Hope Wood Academy

Crawlaw Road, Easington Colliery, Peterlee, County Durham, SR8 3LP,

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Not previously inspected 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.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The academy does not safeguard pupils adequately because it does not follow the required safe recruitment practice, ensure all staff and governors are trained regarding child protection and record all serious behavioural incidents.  Pupils, especially those who have the most profound learning difficulties and those who are the most able, do not make enough progress because of weaknesses in assessment and planning for their learning.  The overall effectiveness of the sixth form is inadequate, because the post-16 students make inadequate progress.  Pupils do not make enough progress in reading, writing and numeracy because of gaps in teachers’ knowledge and a lack of academy-wide strategies for these subjects.  Teaching is inadequate because it does not take sufficient account of the needs of the range of pupils in the class.  Behaviour management is not consistent throughout the academy. Too often pupils are

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

not involved enough in their lessons. Pupils with low attendance are not challenged enough to improve.  Leaders do not have an accurate picture of the academy’s performance and their plans for improvement are poor. They do not monitor effectively how well pupils learn or the quality of teaching.  The performance management of staff is inadequate and does not focus sufficiently on improving pupils’ learning.  Communication and relationships between leaders and managers, including governors, and other staff are weak and, as a result, school-wide policies are not implemented consistently and staff morale is low.  The governing body is not knowledgeable about the effectiveness of the academy and does not provide sufficient challenge to promote improvement.

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The school has the following strengths

 Pupils’ speaking and listening skills develop well, particularly in the younger age classes where there is consistent signing to support their communication development.  Most pupils make good gains in their personal and social skills.

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Information about this inspection

 This was a no-notice inspection whereby the academy was informed of the inspection shortly before the arrival of the inspectors.  Inspectors visited most classes during the inspection. In addition they looked at pupils’ work and data about their learning and progress, teachers’ assessments, planning and records when making their judgements.  Discussions took place with the acting Principal, acting deputy Principal and other members of the senior and middle leadership teams, four members of the governing body including the Chair and vice-chair, teachers and support staff. Forty-three responses were received from a survey provided to staff by inspectors. Views were gained from discussions with four groups of pupils. The views of parents and carers were obtained from the academy’s own survey. There were no responses to Parent View (an online survey of their views). A wide range of documents was scrutinised, including the academy’s self-evaluation, its improvement plan and its monitoring of

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Information about this inspection

teaching.  Inspectors were aware during this inspection of an investigation by the appropriate authorities into allegations of wrong-doing that did not concern child protection or safeguarding arrangements.

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Inspection team

Charlie Henry, Lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Gina White Her Majesty’s Inspector Mary Rayner Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Full report

In accordance with section 44 of 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

 The Glendene Arts Academy converted to an academy with its own governing body in September 2012. Prior to this time it was known as the Glendene School and Community Arts College. This is the first inspection since becoming an academy. The predecessor provision was last inspected by Ofsted in March 2012 and was judged to be good.  The academy provides education for pupils with a wide range of special educational needs, including those with moderate, severe or profound and multiple learning difficulties. A significant number of pupils have autistic spectrum difficulties; a small number have visual or hearing impairment and/or physical disabilities in addition to their learning difficulties. All pupils have statements of special educational need.  Curriculum opportunities for some students at Key Stage 4 are extended by the use of alternative provision. The providers used are the East Durham Partnership, East Durham College

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Information about this school

