Ormiston Ilkeston Enterprise Academy Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment, by:
  • improving pupils’ classroom speaking skills and instilling in them more confidence, so that they answer questions, debate and learn more effectively
  • ensuring that teachers use their knowledge of pupils’ assessments, needs and abilities to plan challenging lessons
  • making good use of best practice in the school.
• Improve outcomes across the school, particularly for disadvantaged pupils and boys.
• Improve pupils’ behaviour, by:
  • ensuring that teachers consistently follow the school’s behaviour policy, so pupils’ behaviour in lessons matches their good behaviour at social times
  • continue to reduce the absences and exclusions of disadvantaged pupils, so these are at least average.
• Improve leadership and management, by:
  • rapidly developing the school’s systems for checking the progress of groups of pupils in key stage 3
  • devising a careful plan to support the training and induction of new leaders, to ensure their impact on school improvement
  • ensuring that individual strategies to support disadvantaged pupils are more sharply evaluated. An external review of the school’s use of the pupil premium funding should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

• Leaders’ plans for improvement focus realistically on many of the key areas where the school needs to do better. School leaders are establishing an ambitious culture. They are determined to improve outcomes for pupils, particularly those who are disadvantaged.
• Pupils told inspectors how much the school had changed for the better since the current principal joined 18 months ago. They said that teaching and behaviour had improved. Leaders’ aspirations for pupils are having an impact on pupils’ progress and their examination results. It will take time for this work to fully bear fruit. Nevertheless, there is clear evidence of leaders’ capacity to bring about sustained improvement.
• Leaders are engaging and motivating the teaching staff, through their determination to improve the quality of education the school provides. Most staff are rising to the challenge. Ofsted’s staff survey confirms morale is high.
• Senior leaders tackle poor performance rigorously. Leaders have strategically responded to staffing shortages without compromising on the quality of new appointments. Leaders have improved staff retention and ensured they have a motivated workforce. Staffing is now stable.
• Leaders are making increasingly effective use of training. Ormiston Academies Trust, which sponsors the school, offers high-quality training and networking. The school is now becoming self-reliant on the skills of its own staff.
• Directed by the strong vision of governors and leaders, the staff prepare pupils well for life in modern Britain. Leaders ensure pupils’ good spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.
• The school’s curriculum now caters appropriately for pupils of different abilities and interests. Leaders have improved the curriculum and included new options, such as part-time vocational opportunities at a local college. The personal, social and health education curriculum has improved significantly since the last inspection. Leaders have also ensured that pupils follow a comprehensive programme of economic awareness. Pupils told inspectors how much they value the expanded range of extra-curricular activities now open to them. Large numbers of pupils take part in the school’s enrichment activities.
• The financial leadership of the school is strong. Leaders and governors have taken the school through a difficult financial situation, caused by falling rolls and the closure of the school’s sixth form. Leaders’ work to improve the school is transforming the reputation of the school in the community. The school is now oversubscribed for 2018 admissions.
• Leaders make good use of the funding for pupils who have SEN and/ or disabilities. The provision for pupils who have very high levels of need is particularly strong. Literacy leaders are making increasingly effective use of the Year 7 literacy and numeracy catch-up funding to support pupils who start the school with attainment below national averages. Leaders use the pupil premium to target the barriers that stop disadvantaged pupils achieving in school. However, leaders do not evaluate the impact of each of their spending choices separately. As a result, leaders do not know which initiatives are having most impact. This slows down improvements in disadvantaged pupils’ achievements.
• Leaders are developing the way in which they track pupils’ progress at key stage 3. Currently, however, the systems in place do not allow leaders to easily identify when groups of pupils are underachieving. This makes it difficult for leaders to intervene and prevent particular groups of pupils from underachieving.
• Many promising leaders have recently joined the school. These professionals are adding to the capacity of leaders to move the school towards being at least good. Senior leaders are aware that new leaders will need careful support to ensure they realise their potential.

