Bradford Forster Academy Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Continue to improve teaching, learning and assessment so that pupils make consistently good progress across all subjects, especially in science, by:
  • ensuring that all teachers plan suitably challenging activities to meet pupils’ needs
  • improving subject leadership in science.
• Embed the strategies used to support pupils who need to catch up by:
  • ensuring that teachers structure learning activities effectively for pupils who have gaps in their learning
  • engaging the small number of Year 9 pupils, especially boys, who find learning challenging
  • improving the effectiveness of literacy and numeracy programmes to help pupils who need to catch up in Year 7.
• Further improve pupils’ attendance, especially the attendance of disadvantaged pupils and pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The headteacher and executive headteacher have established a school in which pupils respond well to their high expectations of behaviour and learning. Pupils are respectful of each other and are rightly proud of their school.
• Leaders at all levels are ambitious. They are passionate about making this new school the best that it can be. Newly appointed senior and subject leaders are making a strong contribution to raising standards across the school. They are well trained and supported to carry out their leadership roles.
• Leaders make regular and accurate checks on the quality of teaching. Pupils benefit from strong teaching across a wide range of subjects because leaders are uncompromising in their commitment to achieving excellence. Additional support and training are given to newly qualified teachers and any teachers who do not meet the leaders’ expectations. Leaders are taking decisive action to improve the consistency of teaching in science.
• Staff morale is high. Staff appreciate the quality of training they receive both within the school and across the trust. Leaders have made very effective use of expertise in other schools within the trust. As a result, the quality of teaching and leadership is improving rapidly.
• School leaders take full advantage of the expertise available across the trust. For example, leaders work together to establish robust systems for monitoring pupils’ progress and make sure that the key stage 3 pupils in the school are being well prepared for their GCSE examinations in two years’ time. Trustees provide effective support for the school and they hold leaders to account for the quality of teaching and for pupils’ progress.
• The curriculum is broad and balanced, with a good range of academic subjects that provide the foundations for future learning at key stage 4. A variety of GCSE and vocational subjects are available for pupils who will move into Year 10 in September 2018. Curriculum plans are well considered. The subject offer has been designed to expand further, as additional staff are appointed. Where there is currently no staff expertise in school, pupils benefit from ‘taster’ sessions delivered by teachers in other schools within the trust, in subjects that will be available in September.
• Pupils benefit from an impressive range of extra-curricular activities to develop their skills and talents in sport, the performing arts and other interests. Leaders monitor the attendance of pupils at the different events and encourage a high level of participation.
• Leaders make effective use of the additional funding for disadvantaged pupils. As a result, disadvantaged pupils are making good progress from their starting points, including in English and mathematics. Leaders check that disadvantaged pupils engage in extra-curricular activities and they use the additional pupil premium funding well to support pupils to take part in, for example, visits to universities and residential activities. However, leaders acknowledge that they need to do more to reduce the absence of some disadvantaged pupils.
• Leaders also check the impact of additional funding for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities. The recently appointed special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) is being trained effectively by senior leaders and the highly experienced teacher in charge of the designated resource. The SENCo has recently made several changes to the way in which pupils’ progress, attendance and behaviour are tracked. Learners are well supported by teaching assistants in lessons, and through specialist teaching for speech and language. As a result, the progress being made by pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is improving. Their attendance is also improving, but remains low for some pupils. A small number of parents expressed concern about lack of communication during the period of staffing changes, but this is now being addressed. Leaders have used the Year 7 catch-up funding to develop pupils’ reading skills, but some strategies have been more successful than others. Until recently, leaders have not monitored the impact of the funding effectively. The programme for helping pupils in Year 7 to catch up in numeracy is not well established.

