East Birmingham Network Academy

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Evidence gathered during this ungraded (section 8) inspection suggests that aspects of the school's work may not be as strong as at the time of the previous inspection. The school's next inspection will be a graded inspection.

The interim headteacher of this school is Matthew Baldwin.

This school is part of EBN Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer (CEO), Matthew Baldwin, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by David Brown.

What is it like to attend this school?

Relationships at this school are firmly rooted in mutual respect.

Pupils value the positive i...nteractions they have with teachers and each other. They are proud to belong to the school. Pupils know they are listened to and helped if they get things wrong.

All pupils are greeted with a handshake from senior staff when they arrive in the morning. This helps to set the expectations for the day. As a result, behaviour in lessons and at social times is nearly always calm and focused.

Pupils join the school at different times of the year. Most have experienced a disrupted education. Pupils benefit from this school's close partnership work with their home schools.

Staff from both schools, as well as parents and carers, are fully involved in all decisions that are made about each individual pupil's education. This helps pupils to settle in quickly, learn to manage their behaviour more effectively and attend well.

The school is determined that all pupils should achieve well.

It helps pupils to be ambitious about their future. Pupils are aspirational about what they can do next. However, at times, staff prioritise their care for pupils over expectations for their academic achievement.

This means that some lessons do not provide the appropriate challenge for pupils.

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

All pupils study for qualifications in English, mathematics and science. Reading is rightly prioritised.

Pupils who need help to learn to read well have access to a suitable phonics scheme. Since the last inspection, the curriculum has been broadened to include a wider range of vocational qualifications. However, pupils do not have the opportunity to study some subjects, such as physical education, that could be beneficial to them.

Added to this, the curriculum does not focus sufficiently well on preparing pupils for adulthood. Personal, social and health education has only recently been introduced and, as a result, pupils have not learned many of the important things they need to help them with their next steps.

Pupils arrive at the school with different educational experiences and starting points.

The school establishes what pupils know and remember as soon as they join. However, there is not a systematic approach to addressing any gaps in knowledge that are identified. This hinders how well some pupils begin to make progress through the school's curriculum.

Pupils who join the school with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are given appropriate support. However, the school has not developed robust systems to identify pupils who join the school with undiagnosed needs. This means that some pupils with SEND do not achieve as well as they could.

Leaders know this and are taking appropriate steps to address it.

Staff focus on understanding individual pupils' strengths and the barriers they face. Staff act as positive role models for pupils.

In turn, pupils value the support that they get. Pastoral support is a strength of the school. The school works hard to make sure that all pupils attend regularly.

Attendance figures are high and improving.

Pupils do not benefit from a broad range of experiences beyond the curriculum. This limits their ability to develop their talents and interests.

Careers education comes too late for pupils to know about the full range of opportunities available to them when they leave school. Pupils do not have the opportunity to visit local colleges or to learn about apprenticeship providers before Year 11. That said, nearly all pupils move on to positive destinations once they leave school.

The school is clear about what is working well and what it needs to improve. It has high expectations about what pupils should achieve. However, this ambition is not always translated into appropriate actions and so is not realised fully.

Trustees are committed to the school. They have taken decisive action to overcome recent instability in staffing.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The curriculum is not as broad as it should be to meet the needs of pupils at the school. This means that some pupils are not being prepared for their next steps as well as they should. The trust should review the school's curriculum to make sure that it meets the needs of all pupils.

• The school does not have a systematic approach to making effective use of the information it has on pupils' learning gaps when they join the school. This means that some pupils do not get off to the best start possible. The trust should review the transition and induction arrangements for pupils to make sure they get the information they need, and act on this information quickly.

• The school does not prepare pupils for adulthood well enough. Pupils do not have the information they need to learn about potential careers, how to keep safe and how to be independent. The trust should support the school to review its personal development programme to ensure that it matches the school's high aspirations for its pupils.

• Pupils do not experience a range of wider opportunities to enrich their learning or develop their talents and interests. This means that pupils have few opportunities to enhance or extend their learning, which limits pupils' ability to do as well as they could. The trust should make sure that all pupils have access to a suitable range of experiences that enhance their education.

Background

Until September 2024, on a graded (section 5) inspection we gave schools an overall effectiveness grade, in addition to the key and provision judgements. Overall effectiveness grades given before September 2024 will continue to be visible on school inspection reports and on Ofsted's website. From September 2024, graded inspections will not include an overall effectiveness grade.

This school was, before September 2024, judged to be good for its overall effectiveness.

We have now inspected the school to determine whether it has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at that previous inspection. This is called an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005.

We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school's work has improved significantly or that it may not be as strong as it was at the last inspection, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection. A graded inspection is carried out under section 5 of the Act.

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good for overall effectiveness in May 2014.