Setting

Mr Michael Byron Headteacher Moatbridge School Eltham Palace Road Eltham London SE9 5LX

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Requires improvement: monitoring inspection visit to Moatbridge School

Following my visit to your school on 24 March 2015, 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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Requires improvement: monitoring inspection visit to Moatbridge School

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

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Requires improvement: monitoring inspection visit to Moatbridge School

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

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Requires improvement: monitoring inspection visit to Moatbridge School

 strengthen the action plan by ensuring that it makes clear who is responsible for evaluating the impact of actions taken, and when they will undertake this work

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Requires improvement: monitoring inspection visit to Moatbridge School

 ensure that the regular checks on the quality of teaching result in clear, direct feedback to individual teachers on the quality of their work, giving them guidance on how to improve. Tribal Kings Orchard 1 Queens Street Bristol, BS2 0HQ T 0300 123 1231 Text Phone: 0161 6188524 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk Direct T 0117 311 5269 Email : klara.davies@tribalgroup.com

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Evidence

During the inspection, meetings were held with the headteacher and other senior leaders, subject teachers, members of the governing body and a representative of the local authority to discuss the action taken since the last inspection. The school action plan was evaluated. The deputy headteacher and I made short visits to all year groups. I scrutinised a range of documentation including information about students’ attendance and progress and minutes from governing body meetings. I also looked at a range of students’ work.

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Context

Since the inspection in November 2014 arrangements have been put in place to ensure there is a smooth transition to new leadership arrangements when you retire in July 2015. One teacher has left the school. You have successfully appointed to this vacancy.

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Main findings

Following the inspection in November 2014 you acted swiftly to draw up an action plan addressing the issues raised at that time. The plan provides a very clear, realistic timescale for improvements, and is presented in a way that makes it evident to the reader how well the school is doing in completing the actions within it. However, there is a lack of clarity regarding the responsibilities of staff, leaders and governors in the plan. Whilst actions to be undertaken to check the impact of the school’s work are identified, it is not clear who will complete this activity or when.

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Main findings

Leaders have begun to address some of the issues raised regarding the quality of teaching, particularly the teaching of literacy. Displays around school have been reinvigorated, they are brighter and more attractive, showing that students’ written work is valued and celebrated. You have decided that students’ will complete work in exercise books, enabling both staff and students to see at a glance how their work has improved over time. Six students who found reading difficult were given additional focused support on an individual basis. Over three months, one student’s reading age improved by three years, and another by over 18 months. All of the students who participated in the scheme made accelerated progress. The resulting improvements in self-confidence are so great that one of these students is now acting as mentor to another who found the programme difficult to engage with. All teachers, regardless of their subject, promote reading through their teaching,

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Main findings

encouraging all students to read aloud in the majority of lessons. You have introduced a number of other strategies which are successfully engaging students in reading.

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Main findings

You have decided to reorganise the curriculum and methodology for teaching in Year 7 and have plans for this to be implemented from September 2015 which are at an advanced stage. As a result of changes to the behaviour management strategy, the number of fixed- term exclusions has reduced. This is because alternative arrangements are now in place for dealing with students who disrupt learning on a number of occasions.

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Main findings

You have increased the number and range of checks made on the quality of teaching. Teachers are working well together to improve the quality of provision based on findings from these checks. However, they do not yet receive sufficient individualised feedback which would enable each one to move on in improving their work more quickly.

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Main findings

Subject teachers have attended meetings alongside subject leaders from other local schools, enabling them to share good practice and ensure their knowledge remains current. Several teachers were able to give examples of ways in which they have improved their practice as a result.

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Main findings

Governors were involved in the creation of the school’s action plan. The governing body is being strengthened through the recruitment of several new governors with relevant expertise. Governors are making more visits to the school to check on progress for themselves.

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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

The local authority is providing effective support at a number of levels. Consultants for English and mathematics visit the school regularly to provide advice and support. The English consultant has focused her work on supporting the school’s drive to raise the profile of literacy and reading. The local authority also provide an improvement partner who works with leaders to support their work in setting the action plan and ensuring that actions have a positive impact on outcomes for students. He has brokered links with other schools providing opportunities for teachers to observe outstanding good practice and to check that their assessments of students’ progress are correct. School leaders are held to account for their work through regular meetings with local authority officers. The local authority is driving changes to the arrangements for oversight of the school through the setting up of a federation of which this school will be a major partner.

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External support

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

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