Ormiston Ilkeston Enterprise Academy

Ormiston Ilkeston Enterprise Academy King George Avenue, Ilkeston, Derbyshire DE7 5HS

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a school that requires improvement

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Leaders have improved teaching, but its quality remains inconsistent. Some teachers make limited use of pupils’ assessments to plan lessons.  Pupils’ progress is improving steadily towards that of pupils nationally. However, disadvantaged pupils and boys make less progress than they should.  Leaders have not evaluated the impact of the use of the pupil premium carefully enough.  Although pupils’ absence and exclusions overall have reduced, the absence and exclusion rates of disadvantaged pupils are still too high  Pupils’ behaviour in lessons has improved, but is not yet consistently good. Teachers do not always follow the school’s behaviour policy to effectively manage pupils’ behaviour.  Leaders’ systems for tracking the progress of key stage 3 pupils are not fit for purpose.  In lessons, some pupils lack the skills and confidence they need to speak up and join in.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The principal has tackled many long-standing issues which were holding the school back. Pupils and their parents and carers value the principal’s work to improve the school.  Local governance is strong and supports leaders’ drive for improvement.  There is some good teaching in every subject. Teaching in mathematics has improved, while in geography and physical education it is improving quickly. There is scope for leaders to share best practice more widely.  Staff look after pupils very well and teach them how to keep safe. Pupils’ personal development and welfare are, therefore, good.  Leaders have developed the curriculum, which now matches well pupils’ needs and interests.  The provision for pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities is good.  The school has a considerable number of talented new leaders, who are beginning to raise standards in their areas of responsibility.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The overwhelming majority of pupils are happy at school. They are courteous and polite. Pupils’ behaviour during social times is good. They take pride in their work, their school and their appearance.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment, by: – improving pupils’ classroom speaking skills and instilling in them more confidence, so that they answer questions, debate and learn more effectively – ensuring that teachers use their knowledge of pupils’ assessments, needs and abilities to plan challenging lessons – making good use of best practice in the school.  Improve outcomes across the school, particularly for disadvantaged pupils and boys.  Improve pupils’ behaviour, by: – ensuring that teachers consistently follow the school’s behaviour policy, so pupils’ behaviour in lessons matches their good behaviour at social times – continue to reduce the absences and exclusions of disadvantaged pupils, so these are at least average.  Improve leadership and management, by: – rapidly developing the school’s systems for checking the progress of groups of pupils in key stage 3 – devising a careful plan to support the training and induction of new leaders, to

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

ensure their impact on school improvement – ensuring that individual strategies to support disadvantaged pupils are more sharply evaluated. An external review of the school’s use of the pupil premium funding should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

 Leaders’ plans for improvement focus realistically on many of the key areas where the school needs to do better. School leaders are establishing an ambitious culture. They are determined to improve outcomes for pupils, particularly those who are disadvantaged.  Pupils told inspectors how much the school had changed for the better since the current principal joined 18 months ago. They said that teaching and behaviour had improved. Leaders’ aspirations for pupils are having an impact on pupils’ progress and their examination results. It will take time for this work to fully bear fruit. Nevertheless, there is clear evidence of leaders’ capacity to bring about sustained improvement.  Leaders are engaging and motivating the teaching staff, through their determination to improve the quality of education the school provides. Most staff are rising to the challenge. Ofsted’s staff survey confirms morale is high.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

 Senior leaders tackle poor performance rigorously. Leaders have strategically responded to staffing shortages without compromising on the quality of new appointments. Leaders have improved staff retention and ensured they have a motivated workforce. Staffing is now stable.  Leaders are making increasingly effective use of training. Ormiston Academies Trust, which sponsors the school, offers high-quality training and networking. The school is now becoming self-reliant on the skills of its own staff.  Directed by the strong vision of governors and leaders, the staff prepare pupils well for life in modern Britain. Leaders ensure pupils’ good spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.  The school’s curriculum now caters appropriately for pupils of different abilities and interests. Leaders have improved the curriculum and included new options, such as part-time vocational opportunities at a local college. The personal, social and health

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

education curriculum has improved significantly since the last inspection. Leaders have also ensured that pupils follow a comprehensive programme of economic awareness. Pupils told inspectors how much they value the expanded range of extra-curricular activities now open to them. Large numbers of pupils take part in the school’s enrichment activities.  The financial leadership of the school is strong. Leaders and governors have taken the school through a difficult financial situation, caused by falling rolls and the closure of the school’s sixth form. Leaders’ work to improve the school is transforming the reputation of the school in the community. The school is now oversubscribed for 2018 admissions.  Leaders make good use of the funding for pupils who have SEN and/ or disabilities. The provision for pupils who have very high levels of need is particularly strong. Literacy leaders are making increasingly effective use of the Year 7 literacy and

