Cedar Mount Academy

Inspection of Cedar Mount Academy Gorton Education Village, 50 Wembley Road, Gorton, Greater Manchester M18 7DT

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Requires improvement Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Previous inspection grade Requires improvement 15–16 January 2020

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What is it like to attend this school?

Cedar Mount Academy is improving strongly. Leaders have a clear and ambitious strategy which has pupils’ best interests at its heart. Some of the improvements that leaders have put in place have made a real difference to the quality of pupils’ education.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school is rooted in the local community. It is like a family. Adults in the school genuinely care about the well-being and safety of pupils. Pupils said that they feel safe when they are in school. The school celebrates the diverse cultures of its pupils. Pupils respect each other’s differences. The environment in school is caring and free from prejudice.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Classrooms are calm and orderly places to learn. Most pupils behave well, although some pupils are unruly and noisy during social times. This affects the mood in the school outside of lessons. When incidents of bullying occur, teachers deal with these well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy a wide range of activities outside the classroom. These include trips to places such as Amsterdam and Liverpool.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Expectations for all pupils are now high. This has not been the case in the past. Too many pupils have left Year 11 without making the progress that they should have. Although improving, there is more to do to make sure pupils benefit from a good quality of education.

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better?

Many improvements have been made in the school since the previous inspection. Leaders, including governors and trustees, are ambitious for all pupils to succeed. Their aim is for pupils to become ‘the best version of themselves’. For example, in the school’s onsite alternative provision, ‘The Bridge’, leaders ensure that vulnerable and challenging pupils receive a strong curriculum.

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better?

Governors and trustees have ensured that leadership at all levels is strong. Leaders are in a better position to be able to improve the school. They are less reliant on external support.

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better?

A weak curriculum in recent years meant that too many pupils left Year 11 with lower than average GCSE grades in a range of subjects. Pupils were not well prepared for the next stage of their education. Leaders are in the process of renewing the curriculum to ensure that it is ambitious for everyone. In key stage 3, pupils now study a broader range of subjects. The curriculum is well planned to help pupils build their knowledge over time. That said, these changes are fairly recent. It is a little too early to see the difference that this new curriculum is making to pupils’ achievement in different subjects. 15–16 January 2020

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Not all teachers understand how best to teach the new curriculum. They do not always make sure that pupils gain the important knowledge that they need. This is particularly the case in English. Not enough thought has been given to planning the English curriculum in a logical order. In key stage 3, pupils do not have the opportunity to study a range of novels in sufficient depth.

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Leaders and teachers have high expectations of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). These pupils follow the same school curriculum as all pupils. Even so, too many pupils with SEND are absent from school. This hampers their achievement. Despite leaders’ best efforts, pupils’ attendance is not good enough.

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Teachers care for the pupils. As one pupil said, ‘It is heart-warming what the teachers will do for you, because they do more than they need to for their jobs.’

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The school develops pupils well as young citizens. There is a strong programme to support pupils’ personal development. Pupils take part in a broad range of clubs and opportunities to enhance their learning and experience of the world. The emphasis on pupils’ social and moral development creates well-rounded young people. Pupils from the school contribute well to their local community.

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The majority of pupils behave well and show positive attitudes to learning. The school behaviour management system is well used in lessons so that learning is mostly uninterrupted. There is still a way to go to improve the behaviour of some pupils outside of lessons. Too many pupils behave in an unruly, inconsiderate manner at breaktimes and lunchtimes. This can include pushing, shoving and boisterous behaviour.

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Safeguarding

T he arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Adults in school go above and beyond to support vulnerable pupils and keep them safe. A large team of well-trained adults supports pupils with their well-being and safety. Support for pupils with mental health issues is a particular strength of the school.

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Safeguarding

Teachers act quickly to keep pupils safe. They work well with other agencies. Pupils learn how to live safe lives. The Bridge is particularly successful in keeping the most vulnerable and challenging pupils safe.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Pupils are not achieving well enough in English. The curriculum is not well planned. This does not help teachers to deliver knowledge in a logical order. This means that pupils do not learn as well as they should. Leaders should strengthen 15–16 January 2020

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the English curriculum to enable all pupils to know more, remember more and achieve well in this subject.  There are inconsistencies across and within subjects in the implementation of the new curriculum. There is variation in how well teachers’ planning enables pupils to learn the intended curriculum content. This prevents some pupils from building up their knowledge over time. Leaders should ensure that the renewed curriculum is understood fully by all teachers and delivered consistently well across different subjects.  Some pupils’ behaviour outside of lessons is unruly and inconsiderate. There are too many occasions during breaktime, lunchtime and change of lessons when pupils do not conduct themselves well, for example by shouting, being unruly or pushing into others. As a result, the climate in the school outside of lessons is less positive than it is in lessons. This means that teachers have to re-establish

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positive attitudes to learning in lessons after unstructured time. Leaders must ensure that the behaviour of pupils in unstructured time improves and supports a positive, respectful school culture.  Although some improvements have been made, pupils’ attendance is not good enough. This is particularly the case for pupils with SEND. As a result, too many pupils lose learning time, which creates gaps in their knowledge. Leaders must continue to take action to ensure that all pupils attend school regularly.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use Ofsted Parent View information when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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How can I feed back my views?

If you are the school and you are not happy with the inspection or the report, you can complain to Ofsted .

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

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. 15–16 January 2020

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School details

Inspection number 10110908 Type of school Secondary comprehensive

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Website www.cedarmount.manchester.sch.uk/

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Date of previous inspection 4–5 July 2017, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 A new principal took up his post in January 2019.  The school has four pupils currently attending alternative provision. Pupils also attend The Bridge, an onsite provision.

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Information about this inspection

We carried out this inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this inspection

 We held meetings with the principal, and senior and subject leaders. We also met with the chief executive officer (CEO) of the trust, the director of the Alliance for Learning Teaching School and the chair of the local governing body.  We held telephone conversations with a representative from the local authority.  We checked on safeguarding documentation, including the school’s appointment checks on staff.  We considered the views of the 107 pupils and the 46 staff who responded to Ofsted’s online surveys. We also considered the views expressed by parents and 15–16 January 2020

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carers in the 52 responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View, including the comments received via the free-text facility.  We spoke with groups of pupils to gather their views, particularly on behaviour and safety.  In considering the quality of education, we looked in depth at English, mathematics, modern foreign languages and history. We met with subject leaders, pupils and teaching staff, visited lessons and looked at pupils’ work.

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Inspection team

David Hampson, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Anne Seneviratne Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Nell Banfield Ofsted Inspector 15–16 January 2020

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regulates and inspects to 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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