Trinity Academy

Trinity Academy Church Balk, Thorne, Doncaster, South Yorkshire, DN8 5BY

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Outstanding 1 This inspection: Inadequate 4 Achievement of pupils Inadequate 4 Quality of teaching Inadequate 4 Behaviour and safety of pupils Inadequate 4 Leadership and management Inadequate 4

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a school that requires special measures.  Too few students make enough progress in mathematics. Too few students exceed the expected levels of progress in English and mathematics. Students’ attainments in several subjects, including the key subject of mathematics are significantly below national averages.  The most able students are not challenged to achieve the higher grades they are capable of, and policies about the curriculum, implemented by the school, have restricted their progress.  Boys’ attainment is far lower than girls. Gaps between the attainment levels of students supported by the pupil premium and those who are not are widening.  Students’ attitudes to learning are inadequate when teaching is poor. This inadequate behaviour contributes to the inadequate progress they make.  A high number of students are excluded from the school.  The expectations of too many teachers of what students can achieve are too low. This means

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

students are not challenged to achieve the grades they are capable of, and contributes to their inadequate progress.  Inconsistency in the quality of teaching is limiting the progress of students. There is not enough good practice across the school to enable students to make good progress.  The overall effectiveness and achievement of students in the sixth form are inadequate. Too many students who are capable of achieving a pass grade at AS level do not do so.  The impact of leadership, management and governance on the quality of teaching and students’ achievement is inadequate and there is no clear overview of the impact of many of the actions taken.

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The school has the following strengths

 Around the school site, students are polite and courteous. Student attitudes in the sixth form are very positive and they are good ambassadors for the rest of the school.  The effective development of students’ spiritual awareness, through assemblies and lessons.  There are effective procedures for ensuring students are punctual to school and to lessons.  Since September 2013 new policies and procedures have been put in place, such as new line-management agendas, which are starting to strengthen leadership and management.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspection team observed 51 parts of lessons. 14 of these lesson observations were done jointly with members of the senior leadership team. Lessons were observed in Key Stage 3, Key Stage 4 and the sixth form with a range of subjects observed.  Meetings were held with the headteacher, the vice-principals, other members of the senior leadership team, middle leaders, the Chair of the Governing Body and other members of the governing body, teaching assistants, and teachers with no leadership responsibilities. The inspectors met with groups of students and spoke to them at informal social times.  Inspectors scrutinised students’ work and read documentation, including that relating to governance, students’ progress, self-evaluation, improvement planning, the curriculum and safeguarding.  Eighty-four responses were made to the online questionnaire (Parent View). These were reviewed by the inspection team and taken into account. A small number of parents contacted

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Information about this inspection

Ofsted before and during the inspection and the team considered their views also. The 71 responses to the staff questionnaire were taken into account by the inspection team.

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Inspection team

Tanya Harber Stuart, Lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Janet Pruchniewicz Additional Inspector Wendy Bradford Additional Inspector Andrew Williams Additional Inspector Paul Rafferty Additional Inspector

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Full report

In accordance with section 44 the Education Act 2005 (as amended), Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that this school requires special measures because it is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the persons responsible for leading, managing or governing the school are not demonstrating the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school.

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Information about this school

 Trinity Academy is a larger-than-average secondary school. It is a member of the Emmanuel Schools’ Foundation.  The proportion of students supported by the pupil premium (extra funding provided by the government for students who are entitled to free school meals, looked after by the local authority or are children of service families) is higher than the national average.  The proportion of students supported at school action plus or with statements of educational need is lower than the national average as is the proportion of students supported at school action.  An alternative curriculum is provided for a small number of students in Year 10 and Year 11 with Engage, Enhancement Training, Bentley Training Centre, Doncaster College, Distinction Training, Oracle Training and CCL.  In 2012 the academy met the government’s current floor standard, which sets out the minimum expectations for students’ attainment and progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching so it is at least good by:  ensuring all teachers plan activities which meet the needs and interests of students  raising the aspirations and expectations of teachers so they challenge students to make at least good progress and ensure students who are capable of achieving the highest grades do so  improving the quality and consistency of marking and feedback so it clearly identifies what students need to do to improve their work and make better progress  allowing the students opportunities to act on the feedback they are given  ensuring curriculum provision supports student progress more effectively.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the behaviour and attendance of students by:  eradicating disruptive behaviour in lessons by providing students with work which challenges them, interests them and motivates them to make at least good progress  continuing to work with parents and carers to raise the level of attendance.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise attainment overall, including in the sixth form, and especially in mathematics, by:  accelerating the progress made by all students, focusing especially on the achievement made by boys, the most able students and students supported by the pupil premium  ensuring that the most able students who are capable of achieving the highest grades do so.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the effectiveness of leadership and management and develop the role of leaders and managers at all levels by:  ensuring the development plan is clear about who is doing what, why they are doing it and the impact it will have on students’ progress  holding middle leaders to account for the progress students make in their subjects, and ensuring middle leaders hold their teachers to account also  providing middle leaders with opportunities to engage in monitoring and evaluating the impact of actions taken  focusing all actions on improving the amount of progress students make and raising the levels of attainment, including those in the sixth form?  inspectors strongly recommend that the academy should not seek to appoint newly qualified teachers.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

