Djanogly City Academy

Djanogly City Academy Nottingham Inspection report

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134253 Unique Reference Number City of Nottingham Local Authority 331642 Inspection number 22–23 January 2009 Inspection dates Bob Roberts Reporting inspector

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This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Academy Type of school Non-maintained School category 11–18 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 1619 School (total) 264 Sixth form The governing body Appropriate authority Mr Ron Kenyon Chair Mr Mike Butler Headteacher 20 April 2006 Date of previous school inspection Sherwood Rise School address Nottingham Road Nottingham Nottinghamshire NG7 7AR 0115 9424422 Telephone number 0115 9424034 Fax number

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11–18 Age group 22–23 January 2009 Inspection dates 331642 Inspection number .

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This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated.

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Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. 2 of 12 Inspection Report: Djanogly City Academy Nottingham, 22–23 January 2009

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by five Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

The academy opened in August 2003. It is a large school serving a multicultural area of inner city Nottingham with high levels of social and economic disadvantage. There are two main sites with further sports facilities and vocational provision at a number of other locations. The academy enjoys excellent resources to support its specialism in information and communication technology (ICT). Around a third of the students are White British; others are from a wide variety of minority ethnic heritages. A significant number are from families of asylum seekers or refugees; around a quarter speak English as an additional language. Over a third are eligible for free school meals, which is well above average, and the proportion of students with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is also above average (28%). Student mobility is high. There are considerably more boys than girls (56%). The academy has received a number of awards in

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 12 Inspection Report: Djanogly City Academy Nottingham, 22–23 January 2009

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Grade: 3

The academy is providing a satisfactory standard of education and has a number of strengths. Leaders and managers have continued to face significant challenges since the last inspection. Although student numbers have stayed more or less the same, there have been many projects to further improve facilities, such as the newly opened performing arts and information technology diploma centre, and initiatives to develop the curriculum, often in collaboration with other partners. The number of newly arriving students from abroad has continued to grow, with many having little or no English. Provision for these young people is good. However, overall effectiveness at the academy is satisfactory, rather than good, because students' achievements and their personal development remain satisfactory. Provision meets most students' needs adequately. Inspectors agreed with the school's own judgement that the quality of teaching is satisfactory. There is, at present, too little very good

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Grade: 3

or outstanding teaching to help and inspire other teachers to improve. Students make satisfactory progress in lessons and over time. Results in the GCSE examinations were good in 2007 but slipped back in 2008. Standards in mathematics are well below average. The curriculum has been well developed: it is imaginative and flexible, meeting a wide range of needs, including those of the most able students. Those with low levels of literacy are effectively supported. Care, guidance and support arrangements are satisfactory particularly for some of the most vulnerable students. The personal development of most students is satisfactory. They enjoy the safe environment of the school, behave reasonably and attendance is improving. However, sixth formers do not have sufficient opportunities for their personal development and are unclear who is responsible for their support and guidance. Furthermore, although relations are

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Grade: 3

good in this large school community, the links between senior leaders and faculty and subject leaders have not been sufficiently rigorous. Action has been taken since the examination results in 2008 to restructure the senior leadership team and to focus management processes more clearly on student progress. The academy has an outstanding range of links and innovative partnership arrangements. There are exciting links with China, the Ukraine and other countries from which many students benefit. Good links have been established more locally as well and the school works hard to provide services to parents and others. Nevertheless, the number of parents or carers who responded to the questionnaire that formed part of this inspection was very small. Those that did respond were largely positive in their views of the school. Students who spoke to inspectors were very positive about coming to school. The academy has an accurate view of its strengths and

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Grade: 3

weaknesses and provides satisfactory value for money.

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Grade: 3

Standards in the sixth form are generally below national averages. The academy's open access policy has allowed students to start post-16 courses with levels of attainment that are below what might normally be expected. Given students' starting points, achievement is satisfactory, with encouraging numbers of higher grade passes at A level. Results on courses below advanced level have remained steady for the past two years and the academy acknowledges the need for improvement in this area. 4 of 12 Inspection Report: Djanogly City Academy Nottingham, 22–23 January 2009 The curriculum offers a broad and appropriate range of vocational and academic courses which meets the needs of all students and is responsive to demand, allowing for the creation of very small teaching groups. There are some distinctive and valuable features within the vocational options, such as the hair and beauty salon, and productive collaborations with other providers.

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Grade: 3

Teaching and learning are satisfactory overall. Some imaginative uses of ICT were observed, but could be more widespread. Students cooperate well in lessons and show respect for each other and for staff. They value the high-quality social and study facilities and use them responsibly. Students speak highly of the academy, and warmly of teachers, who they feel are consistently supportive and approachable. The figures for university applications from students with no family history of higher education suggest that the academy is raising aspirations. There is some participation in enrichment and extra-curricular activities, but there are only limited opportunities for students to take on roles of responsibility or to work together in different contexts. This limits opportunities for personal development and for building a distinctive sixth form ethos. There is a focus on achievement and a system for monitoring

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Grade: 3

student progress. However, the students themselves are not always clear about the arrangements and who is responsible for their welfare and development.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Raise standards of attainment and achievement with particular reference to mathematics.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Improve the quality of teaching by developing a higher proportion of outstanding teaching.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the new senior leadership team structure in identifying and addressing issues to do with student progress. ■ Secure the leadership and management of the sixth form in order to clarify and enhance students' personal development and guidance. A small proportion of the schools whose overall effectiveness is judged satisfactory but which have areas of underperformance will receive a monitoring visit by an Ofsted inspector before their next section 5 inspection.

