Ash Hill Academy has achieved the Inclusive School Award with Centre of Excellence status.
Exceptionally Welcoming
Ash Hill Academy is part of the Delta Academy Trust and is a secondary provision with 789 on roll. The school has ongoing improvements to the environment, with a new sports building being constructed. There are 16% of students with SEND Support (K) and they have 1% with Education Health Care Plans (EHCP), however the academy is currently applying for a further 8 EHCPs, with more SEND students due to transition in the next academic year. English as an Additional Language (EAL) students are relatively low. The academy currently has a high percentage of Pupil Premium (PP) students at 48.5% with the main catchment area being one of high deprivation.
This was our Assessor’s second visit to Ash Hill and they found the academy to be exceptionally welcoming. This was evident from the outset, with Reception staff ensuring that appropriate ‘signing in’ arrangements are undertaken and providing effective and friendly communication with visitors to the school.
Safeguarding is given high priority; it is clear who is able to support if there are any worries or concerns. Furthermore, the Head of School and Vice Principal were particularly welcoming and generous with their time. All meetings with staff were enthusiastic about their school, their work with the students and the improvements the academy had made.
Students are Effectively Supported
Attendance at the academy has improved and is 89% at the present time. The students are effectively supported as they come into the school through the Blue Line. This is where Heads of Year greet all students as they come into school, here they can address any issues that may have arisen, be it with uniform, emotional wellbeing or punctuality. They can also effectively support more vulnerable students, identified from the vulnerable lists, to log the attendance of these students, if they do not arrive, contact can be made immediately to offer further support.
In addition, vulnerable students with safeguarding and self-harming issues have a daily check-in with the safeguarding and attendance team and uniform can be offered to support those who are not able to comply with the uniform policy. Ash Hill Academy has implemented Mental Health Waves, identifying and supporting students with a graduated support system in place, with this first check of the day being the first wave (Level 4) as the students on this wave can arrive 5 minutes earlier to check in and receive support and reasonable adjustments can be made. The Mental Waves increase to Level 1 with support, increased communication, risk assessment and access to specialist help. The academy has clearly evaluated their provisions and escalated support according to the needs of their students and their community.
The Blue Line has been evaluated and evolved by splitting the line into Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4. In the Key Stage 3 line all of the above is supported in the first wave along with checks for homework completion of homework using a knowledge organiser and is to be completed daily to promote independent research and learning. For Key Stage 4, the students have recall tasks for a different curriculum subject daily, with subject staff on the line checking completion.
An emphasis is placed on the consistency of attendance procedures which has also been developed further. They have an Attendance Lead and Attendance Welfare Officer in place to provide support and communication with parents, therefore building relationships with the community. Attendance data is used effectively to track attendance and the areas in the community where attendance is a concern allowing the attendance team to effectively provide supportive measures and proactive interventions and referrals. The Attendance Lead described their approach through the Attendance Support Plan as having the ‘tenacity of not giving up, and not giving up on that child.’
Reading Strategy
Ash Hill Academy has started to introduce and embed a reading strategy across the curriculum. This is an academy Trust-wide strategy with 4 parts, to encourage and embed a common language to tackle texts across all curriculum areas, through framing the text to better understand its purpose, removing barriers through understanding of the vocabulary and context, layered reads to enable students to understand what they are reading, and stop and jot to allow students to make their thinking permanent.
The Assistant Principal for Teaching and Learning described that the strategy is being implemented at regular points through the year and Heads of Department are mapping literacy and extended writing across their subject areas. Assessment and data are used effectively to identify students whose reading ability is ‘not secondary ready’. This allows identification of appropriate staged interventions and track progress effectively. The interventions are Red, Amber and Green (RAG) evaluated half termly and numeracy is following the same model to track and evaluate numeracy across the academy. Furthermore, there is Quality Assurance each half term, through learning walks and book scrutiny, to identify priorities and inform CPD sessions.
The academy’s main focus is on consistency to deliver Quality First Teaching (QFT), behaviour, engagement, and differentiation with clear expectations. The Assistant Principal for Teaching and Learning explained how the teaching and learning principles have shifted to the next phase with Quality First Teaching (QFT) linking into individual student’s learning passport.
The Magic 8 approach has been evaluated, evolved and embedded to incorporate Trust-wide principles with over 90% consistency in learning walks. The academy quality assured whether they were meeting the individual needs of the students and providing a ‘Student in Focus’ during their weekly CPD sessions. Two students are strategically presented, and staff are talked through their Learning Passports to ensure a full understanding of their individual needs and strategies for a consistent Wave 1 intervention.
In our Assessor’s visits to all classrooms, it was evident that this consistent approach was used throughout, as they moved through classrooms throughout the period, they could clearly recognise the stages of the Teaching and Learning Principles in action, with all students understanding the procedures and how it supported their learning. The positive progress is evident from the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) results for 2021-22 with a progress at -0.16 and 5+ at 41% and 4+ at 62% with further progress expected as current predictions are showing 5+ at 49% and +4 at 70%.
The academy continues to track students using the Power Bii management systems to compare all schools across the Delta Trust to ensure interventions and differentiation is impactful. The previous SENDCo has resigned her post and there are new additions to the academy with the Vice Principal for Deep Support and the recently employed new SENDCo, providing all SEND students with an informative Learning Passport to support their differentiation and provide staff a complete understanding of their individual needs.
All vulnerable students are tracked on the Inclusion Tracker, a live shared document which is evaluated weekly at the Inclusion Meeting to provide a robust, graduated approach and identify relevant interventions both on site and through relevant outside agencies. The Vice Principal and SENDCo explained how their current robust structure of the tracking of interventions and the student focus informed the Assess Plan Do Review cycle, in turn supporting the academy to apply for further Wave 3 and 4 intervention and application for EHCP’s. The academy currently has 8 EHCP referrals in place. It was recognised that parents need support and education on the SEND General Developmental Assessment Pathway therefore the Vice Principal completes home visits and offers coffee mornings to explain procedures. It is clear from the evidence that the academy has put supportive strategies in place to support their most vulnerable students and their families, to ensure they are fully meeting the needs of the learner.
Consistent but Individualised Educational Experience
The Assistant Principal for Personal Development described the academy plans for Cultural Capital which provides all students in all years the opportunities to experience trips, residentials, sporting events, work experience and, in Year 11, the Prom. Furthermore, the academy has a Pledge System to support the students to be more employable and aiding parental engagement with Year 9 graduation and celebratory events across the key stages.
Ash Hill Academy offers students a consistent but individualised educational experience. This was evident in discussions with a number of students, who described the cultural awareness as evident across the school. They also described how “everyone has a say” and the “teachers were approachable”. One student who described her mental health difficulties, explained how she was always able to find someone to help and stated, “they are very supportive, if you have a problem, they will sort it quickly.”
The student group also explained the opportunities available to all students, through enrichment and careers days to support their life experiences and provide motivation.
Find out more about the IQM Inclusive School Award
If your school is interested in obtaining the IQM Inclusive School Award or you wish to talk to a member of the IQM team please telephone:
028 7127 7857 (9.00 am to 5.00 pm)
or email: [email protected] for further details.
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