and B and Q Stores.  A well above average proportion of pupils are known to be eligible for free school meals; a small number are looked after by the local authority. The academy receives pupil premium funding (additional funding for those at risk of underachievement) for these pupils. More than three quarters of pupils are boys. A very small proportion of pupils are from minority ethnic backgrounds.  At the time of the inspection the academy was being led by deputy Principal as acting Principal, in addition a further senior manager was acting deputy Principal. Eight permanent members of staff were not present at the time of the inspection due to illness and other reasons.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Urgently improve the safeguarding of students by:  ensuring that all members of staff and governors are regularly trained in safeguarding and child protection  making sure that all required safe recruitment checks are carried out and recorded on the single central record  completing detailed records about all serious incidents, including where restraint is used, as quickly as possible afterwards  routinely reviewing information about serious incidents by senior leaders and governors to ensure areas for improvement in the academy‘s provision are identified and put in place as quickly as possible  ensuring that the academy’s safeguarding policy is consistently implemented and rigorously monitored.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching, including for post-16 students, so that it is at least consistently good and enables all pupils in all subjects to be challenged in their learning and reach their full potential by:  eradicating inadequate teaching  ensuring accurate assessment of pupils’ attainments and progress, including rigorous moderation of teachers’ assessments with other schools is carried out regularly  raising expectations and ensuring that teachers take full account of what each pupil already knows and can do so that activities challenge them  improving the use of assessment and knowledge of how to challenge and increase the progress of the most able pupils and those with the most profound learning difficulties  providing high-quality professional development and training for staff focused on eliminating gaps in subject knowledge, particularly in the teaching of reading, writing and numeracy

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 ensuring that staff understand and implement the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage  improving the academy’s approach to the teaching of phonics (the links between letters and sounds) so that pupils learn new sounds quickly and are given books that allow them to put into practice what they have learned  ensuring there is a rigorous and effective approach to teaching literacy and numeracy in all areas of the curriculum.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve pupils’ behaviour including their attendance by:  ensuring an up-to-date behaviour policy, with clear sanctions and rewards, is understood by pupils, parents and staff, and is consistently implemented  ensuring that behaviour incidents are rigorously logged and efforts to bring about improvements are evaluated  reporting attendance patterns and information about sanctions, rewards and incidents routinely to governors  increasing attendance through setting ambitious targets, and working closely with the pupils, their parents, and other agencies, to achieve these.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the effectiveness of leadership and management by:  rigorously monitoring important aspects of the academy’s work, in particular pupils’ progress and their behaviour, and the quality of teaching so that leaders and managers have a thorough understanding of how well each pupil is learning  ensuring this information is drawn together to provide an accurate self-evaluation of how well the academy is performing and a well-matched improvement plan  making sure all of the pupil premium and primary school sports funding are used effectively  improving communication of academy leaders and managers, including governors, with other staff so that the policies and developments are implemented consistently and so that morale is improved  ensuring performance management is rigorous and that targets set for teachers are specific and effective to help improve pupils’ progress  ensuring that expectations and responsibilities for leaders at all levels are clear and detailed

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve governance by improving communication with parents so that they understand who the governors are and their roles and responsibilities, and are fully involved in and kept up-to-date with academy developments. 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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What does the school need to do to improve further?

An external review of the school’s use of 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 on governance to the authority responsible for the academy.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

It is strongly recommended that the academy should not appoint any newly qualified teachers.

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

 Pupils make inadequate progress, especially those who have profound and multiple learning difficulties and the most able. This is because of weaknesses in the assessment of what pupils already know, understand and can do, and because lessons do not meet the range of needs within the class.  Similarly, post-16 students make inadequate progress because of weaknesses in planning to meet their needs.  Academy data on the pupils’ progress is not reliable as it is not rigorously moderated to ensure its accuracy. In addition, the school’s analysis of the progress that pupils make is not based on their age and starting points. The academy does not complete the required assessments for the progress made by children at the Early Years Foundation Stage.  Pupils make inadequate progress in reading and writing. This is due to the lack of systematic teaching of these subjects in all lessons, including the development of the knowledge and use of

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

phonics. Furthermore, there is too little time allocated for the direct teaching of reading for older pupils. Pupils’ numeracy development is weak because there are no clear plans about how these skills will be developed across all of their lessons.  Most pupils’ speaking and listening skills develop well. Younger pupils who need signing to support their language development make good progress; however, this is not so for older pupils where there is inconsistent use of signing by staff and progress is slower.  Pupils make good gains in their personal and social development, especially in the younger classes. However too often older pupils’ ability to learn to do things for themselves is restricted when staff do things for them unnecessarily.  Recent increases in the use of alternative provision have improved the preparation for some older pupils for when they leave the academy.  Given the weaknesses in assessment and the ongoing evaluation of the effectiveness of teaching

