Setting

Mr Ian Harrison Principal Tudor Grange Samworth Academy Trenant Road Leicester Leicestershire LE2 6UA

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Academy

Following my visit to your school on 4–5 February 2016, 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 that have been taken since the school’s recent section 5 inspection.

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Academy

The inspection was the first monitoring inspection since the school became subject to special measures following the inspection that took place in May 2015.

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Academy

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

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Academy

Leaders and managers are taking effective action towards the removal of special measures.

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Academy

The trust’s statement of action is fit for purpose.

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Academy

The school’s action plan is fit for purpose.

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Academy

Having considered all the evidence, I strongly recommend that the school does not seek to appoint NQTs. Ofsted

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Academy

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 4234 www.gov.uk/ofsted I am copying this letter to the Chair of the Multi-Academy Trust Board, the Director of Education for the Diocese of Leicester, the Regional Schools Commissioner and the Director of Children’s Services for Leicester local authority. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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The areas for improvement identified during the inspection that took place

 Improve the quality of teaching across all year groups by ensuring that all teachers: ̶ accurately assess pupils’ work and plan learning to challenge all groups of pupils, particularly those who are disabled and those who have special educational needs, the most able, and disadvantaged ̶ have high expectations for behaviour and use the academy’s systems for managing behaviour consistently and lessons are planned that engage pupils in their learning ̶ plan the work of teaching assistants more carefully so that their work is focused on improving learning rather than just on managing behaviour ̶ insist on high standards of pupils’ presentation of work, that pupils take sufficient care over their work, and regularly do their best.

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The areas for improvement identified during the inspection that took place

 Raise achievement across the academy, particularly in English and mathematics, by: ̶ developing a more consistent approach across all subjects to improving pupils’ literacy and numeracy skills ̶ reviewing the effectiveness of the extra help for individuals and small groups during lessons ̶ improving the identification of the individual learning needs of disadvantaged pupils, the most able and those who have special educational needs and planning more effective support, including from teaching assistants.

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The areas for improvement identified during the inspection that took place

 Improve the quality of leadership and management by: ̶ making leadership roles clear and sufficiently accountable ̶ ensuring that subject leaders and those with other roles of responsibility, such as for special educational needs, have sufficient training and skills to carry out their roles effectively ̶ taking action to engage parents and gain the trust and support of those who are not currently confident about the academy ̶ evaluating more rigorously the use of extra funding to support disadvantaged pupils, those who need to catch up in literacy and numeracy in Year 7 and the development of additional sporting activities in the primary age range ̶ ensuring that the governors and sponsors are more effective in monitoring the academy and checking that agreed actions have had sufficient impact ̶ using the new leaders’ accurate evaluation of academy performance to create an action plan for improvement, with clear criteria to judge success.

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The areas for improvement identified during the inspection that took place

 Improve the management of behaviour and safety by: ̶ ensuring that all staff regularly insist on high standards of behaviour, especially for those who find it difficult to comply, by making effective use of the academy's behaviour code in lessons ̶ making sure that expectations for presentation of work, grammar, punctuation and spelling are consistently high, especially for older pupils ̶ ensuring that expectations for wearing uniform are high enough and pupils comply with them ̶ making sure that strategies to improve attendance are more effective and codes for recording absence are used accurately.

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The areas for improvement identified during the inspection that took place

An external review of governance and of the academy’s use of the pupil premium funding should be undertaken in order to assess how these aspects of leadership and management may be improved. Report on the first monitoring inspection on 4–5 February 2015.

