Norbury Manor Business and Enterprise College for Girls

Kensington Avenue

Thornton Heath

Surrey

CR7 8BT

Head: Mrs Amanda Compton

T 020 8679 0062

F 020 8679 8007

E admin@nmbec.org.uk

W www.nmbec.org.uk

A state school for girls aged from 11 to 19.

Boarding: No

Local authority: Croydon

Pupils: 1111

Religion: None

Norbury Manor Business and

Enterprise College for Girls

Inspection dates                    6-7 June 2013

Previous inspection:	Outstanding	1
Overall effectiveness
This inspection:	Good	2
Achievement of pupils	Good	2
Quality of teaching	Good	2
Behaviour and safety of pupils	Good	2
Leadership and management	Good	2

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.

It is not yet an outstanding school because

• ■ Although there have been recent              

• ■ Some middle leaders are unclear about their improvements, independent learning is not responsibilities in improving the school. promoted in all key subjects.

• ■ On occasions, teachers do not tailor lesson tasks closely enough to students' individual needs.

Information about this inspection

• ■ Inspectors observed 49 lessons or part lessons, involving more than half of the teachers. A small number were observed jointly with senior leaders.

• ■ Meetings were held with groups of students, staff, including senior and middle managers, members of the governing body, including the Chair, and a representative from the local authority.

• ■ Inspectors observed the school's work, including the extensive provision it makes for disabled students and those with special educational needs.

■ They looked at a number of documents, including information about safeguarding, the school's own data on students' current progress and parents' and carers' views, its self-evaluation and records of monitoring in relation to teaching, students' behaviour and attendance.

• ■ Inspectors observed books in lessons as well as an appropriate selection made at random in order to help evaluate the progress made by students over time. A substantial number of exercise books from a range of teaching sets were tracked against students' individual progress data.

• ■ Inspectors took account of the 41 responses to the online Parent View survey and considered the 116 responses made by staff.

Inspection team

Haydn Evans, Lead inspector

Information about this school

• ■ This is an above-average-sized school with a sixth form. It converted to academy status some 18 months ago.

• ■ A new headteacher took up her duties in January 2013.

• ■ A high proportion of students are from minority ethnic backgrounds. The largest groups represented are of Black Caribbean, Indian and Pakistani heritage.

• ■ The proportion of students supported by the pupil premium (looked after children, students known to be eligible for free school meals and children of service families) is above the national average. There are currently 12 looked after children in the school. 10 students are eligible for the Year 7 ‘catch up premium'.

• ■ The proportion of students supported through school action is below average, as is the proportion supported through school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs.

• ■ The school meets the government's current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for students' attainment and progress.

• ■ The school does not use any alternative provision, nor is it dependent upon other local schools in providing for its sixth form. However, one student in the sixth form attends the sixth form of a local school for one subject.

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• ■ Move the quality of teaching from good to outstanding by:

• - ensuring that all learning tasks are carefully tailored to meet the needs of individual students

• - rigorously implementing the plans to meet students' learning needs

• - promoting independent learning further through sharing the good practice of some departments with others in the school.

• ■ Further improve leadership and management by:

• - implementing the changes to the line management structure agreed by the headteacher and the governing body

• - ensuring that all middle leaders are clear of their role in monitoring students' progress.

Inspection judgements

The achievement of students

• ■ Students join the school with attainment that is slightly below the national average. They make good progress, including the various student groups, so that by the end of Year 11 they exceed the standard found nationally. Students are not entered early for GCSE examinations.

• ■ Students' achievement is not outstanding as they are not making rapid and sustained progress.

• ■ The improving examination results are closely linked to the raised expectations that senior leaders have of teaching and achievement. The school's tracking data indicate that students are on course to build on these improvements in both 2013 and 2014.

• ■ Students are encouraged to read as often as possible. Those in Year 7, eligible for the catch-up premium, receive regular teacher-supported lessons on literacy and this provides the platform for further development. For example, students are encouraged to read by rewarding the practice of the more frequent users of the school library.

• ■ The rapidly increasing rates of progress are confirmed by the school's projections. These are based upon the tracking information on students' progress. Evidence gathered during the inspection through the scrutiny of students' exercise books demonstrates that students make good progress over time.

