Caistor Yarborough Academy

Caistor Yarborough Academy Grimsby Road, Caistor, Market Rasen, LN7 6QZ

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Requires improvement 3 This inspection: Requires improvement 3 Leadership and management Requires improvement 3 Behaviour and safety of pupils Requires improvement 3 Quality of teaching Requires improvement 3 Achievement of pupils Requires improvement 3

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This is a school that requires improvement. It is not good because

 Despite improvements since the previous inspection, students’ achievement in mathematics is not yet good.  Gaps in the attainment of disadvantaged students when compared with other groups are not closing quickly enough.  Teachers do not consistently provide lessons that challenge and engage students of different abilities.  The written feedback that teachers give to students in most subjects is not sufficiently effective in helping them to improve their work.  Behaviour requires improvement. Teachers do not always use the academy’s behaviour policy effectively to ensure students remain focused on learning in lessons.  Most students feel safe and the academy’s arrangements for safeguarding meet national requirements, but a small number say they can feel intimidated in certain parts of the academy where age groups mix.  Senior leaders’ views of the strengths and weaknesses of the academy are not always informed by accurate evidence. Governors do not

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This is a school that requires improvement. It is not good because

take a sufficiently active role in evaluating the effectiveness of actions taken to raise standards.  Although training for leaders is effective, not all senior leaders are doing enough to challenge and support those they manage, such as faculty and subject leaders.

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The school has the following strengths

 The quality of teaching has improved since the previous inspection and, as a result, most students in current year groups are beginning to achieve well.  Good teaching in English results in good progress in this subject for all groups of students. Better teaching of literacy and initiatives to improve reading skills are having a positive impact on their learning in a range of subjects.  The curriculum contributes well to students’ social and moral development, and is adjusted to suit their interests and abilities.  The headteacher’s good leadership has ensured that teaching and achievement are improving. Supported by governors, he has eradicated inadequate teaching.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 22 lessons, five of which were jointly observed with senior leaders. In addition, inspectors made other short visits to lessons in the course of their observations of pupils’ behaviour and their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.  Inspectors took account of the 20 responses to the online questionnaire, Parent View, and considered the responses to the academy’s own surveys of parental opinion.  Meetings were held with three groups of pupils, governors, senior and subject leaders, and teaching staff.  The academy staff did not complete questionnaires.  Inspectors observed the work of the academy, and looked at pupils’ books and at a number of documents, including the academy’s own data, self-evaluation and monitoring of how well pupils are making progress. They also checked planning documents, records of checks on the quality of teaching, and records of behaviour, attendance and punctuality, as well as documents relating to safeguarding.

