Setting

Mr N Thomas Principal Winton Community Academy London Road Andover SP10 2PS

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Special measures monitoring inspection of Winton Community Academy

Following my visit with Richard Kearsey, Ofsted Inspector to your school on 1 and 2 October 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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Special measures monitoring inspection of Winton Community Academy

The inspection was the fourth monitoring inspection since the school became subject to special measures following the inspection which took place in December 2013. 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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Special measures monitoring inspection of Winton Community Academy

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

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Leaders and managers are not taking effective action towards the removal

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

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Leaders and managers are not taking effective action towards the removal

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 Hampshire.

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Ofsted Inspector

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk

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place in December 2013

 Rapidly improve achievement so that students make consistently good or better progress across all subjects and at all levels, especially in English, by making sure that: – all leaders, managers and teachers collect accurate information and use it consistently to check students’ progress against their starting points and match it to the quality and consistency of teaching and learning – the progress of students eligible for pupil premium, disabled students and those with special educational needs is tracked and recorded accurately so that support can be targeted effectively – subject leaders and teachers understand what constitutes good and outstanding achievement, so that they can check students’ work correctly and predict accurately what each student is able to achieve.  Improve the quality of teaching by: – eradicating low expectations so that leaders, teachers and students strive relentlessly for the best

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place in December 2013

– making sure that teachers use information about students’ different levels of abilities and needs to challenge all students and extend their thinking – planning ambitious, varied and exciting activities in all lessons to revive students’ interest in learning and allow them to improve their attitudes, gain confidence and self-esteem, and behave consistently well.  Rapidly improve the effectiveness of leadership and management and governance by: – restructuring leadership at all levels so that roles and responsibilities match those required of senior and middle leaders and are focused strongly on raising achievement – reviewing the range and level of subjects offered for study at Key Stage 4 so that all students, particularly the most able, can reach their full potential – making sure that all senior leaders and leaders in charge of subjects regularly check the quality and consistency of teaching and know

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place in December 2013

how to improve it – making sure that the governing body has reliable and accurate information to check whether actions taken to improve performance are improving achievement.

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Evidence

Inspectors observed the academy’s work, scrutinised documents and met with the Principal, senior leaders, a number of middle managers, groups of students from all year groups, the Chair of the Governing Body and three other governors, and two representatives from the Academies Enterprise Trust. One inspector visited Andover Education Centre to meet with students who are placed there.

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Context

Since the previous monitoring visit, five teachers have left the academy and three have joined. One non-teaching head of house has also left, as has an examinations officer and three teaching assistants. The length of the academy day has been extended by 20 minutes to allow time for reading.

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Outcomes for pupils

Provisional examination results for the students who left in 2015 were below those predicted by the academy. Attainment in English was significantly below that in mathematics and less than a fifth of the disadvantaged students (those in receipt of pupil premium funding, which is additional government money to support students) gained five higher grade passes with English and mathematics. This was a direct result of the legacy of earlier poor teaching and learning, together with considerable turbulence in staffing. However, results in some subjects did show signs of improvement, with all students who took business studies, photography or sport as a double certificate gaining a higher grade pass.

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Outcomes for pupils

When their starting points from the end of primary school are considered, a higher proportion of students made the nationally expected amount of progress in mathematics than the year before. In English, the proportion was well below national expectations. The gap in progress widened between disadvantaged students and other students in the academy. Boys made much better progress than girls in both English and mathematics.

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Outcomes for pupils

The progress of many students in English in the current Year 11 remains too slow. The impact of earlier poor teaching and learning means they do not fully appreciate how to analyse a text fully or to look for deeper meaning. They are still not gaining the depth of understanding and their written work reflects this. Progress in science is not fast enough, with students having large gaps in their knowledge. This slows their understanding and means they do not have a solid enough foundation upon which to build. However, the progress of students in the higher ability sets in mathematics in Year 11 is much faster than in the lower sets. At the current time, the academy expects a much higher proportion to gain their predicted grades in the 2016 examinations. Some of these estimates appear very high.

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Outcomes for pupils

Progress in English in Year 10 is also not rapid enough and in a higher set was hindered by a lack of challenge in the work set. Year 10 students in lower sets in mathematics are not making as much progress as they could because of low expectations and a lack of clear explanations.

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Outcomes for pupils

Students enter the academy with poor standards of literacy which remain low, particularly in lower sets in Years 7 and 8. Students often find it difficult to express themselves lucidly in writing and are hampered by limited vocabulary. In mathematics in Year 7, students in lower sets do not know their basic tables and this hinders their ability to grasp concepts. The academy is well aware of these shortcomings and has begun to address them through its modified Key Stage 3 curriculum. This is having an impact and reading ages have risen considerably from Year 7 to Year 8.

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Outcomes for pupils

Disabled students, those who have special educational needs and disadvantaged students in Key Stage 3 who are receiving individual support outside the classroom are making good progress, given their starting points. However, in classes there is not yet appropriate provision for these students.

