John Ferneley College Scalford Road, Melton Mowbray, LE13 1LH

School report John Ferneley College Scalford Road, Melton Mowbray, LE13 1LH Inspection dates 11–12 March 2015 Previous inspection: Not previously inspected as an academy Overall effectiveness This inspection: Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Summary of key findings for parents and pupils This is a good school. The headteacher, supported by staff and Teachers have high expectations of their students governors, provides strong and determined and plan lessons that interest and challenge them leadership that is driving improvements in the to succeed. quality of teaching and learning. Their capacity to Students behave well in lessons and are respectful improve the college further is strong. to one another, to adults and visitors. They take Good achievement has been sustained, and in great care of the environment. some cases reinstated, as a result of effective Governors are highly effective at holding leaders to checks on teaching and accurate assessments of account. They have an excellent understanding of students’ progress. what is working well and what needs to improve. Students make good progress in most subjects, They work closely with leaders to make sure including English and mathematics. Standards are improvement initiatives are having an impact. currently rising in both of these subjects. The work the school does to keep students safe is The college is very successful at developing the good and students feel safe. Careful checks are skills of its middle leaders through well-chosen made on their safety when learning off-site. training, both in college and through the wider Mowbray Education Trust. It is not yet an outstanding school because The progress of disadvantaged students in Key Not all teachers use the new marking policy Stage 3 in mathematics is not yet as good as it is effectively to help students improve their work. in English. Some teachers do not give enough consideration to Students do not make good progress in GCSE the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development history at Key Stage 4. of their students when teachers plan learning Students do not get enough opportunities to activities. practise their numeracy skills in subjects other than mathematics. Inspection report: John Ferneley College, 11–12 March 2015 2 of 10 Information about this inspection Inspectors observed teaching and learning in 46 lessons, six of which were jointly observed with senior leaders. In addition, inspectors made other short visits to lessons in the course of their observations of students’ behaviour and their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Inspectors took account of the 35 responses to the online questionnaire, Parent View, and considered the responses to the college’s own commissioned surveys of parental opinion. The information from 50 staff questionnaires was taken into consideration. Meetings were held with three groups of students, governors, the Chief Executive of the Mowbray Education Trust, senior and subject leaders, and teaching and other staff. Inspectors observed the work of the college. They looked at students’ books and documents including the college’s own data, leaders’ evaluations of the college’s strengths and weaknesses, and monitoring information on how well students are making progress. They also checked planning documents, records of checks on the quality of teaching, records of behaviour, attendance and punctuality, as well as documents relating to safeguarding. Inspection team Simon Blackburn, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Elizabeth Needham Additional Inspector Mark Mayne Additional Inspector Guy Shears Additional Inspector Inspection report: John Ferneley College, 11–12 March 2015 3 of 10 Full report Information about this school This college is larger than the average-sized secondary school. John Ferneley College converted to become an academy school on 1 November 2011. When its predecessor school of the same name was last inspected by Ofsted, it was judged to be good. On 1 April 2014 the college became part of the Mowbray Education Trust, a multi-academy trust comprising five schools. Most students are from White British backgrounds and speak English as their first language. The proportion of disadvantaged students supported through the pupil premium is below average. This is additional government funding for students who are known to be eligible for free school meals or in care. The proportion of students who are disabled or who have special educational needs is above average. The college uses alternative off-site provision to enhance the curriculum in Key Stage 4. Currently, 30 students attend the Melton Learning Hub for one day each week where they undertake work-related courses. A small number of others study agriculture at Brooksby Melton College or Gaz’s Autos for motor vehicle experience. The college runs a breakfast club at the start of each day which give students opportunities for extra learning and a free meal. The college meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for students’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics by the end of Year 11. What does the school need to do to improve further? Improve teaching and achievement, particularly in mathematics and history, by: giving disadvantaged students in Key Stage 3 practical mathematical problems so they can see the relevance of the learning and are motivated to deepen their understanding consistently giving students meaningful feedback about their work that challenges them to improve it checking that students respond to the feedback they receive providing more opportunities for students to apply their numeracy skills in different subjects including spiritual, moral, social and cultural components in planned learning activities. Inspection report: John Ferneley College, 11–12 March 2015 4 of 10 Inspection judgements The leadership and management are good The headteacher is an energetic and inspirational leader who is completely committed to the success of her students and the wider community of Melton Mowbray. With a highly competent team of senior leaders, she is driving improvements in teaching and engendering an ethos of good achievement and behaviour in which ‘no child is left behind’. A system of senior leaders spending time in other schools and good use of external training ensure that the college ‘grows its own’ future leaders. The management of teachers’ performance is rigorous and effective. Staff have received high-quality training designed to improve their individual and collective skills. Leaders responsible for subjects carry out thorough, detailed checks on the quality of teaching and learning along with senior leaders and governors. Leaders are aware, for example, that the new marking policy is not being used in the same way by all teachers. In response they have planned refresher training for teachers, and middle leaders are reminding staff of expectations. The college has recently revised its targets for students’ achievement and they are now more aspirational. The students have responded well to this new challenge and make good use of the many ways that the college is supporting them to reach their targets. Leaders rigorously check the accuracy of the assessment information provided by subject teachers and use the results to provide additional help to any students who need it. The college makes good use of the pupil premium to help disadvantaged students achieve well. Leaders are aware through their effective monitoring that the impact in English in Key Stage 3 is greater than that in mathematics. As a result, changes have been made to the way the additional funding is being used so that disadvantaged students spend more time with teachers in mathematics. The curriculum has been adapted well to ensure that it matches the abilities and interests of all students. The wide range of courses on offer includes off-site work-related courses with trusted local providers. Leaders make regular checks on the quality of students’ learning at the alternative provision and their attendance and behaviour are checked daily. The teaching of British values such as tolerance, respect and democracy is clearly evident in the college’s personal, social and health education sessions. Staff are aware of the dangers of radicalisation and conversations with students revealed that the college has been effective in fostering positive relationships, tackling discrimination and promoting equal opportunities. The college gives students very good information, advice and guidance to help them make decisions about the next stage in their learning or employment. They can each have a number of individual meetings with an impartial careers adviser before making choices about their future. In 2014, all students went on to further education, apprenticeships or employment with additional training. The college’s arrangements to keep students safe are effective and meet all national requirements, including in the breakfast club, which is free to every student. The breakfast club is well attended and helps to promote a cohesive learning community at the start of each day as well as ensuring that all students have access to a nutritious meal. As part of the Mowbray Education Trust, the college receives excellent support in developing leadership and is subject to a range of quality assurance activities. Headteachers from all the schools in the trust

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