Outwood Academy Bydales Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Continue to work closely with families and pupils to decrease persistent absenteeism for pupils who are disadvantaged.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Outstanding

• Leaders, including governors, are highly effective. Through their words, and actions, they have transformed the school in a short period of time. The quality of education pupils receive is outstanding.
• Despite considerable change, staff morale is extremely high. Staff, parents and carers, and pupils who responded to Ofsted’s questionnaires are confident that the school is well led and managed.
• Leaders, including governors, have an accurate understanding of the school’s strengths. They review their own work regularly and are honest when improvements are needed. Leaders’ robust self-evaluation ensures that they target their efforts appropriately. For example, leaders’ swift and proportionate intervention in the English department ensured that the progress disadvantaged pupils made in their 2017 examinations was much higher than in 2016.
• Leaders ensure that the broad and balanced curriculum meets the needs of all pupils. The wide range of extra-curricular activities is closely matched to pupils’ interests or weaknesses. Pupils’ attendance at each session is very high. Indeed, most pupils now view participation in extra-curricular classes as the norm rather than the exception.
• Leaders have high expectations and, over time, the quality of teaching has improved considerably. Leaders, from within the school and multi-academy trust, provide a varied training programme for staff. Induction arrangements are well developed. They ensure that new and more experienced teachers adopt a tried and tested approach to classroom management and lesson delivery. Newly qualified teachers told inspectors that they value the wide range of support given to them. Leaders have a strong track record of helping teachers improve their effectiveness within the classroom. This has led to improved outcomes for pupils.
• Leaders’ actions to improve pupils’ behaviour have been successful. The teachers, and pupils, spoken to during the inspection said that behaviour in, and around, school is far better than it used to be. Leaders and teachers insist on high standards of pupils’ behaviour. Every pupil observed by inspectors during this inspection had a positive attitude to their learning.
• Leaders receive exceptional support from the multi-academy trust. Senior staff from the trust are available, sometimes at short notice, to help advise and assist leaders if required. Similarly, school leaders provide support, and time, to other schools within the multi-academy trust or local authority. This coordinated approach, coupled with passionate leadership, ensures that there is the capacity for further improvement.
• Most subject leaders have an excellent understanding of their role within school. They are dedicated and work closely with each other and senior leaders. Most subject leaders are able to analyse pupils’ progress information in detail. This informs their plans and ensures that any pupil needing support receives it quickly.
• Leaders, including governors, are steadfast in their determination and desire for all pupils to achieve the best that they can, including disadvantaged pupils. Additional funding to support disadvantaged pupils is allocated to a wide range of strategies. The progress made by disadvantaged pupils is above that of other pupils nationally.
• Leaders have provided additional time for teachers to learn from the practice of others. For example, teachers from the mathematics department have recently been working with teachers from the geography department to supplement their understanding of statistical techniques. This approach ensures that the most effective practice in teaching is shared across the school.
• Leaders, including governors, check that funding for Year 7 pupils who need to catch up with their literacy and numeracy skills is allocated correctly. Consequently, the large majority of this group make progress at the same rate, or above, as their peers before they begin Year 8.
• Pupils value the wide range of opportunities afforded them to help develop their understanding of spiritual, moral, social and cultural issues. Programmes such as the ‘pledge’ system and ‘random acts of kindness’ encourage pupils to show care and concern for others. Leaders organise regular meetings, support groups or external speakers to allow pupils to discuss issues such as relationships, safety, and personal health and well-being. As a result, pupils’ personal, social and emotional development is outstanding.

Governance of the school

• Governors provide a high level of support and hold all staff to account for their work. They frequently visit school to speak with staff or conduct observations in lessons. Governors told inspectors that they like to test the accuracy of the information leaders present to them.
• Governors possess a wide range of skills and expertise. They are knowledgeable, curious and have a deep and accurate understanding of the school’s effectiveness. Governors manage financial resources very well.
• Governors are aware of their statutory responsibilities. They can articulate how additional funding is spent and the impact it is having on the progress of pupils. Governors are reflective of their own work. They routinely audit and evaluate their actions regarding safeguarding and health and safety.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Leaders ensure that the safety of pupils is given the highest priority. Staff receive appropriate safeguarding training during induction and regularly during their time in school. There are strong lines of communication to report any concerns and all staff know what to do if they have worries about a pupil’s safety.
• Pupils say that they feel safe. The vast majority of pupils who responded to Ofsted’s questionnaire said that they know whom to speak to if they have any concerns.
• Leaders and teachers have a thorough understanding of the risks pupils may face. As a result, they continue to explore ways to alert pupils to the various risks and provide them with the strategies to protect themselves. For example, assembly topics and external speakers cover issues such as online safety, fireworks and bullying.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Outstanding

