Andalusia Academy Bristol

Andalusia Academy Bristol Old School Building, St Matthias Park, St Philips, Bristol BS2 0BA

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement Early years provision Requires improvement Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Inadequate

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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 and those responsible for governance have not ensured that pupils, particularly those in the primary phase, make consistently good progress in the subjects they study.  Leaders and governors have not planned improvements with sufficient detail or speed. They have not organised the training needed to ensure that a good quality of education is provided.  Teachers do not consider what pupils already know and their individual needs sufficiently when planning learning, particularly for those pupils who struggle.  Teaching staff do not provide pupils with the information they need to improve their work. As a result, pupils do not have a depth of understanding of the topics they study.  Pupils’ attendance is below that seen typically nationally. However, leaders are taking action to help pupils, parents and carers to understand the importance of attending school regularly.  Not enough pupils take pride in the

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

presentation of their work.  Staff do not consistently ensure that pupils behave well throughout the school day. Pupils can lose concentration in lessons and their behaviour declines. After breaktimes, some pupils are slow to settle back in to learning.  The early years area does not stimulate the youngest children in their learning sufficiently. The most able children do not routinely reach the high standards they are capable of.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Leaders and the reformed governing body have a good overview of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. They have ensured that the independent school standards are now met.  The school’s work to keep pupils safe is strong.  Senior leaders are accurate in their evaluation of the quality of teaching and learning. They know where there is further work to do to improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment.  Staff promote equality of opportunity through the curriculum. Pupils show a healthy curiosity about the world they live in and their role in it.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The school meets the requirements of the schedule to the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014 (‘the independent school standards’) and associated requirements.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of leadership, management and governance of the school by ensuring that leaders, including those responsible for governance: – draft and implement suitably detailed plans to make sure that the quality of education and support for pupils improves – identify and source the high-quality professional development staff need to enhance their subject knowledge and plan learning that better meets pupils’ needs – continue to develop their own systems for assessing, monitoring and evaluating the implementation of the new curriculum and the progress pupils make.  Strengthen the quality of teaching, learning and assessment further, including in the early years, by ensuring that: – teachers plan learning to meet pupils’ needs more closely, particularly for pupils who struggle – pupils are clear about how to improve their work and make the best possible progress in their learning – adults provide the most able children in the early years with the challenge they need

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

to excel.  Improve pupils’ behaviour by: – working with pupils and their families to emphasise the importance of attending school regularly to raise pupils’ attendance further – ensuring that the school’s behaviour policy is consistently implemented by all staff – insisting on the highest standards of presentation in subjects across the curriculum.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

 Leaders and those responsible for governance have not yet ensured that the school provides a good quality of education. Leaders have a shared vision for the school. They demonstrate a strong desire to improve the school and are clear about the school’s strengths and weaknesses. Leaders are accurate in their evaluation of the quality of teaching and learning. However, development planning is not precise enough in detailing the changes that are needed to ensure that the quality of education and pupils’ well-being improve further.  Since the previous inspection, leaders have developed systems for assessing, monitoring and evaluating the progress pupils make across the curriculum. However, these systems are not yet suitably robust and so there is still some inaccuracy in assessments, particularly in key stage 2. Leaders have not monitored the implementation of these systems closely enough.  Leaders have not secured consistently high-quality teaching and learning across classes.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

Pupils’ work and assessment information show that the most able pupils in the primary phase are not suitably challenged. Those pupils who struggle are not adequately supported in their learning.  The school’s target-setting and monitoring of pupil progress are not sufficiently rigorous. Leaders do not make sure that teachers are clear about what pupils need to do to improve. Therefore, pupils, particularly in key stage 2, do not make the rapid progress many are capable of.  Leaders have not used staff appraisal effectively to identify the training needs of staff, particularly regarding subject knowledge and planning learning that meets pupils’ needs well. Staff value the training they have received, such as in the teaching of mathematics and the opportunity to observe teachers in other schools.  Middle leaders share senior leaders’ vision to improve the quality of education. Increasingly, they are working together to bring about improvements, such as in the

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

teaching of mathematics in the primary phase. As a result, attainment is rising.  Following the previous inspection, leaders have sought out schools and specialists they can work with to improve the quality of education. Working with the ‘NW24’ network of schools, local authority advisers and a neighbouring nursery school has resulted in improving teachers’ accuracy of assessment.  Leaders and those responsible for governance have introduced new mechanisms to improve their understanding of the independent school standards (ISS). Through their reviews of each part of the standards, they can identify standards which are strongly met and those that are less so. The quality of their findings is variable. Nonetheless, the proprietor and leaders have made changes to ensure that the ISS are now met. For example, they have increased the subjects that pupils can study at GCSE to include technology subjects and strengthened the quality of the Islamic curriculum.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

