Leek High School Self-Evaluation Form

Leek High School Self-Evaluation Form 2014-2015 Historical gradings in black Current gradings, where applicable, in red Context Revision date: Spr...
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Leek High School Self-Evaluation Form 2014-2015

Historical gradings in black Current gradings, where applicable, in red

Context

Revision date: Spring term 2015

Author: J Spencer

Leek High is a positive school where students are happy, conduct is good and despite the troubling home background some experience they engage and behave well. The school is proud to be truly inclusive and works hard with troubled youngsters – accepting that this will have a negative impact on league tables and figures. The priority given to being student focussed is central to the schools’ ethos. Being small in size is regarded as a plus not a negative- all children are known and supported. The support offered goes beyond what would be expected of a school of a much greater size. Each individual is listened to and valued. The school puts its money where its mouth is, employing learning mentors, providing a cost free base for other agencies and investing in expert careers advice and guidance. The outcomes have been positive in previous years; in 2011 and 2012 disadvantaged students made much better than expected progress than nationally and prompted a letter of commendation from central government. The poor performance in 2013 was as disappointing as it was unexpected; reversing that was going to be difficult as the class of 2014 were less able than that of 2013 and significantly, increasingly so, below the national prior attainment figure, despite this there were improvements in 2014 though not enough.

Students

Children report, to an exceptional degree, that they feel safe. There has only been one permanent exclusion in five years and the temporary exclusions are more likely to be the result of the tough line taken on smoking than any other factors. The school has been sought out to help young people in danger of being lost to the education system - be they in danger of exclusion or school phobic. Looked after children are welcomed and their carers worked closely with, consequently the school had three times the national average of LACs in 2013. In a small school where every child can be viewed as being almost 1% in terms of the league tables, the school has taken the decision that it is better to support youngsters rather than massage figures.The local authority has very recently identified a large proportion of our catchment area as one of two in the county most in need of support because of low income/life expectancy/high unemployment and high rates of ill health. The school is determined to be at the forefront of the work now beginning to address these issues. The vast majority of students join from one feeder school. They students prior attainment is significantly below national averages, a difference that is growing- year 11 of the previous year was-0.9- statistically significantly negative but the 2014 figure almost double it. Year 11 (Sept 2013) - 1.7 (sig) Year 10 (Sept 2013) -1.7 (sig) Year 9 (Sept 2013) – 2.4 (sig) The school prior attainment is heavily biased to the less able and becoming more so, the very low figure of high achievers of the present year 10 (year 9 in September 2013) is very concerning September 2013 prior attainment band - national figures in brackets Low Middle High Year 11 25.9. (14.6) 56.5 (52.5) 17.6 (32.9) Year 10 30.5 (16.3) 56.5 (52.5) 22.0 (34.7) Year 9 31.6 (17.5) 60.7 (49.0) 7.7 (30.8) The prior attainment of the class of 2014 were 1.7 points below the national expectation and 70% less likely to be in the upper ability band and more than 60% more likely to be in the lower band than one would expect nationally. |It does make comparing attainment in school with the national figure somewhat problematic. 2/31

. The outcomes from 2013 were very concerning though there was clear evidence that when prior attainment is taken into account there were some positives in terms of average capped and total points- the school was above national averages 50% of the time. The class of 2014 were considerably less able but achieved better outcomes in several areas including English though still less than we anticipated. The school has encouraged students to think beyond gender boundaries when it comes to A level choices and we th were pleased that it was recognised in the national survey by the Institute of Physics. Of the, over 2000, 6 form providers, only 28 received top marks for overcoming gender imbalances in terms of option choices- one being Leek High. Professor Peter Main, Director of Education and Science at IOP said in the press release (December 13)’ We congratulate Leek High for their success. Schools around the country could learn a lot from their practice’.

Staffing .

Curriculum and Timetable

Other features

Staff turnover is generally low, difficulties during 2013/14 were largely due to ill health. The small size of the school does mean that teachers have to be flexible and must be willing to teach a second subject at times, although this has been reduced. All the SLT, including the head, teach. The school benefits from being able to use a member of the federation to add teaching capacity to the sixth form while in turn helping our key feeder school by teaching year 8 students in areas such as technology and languages. RE teaching is enhanced by the support offered by a local church group to add a Christian perspective. The timetable is set over a two week period, each day having five one hour sessions. The curriculum model is quite traditional but options have been based around the youngsters first and the needs of the timetable second. There are relatively few ‘GCSE equivalent’ subjects offered at GCSE- just IT and sport. The school offers a range of additional provision, some to enhance the mainstream curriculum pre and post 16, and others to add a vocational element and other aspects are in place to prevent disengagement. These include:  Post 16- A levels Media offered at Westwood College, sociology, business studies and photography at Leek College of Further Education  Pre 16 vocational level 1 courses in engineering and hair & beauty at LCFE  Construction and life skills courses through PM Training pre 16  In house non-examination hospitality course shared with the Meadows.  For possible introduction in 2014/15 – horticulture led by the Meadows staff on the LHS site  The school has introduced ‘Vision 2 Learn’ a package that provided an alternative educational avenue for students who find the traditional model problematic. The package can also be used to help sixth form students who fail to achieve a higher grade in maths/English  For the first time in 2014/15 we are piloting a vocational agricultural course linked to Rodbasron College.