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Inspection team

Simon Blackburn, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The academy is much smaller than the average-sized secondary school.  Almost all the students are White British.  At around a quarter, the proportion of disadvantaged students supported through the pupil premium (additional funding to support students who are known to be eligible for free school meals or looked after by the local authority) is a little below the national average.  At more than a third, the proportion of students who are disabled or have special educational needs is well above average.  A small number of students receive part of their education at other establishments: Riseholme College, Motor Vehicle project in Grimsby, and Acorn Behavioural Support.  The academy meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for students’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics by the end of Year 11.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching in order to increase rates of progress for all groups of students by ensuring that:  teachers use all available information to plan and set learning activities that challenge students of different abilities, especially the most and least able  lessons consistently engage students’ interest so they are keen to learn  teachers’ marking and feedback are consistently effective in helping students to improve their work.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Further improve behaviour and safety by ensuring that:  staff use the sanction and rewards system more effectively to reduce disruption to learning  leaders act upon students’ views about where they feel intimidated around the academy.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve leadership and management by ensuring that:  leaders at all levels rigorously monitor and evaluate the academy’s strengths and weaknesses  governors take a more active role in evaluating the effectiveness of leaders’ improvement plans  senior leaders support faculty and subject leaders consistently well in their school improvement role.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The way that leaders check the quality of teaching and learning is improving but does not take sufficient account of the gaps in attainment for disadvantaged students that remain in most year groups. This means that leaders’ judgements on teaching and students’ overall performance are overgenerous. The academy’s self-evaluation processes do not include a wide enough range of evidence to make fully accurate judgements about the quality of its provision.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The skills of subject and other leaders are being developed systematically through well-chosen training and they are now monitoring the quality of teaching more effectively within their areas of responsibility. However, this is inconsistent within and across subjects because these leaders are not held to account rigorously by the senior leaders who are responsible for them.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The overall academy improvement plan is detailed and addresses appropriate priorities. The improvements required are broken down into achievable and measurable actions with suitable deadlines, which governors can use to check progress. Faculty action plans are less detailed and precise because faculty leaders have lacked the guidance to make them sharper to achieve greater impact.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The leadership and management of behaviour and safety require improvement. Leaders and governors ensure that all legal requirements for safeguarding students are met, but have not ensured sufficiently rapid improvements in students’ behaviour or attitudes in lessons.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The headteacher brings a clear vision and strong leadership to the academy, providing a positive role model for staff and high expectations for them and for students. His determined approach to improving the quality of teaching and his commitment to developing the effectiveness of faculty and other leaders has led to improvements in teaching, achievement and leadership since the previous inspection.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The academy’s strategy for the use of the pupil premium is having an impact on gaps in attainment as students move through year groups but the gaps remain too wide. This is because the academy’s own analysis of the impact of elements of the support such as the purchase of laptops and tablets showed no clear benefit and resources are being redirected as a result.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The curriculum includes a broad range of subjects in Key Stages 3 and 4 in this smaller-than-average school with the addition of courses run by alternative providers. Students’ progress, behaviour and attendance are monitored well at the off-site provision and students achieve well in their studies.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The ‘Every One Matters’ programme of study, which details how social, moral, spiritual and cultural issues should be taught, promotes British values as well as ensuring that students learn about other cultures and have the opportunity to discuss ideas that encourage equal opportunities and tackle discrimination. Within this programme, students receive good information, advice and guidance about which curriculum pathway is most appropriate for them, as well as good-quality information about further education, training and employment.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 There is a good range of other activities for students to get involved in, including arts and drama events, and school trips. Students following the ‘Global Perspectives’ course in Years 10 and 11 were in Finland during the inspection.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 The academy maintains close links with the local authority and engages in training and networking opportunities as well as meeting with a School Improvement Partner, who provides challenge through academy reviews. External verification of the academy’s improvement has been sought through a group of senior leaders from local schools. The reports from this group are too brief and cite too little evidence to give valuable improvement points to the academy, and their judgements against national criteria do not always match the text of their comments.  The governance of the school:  Governance has improved since the previous inspection following a review of this aspect of leadership and management, and governors are undertaking training to improve the degree to which they hold the academy’s leaders to account. However, this training is not yet complete and they have not yet established routines to gather the evidence they need to challenge the information senior leaders

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The leadership and management requires improvement

provide for them.  Governors have a good knowledge of where teaching is strong and where it needs to be developed, and have supported the headteacher in taking difficult decisions to eliminate weaker teaching. They have a good understanding of how performance management systems are used to improve teaching, and have ensured that teachers’ pay is directly linked to the success of their students.  Governors know how the pupil premium funding is spent but they are less clear on the impact of this spending on students’ achievement. Governors are not sufficiently involved in checking the progress of improvement plans and setting the strategic direction of the academy.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of students requires improvement. Most show an understanding of the academy’s expectations of behaviour in lessons and around the site, and appreciate the clear boundaries that the consequences and rewards system gives them. However, some staff still allow too much disturbance to learning in lessons, characterised by students chattering or being silly. This usually occurs when the teaching is not stimulating and the work lacks interest.

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Behaviour

 Students’ attitudes to learning are variable. Few students seek out the next challenge in their learning and ask challenging questions of their teachers. Work in books is variable in its presentation, and doodling and graffiti were seen in some students’ work.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour policy and consequences system is applied uncompromisingly. This has led to a high level of exclusions, which is continuing, but it is also beginning to reduce the number of behavioural incidents.

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Behaviour

 During formal interviews, a significant minority of students raised concerns with inspectors about bullying. Most said that these had been dealt with effectively by staff, and students were confident that they had someone they could talk to. However, a few reported that bullying recurred after staff had intervened.

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Behaviour

 Attendance has improved since the previous inspection. School data for this academic year show an improvement over the same period last year. This is because of effective actions taken by senior leaders and the appointment of a parent support worker who has had a positive impact on links with parents.

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Safety

 The academy’s work to keep students safe and secure requires improvement. Although they generally feel safe, a small number of students report that there are areas of the academy where they do not always feel fully safe. For example, they said they regard toilets as a hazard because older students occupy them and they find their presence intimidating. Inspectors did not directly observe this behaviour.

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Safety

 Students understand the different types of bullying and have been taught how to keep themselves safe from each. Leaders make sure that students know how to keep themselves safe in the outside world and when using social media.

