Setting

Angelo Goduti Headteacher Bungay High School Queen's Road Bungay NR35 1RW

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Requires improvement: monitoring inspection visit to Bungay High School

Following my visit to your academy on 5 December 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 academy since the most recent section 5 inspection.

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Requires improvement: monitoring inspection visit to Bungay High School

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

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Requires improvement: monitoring inspection visit to Bungay High School

Senior leaders and governors 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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Requires improvement: monitoring inspection visit to Bungay High School

 ensure that the external review of the academy’s use of the pupil premium is undertaken at the earliest opportunity next term.

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Evidence

During the inspection, meetings were held with you and your senior leaders, two members of the governing body and a representative of the local authority to discuss the action taken since the last inspection. The academy improvement plan was evaluated. An opportunity to walk the main academy and also the sixth form centre with you enabled me to see students at work in lessons. 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 799162 Direct email : peter.willetts@serco.com

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Context

Staffing, the number of students and the academy’s status are unchanged since the last inspection.

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Main findings

You have responded promptly to the issues raised in the last inspection by implementing detailed plans for improvement. These plans include challenging targets and clear timescales to enable you to regularly check whether the actions of senior leaders and staff are leading to improvement. You and your governors feel that there are no barriers preventing the academy from being judged at least good at its next inspection.

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Main findings

Your clear leadership is fostering a corporate willingness amongst staff to secure the necessary improvements quickly. Your senior leaders demonstrate a thorough understanding of the issues that need addressing, and their roles in driving improvements. More is expected of middle leaders. They are required to complete a rigorous self-evaluation of performance in their subjects and use this information to inform their departmental improvement plans.

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Main findings

Staff are being held accountable for the quality of their teaching. Systematic lesson monitoring, scrutiny of students’ work and termly reviews of assessment data are confirming where the strengths and weaknesses lie. This is also providing a range of different evidence to support your views of the effectiveness of teaching. You are rightly focusing on developing teaching that is found to require improvement, so that almost all teaching is good or better by the end of 2015. Revised assessment procedures are in place to measure the progress each individual student is making against the personal targets set for them.

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Main findings

The same procedures have been extended into the sixth form to improve teaching and raise achievement. Expectations of students and staff are higher. Plans are in place to enable your associate headteacher to take overall responsibility for students’ achievement and welfare at the sixth form centre.

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Main findings

You have reviewed the academy’s spending of the pupil premium to increase the impact it has in in enabling your disadvantaged students to achieve equally as well as others. Teachers are expected to know these students well and prepare work suited to their ability and interests. Outside of lessons, students are given personal one-to-one mentoring and additional academic support in small groups to ensure they make the progress expected of them. Their absence is routinely monitored to make sure that they attend regularly. Tutors take responsibility for monitoring their achievement and welfare, and for liaising with their parents and carers to keep them informed of their child’s progress. Governors now join senior leaders in regular meetings to evaluate the progress made in raising students’ achievement. They feel that you provide them with the information they need to monitor the performance of students and teachers, and to

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Main findings

ask challenging questions of your senior leaders. Each Governor is linked to a subject to oversee and report upon its performance.

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Main findings

The previous inspection recommended that an external review of the academy’s use of the pupil premium should be undertaken to assess how this could be improved. It has not taken place so far this term. This review should take place early next term so that all governors and staff understand what more they can do to enable disadvantaged students to achieve equally well enough.

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Main findings

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

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External support

You continue to maintain good relations with the local authority and value the termly meetings held with adviser to review progress and identify further training needs. The local authority is well placed to help you identify an experienced leader to evaluate and report upon the academy’s use of the pupil premium.

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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 Suffolk, the Academies Advisers Unit and the Education Funding Agency.

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Her Majesty’s Inspector

The letter should be copied to the following:

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Her Majesty’s Inspector

 Appropriate authority  Local authority  The Education Funding Agency (EFA)  DfE - Academies Advisers Unit

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