Nightingale Community Academy Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the quality of teaching and learning, by making sure that pupils make faster progress that will help them to close the gaps in their learning and achieve better outcomes, particularly in the key area of literacy.
• Develop further the work on improving attendance, particularly in relation to persistent absentees.
• Develop the 16 to 19 programmes so that they meet students’ needs more effectively.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• Since the start of the school in September 2016, the principal and his leadership team have shown a tireless determination to improve the education it offers. Their ‘no excuses’ approach means that nothing other than the highest quality of education is good enough. Leaders are, however, able to provide the help, support and encouragement that staff and pupils need to enable them to meet these expectations.
• The principal and leadership team, well supported by the Orchard Hill College and Academy Trust, have provided strong leadership, which has had a positive impact on the school’s effectiveness. As a result, there have been improvements in all areas, most noticeably in pupils’ behaviour and attitudes, the curriculum and in the wider opportunities for pupils.
• The school has been through some very challenging circumstances with particular difficulty in recruiting high-quality staff. This situation has now stabilised. Teaching is improving and leaders know where teaching is strong and where it needs to improve further to eliminate inconsistencies. For example, they are working on improving the quality of the feedback that teachers give to pupils. Well-targeted training and support for teachers have raised the overall quality of teaching.
• The overwhelming majority of staff are supportive of the principal and leadership team and have confidence that the school is moving rapidly in the right direction. They know that further improvement is needed.
• The subject leaders for mathematics and English are clear about their roles and how important their work is in bringing about further improvement. The impact of their work is being seen in both subjects, but most strongly in mathematics.
• All pupils have an education, health and care plan that explains their specific needs and targets. The special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) monitors and reviews these plans regularly so that they continue to meet pupils’ needs.
• Leaders have implemented a new and more effective curriculum in the primary and secondary phases that is a better match for pupils’ abilities, needs and career aspirations. As a result, progress is improving more rapidly and pupils are able to take more relevant qualifications. Similar revisions are planned for the sixth-form curriculum.
• All pupils follow a core curriculum of English, mathematics, science, physical education (PE) and personal, social and health (PSH) education and citizenship. These lead to functional skills and GCSE qualifications. BTEC vocational courses are offered in key stage 4 and in the sixth form.
• The academic curriculum is strongly supported by a range of therapies, such as creative arts, speech and language therapy, and sensory work, which are designed to meet pupils’ different needs.
• The school works hard to establish good relationships with parents and to take account of their views. Parents were generally positive and believed that the school had improved, although they had concerns about the turnover of staff.

