Bluecoat Wollaton Academy Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Ensure that all teachers have consistently high expectations of the presentation of work they accept from pupils, particularly boys.
• Reduce the small number of instances when pupils are not fully engaged with their work in lessons.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Outstanding

• Leaders are relentless in their ambition for pupils. They communicate their conviction that anything is possible through the school’s mission statement, ‘Believe in yourself, in others and in God’. This vision permeates the day-to-day work and interactions between all members of the school community. There is a tangible culture of high expectations for pupils and staff. Leaders ensure that all pupils, regardless of their backgrounds, excel.
• Inclusivity is at the heart of every aspect of the school’s work. There is a culture of acceptance and integration of every pupil. Many pupils explained to inspectors that, ‘Everyone is embraced for who they are’. Pupils are extraordinarily proud to be a member of the school, and they wear their uniform with pride.
• The principal leads this school exceptionally well, ably supported by a strong team of senior leaders. He has a clear vision and a strong moral purpose, ensuring that no pupil is left behind. Pupils, staff, parents and carers value and respect him. Put simply by members of staff, ‘The headteacher is making this a better school year on year and he listens to you when you knock on his door to share your views.’
• Senior leaders’ evaluation of the school’s strengths and weaknesses is accurate, sharp and incisive. They know the school inside out and are unwavering in their drive for further improvement. They carry out comprehensive checks on all aspects of the school’s provision. If any areas of the school do not meet their high standards, they take decisive and swift action to resolve the issue.
• The pastoral care for pupils is a considerable strength. The leader responsible for pupils’ personal development, behaviour and welfare is uncompromising in her approach. She is passionate about ensuring that pupils are well looked after and able to flourish. The pastoral team is highly effective in nurturing positive relationships with pupils. Pastoral staff’s knowledge and understanding of individual pupils’ needs are exemplary. Pupils value the support they receive, both academically and emotionally. As a result, pupils attend regularly, behave extremely well, achieve highly and develop respect for all people.
• Leaders have high aspirations for pupils. They have an astute grasp of how well pupils are achieving in all year groups and across all areas of the curriculum. Leaders have excellent systems to check pupils’ progress. They identify quickly when pupils are not achieving their targets. On such occasions, leaders ensure that pupils receive appropriate support specific to each individual’s needs. As a result, the majority of pupils make outstanding progress over time.
• Leaders rigorously check on the quality of teaching. They have successfully rectified weaker areas of teaching, for example, in modern foreign languages and humanities. Leaders have been particularly successful in motivating teachers in order to improve their practice. Teachers feel well supported by leaders and share their commitment to all pupils achieving well.
• Teachers value the training they receive to maintain and improve their classroom practice. High levels of trust exist between teachers and leaders. Teachers opt into different packages of support, depending on their chosen area for development. They regularly share best practice with other teachers in school, as well as elsewhere in the trust. Teachers have training targets that focus sharply on securing high-quality teaching to make sure that pupils make consistently strong progress.
• The coordinator for the provision for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities has considerable expertise. She leads an effective team that carefully monitors the progress and welfare of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities. The coordinator ensures that the additional funding for these pupils is used to maximum effect. Her clear and focused leadership contributes to these pupils making strong progress, both academically and with their interpersonal skills.
• Recent changes made by senior leaders have secured specialist subject leaders across all areas of the curriculum. Clear lines of accountability ensure that subject leaders’ checks and improvements to the quality of teaching in their subject areas are effective. Subject leaders are enthusiastic and willing to attempt and improve new ideas, thus enhancing the school’s capacity for further improvement.
• The well-designed curriculum enables pupils in key stages 3 and 4 to develop their knowledge, skills and understanding across a broad range of subjects. Staff provide pupils with ample opportunities to secure the basic skills of reading, writing and mathematics, for example, through phonics sessions or reading groups. All Year 7 pupils enjoy participating in weekly enrichment activities. Leaders ensure that pupils are encouraged to develop their musical, artistic, sporting and creative skills and talents.
• Disadvantaged pupils achieve well. Focused support systems have led to disadvantaged pupils attending well and making better progress than that of other pupils nationally. Senior leaders regularly review the impact of the use of the pupil premium funding on the progress of eligible pupils to ensure that they continue to make gains in their progress.
• Leaders provide Year 7 pupils who arrive in school with low literacy and numeracy skills with effective support. As a result, these pupils make rapid progress, particularly in English.
• Newly qualified teachers and teacher trainees receive excellent support and guidance. Leaders provide them with many opportunities to learn from teachers’ best practice, in this school and from others in the trust. Staff go ‘above and beyond’ to help them to secure positive starts in the profession.
• Leaders provide pupils with rich opportunities to develop their spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding and to explore British values. Leaders use the school environment well to convey spiritual messages that are relevant to pupils of any faiths or none.
• Staff are overwhelmingly positive about the school and its leadership. Almost all staff who responded to the Ofsted survey said that they feel well supported by leaders and motivated to improve their own practice. While staff have a shared vision of high standards, they appreciate that leaders are also considerate of their well-being. As a result, staff enjoy working at the school.

