimes exceptionally low.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 The academy’s records show that there have been improvements to teaching since September 2012. However, good teaching is not yet a consistent feature of the academy’s work.  Teachers sometimes do not make sharp use of time to make sure all pupils work hard throughout lessons. While they make good use of the interactive whiteboard to settle pupils and recap on previous learning, they occasionally spend too long practising new ideas. This means that pupils have less time to work on their own and reduces opportunities for staff to question pupils in depth, to check their reasoning and extend their learning.  Teachers foster good relationships with pupils and manage them consistently well, although a few pupils ‘switch off’ at times when the teacher talks too long and the pace of learning slows.  Reading and writing are taught effectively in most year groups. The teaching of mathematical skills is less secure. Much of pupils’ work is paper-based and teachers do not provide enough

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

good ‘hands-on’ resources to develop pupils’ visual awareness of mathematical ideas, such as shapes, or to enable them to support each other in their learning.  Disabled pupils and those pupils with special educational needs are usually taught well and make good progress. This was seen in a Year 4 lesson when these pupils were helped very effectively to partition numbers correctly and explain their reasoning.  Some marking is of good quality, especially in year groups where staffing is more settled and experienced. In these classes, pupils receive consistent feedback about their achievements, linked to their levels and targets, and clear guidance about how to improve their work.  When teaching is at least good, teachers ensure all pupils are highly responsive and make fast progress. This was seen, for example, in a Reception lesson when the teacher’s highly effective use of mime, letter boards, and letters and sounds (phonics) enabled children to devise their

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

own sentences based on the ‘Handa’s Surprise’ story.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Nearly all children in the Early Years Foundation Stage show interest in their work and many children in the Reception class demonstrate their enthusiasm for learning through their willingness to answer staff’s questions and their persistence in working through tasks.  Pupils in the other year groups are friendly and polite. They behave well in lessons and in public areas inside the academy. They abide by the academy’s new behaviour policy and understand the difference between right and wrong. They usually comply quickly with staff’s requests and they play happily with each other on the playground, where they are well supervised by staff. Older pupils make good use of opportunities as buddies and house captains to resolve any problems.  Exclusions are rare. The school has a good record in ‘going the extra mile’ in working with pupils whose medical difficulties, weak speaking skills or behavioural problems make learning hard for

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

them.  Pupils report that bullying is uncommon and that any unpleasantness is usually restricted to name-calling. They say that staff deal quickly with any incidents. The responses to the questionnaires and parents’ and carers’ written and oral comments indicate very few concerns with pupils’ behaviour or safety.  Nearly all pupils enjoy lessons and have positive attitudes to learning. Most pupils maintain their concentration well, especially when the lesson proceeds at a brisk pace and they can take more responsibility for their learning. Some pupils lack self-confidence and need extra support and encouragement to volunteer responses in front of their peers, for example in assemblies.  Pupils feel safe in the academy as it is a secure site and staff make sure they are taught what they need to know about anti-bullying strategies and the importance of offering help to others if needed. Pupils behave safely in areas where space is confined, such as corridors.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The headteacher analyses attendance patterns carefully and the results of her analyses show that there are very few variations in attendance patterns for all groups of pupils. Senior leaders work hard to encourage good attendance and punctuality. In spite of this, attendance remains a little below average.

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The leadership and management require improvement

 Leaders have high aspirations for the academy’s future and are strongly committed to raising pupils’ achievement. They have redeployed staff carefully, at a time of some instability in staffing due to long-term sickness leave, to support less-experienced staff and to make sure that pupils’ learning is not unduly affected. They ensure that safeguarding requirements are fully met.  A few leadership roles, especially amongst middle managers, are not sharply defined or sufficiently developed to enable all post holders to check up thoroughly on the academy’s work. Consequently, while senior leaders are aware of the academy’s main strengths and weaknesses, their evaluation of the academy’s overall effectiveness is over-optimistic.  Leaders’ rigorous actions to tackle underperformance demonstrate their drive and capacity to secure improvement. Training, especially in literacy and techniques for managing pupils’

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The leadership and management require improvement

behaviour, has improved staff’s expertise. Together, these measures have led to considerable improvements in the quality of teaching since the academy opened. Salary increases are suitably linked to staff’s performance and additional responsibilities.  Good tracking and assessment systems help senior leaders to form clear ideas about what they need to do to intervene quickly to support the progress of different groups, including those pupils at risk of underachieving, and disabled pupils and those pupils with special educational needs.  The school ensures no pupil is discriminated against and promotes equal opportunities adequately. Individual vulnerable pupils have benefited from the ways the pupil premium has been spent. This funding has been used, for example to provide extra staffing to reduce group sizes, and for computer-based reading programs and subsidised theatre trips.  Leaders promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well, for example

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The leadership and management require improvement

through planned opportunities for pupils to enjoy sport, to develop their musical talents and to appreciate the work of foreign artists.  The leaders of Academy Transformation Trust carried out a thorough review of the academy’s effectiveness just after it opened. Leaders have used the review’s hard-hitting conclusions well to refocus their efforts and raise expectations for staff and pupils alike, and to make some improvements.

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The leadership and management require improvement

 The governance of the school:  Members of the governing body have concentrated, necessarily, on procedural matters, such as their new terms of reference and committee elections, to establish their management structures for the academy. They have not yet undertaken sufficient training nor acquired enough first-hand knowledge of the academy to enable them to play a full role in shaping its direction. They have an adequate understanding of how well pupils are achieving and the quality of teaching. They know how pupil premium funding is being spent but have not evaluated the impact of this expenditure. Their good financial skills have enabled them to support senior leaders well in increasing the rigour and scope of arrangements for managing staff’s performance.

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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 138540 Local authority Walsall Inspection number 409394

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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 sponsor-led School category Community Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 233 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Julie Sheldon Headteacher Karen Hammond Date of previous school inspection Not previously inspected Telephone number 01922 710357 Fax number 01922 493306 Email address postbox@jubileeacademy.co.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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