Setting

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

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Desi McKeown Executive Headteacher The Cornelius Vermuyden School Dinant Avenue Canvey Island Essex SS8 9QS

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Special measures monitoring inspection of The Cornelius Vermuyden School

This letter sets out the findings from the monitoring inspection that took place on 10 and 11 December 2024, 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 second monitoring inspection since the school was judged to require special measures following the graded (section 5) inspection that took place in November 2023.

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Special measures monitoring inspection of The Cornelius Vermuyden School

The purpose of a monitoring inspection is not to grade the school’s key and (where applicable) provision judgements, but to identify and report on the school’s progress. It is to highlight to the school and parents any improvements that school leaders have made since the school’s previous graded inspection.

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Special measures monitoring inspection of The Cornelius Vermuyden School

During the inspection, Aimee Bray, Ofsted Inspector (OI), and I discussed with you and other senior leaders, the chief executive officer (CEO) of your partner trust, other staff and trustees the 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. We also visited lessons, reviewed curriculum documents, held discussions with pupils and reviewed the school’s improvement plan. I have considered all this in coming to my judgement.

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Leaders have made progress to improve the school, but more work is

necessary for the school to no longer be judged as requiring special measures.

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Leaders have made progress to improve the school, but more work is

HMCI is of the opinion that the school may appoint early career teachers.

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The position regarding the appointment of early career teachers will be

considered again during any monitoring inspection we carry out.

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The progress made towards the removal of special measures

Since our last visit, there have been significant changes in staffing, leadership and governance. A number of the senior team and trustees who were in post during the last visit have moved on. These have been replaced. You have added additional interim capacity to increase the pace of improvement for the provision for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The school was fully staffed for the start of the autumn term. However, some of these appointments have not been successful and have left the school. You have secured a full staffing complement for the spring term; however, currently pupils are sometimes taught by temporary staff or teachers who are not subject specialists.

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The progress made towards the removal of special measures

You have worked with staff and trustees to redefine your vision and values. You have further developed your curriculum in line with these values. The school’s curriculum meets the ambition and breadth of the national curriculum. It now also considers the local needs and interests of pupils. Subject specialists have worked with their teams and subject communities from across your partner trust to strengthen the curriculum. As a result, the knowledge pupils have an entitlement to learn is clearly defined. This now goes beyond the specifications of examinations and supports deeper conceptual learning in each subject. The broad order of teaching has been defined. Your subject teams are making clear exactly what should be taught and when. The early results of this are positive. Pupils’ learning experiences are more consistent and they are now able to articulate connections between what they have learned in the past and what they are learning now.

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The progress made towards the removal of special measures

Your team has improved the curriculum to support reading across the school. The introduction of reading lessons in Years 7 and 8 provides pupils with dedicated time to read regularly. Pupils value these lessons and enjoy spending time in the well-resourced library. This is beginning to secure a love of reading for many. However, there is not appropriate provision in place for those readers who need to learn the basics of reading. This means that these pupils struggle to access the curriculum and fall behind their peers. You are aware of the urgency in addressing this issue. You have appointed a member of staff to support these pupils to overcome their barriers to reading and catch up.

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The progress made towards the removal of special measures

Senior leaders, with your partner trust, have strengthened teachers’ pedagogical knowledge. However, the impact of this remains inconsistent. There has been an improvement in the quality of teaching. Pupils are learning more. Many pupils are able to discuss their learning in more depth since our last visit. However, there remains variability in how well some teachers teach the curriculum. This includes how teachers test what pupils already know. In some cases, teachers do not ask the correct questions. In other situations, they are inefficient in checking pupils’ understanding. Consequently, the activities chosen to secure knowledge are not appropriate. This makes some pupils’ learning less secure. You and your team have continued to improve the provision for pupils with SEND. Pupils with SEND are now fully integrated into the school. They learn alongside their peers instead of accessing learning in a separate provision. They now enjoy the full experience

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The progress made towards the removal of special measures

of school life. For pupils with an education, health and care plan, this transition has been positive. Teachers generally are using the information provided to support these pupils to overcome their barriers to learning. For other pupils with SEND, the information teachers need to adapt their teaching is not appropriately detailed. Consequently, teachers lack the important knowledge they need to help and support these pupils. This means some pupils with SEND continue to struggle to access the curriculum. They do not catch up with their peers, and some fall further behind.

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The progress made towards the removal of special measures

You have made it clear that all staff have a responsibility in managing behaviour. This has resulted in greater consistency in how staff routinely apply the agreed procedures. More incidents are now being reported. This means the levels of suspension are high as pupils learn how to meet your expectations. The actions you and your senior team have taken to improve the quality of education has impacted on how pupils behave. Many pupils now enjoy their learning. This has resulted in a notable improvement in how pupils behave in class. A significant number of pupils no longer have their learning routinely disrupted. However, this improvement in behaviour has not been fully replicated around the school. Some pupils engage in boisterous behaviour in corridors and social spaces. This makes some younger pupils feel uncomfortable and insecure.

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The progress made towards the removal of special measures

The school’s work to improve attendance has begun to show signs of impact. The tracking and early intervention seen in our last visit have resulted in overall rates of absence decreasing. However, the rates of absence and persistent absence remain high, in part due to the number of pupils suspended from school. While more pupils attend school, there remains a core of pupils who truant internally. This has not been successfully addressed.

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The progress made towards the removal of special measures

You have ensured that the use of alternative provision and part-time timetables is carefully considered. Your pastoral, safeguarding and SEND teams work together to design suitable programmes that help pupils remain engaged in education and reintegrate into the full life of the school. You have made sure that any decisions taken in relation to a reduced or alternative offer are in the interests of each individual pupil. All cases are time-limited and monitored for their effectiveness. You have introduced an internal provision to support pupils at high risk of permanent exclusion. The early results of this appear promising.

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The progress made towards the removal of special measures

You, your senior team, trustees and designated leaders have successfully secured a culture of safeguarding. The improvements seen in our last visit are now embedded into the ethos of the school, which supports the most vulnerable pupils and protects them from harm. Staff are fully aware of their responsibilities. No longer is safeguarding seen as the responsibility of just those designated leaders. Safeguarding is now seen and welcomed as a responsibility by all. This means pupils feel safer in school. They continue to develop their trust in adults, who they now see will help them if they are concerned or worried.

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The progress made towards the removal of special measures

Your partner trust has added significant expertise and capacity to support your team to secure the improvements needed. Your staff have been warmly welcomed into the trust’s subject communities. This has helped teachers and middle leaders, as they develop their subject and pedagogical knowledge. Trustees have a clear picture of the school. They are as determined as you are to ensure that all pupils have the educational experiences they are entitled to. They celebrate the gains you and your team have made. They challenge robustly when aspects are not improving as they feel they should.

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The progress made towards the removal of special measures

Trustees and your partner trust help you maintain a sharp focus on staff’s well-being. Staff place high regard on this. They appreciate that while the school faces challenges as it improves, they are cared for and valued. This includes teachers at the earliest stages of their careers. The networks open to them through the trust, alongside high-quality mentoring and the excellent pastoral care they receive, mean that they have flourished since joining the school.

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The progress made towards the removal of special measures

I am copying this letter to the chair of the board of trustees, and the CEO of the South East Essex Academy Trust, the Department for Education’s regional director and the director of children’s services for Essex County Council. This letter will be published on the Ofsted reports website.

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