Governance of the school

• Members of the trust board and the local governing body are ambitious for the pupils. The same fundamental messages of equality and high aspirations for all pervade their work. They are committed to ensuring that all pupils, including those who are disadvantaged, receive the same opportunities to help them make strong and sustained progress, preparing them well for their next steps.
• Members of the academy trust monitor and evaluate rigorously all aspects of senior leaders’ work in the school. Trustees have a precise understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for development. They are very effective in holding leaders to account, providing support and challenge, in order to continue to secure improvements in all aspects of the school’s work.
• The local governing body (LGB) consists of governors from a range of backgrounds, including education. While in its infancy and still recruiting members, the LGB is beginning to take on more delegated responsibilities for governance of the school. Governors already undertake their own checks on the quality of the school’s provision. For example, a recent visit by the governor with oversight of safeguarding has provided a valuable insight into, and actions to support, pupils’ welfare and safety.
• Governors are increasingly aware of how pupil premium funding is used, the quality of provision and the progress different groups of pupils are making.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Members of the trust board and those on the local governing body have a secure understanding of their safeguarding duties. They regularly monitor leaders’ work to safeguard pupils.
• Leaders make and record thorough checks on the adults who work or volunteer at the school.
• The leader responsible for safeguarding is confident, capable and informed. The safeguarding team members are well trained and understand the needs of pupils extremely well. They meticulously monitor those pupils who are, or who are likely to be, at risk, taking timely and effective action to support pupils about whose welfare they have a concern. They work well with parents and with a range of external agencies to ensure that pupils receive any extra support they need.
• Staff are clear about their safeguarding responsibilities because leaders provide effective and frequent updates on important safeguarding matters. They are vigilant to signs of abuse and understand their statutory duties with regard to, for example, radicalisation and extremism.
• Pupils said that they feel safe at school and they know how to stay safe when they leave. They are well aware of those staff in school who have responsibilities for safeguarding, due to the many posters displayed around the school site. They are also confident they have someone who will help and support them if they have a worry.
• Leaders ensure that pupils learn about the possible risks they face through the curriculum. They use well a variety of approaches, including assemblies, the school’s ‘believe’ programme and visits from external agencies. Pupils are aware of how to stay safe online, and they learn how to look after their own well-being.
• All parents who expressed a view on Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View, agree that their child is safe and happy at the school.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Outstanding