Leek High is a small school of approximately 420 students aged 13-18. The number of students claiming/eligible for free school meals is 21%. The school has mixed urban and rural catchments with some deprivation, especially amongst urban students. Few parents are educated to higher education standards. Leek High is co-located with the Meadows Special School and some facilities are shared including the hall, reception, sports hall, music practise room. There is some shared teaching and there is increasing movement between the institutions to best meet the needs of young people. 3/31

In the spring of 2012 the school became part of the Leek Education Partnership with nine other local schools. In September 2012 the school became part of a hard federation with Westwood College and Churnet View Middle. There is now one governing body and an executive principal for the three schools but the headteacher of Leek High remains as the substantive head.

4/31

Achievement

Overall

3/2/ sixth from 2

5A. Last revision date: Spring term 2015

5B. Author: J Spencer

Progress Until 2013 GCSE attainment was consistently above FFT D targets, this led to a response from central government‘ it gives me great pleasure to congratulate you on the excellent GCSE performance of your pupils’ David Laws, Minister of State for Schools letter to the head- January 2013 but the picture changed in the summer of 2013 The headline figure of 40% 5 GCSEs including English and maths was down markedly, there has been a slight recovery in 2014 despite the cohort being significantly less able, prior attainment being significantly below expectations according to Raise and against national downward picture.. The prior performance of Year 11 (2014/15) is even further adrift of national expectations. Progress measures value added. Raise on line progress figures value added for 2014 were as follows;

4. Summary

ENGLISH All pupils Boys Girls Disadvantaged students Other Pupils Prior Attainment – Low Middle High First language English SEN –no statement SEN - statement Ethnicity -white Mixed Caribbean Unclassified

Cohort for VA 108 62 46 28 80 28 61 19 108 19 2 106 1 1

VA score School 999.7 998.3 1001.5 999.0 999.9 1000.0 1000.1 997.8 999.7 999.2 1004.8 999.6 995.7 1011.3

VA National score 1000.0 998.5 1001.6 998.5 1000.6 1000.0 1000.0 1000.0 999.7 997.6 996.8 999.6 999.2 1000.3

MATHS All pupils Boys Girls Disadvantaged students Other Pupils Prior Attainment – Low Middle High First Language English SEN –no statement SEN - statement Ethnicity -white Mixed Caribbean Unclassified

Cohort for VA 108 62 46 28 80 28 61 19 108 19 2 106 1 1

VA score School 1000.8 1001.4 1000.1 996.8 1002.2 1002.9 999.7 1001.5 1000.8 1002.4 1010.5 1000.8 1000.7 1005.2

VA National score 1000.0 1000.3 999.7 998.3 1000.6 1000.0 1000.0 1000.0 999.5 998.0 998.4 999.4 998.0 1000.2 5/31

Of the 28 relevant progress value added measure for English and Maths the school was above or equal to national figures in 20 areas, below in 8. We would have liked these figures to be better but in terms of value added both English and maths improved their percentile ranking English from th th nd th 94 to 60 , maths from 52 to 39 . Best 8, Science, Languages and Humanities all improved their percentile ranking between 2014 and 2014. th Of the 55 similar schools in the 2014 performance tables Leek High was 28 .Had one girl and one boy gained one grade higher the English would look very different. As the ‘all pupils’ figure national included non- English speakers who make more rapid progress and there were no non English speakers at Leek High the actual like- for like- figures of students with English as their first language which are identical to the national figure in English and well above the national figure in maths. As no Leek High groups included this group that makes, by a considerable margin, fastest progress all figures would have been impacted- figures that are ‘on target would have been above and those marginally below- girls in English for example- would have been at least on target. Attainment Numerous other indicators are heading in the ‘right’ direction: A range of subjects increased their GCSE higher grades in 2014 performance against 2013 figures and against a 3 year average to 2012 which includes the last Ofsted visit. Art made massive strides in 2014. Subjects improving attainment in 2014 Additional Science 47% to 67% English 50% to 55% Geography 50% to 56% French 26% to 71% Art 22% to 69% Biology 94% to 100%

Music 47% to %50% Food 42% to 65% Electronics 19% to 53% Graphics 59% to 67% Resistant Materials 35% to 50% Chemistry 87% to 90%

