NEWMARKET ACADEMY REVIEW Review dates Tuesday 20th and Wednesday 21st October 2015 Overall effectiveness Good Pupil Outcomes Good Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good Personal development, behaviour and welfare
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Leadership and management Good Sixth form provision Requires Improvement Summary of key findings This is a good and improving school: • Outcomes, which previously required improvement, are improving due to better teaching and the close monitoring of student progress. • The head teacher provides strong moral leadership, putting the needs of the students and their achievement and safety first. • Senior leaders are committed to improving the school and carefully check and confirm that policies and activities are impacting positively on student progress. • Teaching is good and an increasing proportion is outstanding as a result of rigorous monitoring and very well targeted professional development. The quality of written feedback given to students about their work is excellent. Students are given clear advice about what they are doing well and how they can make their work better. • Students behave well in class and around the school and have good attitudes to their learning, to each other and their teachers. It is not yet an outstanding school because: • Not enough teaching is inspirational or challenging, especially for the most able students • Middle leadership is not yet strong enough; the role of the middle leaders is not yet completely embedded to enable them to contribute fully to checking progress made by students • There is still too wide a gap between disadvantaged students and their peers • The Sixth form requires improvement Information about this review • 43 lessons were observed for about 30 minutes each • Meetings were held with students, senior leaders, middle leaders and teachers. • A range of documents were scrutinized including self-‐evaluation forms, improvement plans and data analysis documents
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Student work was sampled in most lessons observed covering different year groups and ability levels.
Review team Howard Lay CEO SWAT June McNaughton Director of Teaching and Learning SWAT Mark Neild Director of Achievement and Standards SWAT Andy Samways Director of Suffolk Borders teaching Alliance Nick Froy Headteacher Newmarket Academy Wayne Lloyd Head teacher Thomas Gainsborough School Andy Prestoe Principal of Samuel Ward Elaine Wilson Deputy Headteacher Newmarket Academy James Mason AHT Samuel Ward Academy Marian Harrington AHT Samuel Ward Academy Jenna Powell AHT Samuel Ward Academy Information about the Academy • The Academy is smaller than average secondary schools. • The proportion of students known to be eligible for the pupil premium (additional government funding) is average. • The majority of students are White British and speak English as their first language; the proportion of EAL students is rising but is still below average • The proportion of students supported through school support is broadly average. • The proportion of students supported a statement of special educational needs/educational healthcare plan is below average. • The Academy meets the current government floor standards, which set the minimum expectation for students’ attainment and progress. • In September 2012 the school, previously for students aged 13 to 18, became a school for students aged 11 to 18 and introduced its first group of Year 7 and Year 8 students. • In July 2014 the school converted to an Academy, joining the Samuel Ward Academy Trust.
What does the school need to do to improve further? • The school has demonstrated a relentless focus on pupil premium students and now needs to ensure this focus reaps rewards in terms of outcomes. Regular monitoring of the interventions in place for pupil premium students is required. • Improve leadership of departments by ensuring that gaps are filled and that new leaders are inducted and supported in their roles • The sixth form requires urgent attention; particularly for the 24 upper sixth form students with regards their potential outcomes. The Head of Sixth should be able to articulate detailed knowledge of all aspects of learning for these students and be holding to account middle leaders for their outcomes • Further improve the quality of teaching by making sure that students, especially the most able, have harder work when they are ready to move on in their learning. Pupil outcomes are good • Students’ progress throughout the school is improving due to better teaching. • Students enter the Academy with below average attainment and make good progress to achieve examination results in-‐line with the national average in a wide range of subjects. The headline figure of five good GCSEs including maths and English increased in 2015 to 54% (from 45% in 2014) demonstrating good progress by students from all starting points. • The proportion of students gaining an A*-‐C grade in English fell slightly in 2015 compared to 2014 (from 69% to 65%) but was still in line with national averages. The A*-‐C pass rate in maths rose significantly in 2015 compared to 2014 (from 50% to 68%) as did the proportion of students making expected progress (from 50% to 63%) and are now in-‐line with national averages. • Disadvantaged students have previously achieved less well than others. The gap between the proportions of pupil premium students gaining five or more GCSEs at grades A* to C, and others in the school, only narrowed slightly between 2014 and 2015. Evidence gained during the review demonstrates that the current progress of pupil premium students is good, though to fully close the gap these students need to make outstanding progress. • Previously, the progress made by disabled students and those who have special educational needs, from their different starting points, has not been strong enough. The school’s records of the progress of current students suggest that this is now showing good improvement. • The school now has a very clear intervention system to support pupil premium and other students who fall behind. The system is based on tracking and data collections, which lead to Achievement Plans for students in need. These students are identified using a number of metrics: Progress 8, English attainment, maths attainment, Attainment 8. The plans include specific targets and all students have personal meetings about their plans. The system is robust, understood by all and articulated coherently at all levels of the school.
