Cleethorpes Academy

Grainsby Avenue, Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire, DN35 9NX

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Requires improvement 3 This inspection: Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The impact of effective leadership on all aspects of the academy’s work has improved its overall effectiveness since the previous inspection.  Good teaching and a thoughtfully constructed curriculum are accelerating students’ progress and promoting good achievement.  Teachers are demonstrably improving their collective impact on students’ achievement.  In all year groups, students are making good gains in learning. Gaps in students’ achievement, particularly in English and mathematics, are closing quickly over time.  The curriculum and its delivery are tailored carefully to students’ needs. This is enabling those of different ages, starting points and abilities to blossom academically and personally.  Good behaviour has been sustained. Attendance over time is improving. Students feel safe as a result of adults’ assiduous attention to their safeguarding and welfare.  The multi academy trust has been highly influential

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

in moving this academy to good. It remains a significant presence in shaping the academy’s future strategic direction.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 There is room for further improvement in the non- core curriculum.  Not enough of the most able-students achieve better than expected progress across their chosen subjects.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 28 teachers on the first day of the inspection. On the second day, they dropped into 25 lessons for a shorter period of time and undertook scrutiny of students’ workbooks across a range of subjects.  Senior leaders observed some teaching alongside inspectors. The inspectors then watched senior staff feedback to teachers.  Meetings were held with the Principal, the executive headteacher and other senior leaders, curriculum leaders, governors and the Chief Executive of the Tollbar Academy Trust. Inspectors also met with groups of students and spoke with them during social times. Teachers observed during the longer observations on day one were provided with individual feedback on their teaching.  Inspectors visited two of the school’s five providers of alternative curriculum, one a local authority pupil referral unit, the other an independent registered provider. Inspectors spoke with students and key

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Information about this inspection

workers and examined records of progress and attendance.  Inspectors scrutinised documents presented by the academy relating to improvement planning and self- evaluation, students’ current progress, safeguarding, attendance, exclusion, the quality of teaching, the performance management of staff and governance.  Too few responses were logged to make possible a viable analysis of the online questionnaire (Parent View). Inspectors considered the academy’s own surveys of students’ and parents’ views undertaken in 2015, and reviewed 38 responses to the staff questionnaire distributed during the inspection.

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Inspection team

Cathryn Kirby, Lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Information about this school

 Cleethorpes Academy is a smaller than average-sized 11 to 16 secondary school. It is part of the Tollbar Multi Academy Trust. The academy opened in September 2010, replacing a school in special measures. In 2013, the academy received its first inspection and was found to require improvement.  The proportion of students supported by pupil premium funding is higher than average and higher than at the previous inspection. Pupil premium is additional government funding for students who are looked after by the local authority or who are known to be eligible for free school meals.  The proportion of disabled students and those who have special educational needs is below average.  An alternative curriculum is provided for a very small number of students by CPO Media, DKM Group, Newchase House, Phoenix Park Academy and Sevenhills Academy.  The academy meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for

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Information about this school

students’ attainment and progress by the end of Year 11.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Maintain the direction of travel evident in both the quality of teaching and achievement by:  ensuring that teachers of all subjects always give high prominence to developing students’ literacy skills in both their planning and their practice  moving the most-able students on when they grasp ideas quickly so that, over time, a higher proportion of this group makes better than expected progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensuring that improvements in non-core subject performance this year are maintained by:  rigorous and regular monitoring undertaken by middle leaders to identify success or slippage  middle and senior leaders taking prompt, corrective action, as necessary.