Governance of the school

• Ormiston Academy Trust delegates some of its functions to the school’s local governing body, through its scheme of delegation. Local governors are exceptionally clear sighted about their vision for pupils, which is rooted in preparing them for life in modern Britain. Governors have a deep understanding of the school’s curriculum and helped leaders to shape this in line with the school’s core values.
• The local governing body has been invigorated by the appointment of a new chair and other changes in the responsibilities individual governors hold. These changes have improved the ability of governors to challenge and support the school. Governors have begun to challenge leaders rigorously on key issues, such as the impact of pupil premium spending.
• School governors are well trained, particularly about safeguarding. They take their responsibilities for pupils’ safety very seriously and make regular checks on the school’s safeguarding arrangements.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• The systems to check adults in the school are safe to work with children are robust. Staff receive frequent, relevant, safeguarding training. School staff recognise the signs of abuse and gave examples of when they had used this knowledge to refer concerns to the safeguarding lead.
• Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe. They value routines such as ‘lockdown’ drills, as these add to their sense of security. Leaders make sure pupils are aware of the dangers of extremist behaviour. They ensure that pupils learn about the dangers of alcohol misuse and other threats to their health and well-being. Incidents of bullying have fallen dramatically. Pupils report bullying is now rare.
• Leaders work well with parents and outside agencies to keep pupils safe and make sure pupils feel secure.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• The quality of teaching has improved. There is some good teaching across the curriculum. In mathematics, for example, teachers usually make good use of pupils’ assessments to plan challenging lessons. However, the quality of teaching is inconsistent overall. Some teachers do not take pupils’ abilities and aptitudes fully into account in their planning. This means that the activities some teachers plan are not appropriate for everyone in the class. As a result, some pupils of varying abilities make less progress than they should.
• Teachers’ planning for needs of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is good. Teachers make effective use of teaching assistants to support these pupils and this helps them to make good progress.
• Relationships between teachers and pupils support learning. However, the extent to which pupils are willing to take part in class discussions varies. Some pupils are not confident about taking part in debate or answering questions. This makes it more difficult for teachers to pick up pupils’ misunderstandings and help them overcome these.
• Most teachers have good subject knowledge that helps them support pupils’ learning. Teachers’ expectations of what pupils can do are increasing. Although there are many teachers who are skilled in challenging pupils, a minority of teachers do not provide pupils of varying abilities with enough challenge. As a result, pupils make less progress over time than they could.
• Leaders in some subjects, such as geography and physical education, make good use of best practice in the department to develop teaching. The sharing of best practice is speeding up improvements in these subjects. While teaching is improving, there is scope for leaders to make wider use of the school’s best practice.
• Teachers consistently set homework in line with the school’s policy, to help pupils continue their learning out of class. Parents can check pupils’ homework electronically from home.
• Newly qualified teachers and trainees are well supported. These teachers are already contributing successfully to the quality of teaching in the school.
• Staff promote reading well. Pupils have access to a good-quality library, which they use regularly. Several initiatives to develop pupils’ literacy, such as ‘drop everything and read’ time, are having a positive impact on pupils’ attitudes to reading.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• Pupils’ are self-confident in social situations. They are welcoming to visitors and keen to help. Pupils come to school with the right equipment, ready to learn and present their work neatly. Older pupils said their involvement in the National Citizenship Service had improved their confidence and self-belief. Some pupils are, however, less confident about expressing their views in lessons.
• Staff care well for pupils’ physical and emotional well-being. The pastoral system supports all pupils well. Very vulnerable pupils, such as children looked after, receive high standards of care.
• Pupils know how to keep themselves safe. Pupil ambassadors do a good job raising the awareness of other pupils about mental-health issues. The ambassadors spoke confidently about the need to remove the stigma attached to mental illness. Pupils experiencing mental health problems know who to turn to at school for help.
• Staff have ensured that the school is a place where it is ‘okay to be different’. For example, the school has worked closely with the Stonewall campaign to promote lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality. Pupils told inspectors they rarely hear homophobic or racist language.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils requires improvement. Although pupils told inspectors behaviour had improved, behaviour is not yet consistently good.
• Pupils’ conduct and self-discipline around the school are good. Pupils use the playground sensibly. Their interactions in outdoor spaces are lively and good natured. During lesson changeovers, corridors are orderly and pupils are punctual to their next lessons.
• Leaders’ records show significant reductions in incidents of poor behaviour. Recently, staff have had to remove fewer pupils from lessons than in the past. Pupils’ behaviour in many lessons is good, but in a minority of classes there is some disruptive behaviour, which interferes with learning. The school has a clear and detailed behaviour policy, which some staff do not consistently follow.
• Since the school was last inspected, pupils’ attendance has improved and the incidence of persistent absence has reduced. The proportion of pupils excluded from school has also reduced significantly. However, and despite some improvement, the rate of absence and incidence of exclusion among disadvantaged pupils is still high.
• Pupils who attend alternative provision for part of their education are working towards appropriate qualifications. School staff check their attendance and welfare carefully.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• Pupils’ progress is gradually improving. Over time, pupils’ progress has not been good enough because the quality of teaching has been inconsistent across the curriculum.
• Pupils’ outcomes in the 2017 GCSE examinations showed they had made slightly better progress than previously, particularly in subjects they opt to study. Leaders presented strong evidence that pupils’ progress is continuing to improve. However, this improvement needs to accelerate if current pupils are to achieve the examination results of which they are capable.
• Over time, pupils from different starting points have made slow progress at the school. Recently, middle-ability pupils’ progress has been particularly poor. This has started to improve. In most year groups, middle-ability and the most able pupils are now making similar progress to pupils of similar abilities nationally. Those pupils who started school having attained below the national average in English and mathematics are currently making good progress.
• Disadvantaged pupils and boys continue to make less progress than they should. Although the differences between disadvantaged pupils’ progress and that of other pupils nationally are diminishing, the pace of this improvement is slow. Similarly, boys’ progress at the school has not improved quickly enough towards the progress made by their peers nationally.
• Careers advice has improved. The school now has a comprehensive careers education and guidance programme that meets the latest government requirements. This service helps to prepare pupils successfully for the next stage in education and employment. Last year, all Year 11 pupils went on to an appropriate destination when they left the school. The proportion of pupils going on to take A levels has doubled in the past few years.

