Setting

Mr Kevin Unsworth Enterprise South Liverpool Academy Horrocks Avenue Liverpool L19 5NY

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Academy

Following my visit with Kathleen Harris and Stephen Wall, Additional Inspectors, to your school on 9 and 10 July 2015, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to confirm the inspection findings. Thank you for the help you gave during the inspection and for the time you made available to discuss the actions which have been taken since the school’s previous monitoring inspection.

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Academy

The inspection was the third monitoring inspection since the school became subject to special measures following the inspection which took place in September 2014. The full list of the areas for improvement which were identified during that inspection is set out in the annex to this letter. The monitoring inspection report is attached.

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Academy

Having considered all the evidence I am of the opinion that at this time:

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Academy

The academy is making reasonable progress towards the removal of special measures.

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Academy

Having considered all the evidence I am of the opinion that the academy may appoint newly qualified teachers.

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Academy

This letter and monitoring inspection report will be published on the Ofsted website. I am copying this letter and the monitoring inspection report to the Secretary of State, the Chair of the Governing Body and the Director of Children’s Services for Liverpool.

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Academy

Heather Mullaney CfBT Inspection Services Suite 22 West Lancs Investment Centre Maple View Skelmersdale WN8 9TG T 0300 123 1231 Text Phone: 0161 6188524 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk Direct T 01695 566863 Direct F 01695 729320 Direct email :jbennett@cfbt.com

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Associate Inspector

‘Appointed as an Associate Inspector, under the powers relating to additional inspectors, in paragraph 11 of Part 2 of Schedule 12 to the Education and Inspections Act 2006’

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place in September 2014

 Improve teaching and thereby raise standards, particularly in English and mathematics, for all students, including disadvantaged students, the most able and those with special educational needs, by: ensuring all teachers adapt their teaching to suit the needs and abilities of their students making sure all teachers have high expectations of what students can achieve providing work that is appropriately challenging to the most able students ensuring all students with special educational needs get the help they need to make good progress establishing a clear and coherent policy that is followed by all teachers across all subjects to improve students’ basic skills of communication, literacy and numeracy.

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place in September 2014

 Improve students’ behaviour by: eliminating low-level disruption by ensuring all lessons are suitably engaging improving attendance and punctuality by working more effectively with parents so that they make sure their children attend regularly and on time.

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place in September 2014

 Improve the overall effectiveness of the sixth form by: reducing variability across subjects by holding subject leaders more effectively to account for performance in their subject making sure that all students who do re-sit examinations in English and mathematics at GCSE level achieve this qualification.

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place in September 2014

 Improve the quality of leadership and management by: embedding procedures to manage the performance of teachers so that underperformance is eradicated ensuring all heads of department set a good example by communicating high expectations for all students and are held to account more rigorously for teachers’ performance in their area of responsibility embedding current initiatives to improve the quality of teaching so that all teachers get the help, support and guidance they need to teach all groups of students effectively and, in so doing, raise achievement improving self-evaluation so that it more accurately reflects the strengths and weaknesses of the school sharpening the school improvement plan so that it contains clear, measurable success criteria with timescales so that the school can, at regular intervals, see how well it is doing and what still needs to be improved ensuring that funds available through the pupil premium and the Year 7 catch-

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place in September 2014

up funding are spent appropriately so that all students eligible for this support make better progress ensuring the curriculum effectively supports the development of students’ basic skills.

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place in September 2014

An external review of governance should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved.

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place in September 2014

An external review of the school’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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Evidence

Inspectors observed the academy’s work, scrutinised documents including the most recent post-inspection records of progress. Data pertaining to achievement, attendance and behaviour were scrutinised. Meetings were held with the head of school, the Executive Principal, groups of students, senior and middle leaders, representatives of the governing body, the sponsors and the challenge board to discuss the progress since the last inspection. Several walks through a range of lessons were undertaken and 16 lessons were visited.

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Context

The head of school is now a permanent position. A new head of mathematics has been appointed and has taken up her role; she will be joined next term by a second in department and a numeracy coordinator. Several staff will leave the academy at the end of term; they will be replaced by well-qualified, experienced staff.

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Achievement of pupils at the academy

The collection and use of assessment data are becoming more effective since the introduction of the new data system. Greater responsibility and accountability are given to curriculum leaders who are growing in confidence in their new roles. There is a tighter link between the curriculum and pastoral leaders to track and tackle underperformance and, as a result, better progress is being made by most students.

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Achievement of pupils at the academy

There is a greater emphasis on progress in Key Stage 3 with clear linkages between aspirational targets, accurate data showing progress towards them, performance management and accountability. Form tutors are also far more involved in progress meetings and monitoring. This means that students who are at risk of falling behind are spotted early and given the support needed to succeed.

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Achievement of pupils at the academy

The academy is working closely with other schools to make sure that assessment methods are robust and the data accurate. This is helping to make sure that teachers’ predictions are secure.

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Achievement of pupils at the academy

Students’ progress in both English and mathematics is improving. At least good progress was seen in the mathematics and English lessons visited by inspectors.

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Achievement of pupils at the academy

In Key Stage 3, the progress of disabled students and those with special educational needs is improving. This is because there are better processes for tracking progress, together with bespoke interventions by teaching assistants and the introduction of a reading recovery scheme. The current Year 11 data suggest that gaps in attainment and progress between disadvantaged students and other non-disadvantaged students in the school have closed significantly; this is a major achievement. However, the gaps remain much too wide in Key Stage 3. The academy has acted on the sound advice given during the pupil premium review and is implementing a detailed plan to focus on the main barriers to learning faced by disadvantaged students. It is clear that the academy is placing greater emphasis on high-quality teaching rather than last minute catch-ups as a means of tackling the underperformance of this group of students.

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Achievement of pupils at the academy

There are still concerns about the relatively low number of students in the sixth form who successfully resit their Level 2 English and mathematics qualifications. Leaders are trying, with limited success, several strategies to try and engage and motivate students to want to succeed and attain these important qualifications. There remains much work to do here.

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Achievement of pupils at the academy

Overall, the right actions are being taken to improve the collection and use of data to raise attainment and accelerate progress. There is some observable impact, including the predictions for Key Stage 4 results in 2015. However, it is too early to see impact right across the academy in all subjects.

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The quality of teaching

The increased capacity of leadership to drive improvement in teaching and learning is leading to rapid improvement. This is accompanied by an intolerance of poor classroom practice and robust performance management procedures ensuring that weak performance is challenged and appropriate support put in place quickly.

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The quality of teaching

Senior leaders are providing high-quality training which is focused on the needs of individual teachers rather than being general for all. The Wednesday briefings are spoken very highly of and it is clear to see how the strategies are being used in classrooms to promote learning. For example, in the way teachers are planning effectively to build opportunities for collaboration and assessment in many lessons seen.

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The quality of teaching

Leaders are now monitoring and evaluating teaching over time and relating it to the progress of students.

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The quality of teaching

The coaching programme is well established and, as a result, teaching over time is improving and students are making faster progress. This is clear in the lessons seen, in students’ books and in the data.

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The quality of teaching

Students also say that teaching is much better; they like the challenges they are given and say that teachers make them work much harder. They also talk about the better progress that they are making in lessons.

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The quality of teaching

Where learning is at its best, students are very engaged with their learning, they participate well, take part in highly productive collaborative activities and respond very well to the probing questions from their teachers. In these lessons, the teachers often act as facilitators, encouraging the students to explore new concepts and test ideas out.

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The quality of teaching

Marking in most books is regular but there is inconsistency in approach and quality. Some spelling, punctuation and grammar are corrected but too often they are not.

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The quality of teaching

Leaders have worked very hard to eliminate inadequate teaching. They are determined to have only good or outstanding teachers at the academy.

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The quality of teaching

Teaching assistants now play a key role in supporting learners by being involved in planning and delivery using the teaching assistant tracker. In many lessons seen, teaching assistants were actively engaged, well prepared and playing an important role in ensuring learners could access their work.