• Pupils are confident and articulate learners. They form positive working relationships with others, supporting and helping their peers and celebrating their successes. Pupils have a mutual respect for their teachers. They are willing to ask teachers for help when they need it and they are prepared to make mistakes in their learning in order to achieve well.
• Teachers have high expectations of pupils’ attitudes to learning and the progress they make. For older pupils, teachers pay close attention to the examination requirements to ensure that pupils know on what they should focus. They carefully plan learning that is challenging and enjoyable and develops pupils’ resilience.
• The promotion of pupils’ literacy skills is a key characteristic of many lessons. For example, teachers make frequent use of subject-specific vocabulary. Teachers place a strong emphasis on developing pupils’ oral skills. Inspectors saw many positive examples of pupils of all ages reading aloud with their peers.
• Teachers have excellent subject knowledge. They skilfully assist pupils’ learning, using well-timed support to help clarify pupils’ misconceptions and deepen their understanding of a topic. Expecting them to explain and justify their thoughts, teachers ensure that pupils maintain a high level of interest throughout each lesson.
• Teachers give pupils the opportunity to revisit their learning, for example, by using ‘drill’ questions at the start of science lessons. Teachers use information about pupils’ prior learning and attainment effectively so the activities set are at the right level and suitably challenging. Pupils know how to improve their work due to the precise feedback they receive from teachers. This ensures that pupils make strong progress.
• Pupils of all ages value the opportunity to learn independently. For example, pupils in Years 7 and 8 make effective use of ‘knowledge organisers’ to complete their homework, in line with the school’s policy. This reflects their commitment to extending their learning.
• Teachers work well with adults who support pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities. Teaching assistants help pupils with specific learning difficulties to make strong progress in developing their knowledge, skills and understanding. They ask searching questions and encourage positive engagement from the pupils, which contributes to their excellent progress.
• Almost all pupils are highly motivated learners. In many lessons, there is a palpable excitement for learning. Teachers use time well. They are highly consistent in their use of the behaviour management system, which ensures that classrooms are almost always conducive to learning. On the small number of occasions when some pupils are not fully engaged in their work, progress is not as rapid because learning time is lost.
• Some boys do not always take as much care with the presentation and accuracy of their written work, in comparison with the girls. This is particularly important when the layout of pupils’ work may affect their grade in an examination, for example, in mathematics.
• Leaders recognise that teaching in some subjects has not been as strong as in others. In these cases, leaders have put appropriate support in place, and teaching in these subjects is rapidly improving.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding.
• Pupils’ attitudes to learning are very positive, across all years and different groups of pupils. Pupils want to do well, and staff support them in fulfilling this ambition. Leaders provide ample opportunities for pupils’ successes to be celebrated.
• Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural awareness is strong. When inspectors observed the school’s assembly, it was clear that pupils have a deep sense of belonging to the school community and an intrinsic respect for others. When asked by inspectors to describe their school, words chosen by pupils included ‘acceptance’ and ‘equality’.
• Pupils are kind, thoughtful and respectful towards others. They have very warm and caring interactions with each other, irrespective of age, race or faith. Incidents of prejudice-based behaviour are rare. Neither staff nor pupils tolerate derogatory language.
• Bullying is rare, but, on the very few occasions when it does occur, pupils are confident that it will be resolved quickly. The large majority of pupils, staff and parents who expressed a view agree with this opinion.
• Pupils reported that they feel safe and happy at school. They said that there are ‘really supportive teachers’ they can approach if they have any concerns or worries. Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe online, including about the dangers of radicalisation and extreme views. Leaders also ensure that pupils learn to manage their emotional well-being, including their mental health.
• Pupils develop their leadership capabilities. Pupil leadership teams organise fund-raising and charity activities throughout the year and events within the local community. Pupils value being part of the decision-making process in the school.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is outstanding.
• Pupils’ conduct around the school site and their attitudes towards each other are excellent. Parents and staff agree that pupils’ positive behaviour is a very strong feature of the school.
• Leaders take an uncompromising approach towards behaviour. The vast majority of pupils respect and understand the school’s rules. They said that teachers follow the behaviour systems consistently well. Staff use rewards effectively to motivate and reinforce expectations.
• Leaders are forensic in their analysis of information about pupils’ behaviour. Incidents of poor behaviour are low and increasingly rare. The school’s inclusive ethos means that leaders are committed to ‘sticking with pupils’. As a result, the small number of pupils who struggle to manage their behaviour receive highly effective support.
• There have been no permanent exclusions since the school opened. The proportion of pupils who are excluded from school for a fixed period is well below the national average and declining.
• Leaders have ensured that pupils are clear about what staff expect of them. This means that pupils are punctual to school and to their lessons. They arrive in class ready to learn.
• Very few pupils are absent or persistently absent from school. Attendance is equally impressive for disadvantaged pupils. This is because pupils enjoy school. Leaders ensure that pupils receive high-quality pastoral care. They provide close support to those pupils whose attendance does not match the high level of others.
• Leaders use alternative education placements for a small number of pupils. Leaders check their progress carefully. Records show these pupils benefit from this provision, for example, through improved attendance.