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The leadership and management are good

 Senior leaders are successfully improving the academy’s effectiveness. The Principal has high expectations of staff and students. The executive headteacher employed by the Tollbar Academy Trust is contributing to the strong leadership of teaching. Effective systems for monitoring the academy’s work are sustaining improvement on what has been, and remains, a challenging journey.  Performance management is used to reward effective teachers and managers. Movement up pay scales is not automatic and is based upon the impact of work over time against agreed targets. Overwhelmingly, staff consider they are well led and managed, and are proud to work at Cleethorpes Academy.  The middle leadership tier has undergone some changes of personnel. Subject leaders are effective teachers in their own classrooms. Crucially, they understand that monitoring is most effective when the findings are acted upon decisively to make changes. They are working with their teams doing just that –

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The leadership and management are good

devising subject-specific approaches that are closing gaps for different groups of students and raising attainment in all subjects.  The curriculum places strong emphasis on literacy, numeracy and personal development. Provision is promoting students’ good behaviour, sociability and a growing understanding of the diverse society of modern day Britain. A choice of options allows for suitable breadth and balance, and provides equally well for the full range of needs.  Safeguarding meets statutory requirements and is given a high priority through regular monitoring and follow-up ensuring students are safe and well cared for. The academy’s own pastoral team works closely with other agencies to keep a careful eye on the progress, attendance, behaviour and welfare of potentially vulnerable students, including those attending alternative provision.  Careers guidance provided through the academy trust is helping older students consider their options and

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The leadership and management are good

secure conditional places at various local post-16 providers to follow diverse academic or vocational courses or take up an apprenticeship. Advice and support have resulted in almost all Year 11 students having individually tailored post-16 progression plans.  The governance of the school:  Governors are knowledgeable about the work of the academy and its impact on students’ achievement. Governors see students’ achievement, safety and welfare as priorities and are able to focus fully on these aspects, secure in the knowledge that the multi academy trust manages the academy’s finances. They understand from their own scrutiny of documents, assessment information, and from detailed reports they request from the headteacher, that the academy is improving its effectiveness.  A strength of governance is governors’ willingness to seek advice on how they can be more effective still. The governing body was supportive of the recent initiative to secure training of staff and

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The leadership and management are good

subsequent teaching for students on the potential risks of extremism to individuals and society. Governors are determined to continue the trend of improvement.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of students is good. In lessons, students get on well together and with their teachers. They work productively and show good attitudes to learning. Students show interest in their work other than on the rare occasions where activities are not well matched to their needs.  On several occasions, unprompted by their teachers, students stood to respectfully welcome inspectors to their classrooms. Around the school site, the large majority of students move around and socialise sensibly.  Attendance has improved in all year groups since the previous inspection and is in line with the secondary school average. Persistent absence shows a sharply declining trend. The large majority of students are punctual at the start of the school day. They arrive ready to learn and lessons start promptly.  Students say bullying is not a problem and, if it occurs, they feel confident of support from adults they

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Behaviour

know well and who would not tolerate such behaviour.

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Safety

 The academy’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. A thorough knowledge of individual students’ circumstances helps the appropriately trained, dedicated pastoral team in successfully supporting students’ personal and welfare needs, and improving their attendance.  Records relating to safeguarding are carefully maintained. Systems and processes around safeguarding are thorough, including the vetting, induction and training of staff. The pastoral team works closely with other agencies to keep a careful eye on the progress, attendance and welfare of potentially vulnerable students. Case studies show this work is keeping students safe and in education.  The effectiveness of safeguarding students in alternative provisions is strengthened by weekly review meetings attended by senior leaders from local secondary schools. Collaboration is making the welfare of excluded students everybody’s business and benefits students’ reintegration to mainstream schools.

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Safety

 The academy’s recent surveys of students’ and parents’ views show a high proportion of both groups say the academy is a safe place. Students’ understanding of personal safety is developing through, for example, teaching about potential risks from the internet, or from individuals or groups who harbour extreme views.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The improving quality of teaching is enabling all students to make good progress in learning. Lessons start promptly. They are well planned. Students are routinely engaging in activities that build their skills, knowledge and understanding. Teachers’ strong subject knowledge is evident as they explain and confidently respond to students’ questions.  Weaknesses in teaching identified at the previous inspection have been tackled. Teaching is more firmly focused on learning and progress. Teachers are regularly checking understanding or extending students’ thinking through effective questioning. Thorough marking is helping students understand where and why they went wrong and what they are doing well.  The strong link between academies in the Tollbar Trust is facilitating the sharing of teaching strategies, and sometimes teachers, in order to strengthen teaching and learning further. New teachers are exposed

