To receive a list of all Manchester schools which have been inspected since the last meeting and the judgements awarded.

To consider inspection reports for a selection of the schools.

The Subgroup considered information on recent Ofsted inspections of Manchester schools.  In response to a Member’s question, the Senior School Quality Assurance Officer clarified that the figure of 65.4% of Manchester schools being judged good or better related to high schools only.

In response to a Member’s question, the Senior School Quality Assurance Officer reported that Newall Green High School, The Grange and St Matthew’s High School had all recently received Ofsted monitoring visits and suggested that the letters from these visits be considered at the next Ofsted Subgroup meeting, to which the Chair agreed.

The Subgroup considered the recent Ofsted inspection report for Burnage Academy for Boys, which had been judged as “outstanding”.  The Senior School Quality Assurance Officer reported that, following its previous inspection where it has been judged as “requires improvement”, the senior leadership team had quickly addressed the issues raised.  He highlighted the difficult backgrounds of some of the pupils and some of the improvements outlined in the report.  A Member welcomed the progress made since the previous report.  In response to a question from the Chair, the Senior School Quality Assurance Officer informed Members that the school had become an academy by choice.  The Subgroup discussed the use of alternative provision.  The Senior School Quality Assurance Officer reported the Burnage Academy was a very inclusive school where staff worked to find ways to manage and modify behaviour and enable pupils to remain at the school.  He reported that a member of his team was undertaking a piece of work on alternative provision across the city, in order to ensure the quality of alternative provision commissioned by Manchester schools.  He offered to provide further information on this to a future meeting.  A Member who was also the Chair of the Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee reported that the Committee would be receiving a report on School Exclusions, Pupil Referral Units and Alternative Provision at a future meeting, in response to a recent Council Motion, and recommended that this information could be incorporated into that report.

The Subgroup considered the recent Ofsted inspection report for Lily Lane Primary School, which had been judged as “requires improvement”.  The Senior School Quality Assurance Officer informed Members that the school had been judged “outstanding” at its previous inspection five years ago; however, a one-day inspection in October 2018 had been changed to a two-day inspection because of concerns about the quality of teaching and learning at the school.  He informed Members that the school had expanded and the pupil demographic had also changed and that the school leadership team had struggled to respond quickly enough to these changes.  Members discussed the impact of these changes and how the Council in partnership with schools could deal more proactively with these challenges.  The Senior School Quality Assurance Officer reported that, prior to the inspection, the Council had already identified that the school required extra support, which his team had been providing, and the head teacher had also brokered additional support; however, he reported that there had not been sufficient time for the impact of this to be felt by the time Ofsted carried out their inspection.  A Member expressed concern that there were a number of “outstanding” schools which had not been inspected for several years that might no longer be judged as “outstanding”, particularly as the Ofsted Framework had since changed.  The Senior School Quality Assurance Officer acknowledged this issue and reported that his team was providing support to a number of “outstanding” schools which had not been inspected for several years.  The Chair noted that some other schools had a more transient pupil population than Lily Lane Primary School and dealt well with this and asked how this expertise could be shared.  The Senior School Quality Assurance Officer reported that there was a good network of schools in that area of the city and the head teacher was receiving peer support on this issue.  A Member recommended that the Subgroup monitor the school’s progress and receive a report on this at a future meeting.   

The Subgroup considered the recent Ofsted inspection report for St Mary’s C of E Primary School (Moston), which had been judged as “good”.  The Senior School Quality Assurance Officer reported that school had been judged as “requires improvement” (or its previous equivalent rating of “satisfactory”) for 15 years prior to achieving the “good” judgement and that the governors had been delighted with the Ofsted report, which recognised the school’s progress.  He informed Members that the Ofsted Inspector had praised the head teacher and he highlighted some of the school’s strengths which were referred to in the report.  Members welcomed the positive report.  The Chair commented that a “good” judgement gave pupils a sense of pride in their school.  The Senior School Quality Assurance Officer reported that the head teacher was clear that, while this was a good report, the school needed to improve further and informed Members that the head teacher was also helping other head teachers whose schools were in the position his school had been two years ago.  In response to a Member’s question, the Senior School Quality Assurance Officer informed Members that the demographic of this school had not significantly changed but that the school had always had a transient pupil population.  He reported that his team informed Ofsted Inspectors who were new to Manchester about the level of transience in Manchester and advised head teachers to highlight this point to Ofsted Inspectors.

Decisions

1.         To request that the Ofsted monitoring visit letters for Newall Green High School, The Grange and St Matthew’s High School be considered at the next meeting of the Subgroup.

2.         To request that information on the work on alternative provision across the city be incorporated into the report on School Exclusions, Pupil Referral Units and Alternative Provision which is due to be considered by the Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee.

3.         To request an update on the progress of Lily Lane Primary School at a future meeting.

4.         To write to Burnage Academy for Boys and St Mary’s C of E Primary School (Moston) to congratulate them on their recent Ofsted report.