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

and learning over time, it is not possible to say if pupils for whom the academy receives pupil premium funding (additional funding for those at risk of underachievement) do as well as other pupils. The academy does not publish, as required, this information on its website. Similarly the academy has not given sufficient consideration to the use and the effectiveness of additional sport funding for pupils of primary school age.  Pupils do not have equality of opportunity to achieve well. Pupils from other ethnic backgrounds, boys and girls, those who have different disabilities and special educational needs and those who are supported by the pupil premium are equally likely to be underachieving. Some resources, such as the hydrotherapy pool and the facilities in the food technology room, are not accessible by all pupils.  Inspectors disagree with the view of the majority of parents who responded to the academy’s

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

most recent survey that their children were making good progress.

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The quality of teaching is inadequate

 Too much teaching is inadequate or requires improvement.  Teachers’ planning is weak. They do not have an accurate picture of pupils’ skills, knowledge and understanding upon which to set challenging work. This weakness is most apparent for pupils who have the most profound learning difficulties, who often have to wait lengthy periods for a member of staff to work with them. Similarly the most able pupils who are not challenged enough waste time, for example colouring in pictures when they finish their work quickly.  The contribution of support assistants is variable. They are most effective in helping pupils learn, particularly in the younger age classes, where planning is based on a good understanding of what each pupil can do and what their next targets are. However, far too often teachers assign support staff to work with pupils who have the greatest learning difficulties. This denies these

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The quality of teaching is inadequate

pupils sufficient opportunity to work with their teachers, who have the greatest expertise. Class teachers do not monitor the effectiveness of their staff team in helping pupils learn.  Teachers do not have sufficient subject knowledge in all areas of the curriculum, in particular the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage and in the teaching of reading, writing and numeracy. There are no whole school approaches to the teaching and learning of literacy and numeracy throughout the school.  Behaviour management is inconsistent and all staff do not follow an agreed academy behaviour policy. As a consequence, the standard of pupils’ behaviour and their attitudes to learning are too variable. Older pupils told inspectors of differences in expectations in different lessons, including how good behaviour is encouraged and rewarded, and poor behaviour is dealt with.  The marking of pupils’ work, including the verbal feedback provided in lessons, is inconsistent

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The quality of teaching is inadequate

and usually poor. Very few examples were seen where there was clear information given on how the pupil could build on their current work.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are inadequate

 The academy‘s work to keep pupils safe is inadequate.  The academy does not record all occasions when restraint has been used to manage behaviour when there is an unacceptable risk to the pupil or to others. This is a serious concern.  Weaknesses in other safeguarding requirements of leaders and managers, including staff recruitment checks and child protection training, are also unacceptable.  Risk assessments that consider individual pupils’ needs are not routinely used for pupils in all practical subject areas.  Attendance is too low. There is too little effective action taken to reduce absence and it is not seen as a priority in academy improvement planning.  Pupils told inspectors that they felt safe at the academy. They said that while bullying does occur, it is rare. They know who to tell if it takes place and are confident that effective action will be taken. Pupils have a satisfactory understanding of how to avoid bullying, including cyber