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Safety

 The arrangements to keep students safe and to promote their good behaviour when attending off-site provision are effective.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 The quality of teaching has improved since the previous inspection but it is not yet consistently good across all subjects and year groups, and students are not yet making enough progress. However, inadequate teaching has been eradicated and the academy’s internal data and the work in students’ books show that more teaching is now good.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teachers do not use all the available information about students’ attainment and progress to plan lessons and set activities that challenge students of different abilities. Some students find the work too easy, race through it and learn too little, while others find it too difficult to make a start on and need additional help.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Too many lessons do not enthuse and motivate students to learn. They comply with what they are asked to do but the activities do not provoke the interest and curiosity to inspire continuous learning beyond the classroom.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 The effectiveness of teachers’ marking and feedback is inconsistent across the academy. In the English faculty, the feedback students receive provides them with clear improvement points and additional challenge which moves their learning on. In some other subjects, too much reliance is placed on students assessing each other’s work and the feedback given is not specific enough or does not require students to show improvement. Teachers in these subjects rarely check to see if the improvements have been made.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Inspectors saw good development of literacy in many lessons across the academy. In a physical education lesson in which students were determining the effectiveness of different circuit training activities, they also had to identify and spell the names of different muscles, on which they were spot tested by other students in the group. In other subjects, teachers correct grammatical and spelling errors, and technical and subject-specific words are displayed and teachers encourage their use.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 All students read at the start of every lesson and enjoy the ‘drop everything and read’ sessions which occur once a week. Reading attainment tests show that reading ages are improving as a result, and leaders ensure that students who fall behind are well supported.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Since the previous inspection, improvements have been made to the quality of mathematics teaching. Students report greater challenge in the work they are given and their work shows that teachers ensure they build steadily on what they have learnt before. This has resulted in improving rates of progress for most students in most year groups, but disadvantaged students are still lagging behind other students.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Highly effective leadership ensures that the quality of marking and assessment is high in English, and that effective strategies are shared across the faculty. This underpins the good learning.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teachers receive good-quality information and suggested strategies to support the teaching of students who are disabled or have special educational needs. However, they do not always use this information to ensure these students make good progress. Teaching assistants are deployed well and are well trained to ensure their support is productive in the classroom.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 When asked about how they know what needs to improve in their work, many students highlight their ‘Personal Learning Checklists’ that provide them with a list of the key concepts or problem types that they need to focus on to make the most progress. These are not used in every subject, but are having a positive impact in those subjects where they are used.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Students do not make consistently good progress in key subjects, and the gaps in attainment and progress for disadvantaged students are not closing rapidly enough.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Students join the academy with skills and knowledge which are below average. In 2014, 60% of the students gained five A* to C grades, including English and mathematics. This continued the upward trend from 2012 when all achievement, including early entry to GCSE, is considered.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 The proportions of students making and exceeding nationally expected progress in English were above average in 2014, but in mathematics they were below average.  The progress of all groups of students is consistently good in English. High-quality teaching and good tracking of progress, allied to effective support for students who fall behind, ensure that all students achieve well. Current data show that all year groups currently in the academy are achieving well in English, and that progress is improving in most other subjects as a result of better teaching and higher expectations. The proportion of students predicted to exceed expected progress in mathematics is still below average, although the proportion on track to make expected progress is higher than the national average.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 The attainment of disadvantaged students requires improvement. In 2014, the gap between these students and other students at the academy in English was about a third of a grade. The difference compared to other students nationally was negligible. In mathematics, the gap between disadvantaged students and others at the academy was also a third of a grade, but the gap with other students nationally was almost a full grade. Academy data indicate that the gaps are starting to close because students’ attendance and literacy levels are improving. However, the gap is narrowing is too slowly.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Students who attend courses at other providers achieve well. The quality of this provision is monitored well by the headteacher, and students attending these courses do better in their academy courses as a result.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Disabled students and those who have special educational needs make good progress in English but achieve less well in mathematics and some other subjects. This is because their specific learning needs are not always taken into account when teachers plan lessons, and extra support is not directed accurately enough to help them improve.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 The progress of the most able students in the academy is variable. In 2014, they made good progress in English and science but less progress in mathematics and humanities. In the current Year 11, the picture is improving. They are making better progress in mathematics but this still varies because some teachers are not providing them with enough challenge.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Leaders entered many students early for GCSE mathematics in the last academic year. This did not limit the most able students’ opportunity to achieve well. They received suitable guidance, and students who had not reached their target retook the examinations later in the year.

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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 failing

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Grade Judgement Description

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 136958 Local authority Lincolnshire Inspection number 453609

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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 Modern (non-selective) School category Academy converter Age range of pupils 11–16 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 399 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Tony Maund Headteacher Jeremy Newnham Date of previous school inspection 13 February 2013 Telephone number 01472 851383 Fax number N/a Email address enquiries@cyac.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. 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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