Issue - meetings

Carl Elder, Head Teacher at Bluecoat Beechdale Academy gave a presentation to the Committee on the post OFSTED Improvement Journey for Bluecoat Beechdale Academy. He highlighted the following information:

(a)  In 2014 the school was judged to be one of the worst in the country in terms of weak intakes and poor outcomes. Following the involvement of Bluecoat Academy Trust results and outcomes have been improving  and now the school is out performing 100’s of others nationally;

(b)  69% of students live within an area ranked in the top 10% most deprived in Britain, and 20% live in an area ranked in the top 1% most deprived in Britain;

(c)  this disadvantage is not just financial for the students of the current year 11 students, only 30% had primary school experiences that were rated good or better. Of the current year 10 students, only 16% had primary school experiences rated good or better and of the current year 9 students 14% had primary school experiences that were rated good or better;

(d)  historically the school has not had a good reputation and this has resulted in instability of the student population with students moving in and out of the school frequently. In the current year 11 just over half of the students started at the school in year 7. There is increased stability starting to show for current year 9 and the recruitment and retention of students has improved over recent years, the upcoming intake of year 7 students is at least 178;

(e)  there has been, and continues to be a focus on student attendance. In 2011/12 it was below 90%. Students are beginning to see the value of their education more, and work by an ex-police officer has pushed attendance up to over 94% in 2015/16;

(f)  there has also been an improvement in achievements. More students are gaining 5 or more A* – C (including English and Maths), and the proportion of students gaining 5 or more A* – G is now above the national average. Using the new Attainment 8 measures students are doing one whole grade better than the previous year;

(g)  support work for pupils who attract the pupil premium is paying off with this group improving more quickly than non-pupil premium students. For some years pupils within the SEND cohort did not achieve the 5 or more A* - C grade, but now a quarter do;

(h)  there are still challenges around literacy levels with around only 42% of current year 11 students being at or above expected reading competency. 2 dedicated Literacy Leads have been appointed as part of Trust wide improvement plans and the Trust is engaging with the Reading Recovery Projects in order to push literacy levels up;

(i)  in February 2017 Ofsted rated the school as Good, behaviour was the one area where improvement was suggested and this is another focus for the Trust. This improved rating has helped to recruit and retain staff and students;

Following questions from  ...  view the full minutes text for item 13