 Each member of staff who spoke with inspectors is committed to the school and all comment that Andalusia Academy is a good place to work. They say that staff morale is high due to the good support they receive from leaders and through the strong work ethic of the staff.  Pupils feel they are listened to and can give examples when leaders have made changes as a result of ‘student voice’. For example, changes to the homework arrangements so that homework is more manageable. One pupil, typical of many, described the school as having a ‘good family atmosphere’.  Pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities benefit from leaders who have strong knowledge of each pupil’s needs and the agencies who are available to provide support and guidance. As a result, pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities have clear education, health and care plans and receive the therapies they need. However, this

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

does not routinely translate into effective academic support in class. Consequently, some pupils have gaps in their knowledge and understanding.  Leaders have prioritised pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and teaching about British values. Pupils have a good understanding of a range of faiths and cultural traditions. They show an awareness of differences in communities. They have a good appreciation of special educational needs and ethnic traditions but their knowledge about sexual orientation is less well developed.  All the policies that are required by the ISS are in place and inspection evidence shows that these are followed. The school’s safeguarding policy has recently been revised to reflect the latest guidance issued by the Secretary of State and is published on the school’s website.  Parents, including those whose children have SEN and/or disabilities, welcome the

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

support they get from staff. This is helping them to improve their own communication skills and in securing the help they need to ensure that their children’s needs are met.

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Governance

 The proprietor revised the governance arrangements following the previous inspection. In December 2017, the proprietorial board and governing body merged to form a single board of governors. The members of the board include several longstanding members of the proprietorial board and a number of recently appointed governors who bring a wide range of skills and expertise, for example in financial management, safeguarding and information technology. They are united in their drive to improve the quality of education the school provides, and the care pupils receive.  The new arrangements for governance are improving the scrutiny of the school’s work, from which the principal and leaders are held to account. However, governors do not provide sufficient attention to the quality of teaching, learning and assessment and the rigour of target-setting and progress monitoring.  Governors have begun to deepen their understanding of the ISS. They recognise that

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Governance

there is more to do to ensure that each standard is clearly evaluated so that incisive plans to raise standards further can be drafted and implemented.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.  The school’s work to keep children safe is a strength of the school. Staff are highly aware of the risks that pupils face, particularly with respect to female genital mutilation and children missing from education. They follow the guidance that is issued and are keen to enhance this work further. Pupils are well taught about the risks they face, and they report that they feel safe in school and when online.  The leader with specific responsibility for safeguarding has a very clear understanding of her role and ensures that referrals are made in good time. She involves all the necessary agencies. Consequently, pupils are kept safe.  A high proportion of pupils are at risk of missing education. School staff follow the guidance issued by the local authority closely and efforts are made to track the whereabouts of these pupils. In a few cases, the information recorded lacks the detail

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Safeguarding

needed to give the school and local authority the best chance to locate these pupils.  Governors have invested in improvements to the electrical safety of the building. Leaders have carried out risk assessments for the building, activities and specific pupils’ needs, for example those who have physical needs. These are effective in reducing or negating potential risks.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

 The quality of teaching, learning and assessment varies across the school. In some subjects, teachers do not plan with sufficient consideration of pupils’ prior learning to meet their academic needs. Consequently, work is too easy for the most able and too hard for others.  Although most teachers use questioning in classes, it is not used effectively to deepen pupils’ understanding, knowledge and skills.  Some of the learning that teachers plan does not have a clear purpose. Pupils struggle to link what they have learned previously to build up their understanding of increasingly complex concepts. Furthermore, the application of knowledge from one subject is not seen in their learning in others, for example in pupils’ written work.  Some pupils have a limited vocabulary. Many teachers do not plan or adapt their teaching to address this. As a result, pupils’ understanding of some topics is inhibited as they do

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

not have sufficient understanding of the language being used to have a full appreciation of the topic being studied.  The quality of feedback that teachers provide to pupils and the impact that it has are variable across classes. When this happens, teachers do not identify the deficiencies in learning and errors go unchecked. Consequently, pupils are not clear about how to improve their work in some subjects.  Some teachers do not challenge the quality of pupils’ presentation of work sufficiently or insist on the highest standards. This is particularly the case for boys in the primary phase.  Teachers give insufficient attention to pupils who have missed learning or who are falling behind in their work. As a result, they do not make the rapid progress they need to catch up with their classmates.  The impact of teaching assistants is variable. Pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities are well supported in their physical and emotional needs but not so in ensuring that they

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

make strong academic progress.  Work seen in books shows that the training staff have received has led to an improvement in the quality of teaching of mathematics since the previous inspection. Pupils are regularly challenged through problem-solving tasks. In the secondary phase, the most able mathematicians follow a ‘further mathematics’ course with high rates of success.  Teaching staff have established positive relationships with the pupils in their classes. Teaching is used effectively to develop pupils’ personal and social development. Consequently, pupils are increasingly independent in their work.  Leaders and teachers plan activities and visits that proactively challenge stereotypical views. As a result, the older girls continue to further study in a broad range of disciplines, including engineering and medicine.  Pupils’ attitudes and progress in their knowledge and recitation of the Qur’an are strong.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

