South Shore Academy

South Shore Academy St Anne’s Road, Blackpool, Lancashire, FY4 2AR

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Not previously inspected as an academy This inspection: Inadequate 4 Leadership and management Inadequate 4 Behaviour and safety of pupils Inadequate 4 Quality of teaching Inadequate 4 Achievement of pupils Inadequate 4

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a school that requires special measures.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Leadership is inadequate and has been so since the academy’s opening.  As a result of the turbulence created by significant changes to the leadership of the academy at all levels, improvements to the quality of teaching and students’ achievement have been too slow.  The academy’s work to keep students safe is inadequate because absence and truancy are too high. Students are absent from class and so are potentially unsafe  In all subjects and across year groups there are too many students who are currently underachieving. These include those with disabilities and special educational needs and those who are the most able.  Too few students are making at least expected progress in subjects such as English, mathematics and science in all years.  Behaviour is inadequate. Attitudes to learning are very poor. Students do not value their books, their resources, or the school building. Some students do not have enough respect for other people or

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

themselves. Learning is frequently disrupted by the poor behaviour of some students.  Leaders, including the governors and the trust, have not ensured that the pupil premium funding has been used effectively. Gaps between the progress and attainment of disadvantaged students and their non-disadvantaged peers are widening.  Teaching is inadequate. Teachers do not challenge students sufficiently to achieve the levels of which they are capable. Information used to judge students’ progress remains inaccurate despite training and external support.  Teachers’ feedback to students is not sufficiently regular or accurate and, as a result, students do not know how well they are doing or how to improve their work.

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The school has the following strengths

 Improvements in teaching are starting to have an impact on students’ progress in English, particularly in Year 11.  The new interim Principal has correctly identified the most significant areas of concern and is starting to recruit leaders and begin improvements across the academy.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed parts of lessons across the academy in most subjects and including registration and tutor periods, an assembly and sessions in the inclusion and special educational needs departments. Three lessons were observed jointly with senior leaders.  Inspectors observed students’ behaviour around the academy and within lessons. Meetings were held with students from both key stages and with a specific group of vulnerable students. Students were also spoken to at break and lunchtimes and were observed at the start and end of the academy day.  Meetings were held with senior leaders, middle leaders and those responsible for aspects of the academy’s work including: support for students with disabilities and special educational needs; support for students eligible for pupil premium funding; analysis of the academy’s data on student performance and the academy’s behaviour management. Several of these meetings included representatives from the trust.

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Information about this inspection

 The views of the 45 staff questionnaire responses were taken into account.  There were very few responses from parents to the online questionnaire (Parent View). However, inspectors looked at summaries from questionnaires sent to parents by the academy.  The inspection team scrutinised documents evaluating the academy’s performance, minutes from meetings, reports from external agencies and the local authority, details of training and plans for improvement. Information relating to behaviour, safeguarding, attendance and those students who attend off-site provision were also examined.

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Inspection team

Rebecca Lawton, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Full report

In accordance with section 44 of the Education Act 2005 (as amended), Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that this school requires special measures because it is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the persons responsible for leading, managing or governing the school are not demonstrating the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school.

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Information about this school

 South Shore Academy became a sponsored academy in December 2013. It is smaller than the average- sized secondary school and the vast majority of students are of White British heritage.  The proportion of disadvantaged students who are supported by the pupil premium funding is very high compared to the national average.  The proportion of disabled students and those with special educational needs is above the national average.  The academy uses alternative provision for a very small number of students who attend part time courses at work-related learning placements. There is also an on-site SERF (Special Educational Resource Facility) centre, which is due to close this academic year.  The academy is currently undergoing significant changes to the leadership team. Many roles and responsibilities are changing. A new interim Principal took up post earlier in this academic year.  The academy is part of a multi academy trust, the Bright Futures Educational Trust. This trust is the