• Teachers know their pupils well. This contributes to extremely strong relationships within the classroom. Inspectors observed a number of lessons that were full of energy and vibrancy that contributed to pupils making substantial gains in their learning.
• Teachers successfully analyse and interpret pupils’ prior assessment information to inform their planning. As a result, lessons feature well-matched tasks to support and challenge pupils from their different starting points.
• Most teachers are masters of their craft. Their high expectations and strong subject knowledge ensures that all pupils are challenged to improve their work. Pupils invariably rise to this challenge.
• Systems to check the accuracy of teachers’ assessment are rigorous. They enable teachers to check the progress of their pupils against 18,000 others from the wider multi-academy trust.
• Teachers encourage pupils to question each other. They have established effective classroom routines and strategies that ensure that pupils use each other as a valuable teaching resource. Teachers’ questioning is highly effective. They skilfully use probing questions to test out pupils’ understanding and to adapt their teaching to secure the best possible progress. It is rare that a pupil is able to ‘pass’ or give a brief answer.
• The small group of teaching assistants work in close partnership with teachers. They are involved in the planning and delivery of lessons and they evaluate the progress of pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities. This information is shared with teachers and enables them to plan appropriate tasks for future lessons.
• The teaching of literacy is consistently strong across the school. School initiatives make sure that pupils have to revisit the 30 most commonly misspelt words until they are able to spell them correctly. Pupils told inspectors that they enjoy reading and look forward to quiet reading time each day.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding.
• Pupils are proud of their school. They enjoy taking part in the many projects designed to develop their skills and understanding of the world in which they live. For example, a recent ‘Pupil Presidential Election’ took place. Election candidates were selected and, with the help of their friends and supporters, pupils were required to create and lead an election strategy. The newly appointed ‘President’ has worked closely with the local bus company to change bus routes, and/or times, to help improve pupils’ punctuality to school.
• Leaders support the development of pupils’ physical and emotional well-being and have introduced a number of activities to do so. Pupils take part in the ‘pledge’ system and volunteer for 10 different enrichment activities. For example, pupils receive rewards when they represent the school in a sporting event or attend a residential activity.
• School counsellors and peer mentors promote pupils’ well-being successfully. Regular drop-in sessions are scheduled and pupils told inspectors that they feel comfortable sharing problems or concerns. One pupil spoke for others when saying, ‘There is always someone who will listen.’
• Pupils are resilient learners. They do not give up when they have an issue or find a task too demanding. Teachers encourage pupils to find solutions and to work as part of a team. During the inspection, pupils regularly worked in pairs or larger groups to share ideas. They respect the opinions of others and often show their appreciation by giving a round of applause. During a science lesson on in vitro fertilisation (IVF), pupils listened attentively during a debate. They were able to articulate sensitively their differing opinions and developed a deeper understanding of the pros and cons of IVF and other treatments.
• Careers guidance in the school is having a positive impact on pupils’ future aspirations. Leaders are outward-facing and regularly organise for employers and higher education institutions to work with pupils. Pupils themselves identify careers education as a particular strength of the school’s work.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is outstanding. Pupils’ behaviour has improved and is now exemplary. They are polite, well mannered and welcoming of visitors and other adults. The number of fixed-term exclusions has reduced and is below the national average. Referrals to the internal ‘consequences’ room are declining. Pupils told inspectors that the new behaviour policy is clear and that unacceptable behaviour is rare.
• Pupils take great pride in their school and act responsibly on the school premises. The site is clear from litter and, at social times and lesson changeover, pupils’ movement and behaviour are very mature and respectful. Pupils feel extremely safe. They are confident in the ability of staff to deal with rare instances of behaviour that may deviate from the usual high standards.
• Attendance and punctuality have improved. Leaders have worked closely with some families to identify and overcome the barriers to improving attendance. However, leaders acknowledge that, although rapidly improving, reducing the persistent absence rates of pupils who are disadvantaged remains a priority for the school. Systems to monitor attendance are robust and enable leaders to act swiftly when pupils’ absence increases. Teachers now share the responsibility for improving pupils’ attendance. They have regular conversations with pupils to highlight the benefits of good attendance. Pupils now attend school more regularly than others nationally.