An external review of governance, to include a specific focus on the school’s use of the pupil premium, should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and governance may be improved.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

Ofsted will make recommendations about the governance to the authority responsible for the school.

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

 When set against their starting points the progress certain groups of students make during their time in the school is inadequate. The proportion of students who, at the end of Year 11, achieve five A* to C grades including mathematics and English is broadly in line with the national average. However, this headline figure hides the inadequate progress made by different groups of students such as the most able students who do not achieve the highest grades at GCSE of which they are capable, including in the key subjects of mathematics and English.  The proportion of students making the expected progress in mathematics is below the national average. The proportion of students making expected progress in English is broadly in line with the national average. A much smaller proportion of students make above expected progress than nationally in English and mathematics.  In 2013, boys’ attainment dropped. In English, boys achieved over a grade less than girls did

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

and in mathematics the difference was a third of a grade. Overall boys make inadequate progress between Year 7 and Year 11.  The progress made by students supported by the pupil premium funding is inadequate. In particular, the most able students supported by the pupil premium make much less progress than their peers. The gaps between the progress made by students funded by the pupil premium and other students are widening. In 2013, in English, the average grade achieved by students supported by the pupil premium was over a grade less than that achieved by other students. In mathematics, students supported by the pupil premium achieved over a grade less than other students.  Students supported at school action, school action plus and those students who have a statement of special educational needs make the same progress as their peers nationally. The achievement of these students requires improvement.

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

 Students educated at alternative provision in 2013 made inadequate progress. Many of these students left Year 11 with no qualifications. They were not able to make better progress because the curriculum provided for them did not meet their needs.  The school is not promoting equality effectively because the achievement of different groups of students is inadequate.  Funding for supporting students from Year 6 into Year 7 was used to provide a summer school. There is some evidence that the activities the students engaged in had a small impact on developing their literacy skills.  The school has purchased a set of commercial programmes to develop students’ literacy skills. As a result the reading levels of students at Key Stage 3 are rising.  The schools policy of entering students early for GCSE mathematics has contributed to students’ inadequate progress in mathematics. Students did not have the benefit of studying the course

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

for the full term before taking the examination. And as a result, fewer of them reached or exceeded the expected levels of progress.  In the sixth form too many students at AS level do not achieve a pass grade, despite being capable of doing so. Many of these U grades are in the subjects of mathematics, biology and chemistry, which limit the opportunities for students when they leave school. Overall the progress made by students on AS and A level courses is inadequate.  In too many lessons students make inadequate progress. Although staff are aware of the attainment levels of the students, many staff do not plan lessons which meet the needs and interests of the students effectively and this limits the progress the students make.

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The quality of teaching is inadequate

 The impact of teaching on students’ learning is inadequate because of the slow progress students make in developing their knowledge, skills and understanding in a range of subjects during their time in the school. Although there are some lessons in which students make good or better progress, there are too few of these lessons to ensure students make better progress.  Too many staff do not have high enough expectations of what students can achieve. This means the work students are asked to complete in lessons is often too easy, especially for the most able students. Too often, all students are asked to complete the same work, which limits the progress they make.  Students make outstanding progress in lessons where the teachers’ skilful planning and imaginative and varied delivery mean students are engaged and challenged. For example, in a Year 10 German lesson, the work the students had to do was carefully planned to ensure it was

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The quality of teaching is inadequate

suitably demanding. This, combined with effective questioning techniques, a brisk pace and the sharing of examples with the students, meant they made outstanding progress. However, in too many lessons staff do not ask challenging questions and learning is ineffective.  Marking in some subjects is good. In languages, the use of marking stickers, to identify what would make the work better and what the students need to do right now, means students engage with marking and are aware of what they need to do to improve. In other subjects marking is cursory, it does not identify what the students need to do to improve and students are not encouraged to use the marking to make better progress.  Some teaching assistants are used very well in lessons, for example, in history and information and communication technology. They work in partnership with the teachers to make sure they have a clear idea of what is expected of them and work effectively to support students’ learning.