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Information about this school

accountable body for the academy. It provides governance, although there also remains a local governing body. The local governing body has been recently reconstituted.  The academy did not meet the government’s current floor standards in 2014, which are the minimum expectations for students’ attainment and progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure that all students’ behaviour is at least good and that they are safe by:  improving their attendance and punctuality to school and eradicating truancy from lessons  making certain that procedures for checking the implementation of safeguarding policies and strategies are robust  encouraging students to have more respect for themselves and each other through a tailored programme of personal, social and health education that includes more information on how to stay safe online and challenges bullying and discrimination such as homophobia and racism.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Rapidly improve the quality of teaching so that it is at least consistently good, and therefore significantly improve progress and raise attainment in all subjects and year groups by:  ensuring teachers’ assessments of students’ progress and attainment are consistently accurate  increasing the level of challenge in lessons for students at all ability levels so that they make much faster progress  ensuring all teachers consistently let students know how well they have done and how to improve  making certain that all teachers have high expectations of the presentation of work and the care that students should take over their books, as well as in the tasks they undertake  ensuring no student is disadvantaged by preparing tasks to support all students, so that even those who have been absent are able to fully participate in learning eradicating low level disruption by improving the rigor of application of the academy’s behaviour policy in lessons and around school.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Rapidly improve the impact of leadership at all levels, including that of the trust and governors, so that the pace of improvement accelerates quickly by ensuring that:  all staff are held to account for the progress of the students in their classes  systems for managing information on students’ progress are refined so that leaders have accurate and useful information, which enable their efforts and support to be targeted to the students most at risk of underachieving  the pupil premium is spent effectively, and that its impact on students’ progress is measured. An external review of the academy’s use of the pupil premium should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

An external review of the governance of the academy should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect may be improved.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 As a result of ineffective leadership over time, the progress and attainment of students has been, and remains, inadequate. Teaching is inadequate and has not been well led and managed.  Current restructuring of the senior leadership team means that only two assistant vice principals out of the full senior leadership currently hold permanent leadership positions; the rest are on interim or fixed-term contracts. This lack of constancy in leadership has slowed improvement and, together with an absence of consistently strong middle leadership, has resulted in failure to establish an ethos where good teaching and behaviour can flourish.  The systems that leaders are using to track the progress of students are ineffective because the data they contain are not yet accurate. There has been significant recent training and work with external agencies to improve the accuracy of teachers’ assessment. However, as there is only one reliable set of assessments,

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The leadership and management are inadequate

the tracking of progress is still not precise. This means that the academy has no guarantee that additional help is being provided for the correct students.  The trust has recently focussed its attention on the current Year 11 so that these students are helped to improve to at least minimum expected standards. There has also been a focus on improving achievement in Year 7. However, insufficient attention has been paid to the progress of students in other years and the members of the board are unaware of how few students are making expected progress in Key Stage 3.  Inspectors strongly recommend the academy should not seek to appoint newly qualified teachers.  The interim Principal has identified the correct areas for improvement across the academy, and self evaluation is correct in respect of the quality of teaching, students’ behaviour and staff development needs. However, the information that leaders are using to try and identify trends and areas for

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The leadership and management are inadequate

improvement in achievement are based on assessments that are not yet consistently accurate. Leaders have though begun to improve progress in Year 11 and in English.  The academy’s promotion of equal opportunities is inadequate as there is significant variation between the progress and achievement of different groups of students. Too many groups are underachieving.  The pupil premium funding and Year 7 catch up funding have not been managed effectively and the gaps in attainment for those disadvantaged students supported by this funding have increased. Neither the trust nor the governors have been rigorous enough in monitoring the impact of this funding on the progress of the students it is designed to support.  The curriculum does not currently support students’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well enough, nor does it prepare them properly for life in modern Britain. Too many students do not show

