King's Academy Bay House

Inspection of Bay House School Gomer Lane, Gosport, Hampshire PO12 2QP

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Inspection dates: 29 and 30 November 2022

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Overall effectiveness

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Requires improvement Personal development Requires improvement Leadership and management Requires improvement Sixth-form provision Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection grade Good 29 and 30 November 2022

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy coming to school because of the strong friendships they form with each other. They learn about being tolerant of differences and for the most part, pupils treat each other respectfully. However, some pupils report that discriminatory language is too common to make it seem worth reporting. They worry about further repercussions from making a stand against unkindness. They do not always report bullying because they do not feel confident that all staff will take a consistent and effective approach to help them.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders encourage pupils to be proud of the community around them. Pupils enjoy learning about the local area through ‘Gosport Futures’ and maritime projects. A well-planned careers programme introduces pupils to guest speakers from local industries. For example, interesting stories about the life of a submariner leave pupils enthused and eager to learn more.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils access an ambitious curriculum which has been well planned in most subjects. However, not all pupils experience learning activities which help them learn well. There is variability in how well teaching meets the needs of all pupils. As a result, not all pupils make the progress they need to through the curriculum.

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better?

Trust leaders are unwavering in their aim to provide an equitable education for all pupils. This includes pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The GFM Trust shares leadership across the trust schools to maintain this clear vision. However, staff do not all understand the roles and responsibilities within this leadership structure. Some staff struggle to manage their workload as they do not know which leaders to ask for help to manage this.

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better?

Pupils study a wide and ambitious range of subjects in key stage 3. This includes a choice of three modern foreign languages. However, the number of pupils choosing to study a language are decreasing because too few learn to be successful in modern foreign languages. They do not develop a secure understanding of grammar, vocabulary and speech because this important knowledge has not been well ordered through the curriculum to develop fluency over time.

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better?

Most curriculum leaders have carefully identified the topics that pupils need to learn and when they should learn them. In subjects such as art and history, these plans are successfully implemented. Pupils use their knowledge to produce impressive pieces of artwork influenced by the artists they study. However, in subjects such as science, modern foreign languages and English, teachers do not consistently check that pupils understand what they need to before moving on to the next area. For example, in English, pupils struggle to identify important linguistic features in poetry. This means they find it difficult to apply these skills when analysing poetry for their GCSE. 29 and 30 November 2022

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Leaders quickly identify pupils with SEND and share detailed plans with teachers to help them adapt learning. Those that struggle to read well receive effective support to help them catch up with their peers. A small number of pupils attend the Enterprise Academy. This provision provides pupils with a specialised curriculum which supports pupils to engage well with school.

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Leaders know that some pupils do not attend well and provide additional specialist support to encourage them to come to school regularly. However, this help is not improving attendance quickly enough, especially among those who are disadvantaged and those with SEND. This hinders their learning and engagement with school.

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Leaders have developed a set of classroom expectations for teachers to use to provide a consistent approach when managing poor behaviour. While some use it effectively to ensure classrooms and social times are calm, this is not universally the case, and some poor behaviour goes unchallenged.

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Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe and healthy through a relevant personal development curriculum. Leaders supplement this in key stage 3 with ‘Social Action’ lessons which teach pupils about issues such as litter and recycling. Although pupils learn to be respectful of differences, leaders do not plan for pupils to learn about religious and cultural perspectives in enough detail. As a result, pupils do not have a secure awareness of the diversity within modern Britain.