Governance of the school

• The local governing board is responsible to the Orchard Hill College and Academy Trust for the work of the school. Governors bring a range of expertise in education, mental health and other areas, which they use both to challenge and support the principal and leadership team. Governors are knowledgeable about the school and very clear about its strengths and weaknesses.
• Governors are thorough in their monitoring of the school’s work, including through regular visits, and they are rigorous in their evaluation of its success. The impact of the additional funds available to the school for disadvantaged pupils and through the PE and sport premium and Year 7 catch-up funding is carefully checked to ensure that these funds are having the expected impact.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Leaders, including governors, have developed an effective culture of safeguarding in the school. Effective referral systems, good recruitment procedures, detailed record keeping and close working with other agencies all help to ensure that the needs of vulnerable pupils are met. Regular safeguarding training ensures that all adults in the school contribute to a culture and ethos where pupils feel safe.
• Staff are knowledgeable about the risks pupils face, including gang culture and exposure to radicalisation and extremism. They understand the school’s referral systems and know to whom they should report any concerns. PSH education helps pupils to learn how to stay safe in different circumstances, as does the good relationship with the police community support officer.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• Teaching is improving, but still requires further improvement. Where teaching is typically the most effective, teachers know their pupils well and use a range of different approaches to help everyone make good progress. They keep in regular contact with pupils’ families, so that they can work together to help pupils succeed.
• Staff manage pupils’ behaviour well so that classrooms are calm and orderly places for both staff and pupils to work and learn.
• Teachers, teaching support assistants and therapists work as a team to help pupils to learn and practise new skills. Activities are planned that also help pupils become more confident and independent. The team approach typically works well, but very occasionally teaching assistants are not given enough direction.
• Teachers check on and record pupils’ progress carefully. They use the information carefully to identify the next steps or areas where further work or practice is needed. In line with the school’s assessment policy, the best feedback encourages a dialogue between teachers and pupils and motivates pupils well, but use of this type of feedback is not consistent.
• In English and other lessons, teachers plan carefully to help pupils develop their literacy skills. Lively phonics teaching of younger pupils helps them learn to recognise and read a wider range of words and texts. One-to-one support has also helped to increase their rate of progress considerably. Pupils’ ability to understand what they are reading does not improve as much.
• Teachers are providing more opportunities for pupils to write for different purposes, but few pupils develop skills in writing at any length. The relationship between reading and writing is not always recognised sufficiently, though in one very effective session, inspectors observed pupils writing a news report who were being helped to see that making writing more interesting would encourage people to read. They were learning to analyse what was needed to improve their own writing.
• In mathematics, activities are focused on enabling pupils to develop a deep understanding of different topics. The approach in class and the practical activities, which include every-day mathematics, help to increase pupils’ confidence as well as their skills, and their progress is increasing rapidly. Other subjects, such as food and design and technology, also contribute to improving pupils’ ability to apply their mathematical skills.
• Teachers take every opportunity to develop pupils’ knowledge and understanding of the wider world. They fully exploit the resources available in London through visits and visitors to the school. These, and the choice of topics, all help to widen further pupils’ understanding and raise their aspirations.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote personal development and welfare is good.
• The school’s ethos is based on respect. Staff are good role models. They treat the pupils with consideration and expect pupils to respond in the same way. Pupils do not always find this easy, but almost all establish good relationships.
• The PSH education and citizenship curriculum contributes strongly to pupils’ personal development. It helps pupils to understand the importance of British values such as the rule of law, democracy and tolerance.
• The curriculum includes good careers education so that pupils are being better prepared for their next steps, whether this is to stay on into the sixth form or move on to college or an apprenticeship.
• Pupils are encouraged to play an active role in the school and generally respond to the opportunities open to them. The members of the learners’ council were discussing ways in which the school could be improved.
• The work pupils do on ‘Tom’s Farm’ helps them to develop a sense of responsibility as they learn to look after the animals and understand their different needs. They are also learning about growing fruit and vegetables, and older pupils can take vocational courses in animal care and horticulture.
• Pupils have access to a wide range of activities. They take part in different sports in which they can compete against other schools. Year 7 pupils were proud of their experience of working with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and keen to talk about it.
• Visits to places of interest are integrated into the curriculum and help to widen pupils’ horizons and raise their aspirations for what they can achieve. Since September 2018, different year groups have visited The Royal Observatory, Science Museum, Tower of London and Chelsea Football Club’s stadium.
• These visits have been used as the starting point for some interesting work in different subjects. For example, the visit to Chelsea FC was linked to work on the hospitality course as they learned what was involved in catering on match days.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• Most pupils show good attitudes and apply themselves well to their work. Where pupils are having difficulty in a lesson or having a bad day, their behaviour is not allowed to disrupt the learning of others.
• Pupils themselves say that behaviour is much better. They said that before the current principal and team took over, behaviour was poor and no one wanted to work.
• Pupils also said that they feel safe in the school, and are confident that there are people to go to if they have any concerns.
• Records indicate that bullying has decreased. Pupils confirmed this and said that when it happens, it gets dealt with quickly.
• Staff have high expectations and are consistent in the way in which they manage behaviour. As a result, although the school can be noisy at breaktime and change of lessons, it is nonetheless orderly and pupils respond positively to staff.
• The number of fixed-term exclusions has fallen in the past two years. Pupils are learning that their actions have consequences and that these are not necessarily negative. Staff are quick to praise and support pupils who are trying hard to learn to control their behaviour.
• Attendance has improved, but it is still below the national average and a small number of pupils are still persistently absent from the school. Better systems and procedures are helping staff to engage with these pupils and their parents and carers more effectively, but there is still more to be done.
• A few pupils attend alternative provision to take courses that the school is not able to offer. The school keeps a close watch on their attendance, behaviour and progress to make sure that they are getting the most out of these opportunities.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• Most pupils join the school with knowledge and skills that are below, and often well below, expectations for their age. Most of them have also missed a considerable amount of school.
• Pupils who attend regularly start to make better progress academically, but there is still a legacy of underachievement.
• Leaders are acting effectively to tackle the gaps in pupils’ knowledge, particularly in the basic skills of reading, writing and mathematics. This is so far proving to be most effective in mathematics lessons, where pupils are developing greater depth in their understanding of how to use mathematics. This is helped by practical work where, for example, younger pupils went shopping to buy the ingredients for their banana bread.
• Phonics teaching with younger pupils and one-to-one sessions in reading are helping pupils to make rapid progress in their ability to read, but pupils are not as good at understanding what they are reading. Many pupils still find it difficult to write accurately and for different purposes or to write more than a few sentences.
• School information and work in pupils’ books show that learning has improved. This is because the curriculum now meets pupils’ needs and the quality of teaching is better than in the past. Pupils who speak English as an additional language and/or those who are entitled to support through additional funding make similar progress to other pupils.

