The Giles Academy

Inspection of The Giles Academy Church Lane, Old Leake, Boston, Lincolnshire PE22 9LD

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Overall effectiveness Inadequate

The quality of education Inadequate Behaviour and attitudes Inadequate Personal development Requires improvement Leadership and management Inadequate Sixth-form provision Inadequate Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement 26–27 November 2019

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What is it like to attend this school?

Some pupils do not feel safe at the school. Many are not proud of their school. Too often, pupils are disruptive. The behaviour of some pupils interferes with and stops others learning. Senior leaders and teachers do not deal with poor behaviour consistently. Pupils say that behaviour has deteriorated in the last few terms.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Many teachers do not have high enough expectations of what pupils can do and achieve. Pupils are not challenged by their learning. They do not learn well enough in many subjects and do not achieve as well as they should. However, they learn well and enjoy art, photography and graphics work. Pupils’ work and successes in these subjects are displayed throughout the building.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Many pupils say that there is often anti-social behaviour at breaktime and lunchtime. They also say that pupils are bullied. Some do not feel confident enough to tell a member of staff. This is because they do not believe staff will deal with it quickly and effectively.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Many pupils benefit from the opportunities provided through The Giles Adventure programme. However, pupils who spoke with inspectors were negative about their experiences of school life.

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better?

Senior leaders lack the capacity to improve the school. They do not recognise the extent of the school’s weaknesses. Their view of the school is too generous. The school’s improvement plan is not strategically thought through. Leaders have not focused on the right priorities.

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better?

Governors have been too reliant on what senior leaders tell them. They have not challenged leaders to improve behaviour and the quality of education. However, they have improved the school’s financial situation. They do not hold senior leaders to account well enough for their decisions and actions.

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better?

Leaders have not fulfilled their statutory responsibilities. They have not established a secure and effective culture of safeguarding.

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better?

The quality of education is not good enough. Senior leaders have not developed a curriculum that is broad enough to meet the needs of all pupils. Leaders have set the national curriculum as the foundation for what teachers should teach. However, the two-year key stage 3 curriculum means that pupils do not have the necessary knowledge and skills to be well prepared for their key stage 4 courses. 26–27 November 2019

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Many subject leaders have not been supported to develop ambitious curriculum plans. They have not considered what pupils should learn and when they should learn it. As a result, pupils underachieve.

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Leaders do not ensure that teachers address the barriers faced by disadvantaged pupils. Teachers have low expectations of what these pupils can do and achieve. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) do not achieve well enough because teachers do not meet their needs in the classroom well enough.

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Leaders do not have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour. Staff do not implement the behaviour policy effectively and consistently. There are too many occasions of poor behaviour. Lessons are repeatedly disrupted by poor behaviour Many pupils told inspectors about the negative effect that poor behaviour has on their learning.

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Too few pupils learn to improve their behaviour. Incidents of poor behaviour and fixed-term exclusions have increased. A high proportion of the pupils who are excluded are disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND.

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Too many pupils do not value their education and are regularly absent. Leaders have not taken effective steps to improve pupils’ attendance.

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Leaders are developing a programme to support pupils’ personal development. For example, pupils learn about healthy lifestyles and relationships. They learn how to be safe and to understand various risks to their well-being. Pupils are challenged to think about moral issues. Some pupils choose to take part in a range of extra- curricular opportunities.

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Expectations of sixth-form students are no different to pupils in the main school. Teachers’ expectations are not high enough and students underachieve. Too many students do not value their education and choose not to attend regularly. They do not feel that they receive consistently strong advice about careers and their future options. They are ill-prepared for the next stages in their education and employment.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective.

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Safeguarding

Some pupils say that they do not always feel safe in the school. Very few parents completed the online survey, but over a quarter of those who did so indicated that their children do not feel safe in the school. Some staff expressed the same view.

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Safeguarding

Safeguarding leaders know pupils well. Inspectors saw some examples of how they work with external agencies to support pupils. Leaders have not ensured that all safeguarding records are precise and complete. Files are disorganised. These records do not meet the expectations set out in the school’s safeguarding policy and statutory guidance. It is not always clear that leaders have taken the right action in response to safeguarding concerns. 26–27 November 2019

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Leaders have not ensured that attendance records are accurately maintained. This poses a safeguarding concern, in that leaders cannot account for the presence of all pupils at all times, including students in the sixth form.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Leaders and governors have not ensured that the school’s safeguarding arrangements are secure. There are too many weaknesses that leave pupils potentially unsafe. Leaders and governors need to fulfil their responsibilities, establish effective systems and embed a secure culture of safeguarding.  Leaders do not have a clearly understood, ambitious intent for the curriculum. Pupils experience a poor quality of education, because curriculum planning and delivery are weak. Governors need to develop capacity in the leadership of the curriculum and implement a broad and effective curriculum for pupils in Years 7 to 9. They need to ensure that the curriculum is ambitious for all pupils and meets their needs.  Very few subjects have a well-planned curriculum. Subject leaders have not been guided and supported to implement an effective curriculum in their subjects. Leaders should ensure that every subject has an ambitious and challenging

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

curriculum that enables all pupils to build their knowledge and skills sequentially.  Leaders have presided over a culture of poor attendance, low expectation and low aspiration. Pupils have gaps in their knowledge that the current curriculum does not address. Teachers accept poor work and behaviour too readily. As a result, too many pupils underachieve. Leaders need to make sure that all teachers have high expectations of what pupils can do and achieve, deal with poor behaviour consistently, and challenge pupils to know more and remember more in every subject. They should work with parents and carers to challenge and support them to ensure that their children attend school regularly.  The curriculum is not adapted well enough for pupils with SEND. Teachers do not always have the information they need to support these pupils effectively. As a result, many pupils with SEND underachieve. Leaders should make sure that all

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

teachers support pupils with SEND to fulfil their potential.  Leaders have not used additional funding effectively to ensure that disadvantaged pupils attend well and experience a curriculum that enables them to succeed. Leaders and governors must fulfil their statutory duties and ensure that they use funding to improve disadvantaged pupils’ attendance and the quality of their learning.  There is limited capacity to improve the school. Standards have declined since the previous inspection. Governors should fulfil their responsibilities and hold senior leaders to account effectively. Senior leaders must accurately evaluate the school’s weaknesses and strategically plan to improve the school. 26–27 November 2019

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 Sixth-form students underachieve and too many do not attend school regularly enough. These pupils are not prepared well for the next stage of their education or employment. Governors and leaders should ensure that students are taught well and receive the support and guidance they need to be appropriately prepared for their next steps.  It is recommended that the school does not appoint newly qualified teachers.

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How can I feedback 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 feedback my views?

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

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How can I feedback my views?

If you’re 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. 26–27 November 2019

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School details

Inspection number 10110048 Type of school Secondary Modern (non-selective)

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sixth form

Date of previous inspection 11–12 July 2017

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Information about this school

 The number of pupils on roll has decreased. A large number of pupils have left the school over the last school year.

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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

In accordance with section 44(1) of the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that this school requires special measures because it is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the persons responsible for leading, managing or governing the school are not demonstrating the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school. 26–27 November 2019

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 We met with the headteacher and senior leaders. The lead inspector met three members of the board of trustees, including the chair of governors.  We focused in depth on science, art, English and history. We also looked at a range of other subjects on the second day of the inspection.  We visited 43 lessons, many with a senior leader. We looked at pupils’ work and spoke with pupils. We met with subject leaders and class teachers.  We met with the designated safeguarding leader and looked at safeguarding records. We also met with the special educational needs coordinator.  We met with groups of pupils to talk about the quality of education and other aspects of school life. We also met with a group of teaching and support staff.  We reviewed a range of documents. We looked at the school’s website, a range of policies, risk assessments, the academy improvement plan, the self-evaluation form and published information about the school’s performance.

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 We attended an assembly and observed pupils at lunchtime and breaktime.  We considered the views of 46 parents who completed the Ofsted Parent View survey, as well as the 28 text responses received. We considered the 39 responses to Ofsted’s staff questionnaire. We also considered the 34 responses to Ofsted’s pupil survey.

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Inspection team

Chris Davies, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Jackie Thornalley Ofsted Inspector 26–27 November 2019

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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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