Subject

3 yr. average to 2012 - %

2013 %

2014%

Biology

90

94

100

Chemistry Additional Science English Literature

84

87

90

37

47

67

70

86

90

Geography

48

50

56

Fine Art

56

22

69

Catering

n/a

42

65

Graphics

51

59

67

Music

25

47

50 6/31

Several subjects beat/equalled national averages of C and above despite students low starting point Subject

School

National

Biology

100

90

Physics

95

91

Core Science Additional Science English Literature

59

59

67

66

90

77

French

71

70

Catering Graphic Products

65

63

67

63

The national figure for Chemistry was 91%, 90% at Leek High. The pass rate in Sport in 2014 was 100% and has been for three years, over 85% of students achieved at least a 49 points, the bottom of a grade A, the national figure is less than 28%. The nature of the cohort means we achieve fewer very high grades than is the case nationally (and lower than we would like) but as evidence that we do value all of our students it is clear that in terms of achieving a grade G or above we do very well, all of the following subjects are above national figures; maths, catering, engineering, electronics, graphics, RM, media, music, dance, English, English language, English literature, additional science, core science, biology, chemistry, physics, biology, geography, history, French, Spanish, German. Being truly inclusive means encouraging all students to achieve to the best of their ability, even if that is a lower grade. The school was 3% above the national figure for studentsa achieving 5 or more grade G and above. Outcomes at key stage 5 in 2013 and 2014 have been improving and targets were beaten in 2014. Progress is good and amongst the very best in Staffordshire. However overall even in the light of poor prior attainment we have high expectations and we are unhappy with our examination performance in some areas, and therefore we feel that attainment requires improvement. Achievement in languages is problematic. Students study little French prior to attending Leek High (no more than one hour a week often less at the middle school) and no other languages are studied so students reach year 9 not secondary ready. The department, deemed ‘good’ by Ofsted have been innovative in offering four languages and though this has proved successful in terms of encouraging student to choose MFL it has not helped in catching up the time lost . Progress from a starting point of ‘nil’ is good though this is not reflected against national standards. Major staffing disruption in 2013/14 which has continued into 2014/15 will not help the situation though steps have been taken to alleviate the problems. From January 2015 there will have been a complete change in the teaching staff from 2013/14. Although French outcomes were good in 2014 numbers taking languages can be small and figures (both positive and negative) are statistically 7/31

questionable. Science was a major concern in 2012 but the strenuous efforts made by colleagues have led to much improved results, students achieving at a better than national figures in several areas. Attainment in science is amongst the best in school though progress is not quite as strong

3. Even better…To improve on our performance and get back to at least good we have identified a number of key priorities.

Key priorities for 2014/15:  Focus on progress in English which though improved on 2014 must improve still further and rapidly. The decision not to resit students who took the English exam early in order to improve progress levels proved to be correct for the youngsters- they achieved very well in the additional literature examination they took (90% A* to C)opening the door for A level English studies, but hit English progress levels, especially for the upper band, The decision was made on the basis of what was right for the youngsters rather than league tables. Subject inspection in 2013 gave a 3 which means a further review will follow  Work with underperforming departments – ICT, previously strong, has had a serious dip in 2014 and will have a subject review early in the Autumn term  Reverse the downward trend of girls achievement (though their poor prior attainment means their progress is better than might initially seem to be the case.  Improve the performance of vulnerable groups and ensure targets are met  Tracking proved to be an unreliable indicator of outcomes in 2013 and 14 having been reliable in previous years. We have given more explicit guidance to staff, added an extra data trawl point, asked for cross town moderation of tracking which is due to begin in October 2014. We are also making target setting more rigorous- all upper band plus students achieving 4a at the end of key stage 2 are to be set at least 4 levels of progress as a target all other students 3 levels of progress. We will review targets for pupil premium students after the first data trawl at the start of November in order to produce targets that are ambitious and personalised.  Keep improving attainment post 16 - the target average point score per entry 195 was beaten in 2014, targets should be met again in 2015. Aspirational targets set for key stage 5 do seem to be having an impact on attainment (but can make residuals seem disappointing)  Establish a raising achievement group to bridge the gap between pastoral and academic staff to take a rounded view of any underachievement.  We will develop a much more proactive and coordinated programme of intervention that will ensure all staff are aware of responsibilities, keep parents more closely involved and allow senior staff to be more aware of actions being taken across the school. A member of staff has been appointed to oversee this.

8/31

Sub-criterion

Pupils’ overall learning progress and attainment KS4

1. Key phrases from the Criteria

Although a less able cohort the 2014 students have improved their performance in a range of subjects against 2013 and a three year rolling measure results. In English and to some extent in maths they have fared less well. Current students are performing well and it is anticipated that results and value added will improve further.

