Setting

Mrs Yvonne Waring Interim Principal Harpenden Academy Vaughan Road Harpenden Hertfordshire AL5 4EN

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No formal designation monitoring inspection of Harpenden Academy

Following my visit to your school on 3 May 2016, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to confirm the inspection findings.

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No formal designation monitoring inspection of Harpenden Academy

This monitoring inspection was conducted under section 8 of the Education Act 2005 and in accordance with Ofsted’s published procedures for inspecting schools with no formal designation. The inspection was carried out because Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector was concerned about the effectiveness of safeguarding arrangements, aspects of the effectiveness of leadership and management including governance, and the personal development, behaviour and welfare of pupils at the school. The monitoring inspection was unannounced and was carried out in response to complaints which raised serious concerns. The inspection sought to establish whether:

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No formal designation monitoring inspection of Harpenden Academy

 safeguarding procedures are effective  leaders and the governing body are effective in fulfilling responsibilities with regard to safeguarding and pupils’ behaviour and welfare.

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No formal designation monitoring inspection of Harpenden Academy

Having considered the evidence I am of the opinion that at this time, safeguarding is effective. Building on actions taken by governors, the work of the new principal has secured safeguarding and ensured that pupils’ behaviour and welfare are effectively managed.

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Evidence

During my visit I scrutinised the record of checks made when staff are appointed (known as the single central record) and a wide range of documentation relating to safer recruitment, safeguarding and child protection arrangements. These included behaviour and first-aid records. Minutes of governing body meetings were Ofsted

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Evidence

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 4234 www.gov.uk/ofsted considered as well as records of staff performance management. I met with you, the chair and vice-chair of the governing body and the governor responsible for human resources, the principals of Sir John Lawes Academy and Samuel Ryder Academy, a group of pupils, a group of six staff, the special educational needs coordinator and the early years lead teacher. In addition I spoke on the phone to an independent consultant who advises the school, and who spent a short period of time supporting in a leadership role at the school. I spoke to a number of parents as they collected their children from school and took account of the 181 views expressed on Ofsted’s online questionnaire for parents.

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Context

Harpenden Academy is smaller than the average-sized primary school. It opened in September 2012 as Harpenden Free School. In August 2015 it changed its name to Harpenden Academy and moved to the current purpose-built accommodation on 1 September 2015. The school currently educates pupils up to Year 5. It will expand to include Year 6 in September 2016. The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is below average. The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs or disability is broadly average. The majority of pupils are of White British heritage. The school was judged to require improvement in its most recent inspection in September 2015.

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Context

Since the school opened, there have been many changes in staffing and leadership. You have been in post for three weeks. This is the third site the school has occupied; both staff and pupils say they are pleased to be in the school’s permanent home. Both the previous principal and the deputy principal left the school in the spring term. For a short period of time, the independent consultant who works with the school and the chair of the governing body provided additional leadership capacity. In addition, a teacher left and has been replaced and a new member of staff has joined the early years team. An assistant principal and an experienced teacher have been appointed to start at the school in September. Plans are in place for the school to join the Sir John Lawes Academies Trust in the autumn.

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Inspection findings

You have very quickly established firm and uncompromising leadership. Using your extensive experience, you rapidly identified the priorities that needed to be immediately addressed and worked with staff to establish goals for the rest of this calendar year. You have secured staff confidence by implementing procedures through which their performance can be both measured and rewarded and have taken action to make the school site safe and enjoyable for pupils.

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Inspection findings

Safeguarding training is up to date. Staff know what to do if they have concerns about a pupil and are confident in the procedures they should use.

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Inspection findings

The single central record, which records checks of staff suitability to work with children, has been thoroughly reviewed and updated. It now includes all the information required by law. Effective procedures for keeping it up to date, which include monthly scrutiny by you, have been implemented. The designated safeguarding governor has undertaken an analysis of the school’s approaches to monitor safeguarding and scrutinised site safety. Actions to maintain this scrutiny and continue the monitoring are planned. This, coupled with your very rigorous actions, is making the school a safer place for pupils. Staff training has included the ‘Prevent’ duty, which helps staff understand the potential risks posed to pupils by exposure to extremism.

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Inspection findings

Processes for managing and storing personnel records have been improved. Procedures for staff recruitment include appropriate safeguarding questions and background checks. A summary leaflet handed to visitors includes you as designated safeguarding lead and clear guidance for all on what to do if they have concerns.

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Inspection findings

The inspection considered the following concerns expressed to Ofsted about the school:

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Inspection findings

 Leadership is not robust, relationships between leaders and governors are poor. The school is not effectively led.

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Inspection findings

Understandably, the significant changes in staffing and leadership that have taken place have caused parents to be concerned. Governors acknowledge that, at times, they have become too involved in the day-to-day running of the school. Staff have found some elements of this challenging. It is also clear that the chair of the governing body’s decision to share the leadership of the school, at a time when capacity was severely diminished, caused confusion and uncertainty amongst parents as well as staff. This action was taken at a time when governors were seriously concerned for the future of the school. Although it was taken in the best interest of the pupils, it did not engender the confidence of parents or staff or provide the quality of leadership necessary to address staffing issues and sustain improvement. However, governors did take action to seek a suitable interim leader and were successful in securing your appointment. As a result, the school is in a much

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Inspection findings

more secure position. Governors had also reached the point where, through some purposeful self-review, they recognised that the school lacked the capacity to develop and grow substantially without the involvement of wider expertise. Following consideration of a range of options, they approached the Sir John Lawes Academies Trust with the request to join them. Arrangements are underway to establish this partnership for the start of the new academic year. Already, the most senior leaders are working with you to secure the most important aspects of the school’s work that you have prioritised for improvement.

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Inspection findings

 There have been excessive changes in teaching staff. Checks on staff suitability to work with children are not made. Again, parents have been understandably concerned about the successive changes in teaching staff which have led to a discontinuity in their children’s education. Some of the decisions taken to address staffing issues, and reasons for the changes made, have not been communicated well by leaders or governors. In some instances, employment legislation has prevented this sharing of information and the resulting lack of clarity contributed to increasing distrust. As a result, parents’ confidence in leadership, particularly in governance, diminished. This deteriorated further when issues with how well the school’s safeguarding procedures were implemented were identified. While it is clear that appropriate checks had been requested, the delays caused by administrative failures outside school leaders’ control, and the

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Inspection findings

instability in leadership, meant that the governors did not on this occasion ensure that statutory safeguarding requirements for staff employment were met. The improved rigour in safeguarding procedures outlined above means that these requirements are now fully met.

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Inspection findings

 There are safety concerns related to the playground and pupils’ behaviour.

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Inspection findings

You have rapidly identified that the ‘mound’ in the playground, which is a large structure constructed on building rubble and covered by artificial turf, is unsafe for a number of reasons, in particular because of the way it has been constructed. You have taken appropriate action to prevent pupils from using it and are exploring how this issue can be dealt with in the longer term. While pupils are disappointed they can no longer play on it, they showed good understanding of why you have taken this action and agree that it is not safe. The ‘mound’ takes up a significant area of the playground which is already a limited and uneven space, so behaviour needs careful monitoring. Analysis of first-aid records shows that, prior to the recent changes, a high number of minor accidents had taken place. Parents also stated that a small number of more serious incidents had taken place on the ‘mound’, which caused some of

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Inspection findings

Analysis of the records kept of incidents of poor behaviour shows that while these have been logged and action has been taken, the triggers for these incidents have not been identified and there has been no analysis of incidents over time. This means that incidents of poor behaviour have not been de- escalated and strategic action to reduce them has not been taken.

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Inspection findings

The combination of the new plans you have implemented to manage behaviour, and the provision of a range of resources to engage pupils in imaginative play, is improving their behaviour and making the playground a safer place to be. You have also made clear to pupils that you expect them to respect the equipment available for them to play with and to take greater responsibility for its care, as well as managing the impact of their behaviour on each other. While these changes are recent, pupils and staff say that playtimes are safer and they can see that these first stages in development are effective.

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Inspection findings

Concerns raised about the school also referred to the incidence of bullying. Discussion with pupils shows that they have a good understanding of what bullying is and of the different types that can occur. They say they do not think it occurs in the school and that there are a number of members of staff they trust to manage their concerns if they have any. You have implemented appropriate procedures to manage any incidents of bullying or racist behaviour.

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Inspection findings

You have identified the risks associated with the rear boundary of the school where it adjoins the railway line. Already actions have been taken to improve the fencing and engage the rail network providers in clearing the adjoining land to maintain the quality of hygiene and safety in that area of the school.

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Inspection findings

 Pupils are not making academic progress and are falling behind the expectations for their age.

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Inspection findings

You have analysed pupils’ attainment against age-related expectations and scrutinised their progress. This has identified that, in Years 3 and 4, there is a need to accelerate pupils’ progress so that they can catch up on the slower progress they made as a result of the high turnover and weaknesses in teaching identified in the September inspection. You are monitoring teaching quality and pupil progress carefully and have taken immediate action to work with staff to address these priorities and to secure a stable, experienced teaching team for September.

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Inspection findings

It is clear that, since its inception, the school has been through times of significant change in premises, staffing and leadership. Throughout that time, governors have used their skills and expertise to work towards achieving the vision they had initially established for the school. Some of the actions taken have not been appropriate and some, as identified above, have caused staff and parents to lose confidence in governors’ strategic leadership. Much of this has been because the core systems and processes needed to underpin a school’s successful functioning were not firmly established at the outset. Governors recognise that their involvement has been too intense and a number of changes to the governing body’s membership are planned for September. This includes a change to its leadership because the chair of the governing body has indicated her intention to step down from her role.

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Inspection findings

You have already started to work with governors to establish the strategic leadership elements of their role by taking firm responsibility for the day-to-day running of the school and the management of the core elements of its work. Staff and pupils provided good evidence of their confidence in the changes you are making. Both groups talked about how your expectations are demanding but that they feel the school is embarking on a new, more secure phase in its development. Staff feel that your rigorous leadership is directing their considerable energy and commitment to focus on improvement very effectively. The majority of parents expressing their views online and in discussion with the inspector still have confidence in the school. They also speak well of the more rigorous guidance you are providing and have appreciated your forthright approach to addressing their concerns. You have communicated your

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Inspection findings

expectations for high standards of teaching, learning and behaviour very clearly to them. In the year groups where staffing has not been stable, parents are more cautious; they remain concerned about their children’s achievement and about how well they are being prepared for the next phase in their education. There also remains a need for governors to rebuild these parents’ trust and confidence.

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External support

Until very recently, leaders have sought or received very little external support. This has restricted the ability of staff to develop their practice. It has also not helped leaders to build core systems and processes that ensure that the statutory requirements necessary for any provider of education are met. The independent consultant who has worked with the school has provided timely advice and staff undoubtedly benefited from her expertise when the most senior leaders were both absent. Through her role with the local authority she has also initiated greater support for improving provision for pupils who have special educational needs or disability. The recent move to join the Sir John Lawes Academies Trust has resulted in support for the recruitment of new staff and leaders and access to a wide range of administrative, leadership and teaching expertise.

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Priorities for further improvement

 Rigorously pursue actions to address the risks to pupils’ safety posed by the playground ‘mound’ and ensure that there is sufficient space for pupils to play safely.  Revisit governors’ responsibilities to ensure that the role they take is strategic. Identify in action plans which aspects of the school’s work they will monitor and how.  Improve communication so that staff and parents have a clear understanding of how well the school is doing and of the strategic actions being taken to ensure improvement.

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Priorities for further improvement

I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Hertfordshire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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