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Evidence

During the inspection, I met with you, the head of school who leads the primary phase, executive principals from the Tudor Grange Academies Trust, senior leaders, and the Chair of the Multi-Academy Trust Board to discuss the school’s progress since the previous inspection. I spoke formally with groups of pupils from Year 10 and Year 6, and informally with other pupils in lessons and at lunchtime. Together with senior leaders, I observed teaching in English and mathematics across different key stages and looked at work in pupils’ books. I scrutinised documents, including: the school’s action plan; the single central record; achievement information; training records relating to safeguarding and teaching; records of the monitoring of teaching; and performance management information. Exit and entrance arrangements to the primary school were observed, and I spoke with a few parents as they brought their

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Context

Since the previous inspection, sponsorship of the school has been taken over by the Tudor Grange Academies Trust, which previously provided support to the school. The name of the school has changed. A head of school has been appointed to lead the primary phase. In total, 53 members of staff left the school at the end of the summer term in 2015. Many of these were as a result of re-structuring, brought about in response to unsustainably high levels of staffing. You have made 26 new appointments, which include new curriculum leaders in English and humanities, and additional mathematics and English teachers. Some teaching posts are filled with long-term supply teachers.

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Context

You have restructured the leadership of the school. Two members of the leadership team are on long-term leave of absence through illness, and you are in the process of making new appointments to the leadership team. Two executive principals and an associate principal from the Tudor Grange Academies Trust are providing intensive support and challenge to school leaders on a temporary basis.

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The effectiveness of leadership and management

The Principal, ably supported by the newly appointed head of school (primary), has brought much-needed clarity, energy and the determination to drive up standards. This has resulted in small but notable improvements to the quality of teaching, learning and assessment, and to pupils’ behaviour. Pupils I spoke with told me about the difference the Principal has made to their school. They now find their work more challenging, because teachers have a better understanding of what they are capable of. Behaviour across the school is improving. In the primary phase, leaders have established simple but effective routines to ensure that pupils behave well and with due regard to their own and others’ safety. At all key stages, teachers are increasingly confident in challenging poor behaviour because the rules are clearer. Changes to the leadership structure of the school have brought greater clarity. The establishment of a ‘college’ system, with leaders to head up each college, has

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The effectiveness of leadership and management

created a sense of community, pride and belonging.

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The effectiveness of leadership and management

However, leaders have been hampered in their efforts to bring about necessary improvements by the uncertainty under the previous sponsorship arrangements. The resolution of this situation has accelerated the progress that they are able to make. Established and experienced leaders from the trust are providing much-needed support to school leaders. They have worked with leaders to draw up and implement an action plan that clearly identifies the key actions needed to address the areas for improvement from the previous inspection. Progress against these actions is monitored on a weekly basis, so that a tight focus is maintained on which actions are leading to improvement and further actions that are needed to improve standards.

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The effectiveness of leadership and management

Representatives from the trust have carried out joint observations with school leaders, which have led to a re-evaluation of the overall quality of teaching, learning and assessment in the school. As a result, leaders now have a more realistic view of the strengths and weaknesses of teaching in the school and have been able to provide appropriate training and development opportunities for staff. For example, staff at all levels have benefited greatly from opportunities to visit other schools in the trust and learn from good practice elsewhere. This has provided them with a clearer insight into what good practice looks like, and important opportunities to develop links and partnerships with staff at other schools.

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The effectiveness of leadership and management

Leaders have reviewed the provision for pupils who have special educational needs or disability; they are making improvements to ensure that pupils’ needs are correctly identified and addressed, and that they and their families are able to access the raft of support available through the local offer. They have recognised that meeting the needs of these pupils means ensuring that classroom teachers understand and can address their needs in the classroom. Some training has taken place, for example, on understanding and dealing with pupils on the autistic spectrum, and further training is planned.

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The effectiveness of leadership and management

Leaders have rightly recognised that the curriculum was not meeting the needs of pupils and, for some, was leading to their disengagement and disaffection. A subsequent review of the curriculum has led to some subjects being discontinued. There is more to do to ensure that pupils who have low levels of prior attainment, both in the primary and secondary phases, are taught the skills they need to achieve as well as their peers in the subjects they study, and that the curriculum across all key stages fully meets their needs.

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The effectiveness of leadership and management

Some parents have expressed concerns about how well leaders have communicated changes to them and leaders accept that, on occasion, this could have been improved. For example, leaders changed the procedures for dropping pupils off and collecting them from the primary phase. Many parents accept that this has led to improved safety of the school site, although a few are still struggling to adapt to the new routines. Engagement of parents is slowly increasing. Parental workshops, the recent school production and the carol concert are increasing opportunities for parents to understand their children’s learning and enjoy their success.

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The effectiveness of leadership and management

There are improvements, too, to the school’s safeguarding arrangements. Leaders have a clear understanding of the full range of risks that pupils are vulnerable to, and have led staff training on issues such as child sexual exploitation and female genital mutilation. Further training is planned to ensure that staff and pupils fully understand and can address the risks associated with radicalisation and extremism.

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The effectiveness of leadership and management

The review of governance carried out at the end of the summer term identified key weaknesses in this aspect of leadership. As a consequence of the sponsorship arrangements, the Multi-Academy Trust Board took over responsibility for governance from January 2016. Although it is early days, it is clear that they have the necessary skills to hold leaders rigorously to account and are doing so.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment

Leaders have righty recognised that to improve teaching, a radical approach is needed. This has included re-focusing on the basic elements of good teaching: good subject knowledge, clarity of purpose, and the effective use of formal and informal assessment to measure accurately how well pupils are doing. They have addressed the over-reliance on intervention that has, in the past, been a poor substitute for good teaching in the classroom and has meant that, in too many cases, those pupils in most need of support have not been learning alongside their peers in classes where teaching and learning were routinely effective.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment

There are some encouraging signs of improvement. Teachers are developing the ability to reflect on how their teaching and behaviour impact on the progress pupils make. They are becoming more skilled in interpreting data about pupils’ prior attainment and understanding the progress that pupils are typically expected to make. There is emerging evidence of teachers becoming more skilled in providing effective feedback to pupils. For example, in an English lesson, the teacher had provided pupils with written feedback highlighting their targets for improvement. Pupils noted these targets on a post-it note at the start of their next piece of work, and so had a clear understanding of exactly what they needed to do to improve. There is more to do to ensure that all teachers use their subject knowledge confidently and are skilled in addressing pupils’ errors and misconceptions. Some teachers continue to provide excessive commentary on pupils’ work that pupils take

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment

little notice of, and that does little to move their learning forward. Teachers do not routinely assess how well different pupils are progressing in the lesson, sometimes relying on a handful of pupils to supply the answers. This means that some pupils continue to take little interest in their learning.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment

Expectations in the classroom are beginning to rise. Teachers are becoming less accepting of poor behaviour and poor standards of presentation in the classroom, and are increasingly confident in addressing and taking responsibility for this behaviour themselves.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare

Pupils I spoke with told me that behaviour across the school is improving. They wear their uniforms with pride and, while they have railed against some of the rules that have been introduced, they understand why they are in place. On the whole, they are responding positively to the higher expectations being placed on them. They feel that their school has changed significantly since the Principal was appointed. As they put it, ‘we used to get away with everything, now we don’t’. Some have struggled to adapt to the new systems and rules, and, as a result, fixed-term exclusions have increased. However, there is an increase, too, in the proportion of pupils who are being rewarded for good behaviour, attendance and presentation.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare

The establishment of ‘colleges’ in the secondary phase is leading to improvements in the personal development, behaviour and welfare of these pupils. They are enjoying opportunities to compete with those from other colleges, while the college leaders who take responsibility for the pastoral and academic needs of the pupils in each college are successfully building up trusting relationships with them and encouraging them to have higher aspirations for their future. The activities that have taken place for Year 11 pupils, such as the careers fair, weekly assemblies, and personal, impartial advice and guidance are resulting in an increasing proportion of these pupils applying for, and being accepted onto level 3 courses at local schools and colleges. There is now a strategic plan in place for all pupils from Year 7 upwards to access high-quality careers advice and guidance. It is too soon to judge the impact

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare

Pupils I spoke with told me that, while there is still some bullying in the school, they are increasingly confident that it will be picked up and dealt with more quickly, and more effectively. Older pupils feel safe in the college and understand how to keep themselves safe in a range of situations, although they do not fully understand the dangers posed by extremism. All the pupils I spoke with trusted their teachers and college leaders to listen to them and provide support for any concerns they might have. Primary pupils expressed some concerns about the location of their classrooms in the same area as the secondary classrooms. While this is a much-improved situation, there is still some disturbance to their learning by older pupils who are out of class. The appointment of an attendance officer, with support from an education welfare officer from the trust, is focusing attention on those pupils who are persistently

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare

absent from school and whose attendance remains a concern. This is monitored on a weekly basis and some improvements are evident. Those pupils who attend alternative provision elsewhere are checked on regularly. Leaders check the effectiveness and suitability of the placements, and appropriate procedures are in place to monitor pupils’ attendance and achievement. Attitudes to learning remain inconsistent. While the majority of pupils are responding well to the new rules and systems, a significant minority remain disengaged from their learning and a few demonstrate disrespectful behaviour in class. Not all teachers ensure that this is addressed.

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Outcomes for pupils

The deployment of specialist teachers to teach English and mathematics to pupils in the primary phase is leading to a more consistent approach here in improving pupils’ literacy and numeracy skills. For example, in a Year 6 mathematics lesson, the teacher skilfully assessed how well pupils could use reasoning to conclude an answer and deftly moved on those pupils who were ready for greater challenge. There are encouraging signs, too, in the secondary phase. For example, in an English lesson, the teacher’s careful modelling of technical language led to pupils’ confident use of sophisticated linguistic terms.

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Outcomes for pupils

Assessments for all pupils have been put in place so that leaders and teachers have a clear understanding of pupils’ starting points. This information has been used to plan a programme of support for those pupils who need extra help to catch up. The effectiveness of this support is carefully monitored by leaders, so that changes can be made where necessary.

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Outcomes for pupils

Careful and detailed tracking of pupils’ progress is allowing leaders to accurately pinpoint those pupils who, with extra support, will achieve their targets. A raft of measures, including mentoring and revision lessons, and sessions focusing on the basic skills that pupils need, have been put in place. Although it is early days, these actions are beginning to bear fruit and are leading to a gradual increase in the progress being made by pupils. In 2015, pupils in the early years and in Key Stage 1 achieved in line with others nationally, although there were some gaps in the achievement of different groups. In the primary phase, the school met the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress by the end of Year 6. However, too few pupils made the expected rate of progress in reading, writing and mathematics. At Key Stage 4, the floor standards were not reached. There were marginal improvements, such as

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Outcomes for pupils

the achievement of the small number of pupils who were entered for GCSE English literature. However, too many pupils underachieved across a range of subjects because they did not have the necessary skills to do well in these courses. Leaders predict that the proportions making expected progress and gaining the essential qualifications will increase this year. Opportunities to moderate assessments with colleagues in the school and from across the trust mean that teachers and leaders are increasingly confident in accuracy of their predictions.

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External support

The school’s previous sponsorship and governance arrangements were not effective in bringing about the necessary level of improvement, and this slowed the rate of progress the school was able to make following its section 5 inspection. Leaders had a sound understanding of the key issues, and had negotiated a package of support from the Tudor Grange Academies Trust; however, the lack of stability and ongoing uncertainty proved to be a barrier to the school’s progress. The transfer of sponsorship to the Tudor Grange Academies Trust shows promising signs of accelerating the rate of improvement that the school is making.

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External support

The school’s new sponsor, the Tudor Grange Academies Trust, has provided the necessary impetus to accelerate the progress the school is making towards the removal of special measures. Two executive principals from the trust are working with school leaders to set the strategic direction for the school and to develop leadership and teaching. An associate principal is helping leaders to implement new systems, policies and practices that have brought about rapid change. These leaders bring expertise and experience of improving schools in challenging circumstances, as well as a fresh perspective on the key issues. Leaders I spoke with told me how much things have improved under the new sponsor; as one commented, ‘It’s a totally different school.’ Middle leaders are inspired by the trust’s vision that ‘every child can succeed’, and understand their role in challenging the previously low expectations that many staff had of pupils. Staff feel valued, because they feel they

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External support

are now being developed more effectively. Parents, too, are hopeful that the new sponsorship arrangements will bring about the rapid improvements necessary.

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