Imedia School

School progress monitoring inspection report

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Faraday Court, Birmingham, 85 Summer Road, Erdington B23 6UT

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Main inspection findings

Part 1. Quality of education provided Paragraphs 3, 3(a), 3(c), 3(d) and 3(g)  At the time of the last full inspection in April 2018, the headteacher and proprietor did not ensure that the quality of teaching and learning was good enough to meet the needs of all pupils. Not enough was done by teachers to check pupils’ understanding. As a result, work was not challenging enough for the most able pupils. Similarly, pupils who required additional support were not making as much progress as they should. The school’s monitoring of teaching and learning was not effective enough to secure improvements. Teachers did not use information from assessment well enough and pupils were not making enough progress.  After the school’s action plan was judged to be unacceptable, the school sought and acted upon independent advice from a consultant. A full review of the school’s progress was undertaken, resulting in a revised and detailed action plan with clearly measurable

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Main inspection findings

targets, enabling the school to evaluate the effectiveness of its actions in addressing weaknesses. This revised action plan has been instrumental in the school now meeting all the independent school standards.  Leaders provide training and support for staff to improve the quality of teaching and learning. Leaders regularly monitor the effectiveness of teaching and its impact on learning and the outcomes achieved by pupils.  Teachers now use assessment information to plan learning that meets the needs of their pupils. They take account of what pupils already know and can do and use appropriately planned activities to build on their current knowledge. Teachers regularly check that pupils understand what is expected of them. Pupils know their targets and can explain what they have to do to improve their work. Effective feedback from staff helps pupils to make improvements and to increase their understanding and skills. Currently, pupils

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Main inspection findings

make strong progress across the curriculum.  Teachers systematically check that pupils understand what is expected of them. They use questioning effectively to challenge the thinking of pupils, encouraging them to reflect on their progress. Activities and tasks are quickly re-shaped when necessary to provide appropriate challenge. Teachers make sure that pupils’ knowledge and skills are secure before they move them on to new learning.  At the time of the last inspection, the teaching of mathematics did not sufficiently challenge the most able learners or provide appropriate support to enable lower attainers to make sufficient progress.  Pupils now have regular opportunities to engage with challenging problem-solving tasks and activities, and to apply their mathematical skills. Well-directed support enables lower attaining pupils to increase their knowledge and understanding and to apply their mathematical skills effectively. They describe the difficulty of work as being, ‘just right –

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Main inspection findings

it makes you think’.  Time in lessons is well spent. Relationships are built on trust and respect and pupils help and support one another. This results in a positive learning environment and underpins pupils’ learning experiences. Pupils are resilient, and their behaviour and attitudes to learning are positive.  Leaders have high aspirations for all groups of pupils. The headteacher reviews pupils’ progress every two weeks. This information is used to identify pupils who are at risk of falling behind. Interventions, including one-to-one support, are timely and appropriate. As a result of this targeted work, pupils can catch up and improve their learning. Teachers have high expectations of pupils. They provide the most able with additional challenge across the curriculum. As a result, most pupils make strong progress from their individual starting points.  These standards are now met.

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Main inspection findings

Part 3. Welfare, health and safety of pupils Paragraphs 7, 7(a) and 7(b)  At the time of the previous inspection, these standards were judged to be met. However, omissions in the safeguarding and child protection policy were noted when the school’s action plan was evaluated. The headteacher has tackled these weaknesses decisively.  Safeguarding is effective. The school’s safeguarding policy meets current requirements and reflects the latest guidance issued by the Secretary of State.  There are clear safeguarding processes in place. As a result, all staff are aware of their responsibilities when it comes to the safety and welfare of their pupils.  These standards are met.

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Main inspection findings

Part 6. Provision of information Paragraphs 32(1) and 32(1)(c)  These standards were judged to be met at the time of the previous inspection. However, the school’s action plan evaluation referred to them because it was necessary to improve the safeguarding and child protection policy.  The school’s current safeguarding policy reflects the latest statutory guidance and is published on the school’s website.  These standards are met.

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Main inspection findings

Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools Paragraphs 34(1), 34(1)(a) and 34(1)(b)  During the last full inspection in April 2018, it was found that the proprietor did not ensure that all of the independent school standards were met.  The headteacher has taken the recommendations made at the time of the previous inspection seriously and has worked diligently to address the identified areas of weakness. Regular monitoring of the quality of the school’s work is undertaken by leaders. All aspects of teaching and learning are scrutinised, with feedback to staff to support improvement.  Leaders undertake regular lesson observations and check pupils’ work and the progress they are making. Leaders work effectively with teachers to identify, and to support, appropriate improvement targets.  Teachers are well supported to improve their teaching through the provision of effective training and sharing the good practice of colleagues. This has improved weaker teaching

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Main inspection findings

and addressed inconsistencies in the teaching of mathematics.  These standards are now met.

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

The school meets the requirements of the schedule to the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014 (‘the independent school standards’) and associated requirements that were checked during this inspection. This included the standards and requirements that the school was judged to not comply with at the previous inspection. Not all of the standards and associated requirements were checked during this inspection.

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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

Telephone number 0121 448 1727 07951 436623 Website www.imediaschool.co.uk

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School details

Email address hussein@imediaschool.co.uk

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School details

Date of previous standard inspection 24–26 April 2018

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Information about this school

 Imedia School provides education for pupils between the ages of 14 and 16 and is registered by the Department for Education (DfE) to accommodate up to 40 pupils. It operates on a single site in Erdington, Birmingham.  The school does not use alternative provision or any other sites.  Pupils are directed to the school by the local authority and local secondary schools. There are currently 10 pupils attending the school.  Pupils attending Imedia School typically have a range of social, emotional and mental health difficulties and many have either been excluded, or are at risk of exclusion, from their previous setting. No pupils have an education, health and care plan.  The school aims to address the individual social, emotional and learning needs of its pupils by developing their self-esteem and teaching them to make appropriate choices to enable them to re-integrate into school or continue to further education or employment.

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Information about this school

 Pupils come from a range of social, cultural, ethnic and religious backgrounds. The school does not have a specific religious character or denomination.  The school aims to deliver functional skills and GCSE courses. It was first registered by the DfE in May 2017.

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Information about this inspection

 This unannounced inspection was carried out at the request of the registration authority for independent schools. The purpose of the inspection was to monitor the progress the school had made in meeting the independent school standards and other requirements that it was judged to not comply with at its previous inspection. This was the first monitoring inspection since the last full inspection.  The school was last inspected in April 2018, when it was judged to require improvement. Several independent school standards in relation to the quality of teaching and learning and leadership and management were judged to be unmet.  The school submitted an action plan outlining its proposals to address the unmet standards. The action plan was evaluated in September 2018 and judged to be unacceptable. The evaluation also referred to further unmet standards that related to the welfare, health and safety of pupils.

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Information about this inspection

 During this inspection, several key policies were examined, including policies for safeguarding and child protection, teaching and learning and assessment, and recording and reporting. In addition, the school’s assessment information was scrutinised with the headteacher.  Meetings were held with the headteacher, who is also the proprietor, and included discussions about the monitoring of teaching and learning. The school’s progress since the previous inspection was also discussed.  The headteacher and the inspector jointly observed teaching in an English lesson. The inspector also spoke with pupils and staff.  The inspector and the headteacher scrutinised work in pupils’ books across the age groups in English and mathematics. In view of issues raised at the previous inspection, particular attention was paid to pupils’ work in mathematics.

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Inspection team

Michael Onyon, lead inspector 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

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 visitwww.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

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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.ofsted.gov.uk

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