Michaela Community School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Ensure that the school’s provision for pupils’ physical education is as consistently strong as other curriculum subjects.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Outstanding

• Leaders and governors have established and maintained a consistently ambitious culture at the school. Leaders have been highly successful in engaging the commitment and loyalty of staff and in motivating pupils to be ambitious for their future lives. In the survey, all teachers who responded were constantly positive about all aspects of the school’s work. In discussions with inspectors, pupils spoke very proudly of their school.
• The leadership and management of teaching is extremely strong. Leaders make sure that teaching is consistently effective and supports outstanding outcomes for all groups of pupils. Teachers and leaders work very closely together and have a shared understanding of successful teaching approaches.
• Staff new to teaching benefit from close support and supervision from leaders that help them to develop the quality of their teaching. All teachers regularly observe one another and as a result they maintain teaching consistency and secure continual improvement. Leaders, teachers and governors regularly check the impact of teaching on pupils’ learning.
• Leaders, governors and teachers are ambitious for the academic outcomes of the pupils. Careers advice and guidance encourage pupils to begin to think about and plan for the next stages in their education almost as soon as they join the school. Leaders ensure that pupils are encouraged to aim high for their future lives and aspire to reach their full potential.
• The curriculum ensures that pupils develop their knowledge and understanding across a broad and balanced range of subjects. Across subject areas, teachers have high expectations of pupils’ reading, writing and numeracy, and support pupils’ strengths in literacy and numeracy. Through very regular reading, the curriculum ensures that pupils enjoy books and develop strong preferences for the authors and types of books they appreciate the most.
• In recent time, reduced access to off-site sporting facilities has restricted the curriculum and provision for pupils’ physical education. Pupils play table tennis and basketball at lunchtimes and in physical education, but other sporting activities are limited.
• Daily discussions in assemblies and at lunchtime cover an exceptionally wide range of ideas, themes and topics. This fosters pupils’ excellent spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Pupils’ knowledge and understanding of fundamental British values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, respect and tolerance, prepare them exceptionally well for life in modern Britain.
• Extra-curricular clubs at lunchtime and after school encourage pupils to extend their interests. Mathematics and public speaking clubs stretch the thinking of the most able pupils. Pupils take on roles as ’future leaders’ and are responsible for recommending improvements to the school. Art and homework clubs, for example, were introduced following suggestions from the future leaders group.
• Leaders and governors measure closely the impact of additional funding on pupils’ academic outcomes. They ensure that the pupil premium, Year 7 literacy and numeracy catch-up premium and special educational needs funding are used effectively and all have a substantial and sustained impact on the learning and progress of eligible pupils.

Governance of the school

• Governors and senior leaders have a shared vision for the school and are ambitious for all pupils at Michaela. Members of the governing body work very closely with senior leaders and visit the school regularly. They observe teaching and hold discussions with pupils in order to explore their views of the school’s work.
• Governors set highly challenging targets. They know how the school uses the pupil premium and check how well additional funding supports the learning and progress of eligible pupils. The governing body measures the impact of the school’s work on the outstanding academic outcomes of all pupils.
• Members of the governing body bring an extensive range of expertise to support the leadership and management of the school. They undertake relevant training to keep up to date with developments in education and safeguarding.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• The leadership team has ensured that safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose and records are detailed and of high quality. Training is effective in making sure that staff recognise possible signs that a pupil may be at risk of harm, including from extreme views about right and wrong, female genital mutilation or child sexual exploitation. Leaders and staff know the school community very well and have identified where particular vigilance is needed to safeguard pupils’ welfare. Staff know what action they are expected to take should they have any concerns about a pupil’s well-being. They are aware that all staff have a role to play in making sure that pupils are looked after and safe.
• The school works in partnership with a range of safeguarding agencies and follows up any concerns rapidly. Leaders provide guidance for parents, including through regular letters, in order to support them in keeping their children safe from harm.
• The curriculum encourages pupils to build a clear sense of possible risks to their safety. Pupils speak knowledgeably about wide-ranging ways to avoid unsafe situations outside school. They are aware of a broad variety of precautions they can take in order to keep themselves safe from harm, including when travelling on public transport, using computers or how to deal with peer pressure and extremist ideas about right and wrong.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Outstanding