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The quality of teaching is good

to a range of professional development experiences. Subject leaders share ideas for developing curriculum and teachers’ practice. All these benefits filter down to classrooms and result in good learning.  Students’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is well promoted, particularly through the many opportunities in citizenship and ethics lessons, which broaden and deepen their understanding of the diversity of British society. A history lesson on conflict allowed for mature discussion around the moral perspective of human actions. Elsewhere, a consideration of natural disasters gave pause for reflection on the plight of others around the world.  Relationships between students and teachers are almost always mutually respectful and engender an atmosphere conducive to learning. The majority of teachers work to develop vocabulary and spelling. On the very few occasions where inspectors observed students off-task, a mismatch of work to literacy skills

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The quality of teaching is good

was the root cause.  Carefully planned grouping enhances the impact of teaching for students at different points in their learning. Small groups in upper Key Stage 4 English and mathematics are enabling students of similar ability to make good gains. In larger groups, teachers encourage collaboration and peer support; these strategies are helping students move to on.  Effective teaching of reading in additional support sessions, funded through the pupil premium and Year 7 transition money, is improving reading skills and vocabulary, particularly of lower ability students. Younger students showed good comprehension when reflecting on ‘the story’ in discussion about their current reading books.  There is no common feature of teaching that is a weakness. Rather, individual teachers have specific aspects of their practice to work on. They and their managers are clear what needs to be done and the necessary steps are accommodated in personal performance plans that go hand-in-hand with the

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The quality of teaching is good

academy’s culture of continuous improvement.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 A trend of rising achievement in all subjects and year groups reflects the impact of improving teaching. Given starting points in Year 7 that are typically well below average, the impact of the academy’s work is considerable on outcomes in English and mathematics that now sit comfortably alongside national averages at the end of Key Stage 4.  The increasing proportion of Year 11 students gaining five A* to C grades at GCSE in 2014 was close to the average. The proportions making at least expected progress in English and mathematics compare favourably to other secondary schools. The impact of good teaching this school year is sustaining the direction of travel and yielding good gains in attainment and progress across the curriculum.  Disabled students and those who have special educational needs are also making good progress. Appropriate support for students with statements is ensuring they benefit from good teaching. Bespoke

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The achievement of pupils is good

programmes delivered in school or by alternative providers are clearly helping vulnerable students manage social, emotional or behavioural difficulties so that they progress well personally and academically.  In the context of rising achievement, disadvantaged students are not being left behind. The assiduous use of pupil premium and Year 7 transition funding, combined with good teaching, is rapidly closing gaps in achievement between disadvantaged students and others in the academy. In English, disadvantaged students were less that one GCSE grade behind students nationally in English, and just over a grade behind in mathematics, in 2014. The in-school gaps are similar. These gaps are continuing to narrow in 2015.  A healthy proportion of the most-able students are making expected progress in English and mathematics. However, the proportion making better than expected progress, while increasing over time, is not as

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The achievement of pupils is good

favourable.  Bespoke support for literacy and numeracy is helping students cope better in mainstream classes. Lower ability students are making good progress, as the improvements in the reading ages of Key Stage 3 students demonstrate.  The rationale for taking GCSE core science in Year 10, thereby enabling students to focus thoroughly on additional science in Year 11, is carefully considered and well managed. Science results, including for the most-able students, have improved significantly over the last three years.  Strengthening provision is having a marked impact on progress in humanities and technology, both previously weaker performing subjects. Nevertheless, these subjects have yet to demonstrate they can sustain good gains over successive years if they are to match the established trends in core subjects.

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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 136192 Local authority North East Lincolnshire Inspection number 462236

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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 Secondary School category Academy sponsor-led Age range of pupils 11–16 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 834 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Philip Bond Headteacher Martin Brown Date of previous school inspection 9 July 2013 Telephone number 01472 582310 Fax number 01472 582311 Email address enquires@cleethorpesacademy.co.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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