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The leadership and management are inadequate

respect for the school, for themselves and to each other, and too many are involved in behavioural incidents. Some students say they do not feel safe in the academy; others are not sufficiently aware of how to stay safe online. Not enough has been done to foster good relations and tackle discrimination. For example, there is a small, but significant, number of incidents of racism and homophobic bullying.  Information, guidance and support for students making course and qualifications choices are adequate; students were able to describe how they made informed choices about their qualifications and routes into further education.  Leaders monitor the progress, attendance and behaviour of those students who attend alternative provision closely, and adapt the curriculum to meet their needs.  Leaders have had some success in improving the attendance and behaviour of some groups of students, and have improved the predicted grades for students in Year 11.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 The local authority continues to work with the academy and has provided training and support for governors and leaders during this extended period of leadership change. As the majority of leaders are new to post, there has been no impact of this support yet on student outcomes.  The academy’s arrangements for safeguarding students have recently been changed and their documentation now meets statutory requirements. However, the academy does not monitor students’ attendance well enough and this means that some students remain at risk. Therefore, safeguarding is inadequate overall.  The governance of the school:  The governance provided by the trust and the local governing body is inadequate. Those responsible for monitoring the effectiveness of the pupil premium have not ensured that it is having a positive impact on the progress of those students eligible for support through this funding. Consequently, gaps have

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The leadership and management are inadequate

widened between these students and their peers in school and nationally.  Performance management has not been robust enough in the past, and staff were not held to account for the progress of all the students in their classes. As a result students have underachieved. Recently, the approaches to the monitoring of staff performance have improved; however, this has not yet had an impact on the outcomes of the majority of students.  Teachers’ assessments of students’ progress have been inaccurate, which means that the information that governors have used to evaluate the performance of the academy has been incorrect. Governors do not receive sufficiently accurate information about students’ performance. The information governors were using to monitor the quality of teaching was also inaccurate.  The trust has been monitoring the progress of and predictions for Year 11, for whom there is more accurate information, but it has not been monitoring the progress of students in other year groups. This

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The leadership and management are inadequate

means that the trust is unable to identify underachievement quickly enough.  Training for safeguarding is up to date and governors have undertaken all relevant training courses provided by the local authority and trust.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of students is inadequate. The high number of behavioural incidents logged by leaders reflects students’ descriptions of low level disruption in a high proportion of their lessons which reduces the amount they are able to learn.  Students have poor attitudes to learning. Too often students draw inappropriate pictures on their books and there are many examples of work that is poorly presented and incomplete, across all year groups and many subjects.  Students told inspectors that the academy was improving, and that they were having a better time in the academy since the new Principal had been appointed. They felt that behaviour was getting better and that staff were looking out for their wellbeing.  Attendance is too low in all years, but especially in Year 11. Too many students are absent from lessons on purpose once on the academy’s site. Students are missing a significant amount of their education and

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Behaviour

this is reducing the progress they can make and the levels they can achieve in final examinations.  Students’ attendance and behaviour at the alternative provision is better than in the main school, and these students are well cared for.

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Safety

 The academy’s work to keep students safe and secure is inadequate because the academy cannot be confident about the safety and security of those students when not in lessons. Additionally, students told inspectors that they did not always feel safe around the academy. Behaviour logs showed a significant number of incidents of poor behaviour, including homophobic bullying, racism and physical confrontations. The academy has put a large number of strategies in place to reduce these incidents, but some students still feel unsafe.  The academy building is not well suited to its purpose, and students are often crowded and cramped when moving around the building. Corridors are too narrow and many students are physically jostled when moving from lesson to lesson.  Leaders have recently invested in additional fencing and cameras and the external site is more secure than it has been in the past.  There have been several concerns raised by staff and students about behaviour, not only during the

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Safety

inspection, but since the academy's opening. These include the disrespect shown by students to each other, to staff and to their work in general.  Students’ awareness of how to stay safe online is not sufficient, and teaching for personal, social and health education is not yet having a sufficiently positive impact on students’ development.

