Setting

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

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Mr Mark Bland Executive Headteacher Lammas School and Sixth Form 150 Seymour Road Leyton London E10 7LX

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Serious weaknesses monitoring inspection of Lammas School and Sixth Form

This letter sets out the findings from the monitoring inspection of your school that took place on Thursday 25 May 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 February 2022.

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Serious weaknesses monitoring inspection of Lammas School and Sixth Form

During the inspection, I met with you and the head of school, other senior leaders and staff, the chief executive officer of the multi-academy trust and other trustees. We discussed the actions that have been taken to improve the school since the most recent graded inspection. We also discussed the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. I visited lessons, spoke to pupils, reviewed responses to the staff survey and reviewed a range of documents. 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

You have worked effectively with the head of school, other members of the leadership team and trustees to quickly draw up a statement of action following the last inspection. This is closely linked to the areas for improvement that were identified at that time. Your planned actions are rigorously monitored by the improvement board, which meets once every two months and consists of trustees and senior leaders. You plan to create a permanent local governing body this September that will include parents and carers. This is to ensure that a close eye is kept on further school improvement. You frequently consult pupils, parents and staff about their views of changes in the school.

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designation

You have reviewed and developed a broad and ambitious curriculum. In doing so, you take into account the background, needs and interests of your pupils, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or those from more disadvantaged backgrounds. As well as offering a broad range of GCSEs to pupils in Years 10 and 11, for instance, you also offer vocational qualifications. Subject leaders are knowledgeable about their areas. They consider which trips and activities will enrich the learning of pupils. For example, all pupils in Year 7 take part in a science fair. Learning is carefully sequenced to help pupils learn and remember more. You are now working with other leaders to ensure that teachers check how well pupils are learning the curriculum before moving on. You are working to ensure consistently high standards, through training and checking on pupils’ outcomes. Senior leaders and trustees are keeping a sharp eye on outcomes for all

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designation

pupils and are ensuring that teachers have access to high-quality professional development.

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designation

Teachers are starting to routinely consider the starting point of all their pupils. Your leader with responsibility for SEND ensures that teachers have a range of strategies to use in designing lessons that are well adapted to meet the needs of pupils with SEND. This work is focusing on ensuring these pupils can benefit from the same curriculum as other pupils. Pupils who need additional help, with reading for instance, are quickly identified and helped. Pupils commented that lessons are increasingly varied and enjoyable. They enjoy the increased chances they receive to talk about their learning and engage in discussion and debate, although this feature is not fully embedded. You are continuing to work towards ensuring that the curriculum is delivered consistently well in all areas. You note that while this remains challenging, you believe improvements will be reflected in improved outcomes for pupils taking exams this summer.

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designation

Your focus on improving behaviour and attitudes to learning is making a great difference to the life of the school. Pupils enjoy being rewarded for doing the right thing. Older pupils, in particular, commented on how much easier it is to learn in class. Pupils, including girls, reported that they generally feel safe. They are confident that they can report concerns, including around bullying, and that these will be dealt with. Numbers of serious incidents, such as derogatory language, have reduced considerably. Pupils appreciate the changes and said that the school feels calmer. Nevertheless, challenges remain in you and your team’s work to secure improvements in behaviour. For example,

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OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE

some pupils are not consistently able to meet the high expectations you set. You have built capacity in the staff team to ensure that pupils are well supervised and that incidents are quickly followed up. This means that heads of year and teaching staff can focus more on helping pupils to learn well. You check frequently with pupils that they feel safe. You also work with the pupil leadership group to develop further improvements in the school.

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OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE

You have ensured that pupils enjoy and appreciate their learning in their comprehensive ‘ethics’ lessons. They learn about a range of identities and are supported to develop as respectful individuals, who are accepting of differences. They learn to stay safe, for example, online and in the local community. They also learn how to behave appropriately towards one another. Pupils now benefit from a carefully planned careers programme. Leaders have further plans to improve support and advice for pupils leaving Year 11 and Year 13 to ensure that all move on to further education, training and employment. Pupils enjoy the wider opportunities on offer, including trips linked to the curriculum or to reward positive behaviour. In school, they enjoyed the recent culture day and take advantage of the clubs on offer, especially sport.

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OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE

You have taken further steps to ensure that pupils are kept safe. You continue to carry out checks to ensure that only appropriate staff are employed. All staff are well trained to recognise and report any concerns that they have about pupils who may be in need of help or support from other agencies. You have added capacity to the safeguarding leadership team, so that there is enough time and expertise to follow up and record all concerns. You check rigorously to ensure that systems meet the needs of the school, including by actively seeking feedback from the local authority. Pupils appreciate having the chance to speak to the school counsellor. You are working hard to ensure that pupils attend school regularly, which remains an ongoing priority. This includes supportive work with families.

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OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE

You have worked with trust leaders to ensure that they support and challenge the school. This is partly through the frequent meetings of the improvement board, but also through regular external reviews. An example is the visit by the director of education in the local authority. These reviews have enabled you and trustees to take a realistic and objective view of where practice is developing, and where further improvements are needed. Your frequent consultations with staff have also been helpful. For instance, these have led to you enhancing training opportunities for teachers and developing staff well-being through consultation on working practices.

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OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE

I am copying this letter to the chair of the interim board and chief executive officer of the Griffin multi-academy trust, the Department for Education's regional director and the director of children's services for Waltham Forest. This letter will be published on the Ofsted reports website.

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