They recite various surahs with good intonation.  Teachers’ subject knowledge is generally good but further work is needed to improve this in a few subjects, for example in religious education, science and project-based learning.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare requires improvement.  Pupils do not show positive attitudes towards learning in some classes in the primary phase and in a few subjects in the secondary phase. Learning is not planned well enough or adapted to meet pupils’ needs. Consequently, pupils’ concentration wanes and their behaviour deteriorates.  Younger pupils do not always show care for the premises. The introduction of ‘Tarbiyah’, a programme to develop pupils’ understanding of aspects of Islamic practice, is helping to develop pupils’ understanding of the importance of good habits and showing respect.  Teachers and leaders promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well. Older pupils can describe and compare different religions. Pupils are keen to explore other religions and cultures and ask pertinent questions.  Leaders recognise that the older pupils in the secondary phase have not benefited from

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Personal development and welfare

the personal development programme that is now in place for pupils in key stage 3. Leaders have, however, initiated the school’s partnership with the National Citizenship Scheme. This is providing some of these pupils with opportunities to develop their life skills, such as budgeting, team building and personal organisation. Pupils have embraced this opportunity and value it highly.  The school’s work on careers advice and guidance meets the requirements of the ISS. The school takes a graduated approach to careers education from Year 7 through to Year 11. Pupils benefit from visitors who talk about their area of work and through work experience. Placements are related to their career aspirations, for example in phlebotomy and legal practice. Consequently, pupils have a good understanding of the world of work when they leave school.  Inspectors found pupils to be well-mannered and polite towards visitors. Pupils are

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Personal development and welfare

articulate in expressing their views and feel that staff are sensitive to their needs, know each pupil well and treat pupils equally.  Parents who spoke to inspectors or responded to Parent View are pleased with their children’s welfare at school. There are very few complaints, and these are investigated and brought to an acceptable conclusion. A few parents who responded to Parent View commented that communication between school and home is not as strong as they would like. Leaders are aware of this and are working with governors to improve the school website to address this.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils requires improvement.  Attendance remains below the level seen typically nationally. Although this has improved in recent years, too many pupils are still absent on a regular basis. This term, leaders are buying in specialist support to help them in their work with parents to improve pupil attendance.  Behaviour at breaktimes and lunchtimes and in some classes is less positive. Pupils are slow to settle after breaks and some pupils require regular reminders of the school’s expectations of pupil conduct, for example ‘not pushing’. Staff do not consistently implement the school’s behaviour policy and learning is not routinely planned to engage pupils in their learning.  Since the previous inspection, fixed-term exclusions have been high. However, there has been a significant reduction this term. There have been no permanent exclusions since the previous inspection.  Leaders introduced a new approach to behaviour management shortly after the previous

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Behaviour

inspection. This is helping pupils to understand the consequences of their actions and the impact on other members of the school community. Consequently, the number of instances of poor behaviour is reducing steadily.  Punctuality has improved significantly over the past year. Relatively few pupils are now regularly late for school. School staff are determined to reduce this even further and the trajectory of improved punctuality has continued this term.

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

 The progress pupils make across the school is variable. Some pupils, particularly in key stage 2, are still catching up following a legacy of poor-quality teaching and learning for several years. Although pupils in Years 2 to 6, and pupils who are working below the standards expected for their age, are making progress, it is not rapid enough. The strongest progress continues to be seen in the secondary phase.  In 2018, the proportion of Year 6 pupils reaching the standard expected for their age in mathematics was slightly below the national average.  No pupils reached the higher score in writing by the end of key stage 2 in 2018. The quality of writing seen by current pupils is stronger. However, pupils do not have the broad vocabulary to draw on to enhance their writing and their spelling, punctuation and grammar lack precision.  The proportion of pupils meeting the expected standard in phonics by the end of Year 1

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

was well below the national average in 2018. Current pupils are making better progress. This is due to a more systematic approach being taken by teaching staff to ensure that pupils have a secure understanding of initial letter sounds and how to use these sounds to read and spell words.  Low prior attaining pupils in the primary phase do not make the progress they are capable of. Work is often too hard for them and they do not receive the support that they need.  Pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities make slower progress than their classmates. Often, this is due to their higher level of absence. However, these pupils are not supported sufficiently in their academic work to catch up when they return from absence.  Pupils’ attainment at the end of key stage 4 continues to be strong. In many subjects, a large proportion of pupils reach the highest grades. This is particularly the case in history, where almost half of the pupils reached grade 7 or better. From their starting points, this

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

represents strong progress.  In 2018, the proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard by the end of key stage 2 was in line with the provisional national average figures in reading, writing and English grammar, punctuation and spelling.  In the previous academic year, the school entered pupils for the end of key stage 1 tests. The results of these tests show that pupils’ reading comprehension skills and mathematics are strong. However, pupils’ accuracy in the use of punctuation and grammar and their spelling is not as secure. Current pupils in key stage 1 are making good progress; however, the most able pupils are not routinely challenged sufficiently.  Pupils benefit from work experience in areas of employment that interest them, such as criminology, pharmacy, law, engineering and hospitality. When they leave the school, the majority of pupils study A levels at local colleges or undertake apprenticeship.

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Early years provision Requires improvement

 Until recently, the progress children made in the early years was weak. In the past, too few were ready for Year 1. Changes in staffing in the Reception class and a more accurate understanding of what children know, understand and can do is improving the quality of education in the early years. However, teachers do not yet consistently plan learning to ensure that children are appropriately challenged.  Leaders and early years staff have not yet ensured that improvement planning is sufficiently detailed. The changes that have been introduced are not monitored closely enough to ensure that the quality of education in the early years is improving rapidly enough.  Senior leaders have engaged support from the local authority, a neighbouring nursery school and a network of primary schools in the city. This ensures that early years staff who are new in their roles receive the guidance and advice they need. Early years staff

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Early years provision Requires improvement

are passionate and enthusiastic about early education. They make effective use of guidance and support they receive to further enhance their work.  Teachers’ planning does not always give sufficient thought to the needs of learners of different abilities. As a result, some of the most able children make slow progress in writing and mathematics.  Leaders have not ensured that the learning environments in the Reception class and the adjacent outdoor area have been maintained and resourced to a good standard. Consequently, opportunities for children to fully develop their literacy and numeracy knowledge are limited.  Children behave well in the early years. They have settled quickly, follow routines and show care for one another. Staff actively challenge gender stereotypes and ensure that equality of opportunity is promoted.  The proportion of children reaching a good level of development has improved since the

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Early years provision Requires improvement

previous inspection. In 2018, this was above the level seen typically nationally. However, for some, this does not represent good progress as they could already concentrate well, write their name, and recognise numbers to 20 when they joined the school.  Children are safe as a result of training that staff undertake, for example paediatric first aid training. Parents are particularly happy with how well their children have settled.

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School details

This inspection was carried out under section 109(1) and (2) of the Education and Skills Act 2008, the purpose of which is to advise the Secretary of State for Education about the school’s suitability for continued registration as an independent school.

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School details

Proprietor Bristol Islamic Schools Trust

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School details

Date of previous inspection 26–28 September 2017

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Information about this school

 Andalusia Academy is an independent Muslim faith school in St Paul’s, Bristol, operated by the Bristol Islamic Schools Trust. It was registered as a school in 2005. At its previous inspection, in September 2017, the school was graded inadequate.  The school is registered for 336 pupils aged four to 16 years, but there are currently 201 pupils on the roll. Pupils are taught in mixed classes in the primary phase. The school does not admit boys to the secondary phase. Pupils are of Pakistani, Somali and mixed heritages.  Very few pupils have SEN and/or disabilities. One pupil has an education, health and care plan.  The principal took up her post in October 2016. The governance arrangements were changed in December 2017 to provide a single governing body. The former chair of the proprietorial board is the chair of the new governing body.  The school aims to provide a holistic education compatible with Islamic principles and

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Information about this school

practices where pupils can achieve academic excellence within a nurturing, caring and secure Islamic environment.  The school does not use alternative provision.  The school is currently receiving support from Bristol City Council, a neighbouring nursery school and ‘NW24’, a network of schools in the north-west of Bristol.

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Information about this inspection

 The Department for Education commissioned Ofsted to carry out this standard inspection earlier in the cycle than previously planned.  Inspectors observed learning in classrooms jointly with senior leaders. Throughout the inspection, inspectors scrutinised pupils’ work and, where available, pupils’ work from the previous academic year. One inspector listened to some pupils read.  Discussions were held with school leaders, staff, groups of pupils, two parents, and three members of the governing body. A separate discussion was held with the chair of the governing body, in his role as proprietor.  Inspectors looked at the school’s documentation, including policies, registers, records and the reports by members of the governing body. They also considered a range of documentation in relation to child protection, safeguarding, behaviour and attendance. In addition, an inspector undertook a tour of the premises.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors took account of seven responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View, including a small number of free-text responses. Inspectors also spoke with several parents during the inspection.  No responses were received to Ofsted’s questionnaire for staff. However, inspectors spoke with most members of staff during the inspection.

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Inspection team

Iain Freeland, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Jen Southall Her Majesty’s 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

Parent View 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

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Inspection team

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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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