Setting

Joe Purnell Headteacher Percy Shurmer Academy Longmore Street Balsall Heath Birmingham B12 9ED

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Academy

Following my visit to your school on 16 September 2014, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to report the inspection findings. Thank you for the help you gave me and for the time you made available to discuss the actions you are taking to improve the school since the most recent section 5 inspection.

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Academy

The visit was the first monitoring inspection since the academy was judged to require improvement following the section 5 inspection in June 2014. It was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005.

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Academy

Senior leaders and the Academies Enterprise Trust are taking effective action to tackle the areas requiring improvement identified at the recent section 5 inspection. The academy should take further action to:

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Academy

 ensure that pupils use mathematical language accurately so that they can explain their work

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Academy

 ensure that pupils can accurately apply their mathematical understanding in other contexts.

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Academy

 ensure that pupils understand the need for them to take responsibility for the toilets being looked after so that everyone is comfortable using them 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 799169 Direct email : mathew.mitchell@serco.com

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Evidence

During the inspection, meetings were held with you, the executive headteacher, deputy headteacher, Academies Enterprise Trust’s (AET) regional director, phase leaders, pupils and some parents to discuss the action taken since the last inspection. The academy’s improvement plans were evaluated. I scrutinised a range of documents and visited ten lessons.

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Context

There have been a number of changes to staffing since the recent inspection. There is a new executive headteacher. An experienced teacher, a newly qualified teacher and a new teaching assistant have joined the staff. Two Teach First teachers and a teaching assistant have left the school.

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Main findings

You and your staff have worked with a renewed sense of urgency to tackle the weaknesses identified in the recent inspection. Your academy improvement plans reflect this.

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Main findings

Teaching is improving. The smaller groups in Years 5 and 6 for English and mathematics are helping pupils make better progress. Pupils with hearing impairment are benefiting from their inclusion in all lessons and from teachers’ specialist subject knowledge.

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Main findings

Teachers’ use of marking is more consistent. Both teachers and teaching assistants are more aware of how to give effective feedback to pupils about their work. Pupils’ spelling and handwriting are improving. During my visits to classrooms, it was evident that pupils were proud of their work and were taking care with its presentation.

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Main findings

Teachers’ are using information about pupils’ progress more effectively. Work is better matched to pupils’ starting points and is more challenging. However, in mathematics pupils are not sufficiently confident in using mathematical language accurately to explain their work. There are insufficient opportunities for pupils to apply their learning in mathematics in other contexts.

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Main findings

Pupils stated that they felt safe in school, liked their teachers, their school meals and the new house system. Some pupils explained that the toilets were unpleasant. They stated they were smelly, sometimes had wet floors and some pupils did not flush after use.

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Main findings

The training of staff is improving. Through the re-shaping of the coaching system the academy’s good practice is more effectively shared. This has enabled you to identify a group of staff who consistently deliver high quality lessons. They are being used to drive further improvements. All staff have received training in talk-for-writing and are more consistent in their approach to developing pupils’ writing in all subjects. Parents come into the academy to participate in some of these lessons. They commented on how pleased they were with their child’s writing.

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Main findings

There is greater clarity about the roles and responsibilities of senior and middle leaders and as a result there is greater accountability for the progress of all groups of pupils. The academy’s monitoring systems are more rigorous. The staff from the academies in the cluster work collaboratively and quality assure each other’s work. This mutual support and challenge has raised the expectations of what pupils can achieve.

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Main findings

Ofsted may carry out further visits and, where necessary, provide further support and challenge to the school until its next section 5 inspection.

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External support

As part of its interventions to strengthen leadership and management AET have reviewed the governing body and is replacing it with a management board. A new quality assurance framework has been introduced to evaluate teaching and progress more rigorously. Staff training and collaborative working across the AET cluster are strengthening the capacity of the academy to improve.

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External support

I am copying this letter to the Chair of the Governing Body, the Director of Children’s Services for Birmingham.

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