School details

Unique reference number 137109 Local authority Derbyshire Inspection number 10048120 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Secondary School category Academy sponsor-led Age range of pupils 11 to 16 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 643 Appropriate authority Board of trustees Chair Roy Lyon Principal Nia Salt Telephone number 0115 9303724 Website www.oiea.co.uk Email address info@oiea.co.uk Date of previous inspection 7–8 June 2016

Information about this school

• Ormiston Academy Trust sponsors the school. The trust delegates some of its responsibilities to the local governing body, through its scheme of delegation. The school has its own leadership team, but is supported by leadership posts within the trust, including the regional director. The school receives support from its sponsor to improve the quality of teaching and learning.
• This is a smaller-than-average-sized secondary school.
• The school is situated in an area of high deprivation.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is well above the national average.
• The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is higher than the national average.
• The proportion of pupils who are from ethnic minority groups and those who speak English as an additional language are well below the national average.
• Most pupils are White British.
• The school ceased to offer post-16 education in September 2016.
• The school uses Derby College, Kirk Hallam Pupil Referral Unit and the Derbyshire out-of-school tuition service to provide supplementary or alternative education for some pupils.
• The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics by the end of Year 11.
• The school meets the Department for Education’s definition of a coasting school, based on key stage 4 academic performance results in 2015, 2016 and 2017.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed teaching and learning in lessons throughout the school and in a wide range of subjects. The inspection team observed some lessons jointly with school leaders. Inspectors also made a number of short visits to lessons to evaluate pupils’ progress and behaviour in a range of classrooms.
• Inspectors looked at pupils’ work in books, during lessons and at other times during the inspection.
• Inspectors met with the principal, a regional director of the multi-academy trust, other senior and middle leaders, and members of the local governing body.
• Inspectors considered a range of documents, including the school’s self-evaluation, school improvement plan and safeguarding records.
• An inspector also spoke with staff at an alternative provider.
• Inspectors looked at the 15 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire (Parent View) and 48 free-text responses from parents.
• The inspection team listened to the views of pupils in key stage 3, Year 10 and Year 11 during discussions, and considered 13 responses from pupils to Ofsted’s online questionnaire.
• Inspectors considered 30 responses to Ofsted’s online survey for staff and talked with them after lessons to seek their views.

Inspection team

Ellenor Beighton, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector Christine Horrocks Ofsted Inspector Matthew Spoors Ofsted Inspector Paul Sweeney Ofsted Inspector