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Grade: 3

Students enter the academy with levels of attainment that are consistently below average. They make satisfactory progress and their achievements by the age of 16 are satisfactory given their starting points. After a rising trend towards what was a very pleasing set of examination results for the academy in 2007, levels of attainment declined quite markedly in 2008. For example, recently validated data indicate that the proportion of students achieving five or more good passes at GCSE was 58% in 2008, slightly below the national average and a decline from the 68% of 2007. The proportion achieving five good passes with English and mathematics was 33%, compared to last year's national average of 48%. Although almost all students achieved at least one GCSE pass grade, the proportion achieving five passes at any grade level was 74%, which is well below the national average. In 2008, the performance of White British boys emerged

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Grade: 3

as a significant cause for concern, but over the years there has been no trend or consistent pattern of underachievement by any particular ethnic group. Progress and standards in English have been improving steadily and are good but achievement in mathematics is well below average. Targets that had been set for 2007 were all exceeded but most of the targets for 2008 were missed. 5 of 12 Inspection Report: Djanogly City Academy Nottingham, 22–23 January 2009

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Grade: 3

Students' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is satisfactory with evidence of a growing coherence in this area. Students told inspectors that they enjoy being in the academy. The student council takes a role in surveying student views on issues such as rewards and attendance and students felt that their views were listened to. Relationships between students and staff are good. Behaviour is satisfactory both in the classroom and on the corridors and the number of exclusions of students from school, which was high, has reduced significantly. Students feel that the anti-bullying policy has helped to make school a safe place. Attendance has improved since the last report but more work is still required when dealing with persistent absentees especially in Year 11. Most students adopt healthy lifestyles and significant numbers are involved in competitive sports. Students adopt safe practices in their lessons and around

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Grade: 3

the school. Newcomers to the school are welcomed and supported. Students are encouraged to discuss challenging situations and in doing so help to resolve them. Work-based skills are effectively developed through work experience, enterprise activities and a wide range of innovative vocational courses.

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Grade: 3

The academy has an effective lesson observation programme that has enabled senior leaders to develop an accurate understanding of the strengths and weaknesses in teaching. Inspectors agreed with the self-evaluation that overall teaching is satisfactory. Some good teaching was seen during the inspection but little was outstanding and inspectors agree with the school that to develop more outstanding teaching would be a significant aid to raising standards generally. In the best lessons teachers share clear learning objectives with students, make effective use of a wide variety of well-chosen learning resources, including ICT, and employ interesting activities that engage students' interest and motivate them to learn. These teachers have high expectations and plan work that challenges students of all abilities. Lesson planning is very thorough in the best lessons and students make steady progress because their learning is

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Grade: 3

structured very well, with a good level of challenge, taking full account of students' preferred learning style. Students enjoy these good lessons and relish opportunities to be actively involved in their learning. However, in some of the weaker lessons, teachers' behaviour management is weak. Low-level restlessness is not always checked promptly and these undercurrents soak up time, adversely affecting the amount of work that can be covered and the progress made by the class. In addition, some teachers do not have high enough expectations, accept weak answers too readily and their verbal and written feedback lacks clarity.

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Grade: 2

This school provides an innovative curriculum that meets students' needs well. In order to raise the standard of students' basic skills, the school has revised the formal curriculum in Years 7, 8 and 9. The introduction of 'rich tasks' is effectively strengthening cross-curricular links in literacy and numeracy and is providing more opportunities for students to develop and apply 6 of 12 Inspection Report: Djanogly City Academy Nottingham, 22–23 January 2009 other skills, such as their use of ICT. The indications are that this initiative is proving to be successful. Students of all abilities benefit from a wide range of well-chosen activities that enrich and extend learning beyond the formal curriculum. There are also opportunities, for those students for whom a full range of GCSE courses is not applicable, to undertake young apprenticeships and study a wide range of accredited vocational courses. These include hair

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Grade: 2

and beauty and five newly introduced diplomas including construction, engineering and ICT, at the academy and partner delivery centres. The school has ambitious plans to extend these further with the introduction of a further six diploma courses over the next two years. Provision for students with particular gifts and talents is good and the more able students are able to undertake their GCSEs early in a number of subjects. They also benefit from a wide range of additional activities, including being able to take part in engineering and mathematics masterclasses, attend summer schools and workshops at nearby universities and field trips abroad.