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The quality of teaching is inadequate

 Teaching over time has not secured good enough progress for students in the majority of subjects. Many students are significantly behind expectations for their age and ability. Many students are not making expected progress and this means they are not well prepared for the next stage of their education or for formal examinations.  Teachers’ expectations of what students can achieve and the amount of work they should be doing in lessons are too low. Many groups of students are not being challenged to achieve the levels of which they are capable. Too many students are allowed to choose not to participate in lessons and to not complete the work that is set.  A significant proportion of students do not know how well they are doing and what they need to do to improve their work. Too many books are unmarked and too many teachers set the same tasks for students regardless of their starting point. This leads to the most able students becoming bored and

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The quality of teaching is inadequate

restless and those who need additional support not being able to attempt their tasks.  Teaching assistants are not always used effectively by teachers; however, they do work hard to support students in one-to-one situations to complete the tasks set by teachers.  A large proportion of students are absent from lessons due to low attendance and truancy. Teachers know this is an ongoing issue for students, yet they do not plan for this and so those who are absent are disadvantaged in their learning.  The teaching of basic literacy and numeracy across the curriculum is not well developed. Many students lack basic skills in how to organise their work neatly, for example in graphs or tables, and this limits their ability to use their own books for revision and limits the grades they could achieve in examinations.  Students’ writing is often messy. Spelling, punctuation and grammar are not routinely corrected and

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The quality of teaching is inadequate

supported in all lessons across the curriculum. Students’ mathematics skills are below those expected for their age.  Leaders have secured more stable staffing in a number of departments, but these teachers are not always specialists in the subjects they are teaching. Their weaker subject knowledge limits their ability to adapt lessons to match students’ needs.  Teaching in English has recently improved and more of the students in this subject in Key Stage 4 are making progress in line with their abilities. However, progress in Key Stage 3 is not yet improving as rapidly. Teaching of reading does not always take advantage of opportunities for students to improve their skills.  Disabled students and those with special educational needs are making steady progress in small groups within the special needs department, where they are taught by specialists. However, the quality of the teaching they receive, and the tracking of their support and the progress these students make when back

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The quality of teaching is inadequate

in other classes is limited by the inaccurate assessments made by subject teachers.

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

 When students start at the academy, a large proportion have skills and abilities that are below those expected for their age. During their time in the academy, too few students make expected progress and reach levels appropriate to their potential.  The proportion of students attaining five of more GCSE grades from A* to C, including English and mathematics, was very low by the end of Year 11 in 2014, the first year of the academy; this represents inadequate progress for these students.  Students’ work seen during the inspection and the academy’s most recent accurate assessments showed the majority of students are not making expected progress in many subjects and across Key Stage 3. Recent attention to students in Year 7 and Year 11 has supported better progress for these students in some areas; however, there remain groups of students, such as the most able, disadvantaged students and boys, who are underachieving across the whole academy.

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

 Disadvantaged students underachieve. In the 2014 GCSE examinations, they were over a grade behind their peers in the academy and almost two grades below non-disadvantaged students nationally in both English and mathematics. Predictions for students taking their GCSE examinations in 2015 indicate that there will be a slight narrowing of these gaps; however, a significant gap between the progress of those supported by the pupil premium and their peers remains in all other years across the academy. These gaps have widened this academic year, and departmental evaluations show up to 80% of disadvantaged students are not making expected progress. All students, including those supported by the pupil premium, are making less progress than other pupils nationally.  Those students who are the most able are not making good enough progress and are not reaching those higher levels of which they are capable. The work set does not regularly challenge them to improve,

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

although this group are generally making more progress than the other groups of the students in the academy, particularly in English. In science, only around 20% of the most able students are making expected progress across Key Stage 3.  The achievement of those students with disabilities and special educational needs is inadequate. Bespoke provision from the special needs department, who target support for particular areas of the curriculum, for example in reading meets students’ needs well. In these short intervention periods, these students make reasonable progress in closing the gaps in their learning. However provision is weaker for those students with special educational needs who are in mainstream classes, and leaders’ ability to monitor their progress is limited by inaccurate assessments.  Students who attend alternative provision make adequate progress towards their individual targets which

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

are appropriate to their needs and abilities.  The academy offers early entry to religious education GCSE for students in Year 10 who choose to attend additional lessons after the academy day ends. This does not limit their ability to achieve well.

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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 140021 Local authority Blackpool Inspection number 450133

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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 749 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Len Hampson Principal Jane Bailey Date of previous school inspection Not previously inspected as an academy Telephone number 01253 336500 Fax number 01253 341803 Email address jane.bailey@southshore.blackpool.sch.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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