Edward Heneage Primary Academy

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

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Dominique Osborne Associate Principal Edward Heneage Primary Academy Edward Street Grimsby Lincolnshire DN32 9HL

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Academy

Following my visit to your academy on 4 April 2017, 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 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 was judged to have serious weaknesses following the section 5 inspection that took place in May 2016. 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 the serious weaknesses designation.

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Academy

The school’s improvement plan is fit for purpose.

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Academy

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

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The areas for improvement identified during the inspection that took

 Improve the impact of teaching on pupils’ learning and development so that it is consistently good or better and enables all pupils in all classes to make good or better progress in all subjects by: – substantially improving the achievement of disadvantaged pupils and pupils with special educational needs who make the slowest progress from their starting points in mathematics, reading and writing – improving pupils’ behaviour, ensuring all pupils know how to be successful learners, and ensuring all pupils receive a staple diet of effective teaching that enables them to regain the lost ground in their learning – ensuring marking and feedback strategies are consistently effective in helping pupils to understand and implement what they need to do to improve their learning and progress in all subjects – reinforcing the awareness among all staff of the high expectations they should have of what all pupils, but especially the most able pupils, are

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The areas for improvement identified during the inspection that took

capable of, given their high prior attainment.  Improve the quality of provision and the extent of children’s outcomes in the early years by: – increasing the challenge provided for all children but especially the most able so that they are suitably stretched and reach their potentials, which they do not consistently achieve at present – eradicating the inconsistency in the quality of teaching that remains so that children make rapid progress in their learning and development of wider key skills and dispositions, especially disadvantaged pupils and pupils with special educational needs, who are most vulnerable to underachieving – improving the quality of the outdoor provision so that children have more opportunity to develop their writing and language skills – developing the accuracy of assessment so that there is a consistently clear picture of the relative progress all children are making during their time in

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The areas for improvement identified during the inspection that took

the early years unit.  Increase the effectiveness of all leaders, managers and governors, and the impact of sponsor support and challenge, in improving the quality of the academy’s provision, accelerating pupils’ achievement and supporting pupils’ learning and progress better by: – embedding the improvement strategies which are showing signs of initial success linked to improving teaching, learning and assessment; and developing the suitability of the curriculum – ensuring more effective monitoring and evaluation of the impact of educational provision and using the data collected to better focus challenge and support to staff to further improve the impact of their work and refine provision where necessary – increasing the effectiveness of strategies to improve pupils’ attendance so that it is consistently good across all groups, and reduce rates of persistent absence, particularly among disadvantaged pupils, those who speak English

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The areas for improvement identified during the inspection that took

as an additional language and pupils with special educational needs – reviewing the use of special educational needs funding in order to assess how it might be used more effectively to drive up improvements in the quality of provision and the outcomes achieved by this group of pupils.

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Evidence

The inspector met with the associate principal, executive principal, chair of the academy improvement board, subject leaders for English and mathematics, and the special educational needs coordinator. Short visits to observe learning and behaviour were made to several lessons in the early years and key stages 1 and 2.

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Context

Following the previous inspection, the principal left the school and was replaced by the current associate principal. To provide extra capacity to the senior leadership team, the trust appointed an executive principal and a vice-principal, who is responsible for overseeing teaching and learning. Five teachers joined the school at the beginning of the academic year. Since the previous monitoring inspection (November 2016), a new subject leader for mathematics has commenced and a leader of the early years is due to take up her post at the beginning of the summer term.

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The quality of leadership and management at the academy

The school’s improvement plan addresses all the weaknesses identified at the time of the previous inspection. It contains deadlines for improvements to be made, mechanisms to monitor progress and expected outcomes that are directly aligned to pupils’ achievement.

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The quality of leadership and management at the academy

Senior leaders and governors are accelerating the pace of work designed to secure improvement. This is underpinned by a well-planned and coherent programme of training and support for all staff. Leaders are not prepared to tolerate ineffective teaching, nor attitudes that reflect a reluctance to face up to the reality of what is required to improve the quality of provision for all pupils. This is to be commended, and explains why the school is well placed to build on the progress that has been made in recent months. Senior leaders are taking direct responsibility to secure improvements and are successfully taking the school forward. However, the time has come for phase and subject leaders to be more involved and increasingly accountable for their part in raising achievement by improving teaching and learning.