• ■ Disabled students and those with special educational needs achieve well. Students with a statement of special educational needs reach standards that are higher than those for similar students nationally.

• ■ There is an improving trend in attainment over three years in the sixth form, and the retention of students for A level is projected to improve significantly for the coming year. The main strength in the sixth form is at A2. Students do less well in AS examinations but the situation is improving.

• ■ Students who are eligible for pupil premium funding achieve well. Although in 2012 they achieved a grade lower than the average for students nationally, the school is successfully narrowing the gap between these students and others. This is projected to accelerate in the coming year.

  The quality of teaching

  is good

• ■ Teaching in a substantial majority of subjects is good. It is good overall because there is not enough outstanding teaching.

• ■ Teaching is characterised by effective planning and the sequencing of activities that are well matched to learning needs. It is supported by rigorous assessment in which errors are corrected and detailed comments made to help students identify what they need to do next in order to improve their attainment.

• ■ Teachers make effective use of individual targets for students throughout the key stages, which help to accelerate the pace of learning.

• ■ Information and communication technology (ICT) is used well to enrich teachers' explanations, particularly in mathematics, science and history, where it helps to engage students and sustain their interest throughout the lesson.

• ■ In the best lessons, teachers skilfully question and challenge students in order to develop explanations that improve their learning and understanding. Students are encouraged to be active in their learning and develop their literacy in reading from the interactive whiteboard and the text. For example, in a mathematics lesson where students were required to place fractions, decimals and percentages in order of magnitude, they worked enthusiastically in collaboration with each other and the teacher to carefully revise their understanding of these concepts. The teacher also made students reiterate their answers to develop their oracy skills. As a result, they were able to quickly put the numbers they were given in order with very little help from the teacher.

• ■ In a few lessons, planned learning is not always matched closely enough to students' needs and abilities. This is partly because lesson plans are not implemented rigorously. As a result, these students did not make as much progress as in other lessons. This is one of the reasons why teaching is not outstanding.

• ■ Teachers give students good advice and guidance about the quality of their work, both orally and in written comments. Students confidently entered into a written dialogue with their teachers. The net effect is that in key subjects like English, mathematics and science it enhanced students' confidence to learn independently.

• ■ In some lessons students are not given enough opportunity to learn independently.

• ■ Sixth form students' work is well marked with clear guidance on how they can improve. Assessment has a positive impact on students' progress in the sixth form, with the result that they achieve well by the end of Year 13.

The behaviour and safety of pupils        are good

• ■ Students typically have good and in some cases, exemplary attitudes to learning, as shown in the case of homework when they have to complete tasks on their own. This makes a strong contribution to their improving achievement.

• ■ Students' behaviour in a range of teaching groups and settings is mostly good and often excellent. Their behaviour around the school is good. They are courteous to adults, welcoming to visitors and generally respectful of one another. There is a positive ethos in the school. Corridors and recreational areas are orderly, respectful and free from overt supervision by senior leaders.

• ■ Parents, carers, staff and students comment positively about both the behaviour and safety at the school.

• ■ A full programme of topical assemblies, personal, social and health education and special events helps to promote equal opportunities and ensure a cohesive community with a tolerance toward others. The school promotes students' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well.

• ■ Students have a good understanding of bullying, including cyber-bullying. Students say that any bullying or harassment is dealt with effectively. There are few incidents but the school robustly records them and looks for any patterns that might develop.

• ■ Students consider that behaviour in the school is generally good. Students benefit from clear guidance on how to keep themselves and others safe, which is communicated to them through their lessons and assemblies. However, occasionally students can become distracted in their learning. This can happen when they are expected to work on their own independently of the teacher.

• ■ Students are generally punctual to school and to their lessons. The rate of attendance is above average and the proportion of persistent absentees is correspondingly lower than average.

• ■ Sixth form students' attitudes and behaviour are exemplary and they provide good role models for the younger students.

The leadership and management         are good

• ■ The new headteacher has a clear vision for the school that is shared by the governing body. This is illustrated by the school's approach to performance management, based upon accountability that is systematically linked through teaching, learning and pay to training.

• ■ The new headteacher and senior leadership team are uncompromising in their approach to ‘narrowing the gap' and improving the achievement and personal development of all students. This is illustrated by the success of the school in rapidly improving students' progress in science over the past year. Substantial increases in attainment are projected for the near future.