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

numeracy catch-up funding to support pupils who start the school with attainment below national averages. Leaders use the pupil premium to target the barriers that stop disadvantaged pupils achieving in school. However, leaders do not evaluate the impact of each of their spending choices separately. As a result, leaders do not know which initiatives are having most impact. This slows down improvements in disadvantaged pupils’ achievements.  Leaders are developing the way in which they track pupils’ progress at key stage 3. Currently, however, the systems in place do not allow leaders to easily identify when groups of pupils are underachieving. This makes it difficult for leaders to intervene and prevent particular groups of pupils from underachieving.  Many promising leaders have recently joined the school. These professionals are adding to the capacity of leaders to move the school towards being at least good.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

Senior leaders are aware that new leaders will need careful support to ensure they realise their potential.

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Governance of the school

 Ormiston Academy Trust delegates some of its functions to the school’s local governing body, through its scheme of delegation. Local governors are exceptionally clear sighted about their vision for pupils, which is rooted in preparing them for life in modern Britain. Governors have a deep understanding of the school’s curriculum and helped leaders to shape this in line with the school’s core values.  The local governing body has been invigorated by the appointment of a new chair and other changes in the responsibilities individual governors hold. These changes have improved the ability of governors to challenge and support the school. Governors have begun to challenge leaders rigorously on key issues, such as the impact of pupil premium spending.  School governors are well trained, particularly about safeguarding. They take their responsibilities for pupils’ safety very seriously and make regular checks on the school’s

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.  The systems to check adults in the school are safe to work with children are robust. Staff receive frequent, relevant, safeguarding training. School staff recognise the signs of abuse and gave examples of when they had used this knowledge to refer concerns to the safeguarding lead.  Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe. They value routines such as ‘lockdown’ drills, as these add to their sense of security. Leaders make sure pupils are aware of the dangers of extremist behaviour. They ensure that pupils learn about the dangers of alcohol misuse and other threats to their health and well-being. Incidents of bullying have fallen dramatically. Pupils report bullying is now rare.  Leaders work well with parents and outside agencies to keep pupils safe and make sure pupils feel secure.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

 The quality of teaching has improved. There is some good teaching across the curriculum. In mathematics, for example, teachers usually make good use of pupils’ assessments to plan challenging lessons. However, the quality of teaching is inconsistent overall. Some teachers do not take pupils’ abilities and aptitudes fully into account in their planning. This means that the activities some teachers plan are not appropriate for everyone in the class. As a result, some pupils of varying abilities make less progress than they should.  Teachers’ planning for needs of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is good. Teachers make effective use of teaching assistants to support these pupils and this helps them to make good progress.  Relationships between teachers and pupils support learning. However, the extent to which pupils are willing to take part in class discussions varies. Some pupils are not confident about taking part in debate or answering questions. This makes it more

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

difficult for teachers to pick up pupils’ misunderstandings and help them overcome these.  Most teachers have good subject knowledge that helps them support pupils’ learning. Teachers’ expectations of what pupils can do are increasing. Although there are many teachers who are skilled in challenging pupils, a minority of teachers do not provide pupils of varying abilities with enough challenge. As a result, pupils make less progress over time than they could.  Leaders in some subjects, such as geography and physical education, make good use of best practice in the department to develop teaching. The sharing of best practice is speeding up improvements in these subjects. While teaching is improving, there is scope for leaders to make wider use of the school’s best practice.  Teachers consistently set homework in line with the school’s policy, to help pupils continue their learning out of class. Parents can check pupils’ homework electronically

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

from home.  Newly qualified teachers and trainees are well supported. These teachers are already contributing successfully to the quality of teaching in the school.  Staff promote reading well. Pupils have access to a good-quality library, which they use regularly. Several initiatives to develop pupils’ literacy, such as ‘drop everything and read’ time, are having a positive impact on pupils’ attitudes to reading.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.  Pupils’ are self-confident in social situations. They are welcoming to visitors and keen to help. Pupils come to school with the right equipment, ready to learn and present their work neatly. Older pupils said their involvement in the National Citizenship Service had improved their confidence and self-belief. Some pupils are, however, less confident about expressing their views in lessons.  Staff care well for pupils’ physical and emotional well-being. The pastoral system supports all pupils well. Very vulnerable pupils, such as children looked after, receive high standards of care.  Pupils know how to keep themselves safe. Pupil ambassadors do a good job raising the awareness of other pupils about mental-health issues. The ambassadors spoke confidently about the need to remove the stigma attached to mental illness. Pupils

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Personal development and welfare

experiencing mental health problems know who to turn to at school for help.  Staff have ensured that the school is a place where it is ‘okay to be different’. For example, the school has worked closely with the Stonewall campaign to promote lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality. Pupils told inspectors they rarely hear homophobic or racist language.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils requires improvement. Although pupils told inspectors behaviour had improved, behaviour is not yet consistently good.  Pupils’ conduct and self-discipline around the school are good. Pupils use the playground sensibly. Their interactions in outdoor spaces are lively and good natured. During lesson changeovers, corridors are orderly and pupils are punctual to their next lessons.  Leaders’ records show significant reductions in incidents of poor behaviour. Recently, staff have had to remove fewer pupils from lessons than in the past. Pupils’ behaviour in many lessons is good, but in a minority of classes there is some disruptive behaviour, which interferes with learning. The school has a clear and detailed behaviour policy, which some staff do not consistently follow.  Since the school was last inspected, pupils’ attendance has improved and the incidence of persistent absence has reduced. The proportion of pupils excluded from school has

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Behaviour

also reduced significantly. However, and despite some improvement, the rate of absence and incidence of exclusion among disadvantaged pupils is still high.  Pupils who attend alternative provision for part of their education are working towards appropriate qualifications. School staff check their attendance and welfare carefully.

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

 Pupils’ progress is gradually improving. Over time, pupils’ progress has not been good enough because the quality of teaching has been inconsistent across the curriculum.  Pupils’ outcomes in the 2017 GCSE examinations showed they had made slightly better progress than previously, particularly in subjects they opt to study. Leaders presented strong evidence that pupils’ progress is continuing to improve. However, this improvement needs to accelerate if current pupils are to achieve the examination results of which they are capable.  Over time, pupils from different starting points have made slow progress at the school. Recently, middle-ability pupils’ progress has been particularly poor. This has started to improve. In most year groups, middle-ability and the most able pupils are now making similar progress to pupils of similar abilities nationally. Those pupils who started school having attained below the national average in English and mathematics are currently

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

making good progress.  Disadvantaged pupils and boys continue to make less progress than they should. Although the differences between disadvantaged pupils’ progress and that of other pupils nationally are diminishing, the pace of this improvement is slow. Similarly, boys’ progress at the school has not improved quickly enough towards the progress made by their peers nationally.  Careers advice has improved. The school now has a comprehensive careers education and guidance programme that meets the latest government requirements. This service helps to prepare pupils successfully for the next stage in education and employment. Last year, all Year 11 pupils went on to an appropriate destination when they left the school. The proportion of pupils going on to take A levels has doubled in the past few years.

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School details

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

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School details

Date of previous inspection 7–8 June 2016

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Information about this school

 Ormiston Academy Trust sponsors the school. The trust delegates some of its responsibilities to the local governing body, through its scheme of delegation. The school has its own leadership team, but is supported by leadership posts within the trust, including the regional director. The school receives support from its sponsor to improve the quality of teaching and learning.  This is a smaller-than-average-sized secondary school.  The school is situated in an area of high deprivation.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is well above the national average.  The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is higher than the national average.  The proportion of pupils who are from ethnic minority groups and those who speak English as an additional language are well below the national average.  Most pupils are White British.  The school ceased to offer post-16 education in September 2016.

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Information about this school

 The school uses Derby College, Kirk Hallam Pupil Referral Unit and the Derbyshire out- of-school tuition service to provide supplementary or alternative education for some pupils.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics by the end of Year 11.  The school meets the Department for Education’s definition of a coasting school, based on key stage 4 academic performance results in 2015, 2016 and 2017.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed teaching and learning in lessons throughout the school and in a wide range of subjects. The inspection team observed some lessons jointly with school leaders. Inspectors also made a number of short visits to lessons to evaluate pupils’ progress and behaviour in a range of classrooms.  Inspectors looked at pupils’ work in books, during lessons and at other times during the inspection.  Inspectors met with the principal, a regional director of the multi-academy trust, other senior and middle leaders, and members of the local governing body.  Inspectors considered a range of documents, including the school’s self-evaluation, school improvement plan and safeguarding records.  An inspector also spoke with staff at an alternative provider.  Inspectors looked at the 15 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire (Parent View) and 48 free-text responses from parents.  The inspection team listened to the views of pupils in key stage 3, Year 10 and Year 11

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Information about this inspection

during discussions, and considered 13 responses from pupils to Ofsted’s online questionnaire.  Inspectors considered 30 responses to Ofsted’s online survey for staff and talked with them after lessons to seek their views.

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Inspection team

Ellenor Beighton, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Paul Sweeney 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

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. www.gov.uk/pupil-premium-information-for-schools-and- alternative-provision-settings .

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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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspection team

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 .

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Inspection team

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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.gov.uk/ofsted

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