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Outcomes for pupils

Overall, students are making better progress in Years 7, 8 and 9 than in Years 10 and 11. In a Year 9 history lesson, students made good progress as a result of the high expectations set by the teacher, a stepped approach to the work and demanding questioning.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment

The quality of teaching is still far too variable and inconsistent; it is not raising standards quickly enough in some areas. Teaching is more consistent in the lower years of the academy and, as a result, students there are making better progress. There has been an improvement in planning a wider variety of activities and this has helped to encourage more interest, especially in Years 7 and 8. In lessons where learning has accelerated, this is because of the high expectations set and the good questioning by teachers who constantly refine the questions which deepen students’ understanding and make them think. This was evident in a geography lesson in Year 9. Where good teaching is seen, this is because teachers plan thoroughly and take students’ prior achievements into account in their planning to ensure the work is well matched to their ability.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment

However, too much teaching lacks challenge and expectations remain stubbornly low in some groups. Questioning is too superficial, is not always used to check for common misconceptions and does not encourage deep thinking. Some teachers do not model their required answers sufficiently well so students are unsure as to how to proceed. Nor do they provide detailed criteria which enable students to determine what is required of them or how to improve their answers. In some classes, students lose the point of the learning because tasks are set rather than work which meets the overall objective of the lesson or series of lessons. Some of these tasks are far too simple; when students complete them, they begin to chatter and cause low-level disruption. In other lessons, students find the activities too hard. There is currently not enough support being given to students with special educational needs in lessons though simplified structures or helpful guides.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment

Marking has become more regular and in some subjects is detailed and helpful, with precise steps as to how students could improve their grades. However, this is not universally the situation. In the lower years of the academy, students are beginning to respond to the marking and their work is improving as a result.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment

Homework is being set more regularly and there has been an improvement in the quality of presentation of students’ work. However, some students in the upper part of the academy still show insufficient pride in their work.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare

Students continue to be polite and courteous around the academy site. They cooperate well with one another and adults, show tolerance and are helpful and friendly to visitors and staff. Most are well turned out with the correct uniform and treat the site with respect. Their attitudes towards learning vary, but students in the lower years show more enthusiasm than those in the upper years. Students in Years 10 and 11 do not always participate as fully as they should when asked questions; they are content to be given information rather than to seek it out for themselves. Some show little intellectual curiosity. They also lack an awareness of the future opportunities available to them after they leave the academy.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare

Students feel safe on the site and show a good awareness of the importance of e- safety. They report that there is very little bullying and say that any which happens is dealt with swiftly and effectively.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare

Although students are generally punctual to classes, there is still too much low-level chatter in lessons which disrupts learning. This adversely affects the learning in some classes. Attendance remains an issue; it declined in 2014, mainly as a result of the persistent absence of a group of students in Year 11. Early indications in this academic year suggest that it is improving. It is closely monitored and immediate action is taken by the heads of house.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management

The Principal, who has been in post for 12 months, is continuing to provide clear, decisive direction and parents and staff express their confidence in his leadership. Students note his presence around the academy very positively. However, outcomes from the 2015 GCSE examinations were very disappointing. The rate of progress against the improvements required is still too slow, especially in English and in the lower sets in mathematics in the upper years of the academy. Older students recognise the changes in the academy and are positive about them.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management

The restructuring of the senior leadership team has been effective and it is now focused on school improvement. Each senior leader has a clearly defined role. They are making accurate judgements on the quality of teaching and learning across the academy and are aware of the areas where further improvement is needed.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management

Middle leaders are becoming more familiar with their roles and responsibilities. They meet regularly with members of the senior team. However, there is too much variation in their actions when checking the quality and consistency of the teaching and learning within their departments. Some are less certain about how to help teachers to improve and have not taken sufficiently swift action to ensure the quality of teaching and learning is consistently high enough. They are also not consistent in their expectations, some of which remain too low. The changes in the special educational needs team are beginning to have an impact, although provision for extra support within classes is weak.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management

The curriculum has been reviewed at Key Stage 4. Students now have a broader and, for the more able, a more challenging choice of examinations. The curriculum has also been reviewed at Key Stage 3. In Years 7 and 8, a more appropriate curriculum for those students who have low literacy on entry has been developed and this is beginning to have a positive impact on their learning. It is too early to judge the impact of the reading lesson which has been introduced for all years, but trials last year were positive and showed rapid gains in reading ages among some very weak readers.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management

The governing body has ensured safeguarding procedures are robust; all child protection issues are taken very seriously and followed through. The staff have all had updated training in safeguarding and watching for the signs of extremism.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management

The governing body is now much better informed about the performance of the academy. The Principal gives governors detailed information and they are beginning to ask challenging questions. Governors recognise that they did not ask enough questions about the changes to the predictions for the 2015 results which were amended by the academy in May. They are now asking more thorough questions about the accuracy of the predictions.

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External support

The sponsor, Academies Enterprise Trust (AET), has continued to provide useful support for the academy. It is entirely realistic about the progress made. This term it has conducted reviews in English, mathematics and special needs, with a further review planned on the impact of pupil premium spending. The Trust is well aware that the academy needs further support and knows it is not yet in a position where it can begin to plan to reduce the help which it is giving. The Trust is intending to immediately increase the level of support for weaker departments, and provide intensive coaching and team teaching in English and mathematics for a sustained period. The Trust has brokered support from a neighbouring teaching school alliance for help in science.

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External support

The Assistant Regional Director is a frequent visitor to the academy, as is the Regional Director of Education for AET. They hold the Principal to account tightly and the Assistant Regional Director continues to chair the standards board of the governing body.

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