Nightingale Academy

Nightingale Academy 34 Turin Road, London N9 8DQ

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

16 to 19 study programmes Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement

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This is a school that requires improvement

 Pupils did not make good progress across a wide range of subjects, including English and mathematics, in 2014 and 2015.  Teachers do not apply the school’s assessment and feedback policy consistently, and pupils do not always receive clear advice about how to improve their work.  Teaching does not meet the learning needs of pupils who have special educational needs or disability consistently well.  Teachers do not probe the understanding of the most able pupils consistently well through high- quality questioning.  Leaders are not consistently effective in using pupils’ progress to evaluate the impact of training.  The sixth form requires improvement. Students do not have access to a strong programme of personal, social and health education.  Leaders have not made sure that literacy and numeracy skills are consistently taught well across different subjects.  Some senior and middle leaders are less skilled

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This is a school that requires improvement

than others in checking and improving teaching and outcomes.  While many pupils are polite, courteous and behave well, not all display such standards and are not always challenged by adults to do so. Consequently, the learning of pupils is disrupted in some lessons.

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The school has the following strengths

 The new principal has a compelling vision for school improvement that she has convincingly shared with staff, pupils and parents.  Governors are skilful in using the school’s performance information to offer sharp challenge to leaders. There is a sense of urgency for bringing about rapid improvement.  Teaching in the sixth form is consistently strong.  Pupils’ outcomes have improved across a wide range of subjects, including English and mathematics. The achievement gaps between disadvantaged pupils and their peers are narrowing.  The school’s work to ensure that pupils are safe is good. Pupils say that they feel safe and know how to stay healthy.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality and consistency of teaching so that it can rapidly improve pupils’ outcomes by ensuring that: questioning is used more effectively to extend and challenge the learning of all pupils, in particular the most able, in order to improve their progress all staff tailor their teaching and resources to deepen the learning of pupils who have special educational needs or disability all teachers follow the school’s assessment and feedback policy to make sure that pupils know how to improve, and ensure that feedback has the intended impact pupils’ literacy and numeracy skills are actively promoted across all subjects other than English and mathematics.  Improve the effectiveness of the sixth form by ensuring that all students have access to a high-quality programme of personal, social and health education.  Improve the effectiveness of leadership and management so that improvement is driven forward rapidly

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

by: checking regularly, when visiting lessons, that the professional development and training provided for staff is increasing their effectiveness and enabling pupils to make better progress checking rigorously the learning and progress made by all pupils who have special educational needs or disability making sure that all teachers follow the school’s behaviour policy and consistently apply high standards to stop low-level disruption affecting learning.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

 The quality of teaching and pupils’ outcomes has not improved fast enough for the school to secure a judgement of good. Inaccurate assessment processes and the challenges of staff turnover, including at leadership level, partly explain the slower rate of progress.  Some of the weaknesses in the quality of assessment have been addressed through the cross-checking of assessed work with a local outstanding school and partner schools in the London Academies Enterprise Trust. This has been effective in giving leaders confidence that standards in Year 11 have been accurately assessed.  The principal has made a positive impact on the school since her arrival in September 2015. Ably supported by the associate senior leader, they have a clear and well-informed understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. This is confirmed in the school’s self-evaluation and supported through the detailed school improvement plan.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

 There is now a clear sense of direction as well as a determination to improve teaching and raise standards with no hint of complacency.  Senior leaders and middle leaders are similarly committed, but their understanding and skills are more variable. A few have an overinflated perception of the quality of teaching and do not fully appreciate the links between good teaching and good outcomes. For example, the quality of teachers’ professional development and training is not consistently judged by the impact it has on pupils’ learning and progress.  Leaders have introduced many changes to systems for behaviour, teaching and assessment in a short period of time. Changes have been thoughtfully introduced with training and regular checking to ensure that systems are working well. Leaders recognise, however, that greater rigour is required when checking the learning and progress of pupils who have special educational needs or disability as the rate of

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

progress for these pupils is not as rapid as it is for their peers.  Leaders have been successful this year in reducing significantly the number of fixed-term exclusions, in particular for disadvantaged pupils. This is partly the result of the attention to detail given to implementing the new systems and checking how well they are working. However, there are still pockets of low-level disruption in some lessons. Leaders have yet to ensure that the school’s behaviour policy and procedures are implemented consistently well across the school.  The school’s system for managing the performance of staff has been rigorously applied this year, ensuring that teachers and leaders are held to account for the quality of outcomes of pupils.  The school is in the process of revising its key stage 3 curriculum to ensure the best coverage of academic learning and pupils’ readiness for the new options at GCSE. There is a more diverse range of

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

courses in key stage 4 than previously which matches pupils’ abilities and aspirations well. Although British values such as democracy and the rule of law are promoted well through the curriculum, pupils who talked to inspectors said they would like more opportunities to explore their own and others’ values and beliefs.  A reasonable range of extra-curricular events, including creative activities, sporting competitions, revision clubs and an assortment of school trips, locally and abroad, promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, and improve their understanding of the wider community.  The school is rigorous in its monitoring of the impact of pupil premium spending, which is now beginning to narrow the gap between the achievement of disadvantaged pupils and their peers. Year 7 catch-up spending is improving the basic skills for those with low English and mathematics attainment on entry to

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

the school.  The school checks safeguarding procedures rigorously and has thorough checks in place to keep pupils safe, including those who learn off-site. There are good working relationships with other agencies and professionals to keep pupils free from harm. The behaviour, attendance and progress of the few pupils who learn off-site are also checked effectively.  Staff do not tolerate any form of discrimination. However, not all pupils yet have an equal chance of success in school because teaching is not yet good and achievement gaps have not narrowed fast enough.  Only a few parents responded to the Ofsted online questionnaire, Parent View. Evidence from the school’s own surveys shows that parents are supportive of the school and most agree that the systems put in place this year to raise standards are having the desired impact.  The governance of the school The school is governed by a local governing body and overseen by the London Academies Enterprise

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

Trust. The trust is planning to undertake an internal audit of the effectiveness of the governing body as a developmental activity in the near future. Governance has improved since the previous inspection, in particular in its ability to pose sharper challenge to leaders. For example, leaders have been challenged about the outcomes of the most able pupils, and about the performance of the school in English and mathematics compared with other schools in a similar context. Governors have a clear understanding of current attainment and progress information about different groups of pupils. They have regular meetings with senior leaders to check that this information is being used to drive interventions. Governors closely check the work of the school and use their own expertise to triangulate information provided by leaders with their own visits to the school. They are aware of how pupil premium funding is being spent and are working with senior leaders to

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

ensure that actions are more effective in improving the outcomes for the pupils who receive this. Governors know that teaching needs to improve and where the weaknesses are, and check that leaders are addressing this. They understand the value of staff targets in improving teaching and ensure that only staff who meet their targets are rewarded financially.  The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

 Evaluation of pupils’ progress information coupled with scrutiny of pupils’ work confirm that teaching has not secured consistently good or better outcomes over time. Variability means that many pupils are not making the accelerated progress needed to make up for the legacy of mediocre teaching in the past.  The quality of teachers’ questioning is variable, as is the skill of identifying misconceptions and challenging pupils to grapple with areas of misunderstanding. As a consequence, the most able pupils in particular do not apply their thinking and reasoning skills at the level required to deepen their learning and make strong progress.  Sometimes, teachers do not use their professional knowledge about pupils who have special educational needs or disability to tailor their teaching and resources to meet their learning needs more effectively. As a result, on these occasions, these pupils demonstrate lower levels of engagement.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

 The school’s assessment and feedback policy is understood and used appropriately by many teachers across a wide range of subjects. The impact can be seen in pupils’ stronger progress since the start of this academic year. In the significant minority of cases where the policy is not followed, however, pupils are not clear about their next steps in learning, resulting in weaker progress over time.  There is variability in the way that teachers in different subjects support pupils to develop their reading, writing and numeracy skills. Although there are many examples of good practice, sometimes teachers of subjects other than English and mathematics do not pay sufficient attention to teaching these essential skills, when appropriate.  Teachers’ subject knowledge is secure and teachers have a good understanding of examination requirements. There is much effective teaching in the school and much that is improving. Inspectors

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

observed, across a wide range of subjects, teaching that was well planned, suitably resourced and stretched the most able as well as meeting the needs of those who found the work difficult.  Teaching, learning and assessment have improved in English and mathematics. There is greater emphasis, respectively, on honing the skills of writing in different genres and problem solving in a real-life context. Better systems are in place to ensure that the assessment of pupils’ work is both rigorous and accurate.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare requires improvement.  The poor attitudes towards learning of a small minority of pupils are clearly evident in their high persistent absence over the past two years. However, the efforts of staff to raise expectations, follow up absence and build relations with parents and carers have resulted in clear improvements. Although the figure is still above average, fewer pupils are persistently absent so far this year compared with the previous year.  The school has taken many successful actions this year to make sure that pupils feel confident that bullying is unacceptable and dealt with promptly. The majority of pupils met during the inspection were confident that bullying is rare and that they do feel safe and well cared for.  Pupils have a good grasp of the different types of bullying, and are sensitive to homophobic or racist

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Personal development and welfare

bullying and aware of different family structures. They talk about these issues thoughtfully.  Pupils find the careers information, advice and guidance provided at the school helpful to them in considering future options. Pupils who talked to inspectors said they would like more input of this nature built into their daily tutor time.  Pupils in Years 10 and 11 who attend other colleges are carefully tracked and monitored by staff at the school. Any concerns raised are quickly addressed, and currently all these pupils are behaving and attending well and making the expected progress.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils requires improvement.  Some pupils do not yet take full responsibility for managing their own behaviour. Poor behaviour for learning is particularly evident when pupils do not understand why the work is important or are bored by the tasks set. All pupils commented that disruptive behaviour in lessons was becoming less frequent as the quality of teaching is improving.  Behaviour is effectively managed when teachers consistently use the school’s behaviour system. Pupils like the clarity the system brings although they recognise there are still some inconsistencies in its implementation by some teachers.  The impact of the behaviour system is evident in the school’s behaviour records. There have been fewer call-outs to lessons following incidents of poor behaviour. The number of more serious incidents of poor behaviour that require an exclusion is also reducing.  An internal inclusion unit provides effective provision for pupils who need support to improve their

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Behaviour

behaviour.  Pupils are generally very sensible around the school site. There are orderly queues at breaks and lunchtimes, and pupils are respectful towards each other and visitors. Pupils spoken to during the inspection commented that on occasions some pupils were boisterous on stairs and in corridors, but agreed that behaviour was improving and that poor behaviour was challenged.  Attendance is just below the national average but there have been significant improvements in attendance this year, including for disadvantaged pupils. Good attendance is promoted at every opportunity. The school carefully monitors the attendance of different groups of pupils so is able to adapt interventions to best support those pupils.

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Outcomes for pupils require improvement

 In 2014 and 2015, overall attainment by the end of Year 11 was significantly below national averages. From their well below average starting points, pupils made steady progress in English and mathematics, although progress was stronger in English. However, too many pupils underachieved in humanities and disadvantaged pupils as well as White British pupils did not make enough progress in mathematics. School records show that the small minority of White British pupils have made steady progress this year.  Year 11 pupils made strong progress in science and languages in 2015. Inspection evidence shows that this is set to continue in 2016.  The school’s recent assessment information shows that current Year 11 pupils are on track to achieve higher outcomes, including in humanities. However, the proportion of the most able pupils achieving the higher A*/A grades is still not high enough. This is because teaching is not consistently successful in

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Outcomes for pupils require improvement

probing their understanding and sharpening their thinking and reasoning skills.  The quality of teaching and leadership in most areas is stronger now and, as a result, pupils’ progress is improving. There is a much greater focus on progress across the school and the majority of teachers have started to engage with this more confidently when planning for pupils’ learning. Scrutiny of pupils’ work shows that the progress of many pupils is rapidly improving. This is supported by the school’s increasingly positive performance information on, for example, English, mathematics and science in Years 7, 8 and 9.  Disadvantaged pupils comprise the majority of the school population. Overall, these pupils made slower rates of progress in 2015 by the end of Year 11 than those who were not disadvantaged. They performed around a grade behind other pupils in English and mathematics by the end of Year 11. Compared with

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Outcomes for pupils require improvement

nationally, the gap in standards was the equivalent of a whole GCSE grade in English and two GCSE grades in mathematics.  This year, rates of progress of disadvantaged pupils in Year 11 are set to improve in both English and mathematics. The standards of those pupils who are not disadvantaged have also improved. However, gaps in achievement still remain.  Pupils who have special educational needs or disability are making steady progress in English and mathematics across all year groups. Their progress is stronger than it was at the time of the previous inspection due to better identification and targeting of need. Although clearly improving, the progress of this key group of pupils is not yet good.  The few pupils at the early stages of learning English are also making steady progress this year. This is partly because staff are receiving better training on how best to meet the needs of these pupils in the

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Outcomes for pupils require improvement

classroom.  The school does not enter pupils early for GCSE examinations in English and mathematics.  The majority of pupils enter the school with reading skills below those expected for their age. Many pupils in Years 7 and 8 make rapid gains in their ability to read a range of texts, thereby allowing them better access to the school’s curriculum. However, the purposeful promotion of reading, writing and numeracy skills is not yet embedded across a wide range of subjects.  Pupils who attend other colleges for part of their education make steady progress on courses that have strong links to a range of work-related skills, for example customer service, motor vehicles and sport.

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16 to 19 study programmes require improvement

 Leadership of the sixth form requires improvement. The sixth form has shrunk and this year there are just a small number of Year 13 students studying a limited range of academic and vocational courses. The sixth form is being relaunched in September 2016. Over 50 Year 11 pupils have already signed up to access a 16 to 19 study programme that meets requirements.  There is a limited programme of additional enrichment activities for current students in the sixth form. In addition, there is insufficient provision for students’ personal, social and health education. As a result, students are not fully prepared for future education, training or employment. Nevertheless, most students last year went on to access some higher education and training programmes.  Examination results in 2015 showed a slight improvement over the previous year. Students’ performance in vocational subjects was slightly better than in academic subjects. Current students in Year 13 are

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16 to 19 study programmes require improvement

making progress at least in line with expectations and sometimes better.  The quality of teaching is strong and consistently so. Teachers use effective questioning techniques to identify and plug gaps in learning: for example, in science where students honed their skills in balancing a range of chemical equations. Specialist teachers give much time in lessons to explain concepts in detail at a pace students are comfortable with.  Students who have not yet attained a GCSE grade C in mathematics attend timetabled lessons in preparation for a resit examination in the summer. All students in the sixth form have already achieved at least a grade C in English.  Information, advice and guidance offered before students joined the sixth form were reasonable. Although the range is limited this year, students are confident they are on the right courses. Students behave very well in the sixth form and are good role models for other pupils in the school.

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School details

Unique reference number 136157 Local authority Enfield Inspection number 10011936

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School details

This inspection was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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School details

Type of school Academy sponsor-led School category Community Age range of pupils 11–18 Gender of pupils Mixed

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programmes

Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Martin Cocks Principal Ann Palmer Telephone number 020 8443 8500 Website www.nightingaleacademy.org Email address contactus@nightingaleacademy.org Date of previous inspection 11–12 June 2014

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Information about this school

 Nightingale Academy opened in September 2010. It is sponsored by the London Academies Enterprise Trust.  Nightingale Academy is smaller than the average-sized secondary school. The numbers of pupils on roll and students in the sixth form are significantly lower than at the time of the previous inspection.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium, which is additional government funding provided for children who are looked after, and pupils known to be eligible for free school meals, is much higher than the national average.  The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs or disability is well above average.  The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds and who speak English as an additional language is much higher than found nationally.  The academy meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for the attainment and progress of pupils by the end of Year 11.

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Information about this school

 Four pupils currently attend courses at places away from school. They study at Enfield College, First Rung, Let Me Play (based at Craig Park Youth Centre) and Southgate College.  A provisional arrangement involving the appointment of an interim executive principal came to an end in summer 2015. A substantive principal has been in post since September 2015, supported by an associate senior leader to provide additional capacity to the leadership team.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 38 part-lessons, four of which were observed jointly with school leaders. In addition, inspectors scrutinised pupils’ books and looked at how pupils were learning across a range of subjects.  Meetings were held with three groups of pupils, three governors, including the chair of the governing body, the trust’s regional director and school staff.  Inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at a number of documents. These included the school’s attainment and progress information, planning and monitoring documentation, the school improvement plan and self-evaluation summary, the safeguarding policies, and behaviour and attendance records.  Inspectors took account of the five responses to Parent View and the school’s own survey administered to 219 parents.  Inspectors talked to pupils about the school’s work and listened to some pupils read.

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Inspection team

Nasim Butt, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector Lisa Gorman Ofsted Inspector Nicholas Heard Ofsted Inspector Jane Fletcher Ofsted Inspector guidance 'Raising concerns and making a complaint about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/publications/complaints-about-ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Inspection team

You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when and as part of the inspection.

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Inspection team

You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk , or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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Inspection team

achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

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Inspection team

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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