Lancaster Academy

Inspection of The Lancaster Academy Knighton Lane East, Leicester, Leicestershire LE2 6FU

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Requires improvement Personal development Requires improvement Leadership and management Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Previous inspection grade Not previously inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005 4–5 February 2020

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What is it like to attend this school?

Most pupils are happy and many enjoy their time at The Lancaster Academy. They generally get on well with each other. Pupils say there is little bullying, but when it happens they are confident that staff will help to sort it out quickly.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Most pupils are welcoming and polite. They usually manage their behaviour well. There are occasions when pupils’ learning is disturbed by low-level disruption. There are also incidents of poor behaviour at breaktimes. Staff deal with these incidents quickly. Pupils say that they are safe at school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Many pupils are keen to learn. Several ask relevant questions and want to extend their learning. Many pupils read confidently in lessons and assemblies. Their achievement in the past has not been good enough.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school’s values of preparedness, resilience, integrity, diversity and enterprise (‘PRIDE’) help pupils to become responsible and self-confident. Pupils are proud of their achievements and enjoy celebrating success.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils say that their school has improved in the past two years. They say that the quality of education is improving, and that behaviour is better. Many pupils are proud of their school. However, not all pupils attend well enough.

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better?

Leaders have brought about many improvements since the school became an academy. The principal has developed a shared vision for the school. Trustees and governors understand their responsibilities and hold senior leaders to account well. They are supporting leaders to improve the school further.

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better?

The quality of education is improving. Senior leaders have developed a broad curriculum. The curriculum is helping to address the gaps in learning that many pupils have from poor teaching in the past.

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better?

Subject leaders are developing ambitious curriculums. For example, in history, Year 9 pupils learn about the sequence of events following the First World War that led to the rise of National Socialism in Germany and the Second World War. This builds on their learning about the First World War in Year 8. This new curriculum in history helps pupils deepen their knowledge and understanding. However, plans for other subjects are not complete and do not set out fully what all pupils should learn and when they should learn it.

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better?

Leaders have not ensured that the curriculum is sufficiently ambitious for disadvantaged pupils. They do not make sure that teachers meet the needs of all pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Many of these pupils have underachieved in the past. The new curriculum is helping these pupils to make better progress, but it is early days. 4–5 February 2020

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Leaders have raised expectations for pupils’ behaviour. They have established a new approach to improving pupils’ behaviour and attitudes to learning. Consequently, most pupils are well behaved and respectful. The number of incidents of poor behaviour and fixed-term exclusions has reduced. Many pupils, staff, parents and carers commented on the improvement in behaviour. However, not all teachers use the new policy. Low-level disruption continues to disturb learning at times. Some pupils do not attend regularly.

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Leaders are developing a curriculum to support pupils’ personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education. Pupils learn about mental health, radicalisation, fundamental British values and prejudice. Pupils learn about a range of religions and life stances. They also learn to understand and respect diversity in the school and the local community. The PSHE curriculum is not always implemented well. Leaders are also developing a programme of careers education. This is in the early stages.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders ensure that all staff are well trained and understand their safeguarding responsibilities. Designated leaders for safeguarding know pupils very well. They make sure that they take the right steps to keep pupils safe. Leaders keep detailed child protection records. They work with other agencies to help and support pupils when needed. Leaders carry out all the required checks on new staff before they start working at the school. Pupils learn about risks and how to keep themselves safe. For example, pupils learn about the risks associated with knife crime. They also learn about radicalisation and extremism.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Leaders have begun to develop a curriculum that is demanding, progressive and appropriately challenging for pupils. However, this is not developed across all subjects and year groups. Pupils, especially disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND, have many gaps in their learning. Leaders must continue to develop the ambitious curriculum to enable all pupils to build their knowledge and skills sequentially.  The implementation of the personal development curriculum is too variable. Too many pupils do not benefit from a consistently well-planned and taught PSHE curriculum that includes an effective careers provision. Leaders need to ensure that all pupils benefit from a programme that is implemented to a high standard for all pupils.  Attendance has improved but there are still too many pupils who are regularly absent. Poor attendance contributes to some pupils’ underachievement. Leaders 4–5 February 2020

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should continue to work with parents to challenge and support them to ensure that their children attend school regularly.  Senior leaders and those responsible for governance have established clear strategic plans for the whole school. However, not all other leaders are as effective in their leadership and management roles. The trustees, governors, trust officers and senior leaders should continue to support leaders at different levels to be more strategic in their leadership and management to further improve the school.

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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. 4–5 February 2020

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School details

Inspection number 10121185 Type of school Secondary comprehensive

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 The school became an academy in April 2017. It is part of the Learning Without Limits Academy Trust.  The school became co-educational and admitted girls for the first time in August 2018.  The school experiences high mobility of pupils. A large proportion of pupils move into, and leave, the school during the school year: 42% of the school’s pupils were mobile last academic year.  Approximately a third of pupils do not have end of key stage 2 prior attainment scores. This reflects a large number of pupils who join the school from overseas. Over half of the pupils on roll speak English as an additional language.  The school uses 11 alternative providers to meet the needs of 16 pupils, either on a full-time or part-time basis. These are The Hospital School, RHK Education Ltd, AXLR8, Soft Touch Arts, The Leicester Partnership School, Triple Skillz, LADDER, E2 Learning, Pedestrian, Goldhill Adventure Playground and Leicester Tigers HITZ

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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 met with the principal and senior leaders. The lead inspector met with members of the local governing body, including the chair, and a trustee who is also the chief executive officer.  We focused in depth on English, religious education, mathematics and modern foreign languages. We also looked at a range of other subjects on the second day of the inspection.  We visited 59 lessons, many with senior leaders. We looked at pupils’ work and spoke with pupils. We met with subject leaders and class teachers.  We met with the safeguarding leaders and looked at safeguarding records. We also met with the special educational needs coordinator.  We met with several groups of pupils to talk about the quality of education and other aspects of school life. We also met with groups of support and teaching staff.  We reviewed a range of documents. We looked at a range of policies, improvement plans, the school’s self-evaluation, the school’s website and

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Information about this inspection

published information about the school’s performance.  We observed pupils at breaktimes and lunchtimes. We also attended an assembly.  We considered the views of 20 parents who completed Ofsted’s survey, Parent View, as well as the 14 free-text responses and emails received. We considered the 41 responses to Ofsted’s staff questionnaire. We also considered the 14 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

Dick Vasey Ofsted Inspector 4–5 February 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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