Outcomes for pupils Outstanding

• Since the school opened in February 2015, the progress made by pupils has increased each year. Pupils, from their different starting points, regularly make progress that is much higher than that of others nationally in a wide range of subjects.
• The proportion of pupils attaining a ‘standard’ or ‘good’ pass in English and mathematics continues to rise and is well above the national average. Outcomes in mathematics are outstanding. Provisional information reveals that pupils’ progress in mathematics placed them in the top 2% nationally in 2017.
• Over time, leaders have been quick to address underachievement. Their thorough understanding of pupils’ assessment information, and swift intervention to improve the quality of teaching, has led to rapid gains in the outcomes achieved by pupils. Inspection evidence confirms that pupils from all starting points make excellent progress across a range of subjects.
• Historically, disadvantaged pupils’ progress in humanities and modern foreign languages was not as strong as in other areas of the curriculum. Leaders have supported the pupils studying these subjects by appointing additional teachers and providing specialist teacher training. As a result of their actions, disadvantaged pupils now make outstanding progress in these subjects.
• Pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities make similar progress to their classmates. They achieve exceptionally well because teachers provide highly effective support and liaise closely with the teaching assistants.
• Inspectors’ checks on samples of pupils’ work confirmed the school’s own assessment information which indicates that most pupils in Years 7, 8 and 9 are making strong progress.
• Pupils in all year groups receive high-quality and impartial careers education. This, and their strong academic progress, ensures that nearly all pupils go on to education, employment or training when they leave school.

School details

Unique reference number 141399 Local authority Redcar and Cleveland Inspection number 10042143 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Secondary School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Academy sponsor-led 11 to 16 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 767 Appropriate authority Board of trustees Chair of Academy Council Patricia Taylor Associate Executive Principal Andrew Wappat Chief Executive Principal (Secondary) Julie Slater Telephone number 01642 474 000 Website Email address www.bydales.outwood.com enquiries@bydales.outwood.com Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

Information about this school

• The school is smaller than the average-sized secondary school.
• Almost all pupils are White British.
• The proportion of pupils who are disadvantaged and receive support from the pupil premium is below the national average.
• The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is below average.
• Bydales School joined the Outwood Grange Academies Trust (OGAT) in February 2015 and became Outwood Academy Bydales.
• The school is a member of OGAT. Responsibility for the school rests with the board of trustees. The structure of the trust’s governance and management can be found on the school’s website.
• The associate executive principal provides support to other academies within the trust, including Outwood Academy Redcar.
• The school does not use any alternative education providers.
• The school meets the government’s current floor standards based on key stage 4 academic performance results.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors visited a wide range of lessons across the school. Many of the observations in lessons were carried out with senior leaders from the school.
• Meetings were held with senior and subject leaders, teachers, governors and the chief executive of the multi-academy trust.
• Inspectors held informal and formal discussions with pupils, observed mentor groups and pupils’ interactions during social times.
• Inspectors listened to a group of Years 7 and 8 pupils read.
• Inspectors observed the work of the school and scrutinised a wide range of evidence including the school’s self-evaluation, analysis of performance information, action plans and evaluations, attendance and behaviour records, safeguarding files, recruitment checks and pupils’ work.
• Inspectors took into account the 103 responses from parents who completed Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View. Sixty-five members of staff completed Ofsted’s online staff questionnaire. Fifty-six pupils responded to Ofsted’s online pupil questionnaire.

Inspection team

Lee Elliott, lead inspector John Paddick Julie McGrane Anne Vernon

Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector