International Academy of Greenwich

International Academy of Greenwich 21 Meadowcourt Road, 1st Floor King’s Church, London SE3 9DU

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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 Not previously inspected

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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

 The school has suffered from various setbacks since it opened in 2016. Changes in senior leadership, high staff turnover and delays in planning permission for the new building have had a negative impact.  Despite recent work to raise standards, the quality of teaching, learning and assessment is inconsistent. As a result, pupils’ progress across the school is variable. Progress is particularly weak in mathematics and French, where pupils have had frequent changes in staff.  The provision for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) requires improvement. Pupils do not receive consistently effective support that takes full account of their individual needs.  Parents, carers and pupils have mixed views of the school. For example, some pupils feel that they do not have the same opportunities as other pupils to go on school trips.  Governors do not hold leaders sharply to account for how additional funding is spent.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

They do not rigorously evaluate the impact of the pupil premium funding or the Year 7 catch- up funding. Pupils in receipt of this funding do not make sustained progress.  Pupils do not demonstrate consistently positive attitudes to their learning. They become distracted from their work when lessons do not interest them. A small minority of pupils display disrespectful behaviour. Fixed-term exclusions are high.  New leaders have put in place a number of new systems and procedures this year. Many of these are not yet embedded and it is too early to see the full impact on school improvement.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Leaders’ actions to improve attendance have been successful. Attendance is high and persistent absence has reduced significantly.  The school joined a new trust in September 2018. Trustees and governors bring experience and expertise to the leadership team. School leaders and staff share their aspirational vision.  Behaviour around the school building is calm and orderly. Pupils feel safe in school and are well supervised.  In some subject areas, such as English, art, German and Spanish, teaching over time is good. Pupils are engaged in their lessons and make strong progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching and learning so that it is consistently good by: – recruiting and retaining high-quality staff – planning and delivering activities which motivate and challenge pupils to try their best – ensuring that teachers have the skills needed to apply the new assessment policy effectively – improving pupils’ progress in mathematics and French – setting work which enables all pupils to make strong progress from their different starting points, including pupils of lower and middle ability.  Improve the quality of leadership and management by ensuring that: – the quality of SEND provision improves so that pupils receive good support that is tailored to individuals and based on accurate and rigorous assessment of their needs – new systems and procedures are securely embedded across the school – governors evaluate the impact of additional funding and ensure that it has a positive impact on pupils’ progress

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

– further action is taken to reduce the number of fixed-term exclusions – all pupils have equal opportunities to attend school trips – pupils’ attitudes to learning improve and all members of staff are suitably trained to deal effectively with any incidents of challenging behaviour.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

 The school has undergone a period of turbulence since it opened in September 2016. Frequent changes in staffing, unstable leadership and delays in moving to a permanent site have affected the school and its community.  Leaders and governors have not secured a good standard of education for pupils. Actions that have been put in place by new leaders have not yet resulted in consistently good teaching, learning and assessment. Many new systems and strategies to improve the school have yet to be embedded. Leaders have a realistic view of the school’s overall performance and need more time to address its weaknesses.  The provision for pupils with SEND has been weak. Leaders did not accurately assess pupils’ needs when they joined the school and pupils did not receive effective support. This year, leaders have made improvements. Pupils with education, health and care (EHC) plans now receive the personalised support they need. However, leaders have much

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

more work to do to ensure that pupils with SEN support have their varying needs met.  Year 7 catch-up funding is not used effectively to support pupils who start at the school with low literacy levels. Interventions have recently begun, but these pupils do not make good progress in their reading. As a result, they often have difficulty accessing the curriculum.  Leaders’ use of pupil premium funding is not having the intended impact on pupils’ progress. While the most able disadvantaged pupils are making strong progress, low- and middle-ability pupils are not.  Leaders have developed an innovative curriculum based on the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme. This gives pupils the opportunity to study a broad range of subjects, developing valuable skills and knowledge to prepare them as ‘global citizens’. The curriculum approach is not yet fully successful across the school. Pupils understand the development of personal traits at the heart of the programme,

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

but do not have secure skills and knowledge across the curriculum.  The curriculum is enhanced by various trips and activities. Pupils enjoy the ‘Extended Time’ each week, when they choose an activity such as martial arts, student leadership or additional language study. Pupils can also take part in schemes such as The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award and Youth Travel Ambassador. However, some pupils say that they do not have the same opportunities as other pupils to attend a school trip.  Leaders have introduced careers guidance for pupils this year. This has helped Year 9 pupils with their GCSE options. Leaders are now aware that a statutory requirement for independent careers guidance has not been met. Plans are in place to work with colleges to ensure that pupils have access to information about academic and non- academic courses.  Leaders promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well. This is

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

threaded through the curriculum. Pupils learn what it means to be a good citizen and they regularly take part in fundraising events and celebrate festivals from a range of faiths and cultures. Discussions in ‘advisory group’ time, assemblies and celebration events help to prepare pupils for life in modern Britain.  Middle leaders are enthusiastic and share the vision of senior leaders. Many are new in role. They have benefited recently from focused support and training from senior leaders, including from the trust. This has helped them to improve their leadership skills, including the use of assessment and holding staff to account.  Members of staff, including those new to the teaching profession, feel well supported. They enjoy working at the school and believe in the school’s ethos. Senior leaders provide regular guidance to teachers through whole-school training and personalised support. Increasingly, members of staff have been able to share good practice with

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

other schools, both within and outside of the trust.

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Governance of the school

 The school joined a newly formed trust in September 2018. Some of the trustees have been involved with the school since it first opened. While they are supportive of the school, governors have not consistently helped to drive improvement. Governors are not fully aware of how additional funding is spent and have not held school leaders sufficiently to account for this.  A local governing body was formed in September 2018, including a new chair of governors. Governors bring a wealth of educational experience and knowledge to the school. They have sought external evaluation of the school from a range of sources, which has sharpened their understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses.  Governors understand the challenges facing the school. They have helped to introduce many of the new initiatives this year. They are ambitious for the school. Governors have tried to improve relationships with parents, who have been frustrated at the lack

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Governance of the school

of progress in securing a permanent site as well as with some aspects of provision.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.  Pupils feel safe at school. Posters around school mean that pupils and staff know whom to go to if there are any concerns. Parents agree that their children are secure and well looked after by staff. Leaders make sure that pupils know how to stay safe online and make parents aware of e-safety.  Leaders deliver regular and up-to-date safeguarding training for all staff. Members of staff know how to identify symptoms of a possible safeguarding issue. They follow school procedures and ensure that any concerns are logged promptly so that swift and effective action is taken.  Leaders understand local risks to pupils and make sure that pupils learn about keeping themselves safe, both in and outside of school. High staff supervision at the end of the school day, for example, reassures pupils and they are encouraged to go home promptly.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

 The quality of teaching is inconsistent. Pockets of good teaching exist around the school, but as one pupil said, ‘it just depends on the teacher.’  Teachers do not have consistently high expectations of pupils and do not always motivate them to do their best. They set tasks for pupils of different abilities that can lack challenge and/or interest, particularly for middle- and low-ability pupils. Pupils often ‘switch off’ and do not try hard.  Frequent changes in teaching staff have had a negative impact on pupils’ progress. In some subject areas, notably mathematics and French, pupils have had a variety of teachers. Teaching sometimes demonstrates weaknesses in knowledge and understanding of the pupils, what they already know and what they need to do to improve. Pupils sometimes repeat work they have already done with another teacher.  Support for pupils with SEND is not good enough. Teaching assistants who work with

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

individual pupils with an EHC plan provide specific support to help them work independently and access the curriculum. However, for the pupils identified as SEN support, teachers are still unsure of how to meet their needs and do not tailor work effectively. These pupils often struggle to complete tasks set and do not make secure progress.  Leaders have developed a new assessment system this year which aligns the Middle Years Programme with GCSE criteria. Teachers are increasingly confident in using this, but it is not yet embedded. This means that teachers and leaders are not always secure in identifying what constitutes strong progress. Leaders have already taken action to improve and simplify the assessment system for the next academic year.  Teachers generally have strong subject knowledge. In subjects such as English, German, Spanish, art and science, teachers use their knowledge to push pupils to think

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

hard. They check pupils’ understanding regularly and reshape questions and explanations so that pupils grasp challenging concepts.  Pupils can often apply skills and knowledge they have learned across different subjects. For example, pupils in Year 8 knew about effective sentence structures from their English lessons and used this in a history research task.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare requires improvement.  Pupils do not consistently demonstrate positive attitudes to their learning. They do not show a thirst for learning and are often disengaged in lessons. A number of pupils express negative views about the school.  A few pupils are concerned about bullying. They say that it happens, and although staff try and deal with it, the bullying continues. A small minority of pupils express openly homophobic views. Leaders are aware of these issues and are tackling them.  The majority of pupils are respectful and appreciate the diversity within their school and society as a whole. They enjoy events such as ‘Diversity Week’, where pupils bought ribbons to show support for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.  Pupils are keen to take on roles of responsibility. Newly appointed prefects help younger pupils, such as at the recent transition day for Year 6 pupils. School council

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Personal development and welfare

members are elected to represent their classmates. They take an active role in the school, such as preparing assemblies and organising charity events.  Pupils enjoy the diversity of sports and activities on offer in their weekly physical education lessons. Leaders and staff successfully promote the importance of physical well-being.  The school has recently made more resources available to support pupils’ mental health. Pupils now have access to a school counsellor, as well as the school nurse, to talk through any concerns.  Some pupils clearly want to do well. They try hard and show a mature and thoughtful approach to their learning.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils requires improvement. Many pupils display off-task behaviour in lessons and there is often low-level disruption. This is particularly evident when work does not interest or engage them.  Fixed-term exclusions are consistently high. Leaders are working to reduce these. However, many pupils who have been excluded are vulnerable pupils with specific behavioural and emotional needs. Staff do not have sufficient knowledge or skills to deal with these pupils effectively. Limited resources and physical space have compounded the problem.  Attendance has improved and is in line with the national average. Leaders work closely with pastoral staff to ensure that any absence concerns are picked up quickly and dealt with.  Behaviour around the school between lessons and at break and lunchtimes is orderly. Pupils know what is expected of them at these times and they respond well.

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

 The progress made by pupils is variable as a result of the inconsistent quality of teaching, learning and assessment.  Pupils do not make strong progress in mathematics. Year 9 pupils are not well prepared for the rigours of GCSE. Pupils do not have a secure grasp of fundamental mathematical knowledge and concepts. This hinders their progress as they cannot build on prior learning.  Outcomes for key groups of pupils are not consistently strong. Pupils with SEND typically do not receive the additional support and interventions they need to address gaps in their learning. This is also true for those disadvantaged pupils who need support to overcome barriers to learning.  Languages are promoted widely across the school. All pupils study at least one language, and many pupils, especially those who speak English as an additional language, study several languages. Outcomes in Spanish and German are strong.

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

However, progress in French is much weaker.  Pupils who enter the school with low levels of literacy still struggle to read fluently and access texts.  However, for most pupils, work in books shows strong progress in English over time. Pupils can analyse texts in detail, and they develop an appreciation of different genres. Their literacy skills are well developed as a result of good teaching.  The most able pupils make secure progress in a range of subjects. They have good literacy and numeracy skills in general, and they often complete extension tasks independently. The curriculum suits their needs well.

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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 Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 The International Academy of Greenwich opened in September 2016 with its first intake of Year 7 pupils. Currently, there are three classes in Years 7 and 9, and four classes in Year 8. The school will continue to grow each year until there are pupils in Years 7 to 11 and students in the 16 to 19 provision.  The school has occupied a temporary site since opening. The school has had long delays in gaining planning permission for a new build on a permanent site. At the time of inspection, the school was still waiting for this. As a result of the limited space available, the school has been forced to reduce the number of admissions.  The school makes use of local sporting facilities for physical education lessons.  The school joined The Big Education Trust in September 2018. The governance structure includes trust members and a local governing body for each school within the trust.  The proportion of pupils with SEND is above the national average.

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Information about this school

 The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is above average.  The school makes use of four alternative providers: Right Choice Independent Special School, Full Circle Education, Pulse and Water College and Wize Up Independent School.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors visited lessons and teaching sessions across a range of curriculum areas. All of these visits were conducted with members of the senior leadership team.  Inspectors held meetings with the headteacher and the joint chief executive officers. They also met with members of the leadership team and with teaching staff. Inspectors held a meeting with governors, including the chair of the local governing body.  Inspectors held discussions with groups of pupils in Years 7 to 9. They also spoke to pupils during lesson visits and around the school. Inspectors looked at work in pupils’ books and spoke to pupils to review their learning over time.  Inspectors reviewed a range of documentation provided by the school, including assessment information, the school’s self-evaluation and development plans, external reviews of the school and safeguarding documentation.  Inspectors considered the 68 responses to the online survey, Parent View, and two

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Information about this inspection

free-text comments. They also took account of the 40 responses to the questionnaire for pupils and the 18 responses to the staff survey.

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Inspection team

Jude Wilson, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Vikram Gukhool 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

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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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