Governance of the school

• Governors are knowledgeable and astute. Leaders provide them with detailed information about the school’s progress, which enables them to challenge leaders effectively on most aspects of the school’s work.
• Governors know the school well because they scrutinise information about pupils’ progress. They also check the quality of teaching and provision by talking to pupils and visiting subject areas regularly.
• Governors take full advantage of the range of governor training available within the trust and local authority. Each governor has developed a specific expertise, for example in checking safeguarding, behaviour and attendance, provision for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities, and pupils’ progress. This provides governors with an in-depth knowledge of all aspects of the school.
• Governors carry out their statutory duties effectively. They have a secure understanding of the way in which additional funding is used, such as pupil premium funding and funding for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities. However, they do not check that the Year 7 catch-up funding is being used to improve the literacy and mathematical skills of the pupils who require additional support when they join the school.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Leaders actively promote a culture of vigilance where pupils’ welfare and safety are paramount. Clear systems and procedures are fit for purpose and well understood by both pupils and staff. Teachers and other adults are well trained to check that pupils are safe. Recruitment checks are carried out rigorously for all adults who work with children.
• Leaders have invested in high-level safeguarding training for all pastoral staff. The team, and the designated safeguarding leader, ensure that all concerns are followed up robustly. Record keeping is meticulous. Leaders use several local support agencies through the local authority. The local community police officer regularly delivers assemblies on a wide range of topics, such as anti-social behaviour, domestic violence and child sexual exploitation.
• Pupils are well supervised on the site, including during breaks and lunchtimes. They say that they feel safe and know whom to go to if they have any concerns. The chaplain provides additional support for the most vulnerable pupils with a drop-in facility for pupils to seek help during lunchtimes.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Teachers know their pupils well. Relationships between pupils and staff are strong. There is a mutual respect that reinforces good behaviour. Most pupils listen attentively and follow instructions. They are keen to ask questions and want to do well. Teaching assistants are deployed well to support pupils’ learning where appropriate.
• Teachers have good subject knowledge, which they use to provide well-designed resources for pupils. Most teachers also plan effectively to meet the needs of pupils. As a result, the majority of pupils make good progress from their starting points.
• Teaching in English, mathematics and modern foreign languages is consistently effective. Teachers in these subjects have high expectations of what pupils can achieve and provide challenging work which stretches pupils, including the most able pupils.
• Teachers develop pupils’ reading and writing skills well, in keeping with the school’s policy. They enable pupils to structure their writing successfully. Pupils’ vocabulary and use of subject-specific language are also improving over time.
• Teachers test pupils’ knowledge and skills regularly and provide homework that gives pupils additional practice. Teachers use assessment information well to reshape learning activities and to address any misconceptions or gaps in pupils’ understanding.
• Pupils who speak English as an additional language make good progress in their learning because they receive very effective specialist language teaching. Teachers and teaching assistants also provide carefully targeted support in lessons.
• Most teachers use questioning skilfully to help pupils to deepen their understanding. Pupils are challenged to engage in debates, justify their opinions and explain their ideas with increasingly sophisticated language. When teaching is less effective, pupils are passive in lessons and do not make sufficient progress.
• Although there is some strong teaching in all subjects, there is some variability within subjects, especially in science. This is due to some previously weak teaching that is being addressed. Leaders have increased the level of challenge provided in science teaching and delivered additional training for teachers. Teaching, and the assessment pupils’ progress, are now pitched at the right level. Work in pupils’ books is improving as a result.
• Where teaching is less effective, teachers do not structure activities well enough to help the least able pupils to make gains in their learning. Sometimes, teachers do not check that pupils know what to do to improve their work or complete a task. Consequently, a small number of pupils in Year 9 lose interest in the subject and do not produce their best work.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• Relationships between pupils and adults are a strong feature of the school’s work to promote pupils’ welfare. Pupils talk positively about this being a caring school where they are listened to. Pupils’ views are taken seriously and acted upon by leaders. Most pupils respond positively to the leaders’ high expectations.
• Pupils are rightly proud of their school. They take pride in their uniform and look after their environment. They take personal responsibility for ensuring that there is no litter in the school. Pupils are punctual to school and to lessons.
• Pupils say that bullying is rare. They are confident that adults will deal effectively with it when it occurs. The pupils who are trained as anti-bullying ambassadors help other pupils in school. They promote the school’s strong messages about the importance of showing kindness towards others. Pupils with different backgrounds socialise well with each other.
• Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is well promoted through religious education, ‘drop-down’ days (where pupils study non-timetabled topics in depth), assemblies and tutorials which are held in ‘home teams’ (tutorials). The programme is well planned to cover a range of topics that promote the school’s Christian values of hope, endurance, forgiveness and trust. Pupils show a high level of respect for each other and the value of ‘kindness’ is developed well through a range of tutorial activities.
• Pupils also have a clear understanding of their life in modern Britain. For example, they are taught well about the rule of law. They experience democracy by electing their student leaders and anti-bullying ambassadors. Pupils are encouraged to become student leaders in a variety of roles. They show maturity when they are given this level of responsibility.
• Pupils understand the range of potential risks locally and nationally. The school provides effective education on the dangers of sexting and online grooming. Pupils could talk about a range of topics which they explore during ‘drop-down’ days, for example, on spirituality and diversity.
• The school’s programme for careers guidance is developing well as pupils move through the school. The tutorial programme provides opportunities for pupils to reflect on their skills and personal qualities. A series of visits to universities and local colleges provides pupils with an insight into further and higher education. Year 9 pupils spoke positively about the level of guidance they had received to choose their GCSE options for next year. Leaders are establishing links with local businesses to plan further events to promote pupils’ career aspirations. Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• Pupils are very polite and friendly. They behave well around the school during social times. They show consideration for each other, staff and visitors.
• The pupils who are taught through the school’s designated provision for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities behave very well. They benefit from high-level care and specialist teaching. They are integrated successfully into the life of the school.
• Leaders use a wide range of strategies to reward good behaviour. Since the new behaviour system was introduced, the number of ‘red cards’ issued for poor behaviour has dropped significantly. Fixed-term exclusions have also reduced markedly. Most pupils behave consistently well in lessons.
• Most pupils are confident learners. They are willing to ask and answer questions. The most able pupils are resilient when faced with challenging work. However, the least able pupils are not so confident to talk about their learning and a small number of pupils in Year 9 find it difficult to persevere when the work is difficult.
• When the work is not planned effectively, a few Year 9 pupils, particularly boys, engage in off-task behaviour which prevents them from making good progress. Leaders have rightly provided additional intervention to improve the learning and behaviour of these pupils.
• Despite recent improvements, pupils’ attendance remains below average. Pupils recognise the importance of good attendance and welcome the rewards that have been introduced to encourage good attendance. Leaders use a wide range of strategies to engage pupils and their families to reduce the numbers of pupils who are regularly absent from school. Some of these strategies are beginning to make a difference. However, the absence of some disadvantaged pupils and some pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is still high.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• In this school, no pupils have been entered yet for key stage 4 examinations. Therefore, teachers and leaders have taken full advantage of the opportunity to collaborate with other secondary schools in the trust which do have key stage 4 pupils on roll. For example, teachers from across the trust regularly check each other’s assessments to make sure that tests are appropriately challenging, and that the school’s progress information is reliable. They ensure that systems for tracking pupils’ progress are robust. As a result, key stage 3 pupils are being prepared effectively for their GCSE and vocational courses in two years’ time.
• The school’s assessment information shows that pupils are making strong progress in English, mathematics and modern foreign languages in all year groups. Most pupils are also making good progress in other subjects in Years 7 and 8, particularly the most able and the middle-ability pupils. In Year 9, leaders have identified that girls are making more progress than boys in English and modern foreign languages. A clearly planned intervention programme is in place to improve boys’ language skills where necessary.
• Disadvantaged pupils are making similar progress to their peers. Teachers regularly challenge disadvantaged pupils during lessons, through targeted questioning.
• Pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities, and are taught within the designated resource provision, make strong progress from their starting points. This is because they are taught well, and they are rapidly gaining confidence in their ability to learn. Pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities, and who are taught in mainstream lessons, have not made good progress in the past. However, recent training for all teachers has been effective in ensuring that this group of pupils are now making faster progress.
• Pupils in the current Year 9 who have lower starting points are not making as much progress as their peers across the curriculum. This is partly because they were not well taught when they were in Year 7 and the school had just opened. Programmes for helping pupils to improve their reading and mathematical skills were not well designed. Leaders did not measure the impact of intervention strategies sufficiently well, but this is changing. Nevertheless, some teachers still do not structure activities well enough to enable this group of pupils to make strong progress.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 140429 Bradford 10044426 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 sponsor-led 11 to 16 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 554 Appropriate authority Board of trustees Chair Headteacher Philip Turner Wendy Adeniji (Headteacher) Jane Tiller (Executive Headteacher) Telephone number 01274 302400 Website Email address www.bradfordforsteracademy.co.uk info@bradfordforsteracademy.co.uk Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

Information about this school

• Bradford Forster Academy opened in September 2015 and currently has pupils on roll in Years 7, 8 and 9. The school is expanding rapidly as each new year group joins the school. In September 2017, 17 additional teachers were appointed, including several new senior and subject leaders.
• This school is part of the Bradford Diocesan Academies Trust. The school also has a local governing body. The headteacher and executive headteacher were appointed in September 2016.
• Around 60% of the school’s pupils are of White British heritage. Approximately 40% of pupils are from a wide variety of minority ethnic groups. Just over 20% of pupils speak English as an additional language.
• The school has a much higher proportion of disadvantaged pupils than the national average.
• The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is above average. The number supported by an education, health and care plan is also above average.
• The school has a designated specialist provision for pupils who have special educational needs. There are currently eight pupils on roll in this provision.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors visited 43 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 representatives from the multi-academy trust.
• Inspectors held informal and formal discussions with pupils, and observed pupils in their ‘home team’ groups (tutorials) and during social times.
• Inspectors listened to a group of pupils read.
• Inspectors scrutinised a wide range of evidence, including the school’s self-evaluation, plans for improvement, analyses of pupils’ performance, attendance and behaviour records, safeguarding files and pupils’ work.
• Inspectors took account of 83 responses from parents and carers who completed Ofsted’s online questionnaire (Parent View), 21 responses from members of staff to Ofsted’s online staff questionnaire, and 63 responses from pupils to Ofsted’s online pupil questionnaire.

Inspection team

Lynn Kenworthy, lead inspector Erica Hiorns Mary Lanovy-Taylor Graham Crerar

Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector