Setting

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 1231 www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Sarah Holmes-Carne Interim Principal Archbishop Sentamu Academy 1 Bilton Grove Hull HU9 5YB

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Serious weaknesses monitoring inspection of Archbishop Sentamu Academy

This letter sets out the findings from the monitoring inspection of your school that took place on 26 January 2023, on behalf of His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills. The monitoring inspection was carried out under section 8(2) of the Education Act 2005 and was the first monitoring inspection since the school was judged to have serious weaknesses following the graded (section 5) inspection that took place in May 2022.

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Serious weaknesses monitoring inspection of Archbishop Sentamu Academy

During the inspection, I discussed with you and other senior leaders of the multi-academy trust actions that have been taken to improve the school since the most recent graded inspection. We discussed the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. I also spoke to some subject leaders, spoke to pupils and staff, visited some lessons and observed routines at social times. I have considered all this in coming to my judgement.

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weaknesses. Leaders have made progress to improve the school, but more

work is necessary for the category of concern to be removed.

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designation

Since the last inspection, you have been appointed by the Hope Sentamu Learning Trust as interim principal. The chief executive officer as been acting as executive principal. There have also been other changes in the senior leadership team, including the appointment of additional leaders with oversight for behaviour, attendance and student leadership. You have added additional capacity to the pastoral teams that oversee attendance and behaviour. You have redesigned and relaunched the behaviour policy since May 2022. The new system is simpler than the previous policy. Staff and pupils feel it is now much easier to understand. This work is beginning to have an impact. The number of pupils in the ‘seclusion’ room is falling significantly. The atmosphere around the school was calm when I visited. However, there is still work to do. Some pupils commented that behaviour in lessons was still variable and that there are areas of the school where behaviour is less

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designation

good. The number of suspensions has risen. You are aware of these issues and are taking steps to tackle this through, for example, the focus on positivity in the new behaviour system.

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designation

Alongside increased staffing in the behaviour team, there has been a considerable rise in the numbers of staff that oversee attendance. This has led to the introduction of more robust strategies to encourage attendance at school. Regular home visits are made and the numbers of these are increasing. Some pupils are brought to school by minibus. At the end of each day, there is a ‘closing down the day’ meeting to deal with issues that have arisen and anticipate potential actions for the following day. This is helping to ensure that pupils receive the support they need. There are very early signs that attendance is increasing and persistent absence is falling, but this is yet to be sustained. You are aware that attendance remains an issue.

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You have taken steps to bring consistency to lessons by instigating consistent routines that all staff follow. These are focused on allowing pupils to revisit previous learning and build independence. This is helping to create a calm atmosphere in lessons. You understand that work on the curriculum will support improvements in behaviour and attendance. There is a unified approach across all aspects of school improvement; for example, the recent work to improve identification and support for those pupils at the early stages of reading is connected to strategies to improve attendance at school and focus in lessons.

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The personal, social, health and education (PSHE) curriculum has been redesigned. Pupils now have a dedicated lesson for PSHE. There are plans to make the teaching team for PSHE lessons more specialised but, in the meantime, there is regular training for all staff. Leaders for PSHE have considered the local area and spoken to groups of pupils so that the new curriculum is reflective of the needs of pupils.

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Your actions in recent months have focused on developing policies and capacity around staffing that will make any changes sustainable. This has brought some stability. Staff feel that the changes have had a positive impact. Your actions have led to tangible improvements in behaviour.

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Governors and trustees have supported this work by, for example, ensuring that there is capacity at trust level to allow the CEO to support school leaders. The appointment of associate principals at trust level has also provided extra support for school leaders during this period of change. Trust leaders, in conjunction with school leaders, are helping to shape and drive new policies around behaviour and attendance. You know that there is work to do to ensure that the school leadership is stable, for example by appointing a permanent principal to lead the school.

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I am copying this letter to the chair of the board of trustees, and the chief executive officer of the Hope Sentamu Learning Trust, the director of education for the Diocese of York, the Department for Education’s regional director and the director of children’s services for Kingston upon Hull. This letter will be published on the Ofsted reports website.

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