David Young Community Academy

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 4234 www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Mr Jeremy Richardson Principal David Young Community Academy Bishop’s Way, Off North Parkway Seacroft Leeds West Yorkshire LS14 6NU

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Academy

Following my visit with David Pridding, Ofsted Inspector, and Sai Patel, Ofsted Inspector, to your school on 22 and 23 September 2016, 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 that have been taken since the school’s previous monitoring inspection.

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Academy

The inspection was the second monitoring inspection since the school became subject to special measures following the inspection that took place in October 2015. The full list of the areas for improvement that were identified during that inspection is set out in the annex to this letter. The monitoring inspection report is attached.

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Academy

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

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Academy

Leaders and managers are taking effective action towards the removal of special measures.

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Academy

Having considered all the evidence, I strongly recommend that the school does not seek to appoint newly qualified teachers.

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Academy

I am copying this letter to the chair of the LEAF (Love, Enterprise, Aspiration, Faith) trust and the chair of the interim governing body (IGB), the director of education for the Diocese of West Yorkshire and the Dales, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Leeds. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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in October 2015

 Ensure, as a matter of urgency, that: – an external review of site security, including that of the alternative provision, is carried out and school leaders respond rapidly and in full to its findings – gaps in the school’s recruitment checks are corrected.

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in October 2015

 Improve the strategic leadership of the school by ensuring that: – members of the academy trust, the local governing body, the Principal and the school leaders, as a matter of urgency, resolve the current breakdown in relationships – school improvement plans are based on a thorough and accurate evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of the school’s performance, and that these plans are regularly reviewed and updated in the light of progress – leaders at all levels understand their roles and responsibilities and are held accountable for their actions – accurate information about pupils’ progress, attendance and behaviour is used to anticipate underachievement and respond more effectively and swiftly to concerns – leaders’ checks on the quality of teaching are closely linked to detailed analysis of the progress that pupils make in each subject – performance management procedures provide a close link between

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in October 2015

challenging targets for staff and decisions about pay and salary progression – pupil premium funding and Year 7 catch-up funding is used effectively to improve the achievement of those pupils it is intended to support – more effective procedures are put in place to identify and support pupils with disabilities or special educational needs – the school curriculum is fit for purpose so that all pupils can achieve well, including those in the sixth form.

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in October 2015

 Improve the quality of teaching, including in the sixth form, so that pupils make at least good progress by: – developing and implementing an school-wide strategy for improving teaching, monitoring its impact and holding staff closely to account – ensuring that accurate assessment information is used across all year groups to plan work that matches the learning needs of different groups of pupils – ensuring that teachers have high expectations of all pupils and insist that pupils’ work is completed and presented to a high standard – managing behaviour more effectively so that pupils are focused on their learning and no one is able to interrupt or disrupt a lesson.

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in October 2015

 Improve behaviour and safety by: – developing an school behaviour management policy which sets out clear expectations for pupils’ behaviour and conduct and ensuring that all staff and pupils follow it – investigating why bullying occurs so regularly and taking decisive action to stop it – improving the attendance of all groups of pupils and reducing the proportion of pupils who are persistently absent from the school.

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in October 2015

 Raise achievement across the school, particularly in English, mathematics and science, by: – rigorously checking that all pupils and groups of pupils are making at least expected rates of progress – improving equality of opportunity and the impact of support for disabled pupils and those with special educational needs – reducing the time lost through fixed-term exclusions from the school.

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in October 2015

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

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in October 2015

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

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Evidence

Inspectors observed the school’s work, scrutinised documents and met with the principal, senior and middle leaders. Inspectors also met with a group of teachers and three groups of pupils from key stages 3 and 4, and a group of sixth form students. Inspectors met two members of the trust and three governors, including the vice chair of the interim governing body. Meetings were also held with the headteacher from the Yorkshire Teaching Schools Alliance and a visit was made to the Limewood Centre, one of the school’s alternative provision sites. Telephone meetings were held with the diocesan education officer, the leader of the pupil referral unit and the local authority designated officer. Inspectors observed lessons across the school in a range of subject areas and looked at pupils’ work. A number of lesson observations were conducted jointly with senior and middle leaders.