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The quality of teaching

Students spoken to were concerned about their progress when supply teachers take their lessons. Academy leaders need to consider how they monitor lessons taken by supply teachers and work out how best to support these teachers to deliver high- quality learning. Students also revealed a significant inconsistency in the quality of form tutor time. A small number said that they regularly do literacy and numeracy tasks but some said they do nothing at all.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

The behaviour of students was observed in lessons and in unsupervised time. Inspectors also observed a whole-academy fire drill. Overall, the vast majority of students behave in an impeccable manner. They are welcoming to visitors, move calmly and purposefully around the building and manage their own behaviour very well.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Students say that behaviour in lessons is much improved, except when supply teachers are used. Improving teaching means that there was very little low-level disruption seen. Students are more absorbed by their learning and are much more focused on the activities and challenges presented to them by their teachers.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Students say that they feel very safe in the academy and that when incidences of bullying happen they know who to tell and say that it is dealt with very quickly.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

However, data held by the academy show that the number of fixed-term exclusions and behaviour incidences have increased. When scrutinised, the increase is linked closely to the reintegration of students from The Dove Centre together with a big increase in the expectations that all staff have of students’ behaviour.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Training has been provided for all staff in relation to managing behaviour and further is planned. A teaching assistant deployed to support the students who have returned is helping. The academy leaders are closely monitoring the behaviour of these students and now need to maintain the same level of checks on their achievement and progress so that intervention can be swift if they are failing to make good progress in their learning.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Attendance remains a concern. The academy recognises this and is working very closely with the local authority to develop strategies to tackle this. Leaders have secured extra Education Welfare Officer time and there are early signs that attendance is beginning to improve.

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The quality of leadership in and management of the academy

There is now strong evidence that the roles and responsibilities of all senior leaders are clear to everyone.

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The quality of leadership in and management of the academy

All leaders are clear about what they are accountable for and who they are accountable to. This is being replicated at middle leader level.

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The quality of leadership in and management of the academy

The early dependence on School Improvement Liverpool (SIL) has significantly decreased as academy leaders are now much more skilled at accurate and robust monitoring and self-evaluation. This is accompanied by their outward facing approach to seek out high-quality support from other schools, for example, in devising plans for closing the gap and for checking the accuracy of assessments.

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The quality of leadership in and management of the academy

The revised roles of the directors of progress have significantly increased leadership capacity. The senior leaders and directors of progress work together as a high performing academy improvement team.

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The quality of leadership in and management of the academy

They know exactly where performance is good, as well as the aspects which require improvement. Most importantly, they have the capacity and desire to implement the next steps needed to secure success.

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The quality of leadership in and management of the academy

The leadership of English is impressive and despite some staffing issues, the department is a strong united team which is allowing students to make much better progress.

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The quality of leadership in and management of the academy

The leadership of mathematics is now much more secure. The new head of department has an excellent grasp of the issues which still need to be sorted out and has developed a detailed plan to develop the teaching and learning for students further. The arrival of an experienced second in department in mathematics and a numeracy coordinator in the autumn term will add capacity to the mathematics team.

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The quality of leadership in and management of the academy

Middle leaders overall have a much clearer understanding of their role in academy improvement. They are more confident in challenging underperformance and in using data to hold their teams to account. They share a collective drive to try to make sure that all students make at least good progress from their starting points. There is clear leadership of the strategy to close the gap in attainment and progress between disadvantaged students and other non-disadvantaged students, which focuses on improving teaching. Training has been given to staff on strategies to use which will support them to close gaps and these were clearly seen in the lessons observed.

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The quality of leadership in and management of the academy

Teachers know which students are eligible for support through the pupil premium and current data suggest that the Key Stage 4 gaps have reduced significantly but there remains concern in Key Stage 3.

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The quality of leadership in and management of the academy

Students’ literacy skills continue to improve at an impressive pace, however, their numeracy development is still too slow. This aspect of effectiveness needs to become a much higher priority.

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The quality of leadership in and management of the academy

The challenge board and governors know the academy well and hold all leaders to account. They ask pertinent questions and support the head of school on his quest for success.

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The quality of leadership in and management of the academy

It is now very important that all governors especially those with specific responsibilities are fully informed of the work going on in the academy. The plans for the change in sponsorship are well advanced. It is hoped that the sponsorship will reduce from five sponsors to two in September.

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External Support

The academy is still supported well by SIL but is far less reliant on this help. Leaders are accessing high quality support from outstanding schools, including St John Bosco Teaching School and Alsop High School. Governors, the challenge board and academy leaders know that they must maintain their outward facing philosophy if they are to continue to move towards the removal of special measures.

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