Setting

Ms Jackie Cooper Headteacher William Allitt School Sunnyside Newhall Swadlincote DE11 0TL

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Special measures monitoring inspection of William Allitt School

Following my visit to your school on 15 July 2014, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to confirm the inspection findings. Thank you for the help you gave during the inspection and for the time you made available to discuss the actions which have been taken since the school’s recent section 5 inspection.

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Special measures monitoring inspection of William Allitt School

The inspection was the first monitoring inspection since the school became subject to special measures following the inspection which took place in April 2014.

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Evidence

During this inspection, meetings were held with you and other members of the senior leadership team, a small group of subject leaders and two governors, including the Chair Elect of the Governing Body. A telephone conversation was held with a representative of the local authority. The local authority’s statement of action and the school’s improvement plans were evaluated.

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Context

Significant change to the school’s staffing is imminent. Eight teachers are leaving at the end of the summer term 2014. Those leaving, include a deputy headteacher and Serco Inspections Colmore Plaza 20 Colmore Circus Queensway Birmingham B4 6AT T 0300 123 1231 Text Phone: 0161 6188524 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk Direct T : 01216 799154 Direct email : aidan.dunne@serco.com the head of department for English. Both these posts are being filled by new staff from September 2014. At the same time, nine other teachers will join the school.

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The quality of leadership and management at the school

Leaders and governors are pressing on with the challenge of making improvements to deal with the weaknesses identified at the last inspection. You have streamlined leadership responsibilities so that it is clear who is accountable for what and how checks on teaching and learning are to be carried out. An audit of governors’ skills has resulted in an alignment of personnel to restructured committees and an adjustment to the frequency of meetings so that governors can play a full part in supporting and challenging the school.

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The quality of leadership and management at the school

Your leadership team’s expectations about improving teaching and learning and the role of subject leaders in this process are clearly communicated. As headteacher, you have set out a clear quality-assurance model for all staff. Monitoring includes evaluating the quality of teaching in lessons, checking students’ work over time and carrying out student progress meetings. There is a sharp focus on the progress of specific groups of students, such as disabled students and those who have special educational needs, and those who are supported by the pupil premium funding (additional funding provided by the government for particular groups, including for those students who are known to be eligible for free school meals). External reviews of the provision for these students are already underway, with further action planned for the autumn term this year.

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The quality of leadership and management at the school

The local authority statement of action and plan are carefully matched to the areas for improvement identified at the last inspection. The school action plan is dovetailed with the local authority plan, setting out clear milestones and a balance of quantitative and qualitative success criteria. There are raised expectations about how well students achieve and the targets set are incrementally challenging. School leaders are clear about who and how the impact of actions will be evaluated. However, this is not fully reflected in the school’s action plan. This minor amendment to the plan will be checked at the time of the next monitoring inspection.

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The quality of leadership and management at the school

Following the monitoring inspection the following judgements were made:

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The quality of leadership and management at the school

The local authority’s statement of action is fit for purpose.

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The quality of leadership and management at the school

The school’s action plan is fit for purpose. The school may not appoint newly qualified teachers before the next monitoring inspection.

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The quality of leadership and management at the school

I am copying this letter to the Secretary of State, the Chair of the Governing Body and the Strategic Director for Children and Younger Adults for Derbyshire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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