Edward Worlledge Ormiston Academy

Inspection of Edward Worlledge Ormiston Academy Suffolk Road, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk NR31 0ER

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Overall effectiveness Inadequate

The quality of education Inadequate Behaviour and attitudes Requires improvement Personal development Good Leadership and management Inadequate Early years provision Requires improvement Previous inspection grade Not previously inspected as an academy 8–9 January 2020

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders do not provide pupils with an adequate quality of education. The curriculum is poorly planned. Until recently, pupils have not been taught how to read, write or use numeracy skills well enough. Pupils do not learn well enough in science, humanities and physical education because these subjects are not planned or taught well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have rapidly improved behaviour. Most pupils follow the school’s ‘five rules’ and conduct themselves well. They say that behaviour in some lessons could be better if a few pupils did not disrupt the learning of others. Leaders have also ensured that attendance is rising, but a small minority of pupils are regularly absent.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils wear their uniforms and their badges with pride. They accept responsibility as prefects, peer learners, house captains, eco-warriors and reader leaders. Staff go out of their way to provide them with a wide range of extra activities to enrich their learning and increase their enjoyment of school. Parents value the many after-school clubs provided.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pastoral care is good. Pupils from different backgrounds and with different needs are welcomed into school. Pupils eagerly accept responsibility as prefects, leaders and house captains. Pupils say school is friendly and safe. They feel free from bullying. Pupils talked enthusiastically about residential visits provided for them.

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better?

New leaders inherited a number of weaknesses that have proved difficult to resolve. In the past, the headteacher has not had enough support and challenge from the academy trust to make prompt improvements. This has now changed. Leaders show a shared, clear vision and a greater sense of urgency to secure improvement. Strengthened governance and much more support from the trust, and further planned support from a national leader of education, provide the school with the capacity to improve.

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better?

Low results in recent years have made improving pupils’ learning and progress in reading and mathematics the school’s top priority. This work has begun here, but the wider curriculum remains underdeveloped.

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better?

The curriculum does not provide pupils with a firm grounding in essential literacy and numeracy skills. Pupils have significant gaps in their knowledge, skills and understanding. A new core curriculum introduced this year is leading to improvement. This is at an early stage of development.

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better?

Leaders are prioritising improvements to pupils’ literacy and numeracy. New subject leaders are overseeing improvements in reading and mathematics. Regular training and opportunities for staff to plan jointly are enabling them to improve their teaching. Elsewhere, most other subjects remain underdeveloped. Subject leaders 8–9 January 2020

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have not had sufficient time to prepare resources, provide training or monitor how effectively their subjects are taught.

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Until recently, school leaders, including those responsible for governance, have been slow to respond to the school’s underperformance. Monitoring has not been effective in ensuring that teaching enables all pupils to learn well enough. Governors and the trust have routinely monitored the school’s work, but this has not been robust enough to hold leaders fully accountable for making improvements.

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Leaders do not ensure that pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those pupils known to be disadvantaged receive the help they need to achieve as well as they should. The achievement and welfare of these pupils are not sufficiently prioritised. Action is being taken to improve this but the new leader responsible for pupils with SEND does not have sufficient opportunities to fulfil her role. She knows what needs improving but does not have the time to do it. Extra funding for disadvantaged pupils is used to support all pupils. Consequently, the attainment and progress of disadvantaged pupils is not improving quickly enough.

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Leaders are taking effective action to improve attendance. Overall attendance is now much closer to the national average. Fewer pupils are persistently absent, but more needs to be done to get a small minority of pupils into school more often. Weekly personal, social and health education lessons and assemblies ensure that pupils learn about British values. They are taught how to keep safe online. They know about the ‘big red button’ on the school’s website to use if they have a concern.

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In the early years, recent results show that from their low starting points, not all children have made the progress expected of them. Leaders know the reasons for this and are taking action to tackle it. Improvements made to the teaching of phonics enable children to gain a better understanding of letters and sounds and develop an early love of reading. Staff encourage parents into school to find out how to support their children’s reading. The indoor environment is safe, secure and welcoming. The outside area is limited but staff make the most of the areas around the classroom for learning and safe play.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

The record of pre-employment checks on staff is complete and well maintained. The governors have good oversight of the necessary checks. The designated leader is knowledgeable and committed to keeping all pupils safe. She knows pupils and their families well. Written records of incidents are recorded systematically. Referrals to support agencies are made in a timely way and followed up to maintain pupils’ safety. All staff are suitably trained in safeguarding. Access to the school site is controlled effectively. 8–9 January 2020

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The curriculum does not enable pupils to achieve well enough. Leaders should continue to implement the recent improvements being made to the core curriculum so that it becomes firmly established. They should also routinely and rigorously monitor the impact this is having on raising pupils’ achievement. The rest of the curriculum remains underdeveloped. Leaders should bring forward their plans for developing all foundation subjects and provide staff with time and training to enable them to teach these subjects more effectively.  Pupils with SEND and those pupils known to be disadvantaged do not receive the support they need. Leaders should take prompt action to provide the SEND coordinator with the time she needs to manage this important area. Governors should also carry out a thorough review of the spending of the pupil premium to ensure that this funding has more of an impact on improving the outcomes

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

achieved by disadvantaged pupils.  Until recently, senior leaders have not had the support they have needed from the trust. They have not been held fully accountable by governors for making improvements fast enough. The trust and the governing body should work together to support leaders. They should monitor thoroughly the impact leaders have in ensuring that pupils are full ready for the next stage of their education.

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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. 8–9 January 2020

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School details

Inspection number 10121335 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The board of trustees

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected as an academy

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Information about this school

 The school is larger than average.  The school became an academy in March 2017.When its predecessor school, Edward Worrledge Community Primary School, was last inspected by Ofsted on 6 March 2014 it was judged to require improvement.  The school is sponsored by the Ormiston Academies Trust.  The principal was appointed in 2018.  A new chair of the local governing body took up his role in 2019.  The school does not use alternative 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

In accordance with section 44(2) of the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that this school requires significant improvement, because it is performing significantly less well than it might in all the circumstances reasonably be expected to perform. 8–9 January 2020

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 We visited lessons with senior leaders to observe pupils at work. We carried out learning walks to observe the quality of support provided for pupils with SEND and for disadvantaged pupils. We also walked around school to gauge how effectively leaders promote pupils and students’ behaviour, and their spiritual, moral, social and cultural education.  We held meetings with senior and middle leaders, teachers, newly qualified staff, three members of the governing body and a representative of the Ormiston Academies Trust. We also met with the school council.  We observed the school’s work. We scrutinised pupils’ books. We looked at safeguarding and child protection policies and procedures, self-evaluation and improvement planning, minutes of meetings of the governing body, records of behaviour and attendance, and other information provided by school leaders.  We considered 23 free-text responses from parents and carers and 65 responses

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to Ofsted’s online Parent View. The school did not use Ofsted’s questionnaire for staff or for pupils.  We conducted deep dives in the following subjects: reading, mathematics, science, physical education, geography and history.

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Inspection team

John Mitcheson, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Rob James Ofsted Inspector 8–9 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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