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The proportion of students making expected progress is in-‐line with national averages for the majority of subjects and middle leaders are being challenged in those subjects where this is not the case, for example in ICT and business studies, which underperformed at Key Stage 4. The school has new heads of departments for both of these subjects.
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The current progress of Key Stage 3 students is strong across a number of subjects, but with the changes in systems for assessment, close monitoring and moderation will be needed to ensure the accuracy of the assessments.
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The average point score per entry for A-‐levels in the Sixth Form has increased from 2014 to 2015 (from 147 (E) to 166 (D-‐)) however this remains low compared to the national average.
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The outcomes for vocational courses in the sixth form are much better and in-‐line with national averages. The average point score per entry, when expressed as a grade, is now Distinction, compared to Merit+ in 2014.
The quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good • As a result of leaders placing a relentless focus on teaching, learning and assessment, the quality of teaching has improved significantly across most subjects since the last review and has resulted in higher standards and faster progress. • The standard of work in students’ books, students’ growing understanding of their own learning and their improving rates of progress demonstrate that teaching is typically good and sometimes outstanding. • Teachers use their secure subject knowledge to plan learning that sustains students’ interest and challenges their thinking. Teachers make very clear the specific skills and levels that students should aim to achieve by the end of each lesson, through well written, progressive WILFs and WALTs. These are regularly revisited throughout the lesson. Teachers check that students are developing their understanding and use this to pitch the learning appropriately. However, some work in students’ books and some activities in lessons show that the most able students are not challenged enough. This caps their progress. • The strongest teaching stretches the students by having very high expectations of what they can achieve, and by setting them demanding and thought-‐provoking tasks, matched to their level of ability. In these lessons, teachers often use questioning very effectively to assess understanding but also to challenge students to think more deeply and respond more thoughtfully. In a Year 9 science lesson, the teacher’s high expectations and effective questioning encouraged students to think for themselves, develop their understanding and evaluate the use of a forcemeter. • All teachers use questioning skilfully to assess students’ understanding and check for misconceptions. In the best examples, teaching stimulates thinking, and pushes learners to the limit of their understanding. However students need more opportunity to construct their own meaning and to learn from mistakes. Sometimes teaching is so tightly planned that students do
not have enough opportunity to discover that struggling and making mistakes are beneficial to their learning. •
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The Academy has well-‐developed systems to ensure that marking and assessment help students to make at least good progress. Marking is extremely effective and tells the students what went well and the ‘even better if…’ comments tell them how to reach higher standards. Lessons often start with students having time to respond to comments made by their teachers on how to improve their learning. The outstanding quality of the marking and feedback is a key factor in the improvement in students’ learning. Teachers identify and support effectively those pupils who start to fall behind and intervene quickly to help them to improve their learning. Teaching assistants are used very effectively to support students’ learning, particularly for disabled students, those who have special educational needs, and those who speak English as an additional language. Some excellent support was observed for students who are not yet fluent in English.
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Teachers know which students are eligible for pupil premium and are becoming increasingly aware of their needs. These students are provided with extra help and resources from teachers and support staff that usually enables them to make at least good progress. While the progress made by disadvantaged students is improving significantly, it is not yet consistently outstanding, as would be required to close the gap in the standards between these students and their peers.
