Windmill Hill School

Inspection of Windmill Hill School York Street, Luton, Bedfordshire LU2 0EZ

p.1

Inspection dates: 14 and 15 February 2024

p.1

Overall effectiveness Inadequate

The quality of education Inadequate Behaviour and attitudes Requires improvement Personal development Requires improvement

p.1

Overall effectiveness Inadequate

Leadership and management Inadequate Previous inspection grade Not previously inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

p.1

Overall effectiveness Inadequate

The interim head of school is Michelle Brett. This school is part of Creating Tomorrow Multi-Academy Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Kevin Latham, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Jeanette Payne. 14 and 15 February 2024

p.1

What is it like to attend this school?

The quality of education pupils currently receive is not good enough. Too many pupils do not learn as well they could. This includes when learning to read. New leaders know this and have started to take swift action.

p.2

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy. They like the adults who care for them. They appreciate that staff treat them with dignity and respect. Staff know pupils’ needs well. Pupils easily express their feelings verbally, pictorially or through signing. This means they can be understood and are listened to. Pupils receive appropriate provision for their social, emotional and medical needs.

p.2

What is it like to attend this school?

Positive friendships are made. Pupils enjoy breaktimes, playing football and film club. Pupils are supported to manage their feelings safely. However, there are still instances of unkind behaviour. Staff address this, and consequently, incidents are reducing.

p.2

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils like getting certificates when they follow the school values in their day-to-day lives. They have trips to sports activities and the library. They have raised funds at a Christmas fayre. The school council suggests ideas to improve the school. Pupils and parents would like more clubs, trips and work experience to support pupils to gain confidence out in the local community.

p.2

better?

The school has been through an unsettled time. The trust has responded quickly and appropriately to provide stability and a rapid plan for improvement. New leaders are having a positive impact, but this is still at an early stage.

p.2

better?

The school knows its main priority is to improve the quality of education. Work has started on introducing a consistent and systematic approach to the teaching of reading. However, this is still in its infancy. At present, pupils are not receiving adequate provision and support to learn the sounds they need to read. They are not accessing books matched to the sounds they know. This hinders their reading achievement. Leaders have identified where gaps are in pupils’ reading, but currently have not started focused work to fill these gaps.

p.2

better?

When pupils start the school, they are carefully assessed to determine which curriculum pathway best suits their needs. These pathways aim to support pupils to achieve independence and to prepare them for adulthood. Some pathways lead to qualification routes. However, the curriculum lacks clarity as to how pupils’ knowledge will be built logically over time. Staff are not sufficiently well directed to know if what they are teaching is giving pupils the exact knowledge they need or in the best order to achieve the curriculum pathway aims.

p.2

better?

Sensory resources and activities are provided to help pupils be ready to learn. Adults engage well with pupils in these sessions. However, the intended learning focus is 14 and 15 February 2024

p.2

3

often not specific or ambitious enough. Staff do not extend and develop pupils’ learning within these sessions, to ensure that pupils are learning what they need to. As a result, there are gaps in their knowledge and understanding.

p.3

3

Teachers use visual aids and technology to adapt resources. Most pupils engage well in lessons. Leaders have started training staff on how to best adapt activities in lessons to meet the needs of all learners. Staff are still getting to grips with this. This means for some pupils the work does not yet precisely match their ability and so either they cannot complete it independently or have the chance to complete it successfully.

p.3

3

Pupils receive the therapeutic interventions prescribed and have high-quality pastoral care. Successes, however big or small, are celebrated. Pupils focus in lessons and behaviour has improved. There are still a few pupils who demonstrate more challenging behaviours. This impacts on their readiness to learn. Leaders are tenacious in following up pupils who are regularly absent from school. This work is impacting positively on ensuring that pupils attend school regularly.

p.3

3

Leaders are vigilant in keeping pupils safe. Pupils are taught about online safety. They have lessons about self-care and are taught about identifying different emotions and showing empathy. Older pupils take on additional responsibilities. The personal development curriculum is being reviewed to ensure that key knowledge is taught in the most appropriate order.

