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

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Dee Conlon 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 15 and 16 July 2025, 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 third 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, Diana Spencer, Ofsted Inspector (OI), and I discussed with you and the executive headteacher, 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 documentation, including the plans for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), 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 progress made towards the removal of special measures

Since my last visit, you joined the school in April. The special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) has left the school. Those duties are currently being covered by the South East Essex Academies Trust (SEEAT). A new SENCo takes up their role in September. There is much more stability in staffing, with pupils being taught by subject specialists across the curriculum. It has been confirmed that the school will formally join SEEAT, in January 2026. This has provided welcome reassurance to staff and pupils alike. Throughout this visit, I have been impressed with the pride pupils now have for their school. A sense of belonging is starting to grow. Pupils are beginning to enjoy learning in a positive, inclusive, happy and safe school.

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The progress made towards the removal of special measures

The curriculum has been developed. It defines the key knowledge that pupils need to know and when. This provides staff with a clear understanding of how pupils will reach aspirational end points. Subject experts have balanced the requirements of the national curriculum, helping pupils achieve a rich understanding of the world, and a celebration of pupils’ local context. With support from the trust, learning has been logically ordered. This is beginning to help staff see how learning progresses over time. Teaching is helping pupils to routinely recall key information. However, pupils are not always helped to make direct links between this knowledge and current learning.

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The progress made towards the removal of special measures

The strategies to help those pupils who struggle to read have had a positive impact. Structured programmes target individual pupils’ barriers to reading. Many pupils have caught up and read at age expected levels. Younger pupils place high value on the reading programme in tutor time. This helps them access a wide range of books and stories. However, the opportunities to read more widely across the curriculum remain limited.

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The progress made towards the removal of special measures

Teaching continues to improve. The focused professional development programme, supported by the trust, has helped staff secure the pedagogical knowledge needed to teach the curriculum as intended. In many subjects, new information is described clearly. However, the explanations to support pupils to structure their written work lack the same clarity. This hinders pupils’ ability to apply their knowledge and write in depth to help them secure the understanding of key topics. The questions asked to check pupils’ understanding are beginning to provide a more accurate awareness of gaps in their knowledge. However, there remains a lack of precision and timeliness in the identification of misconceptions. This means pupils wait too long for help or repeat basic mistakes that become embedded.

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The progress made towards the removal of special measures

All pupils with SEND now have accurate and up-to-date education and health care plans in place. These are accompanied with key information for staff to help pupils with SEND learn the curriculum. However, the subsequent adaptations made to teaching are too generic. They do not address pupils’ specific needs. This means that pupils with SEND do not always complete activities successfully. Consequently, they do not learn as well as they should. Pupils’ behaviour has improved. Pupils have clarity about what is expected of them. Staff have equal lucidity about how they are expected to respond when pupils’ behaviour falls below the school’s high expectations. Classrooms are calm and quiet learning spaces. This means pupils can focus on their learning. Disruption is becoming rare and is now being consistently tackled, if it happens. However, the support for some pupils to meet this high bar has not always been effective. This means that rates of suspension remain high,

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The progress made towards the removal of special measures

Since the last visit, the school has introduced a systematic approach to improving levels of attendance. This has helped target early help to those pupils whose attendance has begun to cause concern. As a result, attendance has improved, although remains below the national average. The level of pupils who are persistently absent from school has reduced significantly. The school has successfully tackled the issues of internal truancy.

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The progress made towards the removal of special measures

The school continues to develop and increase leadership capacity. There is clarity about each leader’s role in school. Robust quality assurance means that there is a sharp focus on precisely what needs further attention. Governors are well informed. They use their knowledge and experience to hold the school to account. The partnership with SEEAT has been instrumental to achieving the gains in teaching, behaviour and the culture of the school. The support and challenge provided by SEEAT has provided essential expertise and guidance to secure and sustain the improvements made. Staff place high value on the learning and development opportunities provided by the trust. They look forward with positivity, as the school moves towards formally joining the trust.

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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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