Agenda item

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 the Committee the following points were made:

(j)  Exclusion rates are low and the Academy and Trust have spent time investing in alternative strategies. There are staff specifically appointed to address challenging behaviour and deal with challenging students. The Trust is clear about behaviour expectations and supports students when they find these difficult to achieve. Keyworkers, mentors and extended timescales are all used to help students achieve the expected behaviour standards;

(k)  The next couple of years will be challenging with the upcoming cohorts of students having had challenging primary education experiences. However the Trust has systems in place and skilled staff in post to offer the best support to students;

(l)  In the past there have been as many as 47 primary schools feeding into Bluecoat Beechdale Academy. This has now stabilised in the 30’s and work to improve transition from primary to secondary is progressing. Ideally, transition work would begin with year 5 students but as they do not know which school they will attend at that time it is not possible to do sustained work on this theme, however informal interactions can begin;

(m)  It would benefit students if more parity was given to vocational qualifications. The current curriculum is quite narrow and does not suit a large proportion of young people. The Trust tries to offer students vocational courses and equip students with directly transferable skills for the workplace however they are expensive to run. The Trust is aiming to equip the students with the skills to learn  and the experience and belief that they can achieve;

(n)  The most difficult challenge to address on the journey was the level of aspiration of the students and it is still a challenge in many students. Resources are also ongoing challenge as is seen in schools and Trusts across the country;

(o)  Safeguarding practices are seen as excellent, there are robust systems in place and staff are experienced in safeguarding issues;

Phil Crompton, Chief Executive Officer of Trent Academies Group gave a presentation on the post Ofsted Improvement Journey for Farnborough Academy. He highlighted the following points:

(p)  In 2007 Farnborough School was judged as Outstanding by Ofsted. However after the Fairham School closed in 2009 distorting the catchment area, the longstanding and stable Head Teacher retiring in 2010 and austerity measures being introduced, the Ofsted inspection in 2011 found the school to have declined to a Good rating. Staff at the time felt this was a generous rating. In 2013 the school moved to a new Private Finance Initiative (PFI) building, and in the same year the school was put into special measures after an Ofsted Inspection found it to be Inadequate. In 2014 partnership with Rushcliffe School (Trent Academies Group) was established and the school academised in early 2015. Student numbers had been in decline for some time and with the Tram line opening it created an easy route for students to Emmanuel School which caused further reduction in numbers of students;

(q)  Following academisation Ofsted rated the school as Requiring Improvement, but noted the improvement that had already taken place. The next inspection is likely to take place in October 2017;

(r)  Exam results are improving, with 40% of students gaining 5 or more A* - C grade GCSE’s compared with 16% in 2015. Attendance has also improved from 88% in 2014 to 94% in 2017;

(s)  new systems are in place to properly monitor achievement and progress, behaviour management systems are also in place and there has been heavy investment in the pastoral services;

(t)  Work is also taking place to build up self-esteem of students and the community at large with achievement evenings and events being run for both secondary age pupils and for primary pupils;

(u)  There are still a number of challenges faced by the school. The parking levy is problematic with staff moving between schools over the borders of the city, and the PFI arrangement can be restrictive;

(v)  Further work needs to be done on various issues such as building aspirations of pupils and the community, a city wide sporting event has been suggested and support for the national EBAC to raise the profile of Design and the Arts;

Following discussion and questions from the Committee the following information was highlighted:

(w)  One of the major changes is that the students are now proud of their school and teachers are proud to work there. There is an ethos of high standards and high expectations which pushes up outcomes;

(x)  The population in Clifton is aging and as a result there are less pupils coming to Farnborough Academy. Of the population who are of school age there is a significant amount who look outside Clifton for their education, there still exists within the community the ideal that there are better things on offer outside of Clifton and many young people move away from the estate; 

(y)  Levels of permanent exclusions are higher than would be preferred, challenging behaviour has not been well managed for some years but following heavy investment in pastoral services the Trust is confident that robust strategies are now in place to tackle the behaviour that remains problematic;

(z)  To improve employability for students the future focus would be on work related skills rather than the narrow league table drive curriculum currently in place. A number of Trusts within the Nottingham area have expressed an interest in introducing more vocational style qualifications and forming links to a working environment at an early stage;

(aa)Safeguarding systems are strong as are links to external agencies that offer support to students and their families. Focus is on early help and early intervention for families who are struggling. Removing barriers to learning is seen as key;

RESOLVED to:

(1)  thank Bluecoat Beechdale Academy and Farnborough School for their attendance and for engaging with the Committee; and

(2)  note the content of the presentations and discussions.