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The quality of leadership and management at the academy

An external review of governance has taken place. The review identified key strengths that are helping to take the school forward. They included: the clarity of purpose and focus on plans to improve pupil outcomes, the ability to challenge senior staff and hold them to account, and effective management of meetings that focus on the key issues of improving leadership, the quality of teaching and the accuracy of assessment. The governing body has responded to the recommendations made as a result of the review. Training is scheduled to help governors improve their understanding of the school assessment system so that they know assessments are accurate, as well as how to conduct and record school visits. The school improvement board, which is made up of senior leaders and three governors with the skills and experience to hold the school to account, meet regularly to evaluate the work of the school. This is helping senior leaders to focus

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The quality of leadership and management at the academy

sharply on the actions designed to secure improvement and evaluate their impact on pupils’ progress. As a result, governors are an integral and valuable part of the improvement process.

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The quality of leadership and management at the academy

A pupil premium review was undertaken during April 2016 with a follow-up visit eight months later. Recommendations to improve the use and impact of funding included a more accurate analysis of data to inform the priorities of the pupil premium plan. This ensures that funding is used to develop and support the quality of teaching where it will directly help disadvantaged pupils to make accelerated progress. Senior leaders have ensured that assessments of disadvantaged pupils’ progress are accurate. Steps have also been taken to improve the quality of provision for disadvantaged pupils. This group is now clearly identified in teachers’ planning but, regrettably, that is where it ends. In some cases, there is no evidence to suggest that the specific learning needs of these pupils are being effectively planned for or met. This inhibits pupils’ progress, and is reflected in the school’s own assessment data which shows where disadvantaged pupils are not making

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The quality of leadership and management at the academy

Leaders have responded to a legacy of weak provision over time by making the improvement of teaching and learning a priority. This approach is paying dividends because the majority of pupils are making better progress than they were at the time of the previous inspection. Pupils are currently making at least expected progress with an increasing number making accelerated progress. The teaching and learning policy is now tailored to the specific needs of the school and its implementation is checked regularly by senior leaders. The learning environment is stimulating and is used well to celebrate pupils’ work. Senior leaders acknowledge that some pockets of teaching remain that require improvement, particularly, but not exclusively, within key stage 2, and plans are in place to address this.

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The quality of leadership and management at the academy

In the early years, planning is more focused on meeting the needs of all children because assessment is more accurate. This represents a major step forward. Greater attention is being given to the development of children’s speaking and listening skills, and this is beginning to impact positively on their progress. The quality of the outdoor provision has improved since the previous inspection. Children now have more opportunities to develop their writing and language skills.

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The quality of leadership and management at the academy

Behaviour has improved significantly since the previous inspection. Staff, whether they are teachers or teaching assistants, adhere to the school behaviour management policy. It is this level of consistency that has resulted in a fair approach to behaviour management which pupils recognise and value.

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Strengths in the school’s approaches to securing improvement:

 The accurate assessment of pupils’ progress in every year group is a positive feature of the school. This enables leaders to track pupils’ progress and identify underachievement early. Steps are then taken to accelerate pupils’ learning.  Intervention strategies to accelerate pupils’ learning, often led by senior leaders, are making a positive contribution to the improvement of pupils’ reading, writing and mathematical skills and understanding.  Emphasis on teaching the basic skills of reading (including the teaching of phonics), writing and mathematics is reflected in pupils’ improving progress.  Improved behaviour, reflected in positive attitudes to learning, is making a significant contribution to pupils’ progress.  Pupils are participating more during lessons because teachers demonstrate good subject knowledge and ask carefully crafted questions that make pupils think prior to responding. This level of challenge is enhancing pupils’ understanding.

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Weaknesses in the school’s approaches to securing improvement:

 Phase and subject leaders are not involved sufficiently in the actions to improve teaching and learning. Senior leaders are not holding them to account to ensure that agreed policies are being effectively implemented by all staff.  All too frequently, teachers do not effectively plan and provide for the learning needs of disadvantaged pupils.  Where the quality of teaching requires improvement, checks on the consistent adherence to the school’s teaching and learning policy, including the expectations in relation to feedback on pupils’ work, are not sufficiently rigorous.  The predominance of worksheets produced by the teacher in pupils’ books limits pupils’ opportunities to write at length.

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External support

Support provided by the David Ross Educational Trust since the previous inspection continues to be effective because it is successfully meeting the training needs of the school. The appointment of an executive principal with experience of school improvement has proved to be beneficial. This has helped leaders to set clear yet realistic goals combined with a sense of urgency to improve provision and outcomes.

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