Outcomes for pupils Outstanding

• Current information shows that pupils make consistently strong progress from their starting points across virtually all subjects and year groups. This is because teachers have extremely high expectations of what pupils can achieve. They use highly accurate assessment information to plan activities that build precisely on pupils’ prior learning. Teachers challenge pupils, including the most able pupils, and very effectively support the learning of the least able pupils. The value the school adds to pupils’ progress from the time they start at the school to the time they leave is considerable.
• Leaders are meticulous in identifying those pupils whose attainment or progress begins to fall behind. Pupils catch up quickly because they receive the help and support that they need to keep up with their peers. This strategy has been successful in helping the vast majority of pupils to make at least the progress of which they are capable.
• Current Year 10 and Year 11 pupils are making outstanding progress. In almost all subjects, including English and mathematics, the proportion of pupils reaching or exceeding their challenging target grades is high. There is almost no difference between the progress of disadvantaged pupils or pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities and that of other pupils.
• Leaders are acutely aware of the rates of progress made by groups of pupils, including disadvantaged pupils. In most subjects, these pupils make the same or very similar progress to other pupils. Where any gaps in progress do exist, they are rapidly closing.
• Leaders track the progress of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities very closely, ensuring that they receive precise support. The progress of these pupils is demonstrably strong from their individual starting points.
• The school’s performance information and books that inspectors looked at show that a high proportion of pupils in Years 7, 8 and 9 are on track to achieve their challenging targets in a wide range of subjects.
• Rates of pupils’ progress are exceptionally strong in most subjects. However, there are some subjects where, although still strong, progress has been less impressive. This is particularly the case in modern foreign languages. Leaders have taken swift action to accelerate progress in these subjects, including accessing support from within the trust. As a result, pupils’ progress in these subjects is rapidly improving.
• Pupils are confident and articulate readers. They read extensively, as evidenced in their reading logs, and speak with enthusiasm about the books they read. Pupils who are the most able read particularly challenging texts. Pupils who are less confident with reading improve their skills rapidly through focused support from teachers and peers.
• Leaders promote very high aspirations for all pupils’ futures, irrespective of their background or prior attainment. Year 11 pupils are confident about the choices they make for the next stage in their education. Almost all pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, leave the school at the end of Year 11 and move on to places of further education or training, including studying at a local sixth form within the trust.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 145146 Nottingham 10051875 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Secondary Academy converter 11 to 16 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 762 Appropriate authority Chair Principal Telephone number Website Email address Board of trustees Gordon Anderson Stuart Anderson 01159 007210 www.bluecoatwollaton.co.uk/ office@bluecoatwollaton.co.uk Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

Information about this school

• Bluecoat Wollaton Academy is a smaller than average-sized secondary school.
• Before October 2017, the school was a campus within a larger school. In October 2017, Bluecoat Wollaton Academy became a separate school in its own right, while retaining the same principal.
• The school is part of the Archway Learning Trust. The trust is responsible for the school’s governance and holds all the legal responsibilities for the school. The trust has set up an LGB.
• The proportion of girls attending the school is below average.
• The minority of pupils are of White British heritage.
• The proportions of pupils from minority ethnic groups and those who speak English as an additional language are above the national averages.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is above average.
• The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is well above average. The proportion of pupils with a statement of special educational needs or an education, health and care plan is below average.
• A few pupils attend full-time alternative provision at Archway Learning Trust’s unit, ‘Aspire’.
• The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics at the end of key stage 4.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed learning in 45 lessons, across a wide range of subjects in both key stage 3 and key stage 4. Some lessons were jointly observed with senior leaders. Inspectors also observed tutor time and two assemblies.
• Inspectors and senior leaders looked at samples of pupils’ work covering a range of subjects, abilities and year groups. Inspectors also looked at pupils’ work in lessons across all year groups.
• The lead inspector held a range of meetings, including with the principal, the assistant principal who has oversight of safeguarding, the vice-principal who is responsible for the use of the pupil premium funding, the vice-chair of the local governing body and two representatives of the multi-academy trust, including the chief executive officer and the vice-chair of the trustees.
• Inspectors held further meetings with the leaders responsible for behaviour and attendance, teaching, learning, the curriculum and careers, the coordinator for the provision for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities, the leader responsible for coordinating spiritual, moral, social and cultural education, subject and pastoral leaders and a group of staff.
• Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour during lessons, before school and during breaktimes and lunchtimes.
• Inspectors spoke formally with pupils from key stage 3 and key stage 4, a group of pupil leaders and a group of other pupils. Inspectors also spoke with other pupils informally.
• Inspectors listened to Year 7 pupils reading.
• Inspectors scrutinised a wide range of documents relating to the school’s provision, including: self-evaluation and improvement planning; minutes of meetings of the local governing body; minutes of meetings of the trust; plans related to additional government funding; behaviour, attendance and exclusion records; information about the attainment and progress of all pupils; safeguarding; and information on the school’s website. The lead inspector also checked the school’s single central register and the school’s system for recruiting staff.
• Inspectors evaluated the 30 responses to Parent View, Ofsted’s online survey.
• Inspectors analysed the 66 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire for staff.
• Inspectors considered the 76 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire for pupils.

Inspection team

Rachel Tordoff, lead inspector Julie Sheppard Ellenor Beighton Andy Hunt Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector