Chiltern Way Academy Futures

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders do not do enough to make sure that pupils are safe and attend school regularly. Too many pupils are routinely absent and this is not challenged effectively. Although there have been recent improvements to the curriculum in some subjects, too few pupils benefit from these due to persistently low attendance.

Pupils who do attend school feel safer since the arrival of new leaders this year, who have introduced clearer expectations of behaviour. These pupils also have the opportunity to learn about how to stay healthy and safe as part of their personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education lessons. They learn about careers and are encouraged to think about their ne...xt steps, with the majority moving on to the local college.

However, lessons are often disrupted because teachers do not always ensure that pupils stay focused on their learning. Often, the things pupils are taught do not take into account what they already know or reflect high expectations of them.

Parents and carers of those pupils attending are generally positive about recent changes to the school.

For example, they welcome the introduction of a school uniform and the greater visibility of leaders.

What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Governors and trustees have not challenged low standards and expectations with sufficient urgency. Those responsible for governance lack the capacity and expertise to tackle weaknesses in the school.

Standards in all areas have fallen significantly since the last inspection. Attendance is very low. When in school, the standard of education pupils receive is variable and often poor.

There has not been sufficient oversight of safeguarding arrangements by governors and trustees, and these are ineffective.

Leaders lack the capacity to make the urgent improvements necessary in this school. Virtually all leaders are new to role and in the very early stages of making changes.

Leaders' self-evaluation and plans for developing the school lack the ambition needed to tackle deep-seated issues such as the entrenched culture of non-attendance.

Senior leaders have started to improve behaviour in the school. They make themselves visible in and around the school and greet pupils when they arrive each morning.

This work has been successful in ensuring that there is a calm start to the day and that pupils feel safe. Pupils say that bullying is uncommon. When there is unkind or aggressive behaviour, leaders take appropriate action.

Leaders recognise that not enough pupils come to school. It is much more usual for pupils to be absent than present. Leaders have not tackled this effectively or with enough urgency.

Policies and procedures for making sure pupils attend school are not having an impact. Of the minority of pupils who attend school, a significant number do not arrive on time. Lateness is also not being challenged successfully.

Leaders recognise that they need to improve the quality of the curriculum but are in the very early stages of acting on this. Although they have made sure that pupils are taught a greater number of subjects, the plans to deliver them vary substantially in quality and ambition. In some subjects, including English and mathematics, assessment is not being used well to find out what pupils already know.

As a result, learning in lessons is often poorly adapted to meet pupils' needs. Often this leads to pupils becoming disengaged because learning is overly repetitive.

Leaders' plans for the PSHE curriculum and careers programme are suitably broad and relevant.

However, only the small number of pupils who attend school regularly benefit fully from this. Beyond the taught curriculum, leaders have not considered opportunities for pupils to develop their own interests and talents. Similarly, there is no structured approach to helping pupils improve their behaviour so that they can return to a mainstream school.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective.

Leaders and trustees are aware of weaknesses in the school's safeguarding but have not taken sufficient action to address these. There are some gaps in safeguarding records, where information has not been shared by a child's previous school or multiple record-keeping systems have been used and information is not comprehensive.

Leaders in the school find it difficult to explain the steps that they have taken to protect pupils when they have concerns about their welfare. In some cases, not enough action has been taken to check that pupils are safe. This is particularly the case with regard to those pupils who are frequently absent or have reduced timetables.

Leaders do refer concerns on to other agencies when appropriate. However, they do not always follow up to make sure that appropriate support has been put in place. Following a recent safeguarding review, leaders have made improvements to the checks carried out on adults who work at the school.

Nevertheless, further changes are required to recruitment procedures to ensure that they comply with the latest statutory guidance.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The attendance of pupils is too low and is not showing sustained improvement. Most pupils are not attending school each day.

Leaders' policies and plans to improve attendance are ineffective. Leaders need to review their procedures urgently and work with families to make sure that more pupils attend school consistently. Arrangements for safeguarding are not effective.

Adults do not know whether pupils are safe because attendance is low and the systems for checking on absent pupils are not used consistently. Some safeguarding records are unclear or incomplete. Trustees and governors need to make sure that their systems for checking on safeguarding are working and that all involved have the required expertise.

• There is not a suitably ambitious curriculum in place for all subjects. Lessons are often repetitive because teachers do not consider what pupils already know. Leaders must make sure that the plans for the curriculum provide enough information to support teachers.

They should also provide effective training so that teachers understand how to identify gaps in pupils' knowledge and adapt their teaching in response. This will help to ensure that, when pupils are in school, the lessons they receive enable them to make progress. ? Leaders' plans for improving the school are not ambitious or urgent enough.

Trustees have not provided sufficient oversight to assure themselves that key weaknesses are being tackled quickly. As a result, the school has declined substantially in all areas since the last inspection. Leaders and trustees must sharpen their approach to self-evaluation and make sure the actions they take as a result make a difference to those areas that matter most.