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Context

Significant staffing changes have continued to take place since the previous inspection in April 2016. Substantive senior leaders are now in place. New middle leaders have been appointed in music, science, computer science, geography and technology. New teachers have been appointed in English, mathematics, science, history, geography and business studies. Two teaching assistants have been appointed to support pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. A coordinator for supporting pupils with English as an additional language has also been appointed. There are currently discussions taking place regarding rebrokering the school with another multi-academy trust.

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The effectiveness of leadership and management

The principal continues to provide clear and focused leadership. His evaluation of the progress the school is making is honest and accurate. He is clear about what is improving and where further work is needed. As a result, effective improvement plans are being used to sharply focus the minds of staff on the next stage of the school’s improvement journey.

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The effectiveness of leadership and management

The principal has taken sensible and effective steps to ensure a smooth handover from the interim senior leaders to the substantive ones. These new leaders are clear about their roles and responsibilities and have wasted no time in making sure the pace of improvement continues.

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The effectiveness of leadership and management

Some middle leaders are improving faster than others. Those middle leaders who are improving teaching and learning most significantly are rewarded with greater autonomy to manage the performance of their teams. Other middle leaders who are currently new or less confident or capable of improving teaching are benefiting greatly from regular meetings with the principal to review the impact they are having in their roles as middle leaders.

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The effectiveness of leadership and management

Performance management shows further signs of improvement. Targets are more closely linked to the school’s wide priorities and the teachers’ standards. However, the checks on how well teachers are making progress towards their targets are not as thorough or accurate as they need to be to support teachers precisely.

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The effectiveness of leadership and management

The relationship between the trust and the school is now focused on rebrokering the school to another multi-academy trust. Important decisions about the future viability of the sixth form and the reintroduction of modern foreign languages to the curriculum are currently on hold as a result.

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The effectiveness of leadership and management

Some aspects of the curriculum are improving. Well thought out changes to the school day now mean that younger pupils have more time to study history and geography, and there is now a regular slot for personal, social, health and citizenship education. Older pupils have more time in their option subjects. It is too soon to judge the impact that these changes are having on pupils’ progress. Other aspects of the curriculum remain weaker. The curriculum offered to pupils in the Limewood Centre is too narrow and not as wide as that on offer to pupils attending the local pupil referral unit. As a result, pupils in the Limewood Centre are not achieving as well as they could.

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The effectiveness of leadership and management

Progress in supporting pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is not good enough. Training has been provided but neither senior leaders nor the special educational needs coordinator have done enough to check whether it is making a real difference. As a result, teachers know which pupils have special educational needs and/or disabilities but are not confident enough in planning to meet their needs. The plans in place to support this group of pupils are woefully insufficient given the number of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. This is an aspect of the school’s work that needs rapid improvement.

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The effectiveness of leadership and management

Members of the interim governing body continue to use their considerable educational expertise to ask a wide range of challenging questions about the school’s performance. Governors work well with school leaders and an open and transparent relationship continues to develop. Governors are increasingly effective in holding leaders and managers to account. However, there is a lack of focus on how the considerable additional funding, including pupil premium and year 7 catch- up funding, is spent and the impact it is having on accelerating pupils’ progress.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment

Despite the significant but necessary upheaval caused by staffing changes, teaching is showing signs of improving. Some teachers are increasingly confident and effective at carefully checking what pupils have learned and using this information to make sure that future lessons meet their needs. Pupils commented that attitudes to learning are improving. Pupils are increasingly able to concentrate in lessons and learn in a calm and well-ordered environment. One pupil spoke for many when she reported that ‘The teacher could control the class and it was great.’ However, in a few classrooms teachers allow noise levels to get too loud and do not challenge pupils when they are chewing, slouching or demonstrating poor attitudes to learning.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment

Basic guidelines focusing on quality presentation, completing work and having the right equipment are being followed by an increasing number of teachers and form tutors. However, there are not enough teachers who are challenging pupils if they produce shoddy and scruffy work, do not have the right equipment or have weak attitudes to learning.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment

Senior leaders remain a visible presence in classrooms and around the school and are keen to check on the progress that pupils and teachers are making. However, their monitoring of teaching is not sharply focused enough on the progress that particular groups of pupils are making. These groups include the most able, pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities and the disadvantaged.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment

Leaders have a much more accurate handle on how well older pupils are achieving, especially those in Year 11. Intensive intervention continues for this group of pupils to make sure that they are ready for the next stage of their lives when they leave the school. The checks that leaders make on younger pupils, especially those in key stage 3 are underdeveloped.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare

Pupils confirm that they now feel safer and better cared for. The school site is secure. Detailed and robust checks are now carried out before new staff are appointed to the school. Cleaners, lunchtime supervisors, technicians and other staff confirm that the school is much calmer and that safeguarding now has a much higher profile. The ‘one stop students shop’ provides pupils with equipment, first aid needs and timetables. This is significantly reducing the number of pupils seen wandering around the school during lessons.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare

The principal and other senior leaders are highly visible in and around the school. Pupils like this. It makes them feel cared for and that leaders are taking a genuine interest in how well they are doing. Pupils also have a better understanding of the different kinds of bullying and have greater faith that bullying will be successfully dealt with when it happens. Pupils told inspectors that leaders were listening more carefully to their concerns. Exclusions and call outs to lessons have reduced significantly. Attendance shows a slight improvement but there is still a way to go before it gets near national averages.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare

Changes to the start of the day mean that pupils are keen to be punctual. Staff are highly visible, making sure that pupils get in on time and are ready for the day ahead. A great deal of effort has been spent making sure that attendance, punctuality and absence information is recorded accurately. In the light of this, leaders have rightly prioritised reducing the number of pupils who are persistently absent, including those who attend alternative provision.

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Outcomes for pupils

Leaders are tackling long-term underachievement in sizeable chunks. Efforts to improve Year 11 outcomes have had some success. The proportion of pupils achieving A* to C in both English and mathematics in 2016 was 57%, the best ever in the history of the school. More pupils left Year 11 with five good GCSEs including English and mathematics, a significant improvement on 2015 results. The progress of Year 11 pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities showed signs of improvement. Gaps between disadvantaged pupils and other pupils nationally also showed signs of diminishing. The progress of the most able pupils remains a key priority for improvement.

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Outcomes for pupils

The fortunes of Year 11 varied significantly elsewhere across the curriculum. Pupils fared better in business studies and art and design than in history, geography and science. Pupils attending alternative provision did not do well enough. Sixth form students’ progress showed a modest improvement but the number of students not going into education, employment or training remains too high.

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Outcomes for pupils

The quality of assessment information at key stage 3 is underdeveloped. Current assessment information suggests that not enough key stage 3 pupils are making good progress in English and mathematics. Information about how well these younger pupils are achieving across the curriculum needs to develop more rapidly than is currently planned.

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External support

The Yorkshire Teaching School Alliance continues to provide effective support. They have helped to improve the accuracy of assessment information, particularly in English and mathematics. Helpful support has also been provided for a range of middle leaders and teachers.

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External support

The local authority also maintains its helpful support for the special educational needs coordinator and, more recently, in helping to kick start the assessment process for those pupils who have English as an additional language. The local authority continues to develop good working relationships with the school. The local authority is also represented on the interim governing body and this provides good opportunities for it to not only challenge effectively but to gauge better the progress the school is making. Neither the trust nor the diocese are doing enough to ensure that pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are supported appropriately.

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