• ■ Some middle leaders are not clear on the contribution that they are expected to make to monitoring and evaluation. The headteacher's proposed changes to the line management structure are relevant to resolving this issue.

• ■ Good teaching practices are underpinned by accurate monitoring, effective performance management and training. These are closely matched to the needs of the school and individual staff. Senior leaders have identified areas of teaching that they plan to improve by creating more opportunities to observe best practice.

• ■ Self-evaluation is well structured and the school's review strategies and quality assurance are implemented rigorously. This has a positive effect on teaching and assessment. The outcomes of this self-evaluation are reported to the governors frequently and regularly.

• ■ Governors regularly challenge senior leaders. This is based on their involvement with the quality assurance checks that take place each term and the regular visits of the Chair of the Governing Body to the school. This is having a positive impact on the quality of teaching and students' achievement, both of which are improving.

• ■ The school's curriculum is well organised and changes have been made to meet the needs of all groups of students. Students with moderate learning difficulties and disabled students and those with special educational needs receive good support. This is having a positive impact on the school's results. Curriculum enrichment, including a broad range of team activities, visits and community-based projects, contribute well to the students' achievement and especially to their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

• ■ The sixth form curriculum is well matched to students' needs. For example, there are good links with a local school that has a sixth form where one student attends a course on photography and is making good progress in this respect. Correspondingly, teaching is monitored rigorously and prompt action taken as required so that students make rapid progress. This is having a positive effect on retention, which is projected to improve substantially.

• ■ The school's success in challenging discrimination and promoting equality of opportunity is seen in the increasingly good progress made by all groups of students and the narrowing of the attainment gap between those eligible for pupil premium funding and the rest of the students.

• ■ The school works well with parents and carers, as indicated by the positive response from Parent View, showing that, in a small sample, all of the parents and carers would recommend the school to others.

• ■ The school has traditionally collaborated well with the local authority. In recent times, with the arrival of the new headteacher, this relationship has improved further.

• ■ The governance of the school is effective:

- Governors have a clear vision for their role in school improvement. They make effective use of progress data to check the impact of teaching on raising students' attainment and hold the headteacher and senior leaders to account. They have received the relevant training to enable them to effectively fulfil their statutory duties, including those relating to safeguarding, and to support the school in this respect. They ensure the efficient management of financial resources. Governors have a clear overview of the performance management systems and ensure that pay progression takes account of teachers' individual achievements in relation to their targets. They know the strengths and areas of weakness in teaching. They are strongly supportive of the school's strategy for narrowing the attainment gap between different groups of students and have a good knowledge of the quality of teaching at the school. Governors monitor the use of the pupil premium funding to ensure that the progress of looked after children and students known to be eligible for free school meals continues to improve. They are also aware of how school uses the Year 7 ‘catch up' funding to enhance students' progress.

What inspection judgements mean

School
Grade	Judgement	Description
Grade 1	Outstanding	An outstanding school is highly effective in delivering outcomes that provide exceptionally well for all its pupils' needs. This ensures that pupils are very well equipped for the next stage of their education, training or employment.
Grade 2	Good	A good school is effective in delivering outcomes that provide well for all its pupils' needs. Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education, training or employment.
Grade 3	Requires improvement	A school that requires improvement is not yet a good school, but it is not inadequate. This school will receive a full inspection within 24 months from the date of this inspection.
Grade 4	Inadequate	A school that has serious weaknesses is inadequate overall and requires significant improvement but leadership and management are judged to be Grade 3 or better. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors. A school that requires special measures is one where the school is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the school's leaders, managers or governors have not demonstrated that they have the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors.

School details

Unique reference number	137754
Local authority	Croydon
Inspection number	412318

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

Type of school	Non-selective
School category	Convertor Academy
Age range of students	11-18
Gender of students	Girls
Gender of students in the sixth form	Mixed
Number of students on the school roll	1167
Of which, number on roll in sixth form	200
Appropriate authority	The governing body
Chair	Mary Turner
Headteacher	Amanda Compton
Date of previous school inspection	9-10 June 2010
Telephone number	020 8679 0062
Fax number	020 8679 8007
Email address	acompton@nmbec.org.uk