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Grade: 3

The academy provides satisfactory care, guidance and support for its students, with some aspects being good. The academy works hard to engage parents into supporting this aspect of its work, for example through the organisation of five Academic Review Days each year. Legal requirements to ensure the safety of children are met. Well-designed and growing systems of support are in place to care for the diverse and complex needs of the students. The school is working hard to improve attendance. All groups of learners are well cared for especially new arrivals from abroad. Students benefit from effective careers education and guidance. There are well-developed links with a variety of outside agencies that strengthen the work of the academy to support and care for all its students.

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Grade: 3

Leadership and management are satisfactory and have good features. The challenge of meeting the increasingly diverse and acute needs of students continues to test leaders and managers at all levels. Nevertheless, the academy is an inclusive and cohesive community that works hard to meet the needs of each individual. Consequently, the large majority of students are purposeful learners who respond well to the academy's extensive range of learning opportunities. Students benefit from innovative changes in the range of learning opportunities provided. The responsibilities of senior leaders have recently been restructured, and it is too soon to evaluate the effect of the changes. Nevertheless, senior and middle leaders are working closely together to improve achievement and the quality of education. Decisive direction has been given to improve achievement, as the academy did not reach most of its challenging academic

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Grade: 3

targets in 2008, when performance was not consistently good or better across all subjects. There is no complacency. The monitoring and evaluation of standards and progress have been made more robust, and procedures, such as the close tracking of students' progress, are now good, although their impact awaits evaluation. The academy works closely with partner institutions, business, and the local community and makes considerable efforts to involve parents. This is raising the aspirations of parents and encouraging students to apply for university. Some connections are global, as shown by regular 7 of 12 Inspection Report: Djanogly City Academy Nottingham, 22–23 January 2009 contact with China and other countries. The academy has gained national recognition for achievement in its specialist subject, ICT. Governors know the academy very well and give it strong support. They rigorously make managers accountable for all aspects of its performance.

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Grade: 3

Leadership and management of the sixth form are satisfactory, but students are not fully aware of where post-16 leadership rests. 8 of 12 Inspection Report: Djanogly City Academy Nottingham, 22–23 January 2009 .

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Grade: 3

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 9 of 12 Inspection Report: Djanogly City Academy Nottingham, 22–23 January 2009

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Inspection judgements

16-19 School Overall Key to judgements: grade 1 is outstanding, grade 2 good, grade 3 satisfactory, and grade 4 inadequate

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meeting the needs of learners?

Yes Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection 2 1 How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well being? 3 3 The capacity to make any necessary improvements

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Achievement and standards

3 3 How well do learners achieve? 3 3 The standards 1 reached by learners 3 3 How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners How well learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities make progress

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Achievement and standards

1 Grade 1 - Exceptionally and consistently high; Grade 2 - Generally above average with none significantly below average; Grade 3 - Broadly average to below average; Grade 4 - Exceptionally low. 10 of 12 Inspection Report: Djanogly City Academy Nottingham, 22–23 January 2009

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well-being of the learners?

The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 3 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 2 The extent to which learners enjoy their education 3 The attendance of learners 3 The behaviour of learners The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community How well learners develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being

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full range of learners' needs?

2 2 How well do the curriculum and other activities meet the range of needs and interests of learners? 3 3 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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achievement and supporting all learners?

How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education How effectively leaders and managers use challenging targets to raise standards 3 3 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination eliminated 2 How well does the school contribute to community cohesion? How effectively and efficiently resources, including staff, are deployed to achieve value for money The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities Yes Yes Do procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements? No Does this school require special measures? No Does this school require a notice to improve? 11 of 12 Inspection Report: Djanogly City Academy Nottingham, 22–23 January 2009

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

26 January 2009 Dear Students Inspection of Djanogly City Academy Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, NG7 7AR As you know, your school was inspected recently and this letter is to tell you about the results of the inspection. First, I would like to thank you for the way you received the inspection team and myself into the school. We enjoyed meeting many of you and those we did meet were a credit to the academy. Djanogly City Academy is providing a satisfactory standard of education. Students told us that they enjoy coming to the academy and that they feel safe. The facilities are exceptional, especially in ICT. The staff provide appropriate care and support. The teaching is satisfactory and some of it is good. The curriculum is good: it is imaginative and interesting. It is enabling you to become more independent learners. Your behaviour is satisfactory and attendance, which has been unsatisfactory, is improving. Students make the progress they should both in

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

the lessons and in their time at the academy. The standards reached by the time students are aged 16 are below average but represent satisfactory achievement given the starting points of students. Last year achievement in English was good but was disappointing in mathematics. Students' personal development is also satisfactory. The parents that responded to the questionnaire that accompanied the inspection were mainly positive about the school. Leadership and management of the academy are satisfactory. There are things that need to be improved. We have asked the chief executive, the principals and other leaders and managers to do the following: improve standards of achievement particularly in mathematics; improve the quality of teaching; to check on whether new leadership and management arrangements are working effectively; and to ensure developments in the provision for sixth formers. You can make a contribution to improvements by taking advantage of all that the academy

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

offers and seeking to become responsible learners within its community. I wish you all well for the future. Bob Roberts Lead inspector 12 of 12 Inspection Report: Djanogly City Academy Nottingham, 22–23 January 2009

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