16 to 19 study programmes Requires improvement

• The small sixth form is in a state of transition. Leaders have carefully evaluated the sixth form and have recognised that it is not yet fully meeting the needs of students. They are planning to re-model the curriculum to make it more relevant. This will involve working more closely with other organisations and widening the range of qualifications and opportunities available, for example by introducing City and Guild qualifications, which are widely recognised by employers.
• Students in the sixth form currently follow a similar curriculum to pupils in the rest of the school. This leads to recognised qualifications, for example in BTEC vocational courses. They continue to take English and mathematics and can improve on their qualifications in these subjects.
• Students felt that the school has improved and that behaviour is better. Sixth-form students are encouraged to show a sense of responsibility. As with younger pupils, sixth-form students have access to a range of different opportunities and activities. They also help with work on ‘Tom’s Farm’. These opportunities help them to improve their basic skills in literacy and numeracy, as well as promoting their independence and social skills.
• Students know that staff will assist them when they are making choices about the future. They appreciate the quality of information and support they receive to help them complete their applications, whether this is for a college course, a supported internship or an apprenticeship.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 143175 Wandsworth 10058957 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Special School category Academy special sponsor led Age range of pupils 5 to 19 Gender of pupils Gender of pupils in 16 to 19 study programmes Number of pupils on the school roll Of which, number on roll in 16 to 19 study programmes Appropriate authority Chair Principal Telephone number Website Email address Boys Boys 102 18 Board of trustees Barbara McIntosh Andre Bailey 020 8874 9096 www.nightingaleca.org info@nightingaleca.org Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

Information about this school

• The school came into existence in September 2016 when the predecessor school became part of the Orchard Hill College and Academy Trust. The school admits children from the age of five upwards. A high proportion of pupils stay on into the school sixth form, where they may stay until they are age 19.
• All pupils have an education, health and care plan. These mostly relate to behavioural, social, emotional and mental health needs and autism spectrum disorder. The proportion of pupils who are entitled to free school meals is well above average, as is the proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language. About a third of the pupils are from White British backgrounds. Other pupils are from Black African and Caribbean or mixed-race heritage.
• The school site includes ‘Tom’s Farm’. This is a small farm that enables pupils to learn about and to look after a variety of animals, including rare-breed pigs, as well as learning about horticulture.

Information about this inspection

• The inspectors observed a range of lessons or parts of lessons in different subjects and year groups, except in Year 10 because these pupils were out on work experience. Inspectors also visited ‘Tom’s Farm’ to observe the work being done there. All observations were undertaken jointly with the principal or other senior staff.
• The team held meetings with governors, school leaders and staff.
• An inspector spoke to a group of parents and considered the school’s evidence from surveys of parents’ opinions. A small number of parents completed Parent View, Ofsted’s online survey.
• Inspectors met and talked to pupils and observed the learners’ council. Inspectors looked at pupils’ work and the school’s records of their progress.
• The team took into account 41 responses to Ofsted’s staff questionnaire. There were six responses to the online pupil questionnaire.
• The team scrutinised a range of documents provided by the school, including those available on its website.

Inspection team

Grace Marriott, lead inspector Keith Tysoe

Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector