Setting

Mr Ronald Hall The Lincolnshire Teaching and Learning Centre Smith Street Lincoln Lincolnshire LN5 8HY

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Learning Centre

Following my visit with Phil Harrison, Her Majesty’s Inspector, and Karen Lewis, Ofsted Inspector to your school on 13 and 14 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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Learning Centre

The inspection was the second monitoring inspection since the school became subject to special measures following the inspection which took place in February 2015. 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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Learning Centre

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

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The school is not taking effective action towards the removal of special

The local authority’s statement of action is not fit for purpose.

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The school is not taking effective action towards the removal of special

The school may not appoint newly qualified teachers before the next monitoring inspection. Ofsted

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The school is not taking effective action towards the removal of special

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk 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 Management Committee and the Director of Children’s Services for Lincolnshire.

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place in February 2015

 As a matter of urgency, make all sites of the provision safe for pupils by making sure that: – full safety audits and fire risk assessments are completed on each site, and that shortcomings are acted upon immediately – there are robust procedures for checking the safety of pupils accessing sites of alternative provision – recruitment processes are compliant with the latest statutory guidance, and are implemented rigorously – all staff, including temporary staff, undergo suitable induction procedures – sanctions for poor behaviour are appropriate, and are in line with statutory guidance – pupils are appropriately supervised at all times to ensure that their behaviour is managed effectively, and to secure their own safety and that of others  Improve the quality of leadership and management by ensuring that: – there is agreement between the headteacher, the management committee and the local authority about the school’s status and that this is then

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place in February 2015

communicated to all stakeholders – the management committee is correctly constituted and implements its statutory duties – leaders provide the management committee with the information it needs to fulfil its statutory duties and to hold leaders to account – all the required statutory policies are devised by leaders, approved by the management committee and implemented across all sites – pupils’ achievement can be more easily compared with the national picture through developing an appropriate data system – data about pupils’ behaviour is presented in a clear, simple format so that it can be analysed more effectively by leaders to support improvement – disadvantaged pupils benefit from the funding they are entitled to, to help improve their achievement – leaders at all levels establish an accurate view about the quality of provision through the development of effective systems of self-evaluation  Improve the quality of teaching and accelerate pupils’ achievement by making

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place in February 2015

sure that: – information about the progress pupils make, and the standards they achieve, is accurate – teachers’ marking consistently helps pupils to identify the next steps of learning and that teachers’ comments are acted upon by pupils – suitably skilled and adequately trained staff are deployed to support pupils’ learning – the most-able pupils are given work that is suitably challenging – teachers have more frequent opportunities to observe and learn from best practice across the provision – there is greater consistency in the coverage of different curriculum subjects between sites.

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place in February 2015

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

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place in February 2015

An external review of the school’s use of the pupil premium should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of the leadership and management may be improved.

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Evidence

Inspectors observed the school’s work, scrutinised documents and met with the headteacher, groups of staff, the Chair of the Management Committee and representatives from the local authority. They had meetings with all members of the senior leadership team, and visited each of the four main sites and met with pupils. One inspector visited three providers which deliver alternative work-based provision for Key Stage 4 students. Inspectors looked at the school’s records and documents relating to the safeguarding of pupils. Inspectors considered the progress the school has made towards the areas for improvement identified at the last inspection.

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Context

The number of pupils and students attending the different parts of the centre is significantly higher than this time last year. There have been a large number of changes to staffing since the last inspection. Seventeen new staff have joined the centre since September 2015. These have included four new teachers, three teaching assistants and a number of additional administrative and support workers. There is a new teacher in charge of the Grantham site and teachers with responsibility for English, mathematics and science for Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2. The interim acting headteacher continues to have overarching responsibility for whole provision. There are three assistant headteachers, who have designated responsibilities for different aspects of the centre.

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Outcomes for pupils

Leaders recognise that they do not have an accurate view of the progress which pupils are making. This is hampering improvement across the centre and has not been addressed with the urgency required. A new electronic system for collating data is not yet fully operational and, more importantly, not all teachers are sufficiently skilled in assessing pupils’ progress. There is no evidence that gaps between the most disadvantaged pupils and other pupils are narrowing. There is a consensus amongst leaders that outcomes for pupils are stronger in Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 and weakest in Key Stage 3. This is because all aspects of teaching are generally stronger in the primary classes.

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Outcomes for pupils

The work on display and in pupil’s books shows that standards are too inconsistent between classes and that a significant minority of staff do not have high enough expectations of themselves or their pupils. Where teaching is strongest there is evidence that pupils are taking greater pride in their work and that the most-able pupils are being increasingly stretched. Individual pupils at each of the sites were proud to talk to inspectors about their work and had a clear understanding of how and why their work was improving. One Year 8 pupil told the inspector that he was most proud of his handwriting. ’Look at it now. Now look at it from when I came… wasn’t it scruffy.’ He explained that he was now trying much harder because ‘I like it here’ and ‘Miss helps me’. The progress of pupils’ work in one primary class was particularly strong because the work was interesting, and the teacher communicated high expectations and pride in her pupils. An ambitious project around evolution had

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Outcomes for pupils

captured the interest and enthusiasm of everyone in the class and extended their thinking as well supporting improvements in their handwriting. There was a sense of quiet celebration in the class because pupils’ work was beautifully displayed and they rightly were proud of what they had achieved.