• Teaching is dependably well organised. Teachers make their expectations extremely clear. Established routines help to ensure that no time is wasted when pupils move from one activity to another.
• Teaching is reliably lively and engaging. It captures and holds pupils’ attention. Teachers routinely set demanding tasks that motivate pupils and encourage them to think hard. Pupils’ exemplary social skills are developed through the activities teachers select.
• Across years and subject areas, teachers use approaches that support pupils’ learning very effectively over time, as the striking progress seen in pupils’ subject books shows. Teachers set very regular homework tasks that help pupils to master what they learn in class.
• Teaching develops pupils’ literacy consistently effectively. For example, pupils learn and use key subject vocabulary that enables them to express their ideas precisely and accurately. Across subjects, pupils read and write very regularly.
• Teaching and the curriculum support pupils in building confidence in numeracy. Teachers ensure that pupils know how to use a variety of ways to solve problems swiftly and accurately.
• Teachers acknowledge pupils’ efforts and spur pupils on. In response, pupils characteristically strive to complete the tasks teachers set and present their work very neatly.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding.
• Attitudes to learning are exemplary. Pupils know how to be successful learners because leaders and teaching staff actively encourage pupils’ social and emotional development. Pupils typically said that they understand how hard work now will help to prepare them very well for the next stages of their education.
• Pupils’ self-confidence matures rapidly. Teachers and leaders challenge pupils to speak in front of their peers and adults and share their views. Pupils learn how to speak publicly and do so with self-assurance. They constantly show that they understand the importance of listening carefully to the adults and one another.
• Pupils are readily appreciative and caring. They acknowledge enthusiastically what members of the school community have done well and generously celebrate the successes and achievements of others.
• Pupils have an extensive understanding of possible risks to their safety. They are in no doubt that leaders and staff will deal quickly and effectively with any problems that may occur. Pupils are consistently clear that any instances of bullying are exceptionally rare.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is outstanding. Pupils are polite, well mannered and very respectful. They conduct themselves exceedingly sensibly around the school. In class, they are reliably composed and attentive to teaching staff.
• Pupils behave responsibly and are highly self-disciplined. They follow the school’s conduct guidelines conscientiously so that lessons run very smoothly and without interruption. The school is an extremely calm and safe learning environment. It is very well maintained, and graffiti- and litter-free.
• Pupils know the importance of attending school every day and arriving on time so that no learning is missed. Pupils’ attendance rates are consistently much higher than national averages. Persistent absence is well below national proportions. Pupils value the school’s rewards for high attendance, and those who have been awarded 100% attendance badges wear them proudly.

Outcomes for pupils Outstanding

• Pupils make exceedingly strong progress across Years 7 to 9 and across subject areas, including English, mathematics, science, humanities, French, art and music. As a result of outstanding teaching, work in pupils’ books shows that, over time, all groups of pupils make consistently accelerated progress from their starting points.
• Disadvantaged pupils make substantial progress and achieve as well as other pupils. Leaders and teachers have equally high expectations of all pupils. They make sure that the pupil premium funding is used effectively and that disadvantaged pupils who need additional support are helped and make rapid progress.
• The most able pupils, including most-able disadvantaged pupils, make exceedingly strong progress over time. They are challenged by demanding work that motivates them to meet their teachers’ expectations.
• Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are encouraged and supported effectively. They make similar exceptional progress from their starting points at a similar rate to all pupils.
• Pupils who need to catch up are identified quickly when they join the school. As a result of the carefully tailored support they receive, they catch up quickly in reading, writing and mathematics.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 140862 Brent 10022224 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Secondary comprehensive School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Academy free school 11 to 19 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 360 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Suella Fernandes Katharine Birbalsingh Telephone number 0208 795 3183 Website Email address http://mcsbrent.co.uk/ info@mcsbrent.co.uk Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

Information about this school

• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.
• The school complies with Department for Education guidance on what academies should publish.
• Michaela Community School opened in September 2014 with its first intake of pupils in Year 7. Currently, the school has pupils in Years 7 to 9. There are no pupils in Years 10 and 11 and no students in 16 to 19 provision. The school will continue to grow in size each year until there are four classes in each year from Years 7 to 11 and four classes in each year in 16 to 19 provision.
• The proportion of pupils at the school who are disadvantaged is above the national average. The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is average.
• Fewer pupils join and leave the school partway through their secondary education compared with pupils nationally.
• The school uses no alternative provision.
• The school has no national assessment results by which to measure the school’s performance against the current government floor standards because there are no pupils thus far in Year 11.

Information about this inspection

• The inspection team visited teaching sessions across a wide range of subject areas in Years 7 to 9. The majority of these visits were conducted together with members of the senior leadership team.
• Inspectors held meetings with the headteacher and senior leaders. Inspectors looked at work in pupils’ books and spoke to pupils informally during observations of teaching and around the school. They also met with groups of pupils from Years 7 to 9. Inspectors listened to selected pupils read.
• Inspectors held a meeting with two governors.
• Inspectors looked at a range of documents provided by the school, including assessment information and the self-evaluation report. The school’s records relating to safeguarding were also checked.
• There were 71 responses to the Ofsted online survey, Parent View. The inspectors took account of these, along with 31 responses to the staff questionnaire.

Inspection team

Madeleine Gerard, lead inspector Diane Khanna Matt Tiplin

Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector