Jubilee Academy Mossley

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Short inspection of Jubilee Academy Mossley

Following my visit to the school on 19 March 2019, I write on behalf of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Education, Children's Services and Skills to report the inspection findings. The visit was the first short inspection carried out since the school was judged to be good in March 2015. This school continues to be good.

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Since your appointment as principal in June 2017, you have established a strong and dynamic leadership team that has a secure knowledge of school improvement. Leaders are accurate in their self-evaluation and know the strengths and areas for improveme...nt throughout school.

You are very clear about what actions need to be taken and you are using your experience and the skills of leaders to drive improvements. The improvement plan prioritises the progress of pupils throughout school and places a strong focus on improving rates of attendance and persistent absence. Leaders have created an inclusive environment where everyone is valued and views are listened to and respected.

You and your leaders value the importance of a team ethos, which includes the whole school community. Pupils speak highly of their teachers and say they know who they can go to if they have a problem or concern. All of the pupils I spoke to say they enjoy school and like their lessons.

The school environment is bright and welcoming. Classrooms are well organised and displays celebrate pupils' learning. Every space within the school is put to good use.

For example, shared displays encourage high aspirations and promote British values. Pupils know the importance of cooperation and kindness and are polite and courteous towards each other. Children in the early years are making good progress based on their starting points.

For the past two years, children have left the Reception class with attainment that is almost in line with national average figures. This good progress is also reflected in the 2018 phonics results at the end of Year 1. The majority of parents that I spoke to on the playground are positive about the work of the school and would recommend it to others.

Parents are particularly positive about your appointment and appreciate your friendliness and rapport with the pupils. Parents commented on the welcome you give them in the morning and say that communication with school is good. They are confident that any inappropriate behaviour is dealt with very quickly.

Governors are enthusiastic and supportive of the work of the school. They are committed to the school vision and talk highly of the work of senior leaders. Governors visit school regularly to meet with staff and complete subject reports.

However, governors have a limited knowledge of statutory assessment and how to use this information in order to offer appropriate challenge to you and your leadership team. Support from the Academy Transformation Trust, of which the school is a member, is regular and focuses on key areas for improvement. The trust offers many opportunities for staff development and provides targeted support where necessary.

The impact reports which the trust provides are evaluative and give clear actions for further improvement. You value the support and challenge that these provide. The previous inspection report identified pupils' good behaviour and attitude to work as strengths and this is still the case.

Pupils behave well and listen to their teachers in lessons. Leaders have addressed the action points from the previous inspection report. There are a wealth of opportunities for parents and carers to become involved in school life.

The parents I spoke to said that they felt fully informed about their children's learning. Attendance at workshops is high. In the early years foundation stage there are now effective home visits taking place.

Safeguarding is effective. Safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose and all records are of high quality. Staff and governors receive regular training and understand their responsibility to ensure pupils' safety and well-being.

The designated safeguarding lead makes prompt referrals to appropriate agencies, such as children's services, when required. The school's record of required checks on members of staff, governors and visitors contains all the required information to comply with statutory guidance. Rates of absence and persistent absence are slowly improving.

There are a range of strategies to improve attendance, including rewards and certificates. An education welfare officer is employed to support school staff in identifying and tackling poor attendance and supporting pupils and their families to come into school on time. Pupils' personal development and welfare is a strength of the school.

Pupils are taught to keep themselves safe, including when online. The pupils that I spoke to could explain what they would do if they had a concern and who they would go to. Safeguarding workshops for parents are well attended.

Inspection findings ? During the inspection I focussed on a number of key lines of enquiry. The first was to establish how well leaders evaluate the performance of pupils and use this information to inform planning. A tight monitoring schedule is in place and pupils' performance is evaluated by reviewing evidence of learning in pupils' books, observing in lessons, analysing school data and meeting with teachers to discuss pupils' progress.

Teachers identify pupils who are struggling and help them to catch up quickly through the use of daily support sessions. Termly pupil progress meetings ensure that no child is left behind in their learning and any concerns are swiftly addressed. Leaders have worked hard to support staff in being able to confidently talk about their pupils' outcomes and progress.

Evidence from monitoring is used to establish accurate and realistic plans to tackle underperformance and improve outcomes for all pupils. ? Next, I focused on whether teaching is effective in enabling pupils to make strong progress based on their starting points. Within all lessons that I visited, pupils' behaviour was strong.

Pupils respond well to their teachers and follow instructions given. Generally, teachers' use of questioning is effective and, in the best examples, encourages pupils to think about and reflect on their learning. Pupils say that the written feedback given to them in their workbooks helps them to make their work even better.

Where teachers carefully scaffold the learning to ensure that it is accessible for all pupils, pupils can talk confidently about their learning and the progress they have made. However, the quality of teaching across school is not always of a consistently high standard. ? Next, I looked at how well leaders ensure that the curriculum enables pupils to make progress within reading, writing and mathematics.

Attainment in reading, writing and mathematics in key stage 1 has been below national average figures for the past three years. In 2018 there was a marked improvement in mathematics and reading. Writing, although increasing, is still some way behind the other two subjects.

In key stage 2, attainment has also been below national average figures for the past three years. In 2018 the proportion of pupils achieving in reading, writing and mathematics was 20% below national average figures. However, attainment is steadily rising and the school's internal tracking system shows that pupils are making stronger progress from their starting points.

Subject leaders can talk confidently about pupils' attainment and the improvements already made within their subjects. The teaching of mathematics has focused on the skills of reasoning and problem-solving and this work is evident in pupils' workbooks. However, there is a lack of planned opportunities for pupils to work with practical materials, therefore pupils do not always develop a firm understanding of mathematical concepts.

In writing, pupils have opportunities to write at length and across a range of genres. The sequence of learning across a unit of work is evident. However, not enough focus is given to the specific teaching of writing skills, therefore writing is not always as strong as it could be.

• Finally, I looked at how leaders ensure that additional funding for disadvantaged pupils is spent effectively and makes an impact on pupils' progress. The proportion of pupils who are eligible for the pupil premium funding is much higher than the national average. Assessment information shows that attainment for disadvantaged pupils is in line with that of other pupils within the school.

The majority of the funding is spent on employing additional staff to support learning in classrooms and to provide targeted intervention for pupils who need extra support. The school's internal tracking system shows that progress for disadvantaged pupils is steadily improving. Next steps for the school Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that: ? the proportion of pupils reaching age-related expectations at the end of Year 2 and Year 6 increases in line with national average figures ? high-quality teaching across the school is secured in order to ensure that pupils make good or better progress ? pupils are taught the skills needed in order to be successful writers.

I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body and the chief executive officer of the multi-academy trust, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children's services for Walsall. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website. Yours sincerely Melonie Davies Ofsted Inspector Information about the inspection During the inspection I held discussions with you and your senior leadership team.

I met with leaders responsible for mathematics and writing. I also met members of the governing body and a representative from the trust. I spoke to parents in the playground.

I joined you and the assistant principal in short visits to classes to observe learning. I met with pupils and also spoke with pupils in lessons. I looked through pupils' books and scrutinised documentation, including the school's own evaluation of its performance and its improvement plan.

I scrutinised the school's safeguarding procedures, including policies. I scrutinised checks made by the school on staff employed in school, and checked the school website. There were no responses to Ofsted's online staff or pupil survey, nor were there sufficient responses to Parent View for an analysis of results to be available.