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The personal development curriculum lacks a coherent structure in the sixth form. Pupils experience a series of assemblies on different topics, such as finance and careers, but are not supported to consolidate their understanding. As a result, not all students feel well prepared for life beyond school. However, students are well supported in their academic learning. Teachers are expert in the subjects they teach. They use this knowledge to make learning clear for pupils. Students speak highly of the support they receive to make applications to university and have high aspirations for a bright future.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders ensure that all staff have training to help them identify pupils who may be at risk of harm. Trustees check that leaders are taking appropriate action to seek external help for pupils that need it. Though leaders take effective action to keep pupils safe, they do not keep records together in a clearly ordered way. Leaders keep important information like notes of phone calls and meetings in different files, so it is more challenging to identify if worries have been thoroughly addressed. Leaders and trustees are providing additional staff training to bring uniformity when recording actions. 29 and 30 November 2022

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 While the majority of curriculum plans are well designed, leaders have not ensured that all staff routinely check for gaps in pupils’ knowledge to adapt teaching before moving on to new learning. This means that some pupils struggle to connect important ideas together. Leaders must ensure that teachers implement their intentions for a knowledge-rich curriculum consistently well in all subjects, so that pupils are able to know and remember more over time.  Leaders have not ensured that all staff routinely challenge incidents of poor behaviour both in lessons and around school. Therefore, some pupils do not trust that staff will effectively deal with behaviour if they report it. Leaders must ensure that all staff insist on high expectations of behaviour, including the use of language, to establish a culture of respect and kindness which supports all pupils to feel happy in school.  Students in sixth form do not effectively learn the life skills they need to manage

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

money, be healthy or take care of their mental health. Pupils in younger years lack understanding of religious and cultural diversity beyond that of the local area. Leaders should continue to develop their plans to improve the teaching of personal development, so that pupils are knowledgeable and well-prepared citizens of Britain.  Not all staff, pupils and parents understand the approach to leadership in the school. Staff do not always know who to ask for help with workload or raise issues with their work. Pupils and parents are not clear about who is in charge of which aspects of school life. Leaders must ensure that they actively engage with all stakeholders, including parents, pupils and staff so that they understand their role in establishing the vision that leaders have for the school and the community they serve.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View 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. 29 and 30 November 2022

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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. 29 and 30 November 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10247923 Type of school Secondary

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provision

Number of pupils on the school roll 2,145

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sixth form

Headteacher Nigel Matthias (Executive headteacher)

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sixth form

Date of previous inspection 17 October 2017

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Information about this school

 This school is part of the GFM Multi Academy Trust.  The leadership of the school is maintained by an executive leadership team that operates across all of the schools in the trust.  Some pupils in key stage 4 attend the Enterprise Academy. This is a provision belonging to the school but operated by trust leaders and teachers. This provision is designed to help pupils re-engage with learning. A small number of pupils also attend part-time sessions at Spring Garden Lane. This is a provision also led by the GFM Trust.  The school makes use of two alternative providers, both registered with Ofsted.  The school fulfils the requirements of the Baker Clause, which means that every pupil in Years 8 to 11 has access to unbiased advice about non-academic routes that are available to pupils once they leave the school in Year 11. 29 and 30 November 2022

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Information about this inspection

The inspector(s) carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspection team carried out deep dives in these subjects: English, science, modern foreign languages, art and history. Inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, teachers and pupils, visited lessons and looked at samples of pupils’ work. Inspectors also spoke to leaders about other subjects in the curriculum.  Inspectors considered the 397 responses to Ofsted’s Parent View questionnaire, including 288 free-text comments. They also took account of the responses to the confidential staff and pupil surveys and gathered the views of both staff and pupils throughout the inspection.  Inspectors met with senior leaders, staff and pupils. They also spoke with representatives from the board of trustees, including the chair of trustees. An

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Information about this inspection

inspector also spoke to the chief executive officer and executive leaders of the trust.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, inspectors viewed the school’s website and policies, met with the designated safeguarding leads, spoke with pupils and staff, checked school records of safeguarding checks carried out on adults working at the school and spoke with trustees and governors.  An inspector also visited the Enterprise Academy to speak to staff and pupils. They visited lessons and looked at samples of pupils’ work. They also looked at a sample of pupil records to evaluate the support that pupils receive. An inspector also visited Spring Garden Lane to look at the support that pupils receive when attending there.

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Inspection team

Michelle Lower, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Zoe Harris His Majesty’s Inspector 29 and 30 November 2022

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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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