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Outcomes for pupils

The centre continues to work effectively and creatively with six providers of alternative education at Key Stage 4. It is clear, however, that in the three providers visited, students were highly engaged because of the high quality of relationships between staff and students. Information about the needs and interests of students is effectively shared with providers before students start and as a result the vast majority of placements are successful. Leaders do not have a clear view of the number of students achieving accredited qualifications.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment

Inadequate teaching has not been eradicated across the different sites and not enough teaching is consistently good. Leaders do have a clear view of where teaching is strongest, but the acting headteacher and governors have not effectively challenged staff who have not bought into the heightened expectation and ambition for pupils and students. The lack of commitment and skill of a minority of staff is having a negative impact on the morale of others and is slowing the rate of improvement.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment

Since the last inspection, individual leaders and teachers-in-charge of specific sites have supported and challenged staff effectively. Consequently, there are signs of positive change in several classes across the centre.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment

 More stimulating and attractive classroom environments which are well organised and support pupil’s learning and enquiry.  Improved planning as a direct result of honest and helpful feedback from senior teachers.  Fewer instance of poor behaviour because staff are more confident in applying effective behaviour management strategies and because lessons are more engaging.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment

Teaching remains weakest where teachers do not expect enough and they have not been challenged effectively. Examples of this include:  Teachers are unsure of what or how they should teach because there is a lack of clarity about the new curriculum which is being introduced.  The acting headteacher has not been explicit enough about what is non- negotiable in terms of high-quality classroom practice.  A minority of staff use inappropriate styles of communication which do not model calm and respectful behaviour.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare

The recent focus on staff training and the hard work of staff to ensure that every pupil and student has a meaningful behaviour plan is beginning to reap rewards. Records show that instances where physical restraint is needed are reducing. In primary classrooms the majority of pupils behave well much of the time.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare

The centre has a great deal of experience in meeting the needs of vulnerable young people and this area of work is going from strength to strength. Staff with designated responsibilities for safeguarding are highly skilled and determined in their practice. They work effectively alongside colleagues from health and social care services to understand the needs of the whole family. This gives them an insightful view into the needs of the pupils. Their approach to recording and sharing information is meticulous. Consequently, governors and senior leaders always have a clear picture of the nature of pupils’ difficulties and of the impact of the support which they are receiving.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare

In classes where learning is poorly organised and teachers do not have positive relationships with their pupils, instances of low-level disruption, such as shouting out and making silly or rude remarks, are still all too frequent. In Key Stage 3 there are still far too many instances where the behaviour of pupils is not acceptable because the quality of teaching is not strong enough to secure the interest or respect of pupils.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare

The well-being of pupils is of paramount importance to the vast majority of staff. Despite the difficulties of a legacy of a high level of temporary teachers, the atmosphere in three of the four main sites is calm and welcoming.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare

Senior leaders and the teachers in charge of individual sites have worked incredibly hard to turn around the previous culture of complacency in relation to health and safety. At the previous inspection in June, new systems had been introduced to make sure that buildings were safe and regular checks were being carried out. These included daily checks by the teacher-in-charge of each site as well as monthly compliance checks which are submitted to senior leaders. All of these systems are now well established and each of the sites is in a much better state of repair. This is particularly the case for the site at Baumber, where current structures bear no resemblance to the poor practice which was seen at the inspection in February 2015. Secure fences are now in place, fire alarms are tested regularly and all cleaning substances are stored safely.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management

The acting head teacher and management committee have played an important role in raising standards in relation to health and safety. They have also successfully focused on increasing the numbers on permanent teachers throughout the provision. Consequently, there is a sense of greater stability across the centre. However, the picture is less positive in relation to other aspects of leadership and management.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management

Individual members of the senior leadership team are working hard to introduce actions to monitor the quality of teaching and to implement effective training programmes for staff. The senior leadership team has produced a calendar which identifies the focus for leaders’ observations of teaching and learning each week and which assessments teachers should be completing each half term. However, the acting headteacher has not yet secured the confidence of all senior leaders in the centre, and morale within the senior leadership team is low. Communication between leaders is often poor and this results in valuable time being wasted. This is slowing the rate of progress across the centre. Systems to support the successful induction of staff are not good enough because leaders have not checked that everyone understands what the agreed systems are. New policies have been written but leaders are confused about which are the most up-to-date versions because

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Effectiveness of leadership and management

communication and planning has not been clear.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management

The current leadership structure is not strong enough to bring about the urgent improvement needed. The acting headteacher has not had effective oversight of new systems and has an overly positive view of how quickly the quality of teaching and learning are improving. Targets for teacher’s professional development are not linked closely enough to the mandatory teacher standards and the acting headteacher and governors have not effectively challenged the small number of staff who are still blocking further improvements at the school. Some senior leaders feel unsupported and have a sense of frustration that there is not a greater sense of urgency about what needs to be done.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management

The acting headteacher has invested a lot of time in developing the school action plan and it is now much clearer about who is expected to undertake which tasks. However, it still lacks clarity about the frequency and timing of important monitoring actions.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management

The Chair of the Management Committee remains determined to provide direction and critical friendship to the centre. However, the management committee is still not constituted correctly because it has not been able to secure the membership of the required parties. There have been particular difficulties in appointing parent members to the group.

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External support

The local authority has appointed a new education adviser to support the school. Although her contact with the school has been relatively recent, the authority now has a much sharper and more accurate view of the support which the school urgently needs to ensure that its leadership structure is fit for purpose.

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External support

The local authority’s statement of action does not make clear what specific resources the local authority will use to carry out the actions which it has identified. At this stage in the school’s journey, such detail is vital to ensure there is absolute clarity about individual roles and responsibilities.

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External support

The local authority is now providing effective support to the school. However, the failure of the management committee to be correctly constituted is of considerable concern and needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency. The assistant director for school improvement is working hard to ensure that actions taken to consider the future of the centre do not detract from the essential work of driving school improvement.

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External support

The external review of governance is complete. Its recommendations have not yet been shared formally with all governors and it is too early to measure its impact. The external review of pupil premium has begun but has not yet been completed .

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