p.3

3

Staff appreciate that leaders check on their well-being and workload. Some staff are starting to take on subject leadership roles so that they can support senior leaders more effectively to make curriculum improvements.

p.3

3

Trustees are providing effective oversight and fulfil their statutory duties. They have redeployed trust staff to support the school. Staff have responded positively to the guidance leaders are providing.

p.3

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

p.3

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The school does not yet have a clear reading curriculum in place. This means that pupils who are capable of learning to read are not being given an effective means to do so. The school needs to ensure that there is a systematic and consistent approach to how reading is taught so that pupils can build reading knowledge and rehearse this through access to books linked to their reading ability.  The current curriculum is not sufficiently well designed to build pupils’ knowledge in a clear and logical order. This means that staff are not clear on how to build 14 and 15 February 2024

p.3

4

pupils’ knowledge over time. This limits how well pupils learn. The school needs to ensure that it maps out explicitly what pupils need to learn and when so that the distinct building blocks of knowledge are clearly signposted and understood by staff.  Often pupils engage in activities where the specific learning focus is unclear or learning is not suitably extended. This results in learning opportunities not being maximised for these pupils. The school needs to provide pedagogical support to staff so that they have the skills to know how to deliver the curriculum as leaders intend.  In lessons, pupils do not always receive work precisely adapted to their learning needs. This means some pupils have work that is too difficult or too easy. This limits how well they achieve. The school needs to provide additional training for staff on ways to adapt learning successfully and precisely for pupils in their class

p.4

4

so work is more accurately matched to needs.  The school has started to identify staff to lead subjects, but they are not all in place. This limits the current oversight of some curriculum areas. The trust needs to continue to develop subject leaders in order to further strengthen leadership capacity and ensure that the curriculum is delivered as intended.

p.4

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.

p.4

How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

p.4

Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

p.4

Further information

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ is used to mean pupils with SEND; pupils who meet the definition of children in need of help and protection ; pupils receiving statutory local authority support from a social worker; and pupils who otherwise meet the criteria used for deciding the school’s pupil premium funding (this includes pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years, looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 14 and 15 February 2024

p.4

School details

Date of previous inspection 27 May 2021, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

p.5

Information about this school

 The school is part of the Creating Tomorrow Multi-Academy Trust. It has been part of this trust since it opened in September 2021.  The school is currently being led and managed by the interim head of school and the chief executive officer of the trust. This has been the arrangement since December 2023. The interim head of school is from the trust.  A new deputy headteacher and assistant headteacher have recently been appointed.  The school does not use any alternative provision.

p.5

Information about this inspection

Inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

p.5

Information about this inspection

In accordance with section 44(2) of the Education Act 2005, His 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. 14 and 15 February 2024

p.5

6

Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.

p.6

6

 Inspectors discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspectors held meetings with the chief executive officer, interim head of school, teachers and support staff.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: communication and reading, mathematics, physical development and personal, health and social education. For each deep dive, the inspectors spoke to leaders, visited lessons, spoke with pupils, looked at pupils’ work and spoke with teachers and support staff.  The inspectors looked at a range of pupils’ work from across the curriculum and talked to other subject leaders.  The lead inspector spoke to the chair of the trustees, who is currently also the chair of the local governing board. The lead inspector also held a remote meeting with trustees and members of the trust executive board.

p.6

6

 The inspectors scrutinised a range of documentation, including the school’s own self-evaluation, rapid school improvement plan and governor/trustee minutes and the trust’s key performance indicator reports.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors reviewed the single central record, took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  The inspectors considered the responses gathered through Ofsted’s online survey for parents, Ofsted Parent View, which included six free-text comments. There were 33 responses to the staff surveys. No pupils answered the pupil survey. However, the inspectors spoke to and met several pupils from different year groups during the inspection, along with a range of staff.

p.6

Inspection team

Sara Boyce, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

p.6

Inspection team

Rod Warsap Ofsted Inspector 14 and 15 February 2024

p.6

7

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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

p.7

7

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

p.7

7

You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/ , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.7

7

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.7

7

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.7