National Society Statutory Inspection of Anglican Schools Report
Abbey Grange Church of England Academy
Butcher Hill
Leeds
LS16 5AE
Diocese: Ripon & Leeds
Local authority: Leeds
Dates of inspection: 9th February 2012
Date of last inspection: 7th May 2009
School’s unique reference number: 108101
Headteacher: Carol Kitson
Inspector’s name and number: Mrs C A Roberts 469
School context
Abbey Grange Academy has 1223 students on roll, of which 204 are post -16. Gaining Academy status in August 2011, it has a Humanities specialism. Students attend from across the city. Most students are White British, but there is a diverse range of pupils of other ethnic and religious backgrounds. The current principal has been in post since 2010. The Academy has been without a Chaplain since July 2011.
The distinctiveness and effectiveness of Abbey Grange Church of England Academy as a Church of England school are good
The Academy’s mission and aims have a good impact on all members of the Academy. Students feel valued, nurtured and able to flourish. Senior leaders and governors have a clear understanding of the way forward for the future development of the Christian character of the Academy.
Established strengths
·  The very strong commitment to student welfare and pastoral needs based on Christian ethos.
·  The outstanding spiritual, moral, social and cultural (SMSC) development of students.
·  The dedication of senior leaders, governors and staff to the Christian purpose of the Academy.
Focus for development
·  Establish a process for governors to monitor and evaluate all aspects of the Academy’s distinctive and effectiveness as a Church of England Academy.
·  Develop a challenging scheme of work for Key Stage 3 students in religious education (RE) covering both learning about and learning from religion.
·  Develop a systematic plan for monitoring and evaluating the quality and impact of collective worship which involves a range of stakeholders.
The school, through its distinctive Christian character, is good at meeting the needs of all learners
Learners thrive and achieve excellent results in the strong Christian ethos which underpins the daily life of the Academy. The strong focus on care, respect and mutually supportive relationships results in confident students who have a strong sense of moral responsibility and purpose. For example students talk of ‘the strong family bond of the school family’ and ‘the nurturing, holistic environment.’ Pastoral care based on forgiveness and a fresh start is excellent and central to the ethos at Abbey Grange. Students are encouraged to support their peers and also engage in active citizenship such as raising funds through Fair Trade events, or becoming Health and Anti bullying Ambassadors. A monthly parent prayer group meets to pray for all aspects of Academy life. Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding and opportunities to develop this are seized throughout the curriculum. Students are not afraid to discuss personal faith and debate a wide range of philosophical and religious issues. Although implicit Christian values are at the heart of the curriculum and policy documents, school has not yet engaged fully with explicit Christian values.
The impact of collective worship on the school community is satisfactory with some good elements.
Collective worship is important to the Academy and pupils understand that this is a key part of what it means to be a Church Academy, behaving well and showing respect. They say that worship is sometimes good, particularly when they are actively involved in communion services, where they enjoy planning and leading. This was a focus for development from the previous SIAS inspection. However, there is an inconsistent approach to Form worship and it lacks impact. Little monitoring of worship, including pupil voice, takes place. Senior leaders and Abbey Pastoral Heads lead house gatherings with half termly input from a youth leader with Faith in Schools. The themes for worship, planned by the recently departed Chaplain are based on the Church Calendar and other appropriate themes such as our communities. Worship time does provide a launch pad for charity fundraising and whole school initiatives such as anti-bullying week. The worship co-ordinator gives an annual report to governors, although governors would benefit from having sight of action plans to support the future development of worship. There are opportunities from time to time for students to engage in a prayer focus week, based on reflective and interactive prayer activities, for example using a bubble tube, led by Faith in Schools. Students thoroughly enjoy this and say it is moving and uplifting. Lunchtime opportunities exist for worship through Leeds Youth Cell Network as well as Faith in Action.
The effectiveness of the religious education is good
The RE team is led by a very dedicated and able subject leader, who is well supported by a very talented and committed team of specialists. Teaching is consistently good or outstanding, with creative and challenging activities, particularly at GCSE level. For example students take part in group work with a higher order thinking skills activity to rank their opinions about a moral issue. Since the last inspection standards in RE particularly at GCSE level have risen and are now well above the national average and on a par or better than core Academy subjects. This was a focus for development from the last inspection. Most students enjoy RE and understand its importance in learning about faith and its impact on life. For example one student commented ‘RE is important as it helps me to understand people, and the ethical issues are important.’ Assessment takes place on a regular basis and students know what they need to do in order to improve levels of attainment, particularly for GCSE. Since the last inspection there has been an improvement in the marking and feedback given to students in RE and this has added to their confidence and achievement. Planning and schemes of work for GCSE is thorough, and creative. However Key Stage 3 planning is not sufficiently robust to ensure progression and challenge across both ‘learning about’ and ‘learning from’ religion. Although RE makes a good contribution to learning about different faiths students have not had opportunity to visit places of worship other than Leeds Parish Church for services.
The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the school as a church school is good
The Academy has a clear mission statement and strapline ‘Educate, Nurture, Empower’ which underpins the Christian character of the Academy. The mission statement is reviewed annually although there has been little discussion or training about the explicit Christian values which form the essence of this vision. Governors are extremely hard working, supportive and proud of the Academy’s Christian foundation, ensuring they challenge when appropriate. They receive annual updates on collective worship and RE, however as yet do not have a systematic process for monitoring, analysing and evaluating the Academy’s effectiveness and distinctiveness as a Church of England Academy. The importance of the Christian character of the Academy is clearly stated at new parents meetings and when appointing staff. Parents are generally pleased with the distinctive character of the Academy, although they recognise that Christian values are not explicit enough in all that the Academy does. The Academy has a clear understanding of its future needs in terms of succession planning, with many opportunities for staff CPD. Governors and leaders recognise the urgency in appointing a new Chaplain to support the Academy’s vision. The Academy has established a very good link with Leeds Parish Church, values the support from the diocese and has good links with the world wide church through projects with a school in Durban, South Africa, also supporting a student in Sri Lanka. Students are involved in many projects locally such as an intergenerational project and supporting Martin House Hospice.

SIAS report February 2012 Abbey Grange Church of England Academy, Leeds, LS16 5AE