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are inadequate

bullying.  The behaviour of pupils requires improvement. No examples of disruptive behaviour were seen during the inspection; however in many lessons pupils were not sufficiently involved in their learning because of weaknesses in teaching. Pupils told inspectors told there have been recent improvements in the standards of behaviour. Most parents who replied to the academy’s survey thought behaviour was good.  There was an increase in the use of fixed term exclusion in the autumn term, compared with the two previous years. This increase now appears to have ceased as a result of recent improvements in the curriculum for older pupils by the increased use of alternative provision.  More broadly, senior leaders do not monitor the effectiveness of behaviour management effectively. There is insufficient information to show how well the needs of pupils with identified behavioural difficulties are met, and whether their progress improves.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 There are serious and widespread weaknesses in the effectiveness of leaders and managers, including the governing body.  The academy’s self-evaluation provides a very inaccurate picture of its effectiveness. It does not provide convincing evidence of the strengths that are identified and does not identify the academy’s weaknesses.  The improvement plan is not fit for purpose as a management tool for staff, or as a monitoring resource for governors. The plan is incomplete and does not link to the academy’s self- evaluation. Many aspects are identified for improvement; however there is no prioritisation of the most important. The plan does not show the intended impact of the actions; small steps that can be used to monitor progress are not identified and timescales are often unrealistic.  Monitoring of the effectiveness of the academy’s work is inadequate. Leaders and managers do not have a reliable picture of how well pupils learn and the progress they are making. Records of

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The leadership and management are inadequate

progress and the targets that are set are based on teachers’ assessments that are not subject to rigorous moderation. The data held by the academy indicates a level of progress that is not substantiated when looking at the quality of the teaching that pupils receive.  The quality of relationships and communication between leaders and managers, including the governors, and other members of staff are inconsistent and often poor. Consequently, academy- wide policies are not implemented consistently and morale is low.  The role of middle managers is unclear and the time required for them to fulfil their responsibilities is not identified and, as a consequence, their effectiveness is inconsistent. No manager has the overall responsible for key aspects of the academy’s work, for example, behaviour and attendance.  Senior leaders do not monitor the quality of teaching effectively, including the quality of

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The leadership and management are inadequate

assessment, planning and marking, and the progress pupils make. There have not been any classroom observations carried out by senior leaders in the last year.  The performance management of staff is inadequate. Pay awards do not adequately consider how well pupils have made progress and the quality of teaching over time. Performance targets do not focus on pupils’ progress.  The curriculum is inadequate as there is insufficient emphasis on developing the key areas of literacy and numeracy throughout the school. Useful developments are taking place to provide a more integrated curriculum for younger pupils; however the weak arrangements for supporting middle leaders are limiting the impact. There are also valuable recent increases in vocational experiences for older pupils using alternative provision.  The academy supports pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development effectively, for

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The leadership and management are inadequate

example through a range of visitors who talk to pupils and the regular charity events in which the pupils and staff contribute to.  Child protection training for staff is updated routinely but some members of staff and governors have not completed this training. Managers were not aware of all of these shortcomings. The safety of pupils attending alternative provision is monitored by the members of staff who accompany them.  A survey of parents’ views by the academy in October 2013 provided positive feedback. However parents expressed dissatisfaction with their knowledge of who the governors were. This issue has not yet been addressed.  The governance of the school:  Governance of the academy is inadequate. Governors do not monitor the work of the academy effectively to hold it to account for the quality of its work and how well pupils make progress. They are unaware of the strengths and weaknesses in the academy and do not ask for, or

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The leadership and management are inadequate

receive, sufficient information to ensure they know enough about what the academy is doing. Governors rarely visit the academy during the academy day to see its operation first-hand. Important policies have not been agreed and implemented, including the behaviour policy and the safer recruitment policy. Recent staff turbulence has led to some confusion of the roles of the governance and the day-to-day management of the academy. This, along with poor communication with staff, has contributed to poor relationships and a feeling of disharmony. Safeguarding requirements and expectations are not met. Not all serious incidents that require the use of restraint are recorded; the single central record of safe recruitment checks is incomplete; some governors have not undertaken Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks; some staff and governors have not received child protection training; and risk assessments for pupils are not always undertaken or their outcomes communicated with and

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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 138718 Local authority Durham Inspection number 450387

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School details

This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. The inspection was also deemed a section 5 inspection under the same Act.

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School details

Type of school All-through School category Academy special converter Age range of pupils 2–19 Gender of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils in the sixth form Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 190 Of which, number on roll in sixth form 11 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Rob Wright Acting Principal Craig Platt Date of previous school inspection Not previously inspected Telephone number 0191 569 1420 Email address c.platt@glendene.durham.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 and 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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