Setting

3 November 2015 Mr Andrew Goulty Executive Headteacher BBG Academy Bradford Road Birkenshaw West Yorkshire BD19 4BE

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Special measures monitoring inspection of BBG Academy

Following my visit with Catherine Garrett, Ofsted Inspector, to your academy on 15 and 16 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 academy’s previous monitoring inspection.

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Special measures monitoring inspection of BBG Academy

The inspection was the third monitoring inspection since the academy became subject to special measures following the inspection which took place in October 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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Special measures monitoring inspection of BBG Academy

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

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Leaders and managers are taking effective action towards the removal of

Having considered all the evidence I am of the opinion that the academy may appoint NQTs.

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Leaders and managers are taking effective action towards the removal of

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 executive headteacher, the Chair of the Governing Body and the Director of Children’s Services for Kirklees.

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Her Majesty’s 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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The areas for improvement identified during the inspection which took

place in October 2014.   Urgently improve pupils’ safety by:  insisting that all pupils move around the building, especially corridors, in an orderly and civilised manner and that pupils show respect for adults, other pupils and the school environment so that no-one is at risk of being hurt  making sure that the personal, social and health education programme takes pupils’ increasing maturity into account so that they better understand how to stay safe, especially the potential risks in sexual relationships.

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The areas for improvement identified during the inspection which took

 Rapidly improve the behaviour of pupils, particularly of the small minority whose behaviour outside lessons is unacceptable, by:  making sure that all staff adopt the school’s policy for managing pupils’ behaviour so that staff are consistent in their approach  making sure that any incidents of poor behaviour are always challenged and followed through to an acceptable solution  making sure that expectations of pupils’ behaviour are high, and are clearly understood and put into action by all.

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The areas for improvement identified during the inspection which took

 Urgently improve the effectiveness of leadership and management, including governance, so that the school has the ability to improve more rapidly, by:  ensuring that governors hold senior leaders rigorously to account for quickly improving pupils’ behaviour so that it is good both in and out of lessons, and that the school’s work to ensure pupils are kept safe and secure is effective  improving leaders’ use of information about pupils’ attainment and progress so that they have a precise understanding of how well all the various groups of pupils are achieving, and so that any pupils or groups who may be falling behind are quickly spotted and provided with effective support  developing the roles of middle leaders so that they are fully involved and equipped with the skills they need to check the quality of teaching and pupils’ achievement, so that teaching and pupils’ achievement improves at a faster

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The areas for improvement identified during the inspection which took

rate.  Further improve the quality of teaching so that it is at least good and ensures that all pupils, including the disadvantaged, make good progress across a wide range of subjects, particularly in writing in English and in mathematics, by:  making sure that teachers’ expectations of what pupils are capable of achieving are consistently high  insisting that pupils always present their work to a good standard, and that poor standards of handwriting, spelling and punctuation are not accepted  ensuring that all teachers plan and provide work that meets pupils’ varying needs and abilities, and stretches and challenges them to achieve their best, especially the most able  making sure that work is always interesting or varied enough to motivate pupils to learn and so that pupils always have good attitudes to learning, behave well and do not cause any disruption at the start of and during lessons  making sure that the quality of marking is consistently good and that teachers

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The areas for improvement identified during the inspection which took

insist that pupils correct their work after it has been marked.

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Evidence

Inspectors observed the academy’s work and scrutinised documents to do with safeguarding, behaviour and achievement. The inspectors met with the executive headteacher, headteacher, members of staff responsible for the achievement of the pupils, teachers, inclusion support workers and members of staff responsible for the pupils’ behaviour. Meetings were held with three groups of pupils, and inspectors spoke to pupils informally during breaks and lunchtime. Inspectors met with representatives from the governing body and a national leader of governance from the Rodillian Multi-Academy Trust (RMAT). Twenty lesson observations were conducted, most of which were jointly undertaken with members of the senior leadership team.

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Context

Since the last monitoring visit in May, 15 new members of staff have started at the academy. In July 2015, BBG Academy formally became part of the RMAT. In September 2015, the first pupils started in Year 11. These pupils have progressed through the academy and will take their GCSEs in summer 2016. These GCSE results will be the first for the academy.

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Outcomes for pupils

The academy’s information about the progress and attainment of pupils has been externally verified by other academies in the RMAT. The information is robust and clearly shows where pupils are making progress and where there are gaps. Academy leaders have put in place various strategies to improve the progress made by different groups of pupils. These include period seven, when pupils are encouraged to attend revision sessions, and providing programmes which meet the needs of individual pupils to allow them to make better progress.

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Outcomes for pupils

The progress made by pupils in English has improved. However, a smaller proportion of disadvantaged pupils than non-disadvantaged pupils are making the progress expected in Key Stage 4. To increase the progress made by pupils in English, the academy has put in place strategies such as ‘rise and read’, when Year 7 attend a reading session every Tuesday and Wednesday morning at 7.30 am. There are also intervention strategies in place for Key Stage 4 pupils, including bespoke timetables. It is too early to judge the impact of these strategies.

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Outcomes for pupils

In mathematics, disadvantaged pupils are making more progress than their peers nationally. This is because of the improvements made in the mathematics department since the last monitoring visit. However, in most year groups the disadvantaged pupils make less progress than their peers in the academy. These gaps are the widest at Key Stage 4. Most pupils with special educational needs are making the same progress as their peers. However, in Year 9, a significantly smaller proportion of pupils with special educational needs make the progress expected of them in English and in mathematics.

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Outcomes for pupils

Overall, the school’s information shows that levels of attainment are rising. However, in lessons, the more-able pupils are often not stretched enough. In some lessons in mathematics, physical education, English and geography, the more able are challenged. For example, in a Year 11 mathematics lesson, pupils were given challenging and appropriate work which made the pupils think about what they had learnt and how they were going to apply it to the question set.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment

The senior leadership team, in particular the headteacher and executive headteacher, are very clear that only the best will do and that there is no room for underachievement. They communicate these expectations clearly to all staff. In the majority of lessons, pupils are on task immediately and there is no wasted time at the beginning of the lesson. Leaders set clear expectations as to how the pupils will present their work and the quality of the marking expected. In many lessons, the pupils take great pride in their work and are able to discuss eloquently what they have done, why they have done it and what they need to do to improve their work further. This was seen in a Year 9 art lesson where the pupils were very carefully guided throughout the lesson to be able, at the end, to review and evaluate accurately the work they and their peers had completed.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment

However, in some lessons, expectations of the amount and presentation of work are not high enough. Consequently, books are poorly presented. In some cases, teachers’ marking does not follow the academy’s policy. As a result, pupils make less progress and have less pride in their work.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment

The senior leadership team have in place a system for monitoring the quality of teaching and the progress pupils make. As a result of this system bespoke packages are in place to support teachers to improve.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare

Pupils’ behaviour around the academy site, and especially inside the building, is orderly and courteous. Pupils move quickly and quietly to lessons. They are aware of where they can and cannot be at certain times of the day and they obey these rules. The pupils wear their uniform with pride. There is no graffiti and no litter. Pupils are respectful to adults and to each other. Pupils are proud to be pupils at BBG Academy.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare

The positive discipline (PD) database and new planner were introduced in the summer term. Overall, the PD system is working well. Pupils and staff appreciate the focus on the positives and the clear consequences for poor behaviour. Behaviour has improved considerably. The number of incidents of poor behaviour has fallen significantly since the previous monitoring visit in May 2015. As a result, the number of pupils being excluded or put in isolation has also fallen. When pupils do not meet the high expectations set for behaviour, staff make contact with parents to reinforce the support for improvements in behaviour. However, in a very small proportion of lessons, members of staff do not use the PD system consistently. In these lessons, pupils are less likely to exhibit the high standards of behaviour seen in all other lessons.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare

The academy’s work to ensure that pupils are safe and secure is effective. All of the pupils spoken to stated how safe they felt at the academy and the positive impact they felt the PD system had had on improving behaviour. The number of exclusions has fallen since the last monitoring visit, and are now below the national average.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare

The personal, social and health programmes include ‘drop-down days’ and assemblies. Pupils say assemblies are thought provoking and pupils feel they are more aware of the potential risks in sexual relationships.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare

More and more pupils are attending the academy on a day-to-day basis, and the rate of attendance is now above the national average. Strategies are in place to support pupils and parents when a pupil’s attendance drops below 95%. Key Stage 4 pupils stated it was not worth being away from the academy because of the amount of work they missed in just one day and because they learnt so much more in lessons.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management

Middle leaders are continuing to become more strategic. They monitor their departments regularly and discuss the findings with their line managers on a weekly basis. Plans are put in place to ensure that weaknesses are acted on and strengths shared. Training, including that provided by RMAT, is appreciated. Middle leaders are held to account at the weekly progress meetings in which the progress of all the pupils is discussed. However, there are still gaps in the progress made by different groups of pupils.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management

A national leader of governance, who works in RMAT, has reviewed the skills of the governing body. As a result, a bespoke training package has been put in place. It is too early to judge the impact of this training. Governors have a grasp of the issues facing the academy and the impact of the strategies put in place. The governors have a well-informed understanding of the positive impact of PD.

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External support

RMAT continues to provide much support for BBG Academy. For example, the improvements in attendance are being made because of support from the RMAT. The improvements show the positive impact of the support. The training provided for middle leaders is helping them to continue to improve.

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