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Teachers set homework, in line with the school’s policy and as appropriate for the age and stage of students, that consolidates learning and prepares students well for work to come. Students say that homework is set in most subjects and the homework seen in some students’ books was carefully marked. The school has not yet embedded a policy for improving literacy. In the majority of lessons, however, and across a wide range of subjects, teachers provide good opportunities for students to develop and apply their reading and writing skills. Key words are practised, spelling and grammar are corrected and Key Stage 3 pupils use Accelerated Reader.
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Teachers expect and encourage all students to work with positive attitudes so that they can make strong progress. Students commit to improving their work because teachers reinforce expectations for conduct and set clear tasks that engage students. The work ethic in most classrooms leads to good progress in the lesson. However in a minority of instances, students are insufficiently focused and, despite their good progress over time, do not make the most of their time in the lesson.
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Relationships between teachers and students and among students themselves are very positive and contribute in a big way to building the confidence of students. Students trust their teachers to help them and appreciate the additional time that staff give them if they have difficulties with their work.
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Some teachers whose students regularly make good or better progress are used to coach and support others. These steps have led to noticeable improvements in teaching.
Personal development, behaviour and welfare is good • Students are increasingly confident and self-‐assured and have a positive, courteous and welcoming manner. They are proud of the improvements that they have been part of at their school and wear their uniform well. • Students conduct themselves well throughout the day, including at lunchtimes. As a result, there is an orderly environment in which students seem happy and enthusiastic. Their good conduct reflects the school’s consistent drive to promote high standards. • Systems are in place that are bringing about marked improvements in behaviour for individuals and groups with particular behavioural needs. Low-‐level disruption is rare. This is because greater consistency is ensuring students are clear about the consequences following any instances of poor or disruptive behaviour; students themselves are more confident that staff will respond appropriately and trust leaders to take rapid and appropriate action to resolve any concerns they have. They know that sanctions are fair. • Students are punctual and prepared for their lessons. Their attitudes to all aspects of their learning are consistently positive. The majority take a pride in the presentation and completion of their classwork, responding positively to regular marking and feedback. Such positive attitudes are having a good impact on the progress they make. • Relationships are strong within the school and students really appreciate the care, direction and ambition that teachers and staff are providing. • Students show respect for others’ ideas and views, especially during daily meeting time, weekly assemblies and within class discussions. Students are increasingly confident in their responses to teacher questions, adding to others’ inputs and sharing feedback. • Students value their education. Attendance continues to improve and as a result, few are absent or persistently absent. This marked and sustained improvement is supported by very effective and proactive systems driven through the determined efforts of staff especially within the House pastoral teams. • Teachers and other adults promote clear messages about the impact of bullying and prejudiced behaviour on students’ well-‐being. Students work well with the school to tackle and prevent the rare occurrences of bullying. Teachers and other adults are quick to tackle the rare use of derogatory or aggressive language and always challenge stereotyping. Instances are dealt with and logged effectively. • The school’s open culture promotes all aspects of students’ welfare. House identity is strong and is used well to promote British values. Students feel safe and know that they will be listened to. Regular student feedback is sought by Achievement Leaders which students value. • Students have opportunities to learn how to keep themselves safe. They are informed when it comes to healthy lifestyles. Emotional and mental health, safe and positive relationships and how to
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prevent misuse of technology are aspects that students feel are well catered for, especially given the support and guidance of the Pastoral Leaders within their Houses. The provision of impartial careers guidance is improving through the development of partnership working with West Suffolk College. Plans are coherent and are starting to see more, and younger, students able to make informed choices about the next stage of their education, training or employment. This developing picture has brought about a number of successful initiatives including Future Champions and organised visits to regional skills fairs.
The leadership and management are good • Leadership has improved significantly since the last Review and despite some inconsistencies particularly within middle leadership, has created a culture of high expectations enabling students to make good progress. The Headteacher provides strong moral leadership, putting the needs of the students and their achievement and safety first. He, along with the Deputy Headteacher lead by example and their resilience and determination have played a major part in improving the school. • Senior leaders are rapidly improving their skills and the team is growing increasingly cohesive and effective, creating a culture of respect and tolerance but also challenge and ambition. Most are able to articulate a comprehensive understanding of their role and are knowledgeable about their contribution to school improvement. • The leadership of teaching and learning is good. Careful monitoring of the teaching policy set out as ‘non negotiables’ including planning using prior attainment, challenge, tailored tasks, marking and student response, has resulted in a significant improvement which is recognised and valued by students. The Leading Practitioners along with other middle managers and the Deputy Headteacher have provided effective support through coaching and modelling and most staff have responded well. • The leadership of behaviour and welfare is strong and continues to develop. Actions by leaders including the establishment of a new House system, clarification of the behaviour and rewards system and support and challenge for some of the most disadvantaged students have made a significant contribution to the stronger school ethos. This is supported both by students who made comments like, “We now trust our teachers” and a returning teacher who said, “This is such a different school I have come back to.” • Students have responded positively to the changes. They report that the teaching and learning has improved significantly, that they feel safe and secure and believe that teacher stability and the new approach to behaviour, particularly the role of Achievement Leaders has helped a great deal. One of the students said, “This is a school going places, I just want all my teachers to stay in this school and continue helping us.” • Leaders are ambitious for all students and promote improvement well as reflected in improving attendance, achievement and behaviour. Data is used effectively to inform interventions and support accountability and the move to targets based on expected and better than expected progress is ensuring that all groups and ages are being more effectively supported.
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Leaders have an accurate and comprehensive understanding of the quality of education in the Academy. The Academy is more confident in its approaches to self-‐evaluation and there is a willingness to accept challenge which is bringing about greater rigour and honesty. Leaders are very supportive of their staff who value the more tailored approach to continuing professional development. As a result of stronger leadership of teaching and behaviour, achievement has rapidly improved. However there are inconsistencies, most notably the gap between students receiving pupil premium support and other students is still too wide and the most able students in some curriculum areas would benefit from greater challenge. The SENCO has provided excellent leadership in relation to disadvantaged students and the Academy has also developed interventions that support the highest attaining students. These, supplemented by appropriate support and challenge in lessons, should ensure higher standards for all. Middle leadership has improved significantly since the last Review and many subjects benefit from stable and strong leadership. However, some subject leaders have only recently been appointed and some subjects are still without permanent leaders. The Academy is working hard to improve this situation and recognises the importance of effective induction and support. The curriculum is effective at supporting students with differing needs, although modification at Key Stage 3 will ensure that it better meets the needs of the most able. The curriculum provides strong support for students’ spiritual and cultural development and also offers a wide range of enrichment activities which are generally well received by students. At its best tutorial time, when not too teacher led, encourages communication skills through formal discussion and also supports the development of confidence and leadership skills. Although post 16 outcomes slightly improved last year, particularly in vocational areas, the low and declining numbers of students, inconsistent leadership and lack of viability require a clear strategic response.
The sixth form provision requires improvement • Achievement requires improvement, for despite a slight increase in academic outcomes and a good result on the points per student measure for vocational courses, overall achievement is not strong. • Leadership of the sixth form is inconsistent; there is lack of clarity about the most appropriate strategy for improving the quality of provision and this is reflected in a lack of cohesion between year 12 and 13 students who have very different views on the culture and ethos of the sixth form overall. With falling numbers and a restricted curriculum, the Academy needs to urgently develop a strategic response. • Teaching and learning have improved and this is evidenced by lesson observations and by post 16 students, particularly year 12 who feel that that teachers ‘care’, challenge them to produce their best and provide effective marking and feedback.
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Behaviour and attitudes to learning in the sixth form are inconsistent for whilst year 12 students feel safe, secure and well cared for and are making good progress, year 13 students are less positive and feel less supported. Impartial careers guidance is provided which has in general ensured that most learners undertake study programmes that build on their prior attainment. Learners personal, social and employability skills are supported far more strongly in year 12 rather than year 13.
Howard Lay