Setting

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

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Nathan Thomas Winton Community Academy London Road Andover Hampshire SP10 2PS

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Academy

Following my visit to your school on 6 December 2016, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to report the inspection findings. Thank you for the help you gave me and for the time you made available to discuss the actions you are taking to improve the school since the most recent section 5 inspection.

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Academy

The visit was the first monitoring inspection since the school was judged to require improvement following the section 5 inspection in January 2016. It was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005.

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Academy

Senior leaders and governors are taking effective action to tackle the areas requiring improvement identified at the recent section 5 inspection in order to become a good school.

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Academy

The school should take further action to:

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Academy

 improve teaching across the school so it consistently enables pupils, particularly the disadvantaged, to make good progress across a range of subjects.

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Evidence

During the inspection, meetings were held with the headteacher and senior leaders, governors and a representative from the multi-academy trust to discuss the actions taken since the last inspection. A range of school documents were evaluated, including the post-Ofsted plan and academy development plan. Lessons were visited alongside senior leaders, and records of checks on the quality of teaching were considered. I also met with groups of pupils and staff from across the school, and reviewed outcomes for pupils currently in the school.

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Context

Since the inspection in January 2016, there have been a number of changes to the teaching staff and to middle leadership, specifically in English and science. A small proportion of classes are currently taught regularly by the senior team, due to vacancies or staff absence. The academy is fully staffed for January 2017.

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Main findings

You and your leadership team have acted rapidly and with determination to improve the school. The ‘no excuse’ culture unites staff and pupils in striving to meet the high expectations you have for them. Pupils recognise that they behave better and work harder than they have in the past, because teachers ‘push’ them to make good progress and challenge them when they do not.

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Main findings

Your improvement plans focus clearly on achieving the improvement which will make the biggest difference to pupils and their preparation for future life. You explore energetically and make best use of any opportunities that will help to make the school better. Leaders now review progress against the action plans more frequently, moving on quickly from actions which are not leading to improved pupil outcomes. This helps you to make best use of the resources at your disposal and maintain the fast pace of change. Governors monitor progress carefully, using the detailed and increasingly accurate information that leaders share with them. They trust in leaders’ capacity to sustain the pace of improvement, and ask challenging questions to hold them to account.

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Main findings

Pupils who finished Year 11 in 2016 made better progress and achieved better results than their predecessors. The proportion achieving a good GCSE grade in both English and mathematics increased markedly from 2015. Pupils currently in Year 11 are on track to do even better across a range of subjects. Year 7 pupils have made an encouraging start to their studies and are making good progress.

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Main findings

Leaders continue to focus on improving the quality of teaching across the school. A comprehensive package of support helps teachers to improve their practice steadily. Middle and senior leaders monitor the impact of this training, and use what they learn effectively to put further help in place where needed. While the pace of improvement across the academy has been slowed by changes in staffing, there are clear signs that the quality of teaching is beginning to improve. Teachers’ assessments of pupils’ progress are now more accurate and consistent, helping teachers and leaders to track progress and target extra help more effectively.

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Main findings

The special educational needs coordinator is taking effective action to improve the quality of provision for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Staff receive regular briefings and training. This helps them understand the specific learning needs of individual pupils, so that they can plan to meet their needs. Extra help outside lessons is matched carefully to the specific needs of pupils, and is enabling pupils to start to improve their basic skills more rapidly.

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Main findings

Leaders have transformed the careers information, advice and guidance that pupils receive. They focus on raising aspirations by providing opportunities for pupils to gain experience of, and be inspired by, high-quality education, employment and training providers. As a result, every pupil who left the school at the end of Year 11 in 2016 secured a place in education, employment or training. All pupils currently in Year 11 have made an application to a post-16 provider, and are being supported effectively through the application and interview process.

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Main findings

Leaders know that, while much has been achieved in the past year, the school is still in the early stages of its journey to be securely good. You recognise that the quality of teaching is not consistently good across the school, and achieving this rightly remains your number one priority. Nevertheless, pupils who are disadvantaged do not currently make the strong progress needed for them to catch up and achieve in line with other pupils nationally. Furthermore, pupils in Year 8 and 9 are not making as much progress as they should, and leaders are currently reviewing and adapting provision to better meet their specific needs.

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External support

Leaders and teachers are supported effectively by being part of the AET multi- academy trust. Experts from the trust visit frequently to work with teachers, especially in English, mathematics and science. This specialist help is leading to emerging improvements in the quality of teaching. Leaders from the trust monitor the impact of school leaders’ actions, and challenge them to maintain the pace of progress. The trust supports the local governing body in ensuring its statutory obligations are met.

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External support

Leaders also work closely with staff from the Winchester Teaching School Alliance to develop teachers’ skills and raise pupils’ aspirations.

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External support

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

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