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The quality of teaching is inadequate

. In these lessons teaching assistants use their good knowledge of students to support their progress. However, in some lessons the teaching assistants tell the students what to do and do not challenge the students to think for themselves. This then limits the amount of progress the students make.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are inadequate

 Behaviour is inadequate. When teaching is ineffective and work is not challenging enough particularly for more-able students, students tend to engage in low-level disruptive behaviour such as chatting, and not completing work. This is evident in too many lessons.  Exclusions are very high. Although they have fallen over the past two years they are still much higher than the national average.  Around the school students are mainly respectful to each other and visitors. They wear their school uniform with pride. Students open doors for guests and each other. However, in some areas, such as the stairs, students sometimes push each other and crowd together.  The proportion of students who attend the school regularly has risen but attendance remains below the national average. The proportion of students who are persistently absent is too high.  Sixth-form students behave very well. They are ambassadors for the school and good role

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are inadequate

models for the younger students. The new leadership and management of the sixth form have raised the expectations of students with respect to their independent study time and students are taking more responsibility for this. Students who join the sixth form from other schools appreciate the comprehensive induction they receive.  When bullying happens the students stated it is dealt with. The students are taught about the different types of bullying, including cyber and homophobic. There are people the students can talk to, and the peer mentoring system supports students to feel safe. Students spoken to stated they felt safe in the school. Most parents who responded to Parent View agreed their children were safe at school.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 Since the last inspection the quality of teaching has declined and is now inadequate. As a result of this, and an inadequate curriculum, students make inadequate progress. Leadership and management, at all levels, including governors, are aware of the weaknesses in achievement but have not made sure gaps in students’ achievement are closing instead of widening. As a result the academy’s capacity to improve is inadequate.  School-development plans are in place and they highlight key areas of concern. However, the plans do not identify who is responsible for monitoring and evaluating the actions taken. There is a lack of success criteria, which means it is difficult to see what impact the actions taken will have, or have had, on improving the progress students make.  Pupil premium money has been spent on providing academic mentoring. The aim of this, in 2013, was to ensure a group of students supported by the pupil premium, and identified by the

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The leadership and management are inadequate

school as able to achieve five A* to C grades including mathematics and English, did so. The impact of this programme was limited. Part of the pupil premium money was spent on developing teaching, especially the skills of teachers to provide work which meets the needs and interests of the students. Overall the impact of the pupil premium money on students’ progress has been very limited.  Middle leaders know progress needs to improve and attainment needs to rise. New line- management procedures were put in place in September 2013. These have a clearer focus on the progress of students. However, middle leaders are still not held to account sufficiently for the progress students make in their subjects. As a result the middle leaders do not hold staff to account for the progress students make in their lessons. This is because they are not given opportunities to monitor and evaluate the impact of actions taken.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 Students are given appropriate advice to make choices about what they want to do when they leave school. In the sixth form the advice covers all options available to students.  A new system of performance management was introduced in 2013. This ensures targets set for teachers are based on the progress students make. There is a clear link between appraisal, job descriptions, responsibilities of staff and the pay policy. Professional development is linked to needs of staff and there is evidence that some teaching is improving as a result of actions taken by the senior leadership. However, the leadership and management of teaching have not ensured that teaching over time has enabled the students to make better progress.  The curriculum is inadequate. Decisions made about the curriculum have led to students making inadequate progress in many subjects, including the core subject of mathematics. The

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The leadership and management are inadequate

alternative curriculum provided is contributing to the inadequate progress these students make.  The spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of the students is promoted across the school. The spiritual development of the students is strength. Students appreciate the wide range of extra-curricular activities on offer.  Safeguarding policies and procedures meet requirements.  The Emmanuel Foundation has supported the school by carrying out a recent audit of the mathematics department. This audit was over-optimistic in the grades given for achievement, teaching, behaviour and safety and the leadership and management of the mathematics department. The Chair of the Governing Body represents the Foundation on the governing body.  The governance of the school:  Whilst governors know the strengths and weaknesses of the school, they have not challenged leaders and managers effectively enough, and, as a result, the inadequate progress made by

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The leadership and management are inadequate

some groups of students has continued over time. Governors are aware of how pupil premium money has been spent but have not been involved in the strategic decisions about the allocation of the money. They are not aware of the impact made by the pupil premium money on students’ progress. Governors do not fully understand the school’s academic performance data and they do not have reliable or effective systems for verifying the accuracy of the feedback they receive about the impact of actions taken to improve teaching and the progress made by students.

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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 135007 Local authority Doncaster Inspection number 429999

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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 sponsor led 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 1337 Of which, number on roll in sixth form 238 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Nigel Robson Head teacher Ian Brew Date of previous school inspection 17 March 2011 Telephone number 01405 813000 Fax number 01405 818382 Email address ibrew@trinityacademy.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. Ousted 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 (Carcass), 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 Text phone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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