Grade

2. Main strengths and areas for development Three or more levels of progress FFT D targets for 2014 were 61% English and 69% Maths) 13% of English and 28% of maths students made more than expected progress. Maths progress was hit adversely by the inclusion of students deemed too weak to take the ks2 exam. Despite their unknown starting point they didn’t hit their target, without their inclusion maths progress was close to 69% Nov Jan April 2012 2013 2014 14 15 15

3/2 English

66

40

46

45

60

69

Maths

80

67

61

79

66

80

45

52

72

83

87

Science

Year eleven were tracking (January 2015) at 47% 5 GCSEs including English and maths. Against a target in the summer of 56%, clearly there is a distance to go but the figure was 34% in January 2014

A key group that is causing concern is girls- although statistically their ability has been falling year on year it is a very worrying trend though , because they were not a particularly able group the progress is not as disappointing as might first appear, their value added in maths was above national figures in English the figures for girls in schools was1001.5 as opposed to 1001.6 nationally Groups’ progress 3/2

In 2013 middle ability students caused major concerns, especially in English but this does seem to have returned to a more ‘normal ‘ pattern (54% achieved five GCSEs with E and M in 2014 up from 29%). There was a dip in the performance of the upper ability band for instance 94% of them achieved 5 good GCSEs as opposed to 100% in 2014 –though the upper ability band had few or no (in English) 5A students. Perhaps the more concerning was the small number of upper ability students- lower ability youngsters outnumbered upper ability by two to one and less able students make slower progress. This may be accounted for the nature of the Upper band, no 5A students at all, no 5A or B in English . This trend is increasing but the upper band are performing well at the present (Feb15)

There is some variability in performance from subject to subject, The following subjects were on or above the national figures despite students starting from significantly below national standards; Subject/Key Stage Attainment/progress

2

biological sciences physics core science graphics English literature 9/31

French Sport Catering Therefore it is very likely that they have made progress at or above expected levels- some of these subjects including the sciences, literature, sport and graphics have built on previous above national average performances

Progress across a range of subjects is good

Amongst other subjects improving over time are geography, and chemistry. Art has staged a considerable recovery in 2014.Music has moved on considerably in recent years, the music adviser for Staffordshire schools, wrote “Following a number of consecutive years when results at Leek High have been difficult, the 2012 cohort have shown some exciting developments. Leek High has come out as having the greatest improvement across the local authority for both A* to C and A* to G’. Results further improved in 2013 and again in 2014 However three subjects stand out as causing concern- English, IT and MFL. Staffing issues resulting from ill-health, maternity leave and very long term absences have impacted on all these subjects. English had been on a downward trend until 2014. The cohort were less able year on year and prior performance in English poor but attainment was worse than anticipated. Steps were taken in 2014 and further actions already in place in 14/15 and tracking looks positive. IT was doing to doing well when but a change of examination specification exacerbated by serious staffing issues resulting in the department being carried by an NQT had a serious impact. Staffing is now secure. Performance in languages continue to be unpredictable, a situation not helped in 2014 by major staffing disruption. As of January 2015 no staff teaching languages in 2013/14 remain at the school and the new staff are having a vey positive impact Having performed disappointingly for several years up to 2012 science has been a success story in 2013 and 2014.Despite having poor prior attainment students finished on or above national averages in biology, physics, additional science and core science. Maths, having had an upward trend for several years suffered a dip in 2013, and although raw results fell in 2014 the relative weakness of the cohort means progress has improved. The percentage of A*-G grades in 2014 was better at Leek High than nationally, 95% as compared with 92%, a positive net change of 5% on the 2013 figure Residuals do reflect the schools evaluation i.e. IT had a very bad year and languages do give cause for concern. The school has taken steps to address these issues. In other areas that appear to be of greatest concern Critical Studies is no longer taught and the numbers in textiles are too small to be significantly significant. They also reflect an improving position in English.

10/31

Percentage of 5+ A*-C grades including English and Maths

All students (119 students)

Pupil premium (25 students)

Non pupil premium (94 students)

Boys (66 students)

Girls (53 students)

Upper ability (33 students)

Middle ability (56 students)

Lower ability (30 students)

SEN (20 students)

Non SEN (99 students)

Nov

Jan

Mar

Apr

Target

37

40

43

50

Actual

37

47

50

56

Target

20

25

31

41

Actual

20

24

28

48

Target

41

44

47

52

Actual

41

53

55

59

Target

35

39

42

49

Actual

35

48

50

53

Target

40

43

45

51

Actual

40

45

49

60

Target

85

88

90

95

Actual

85

90

91

91

Target

28

33

37

46

Actual

28

46

52

64

Target

0

2

3

7

Actual

0

0

0

3

Target

0

3

7

13

Actual

0

0

0

10

Target

44

47

51

57

Actual

44

57

60

67

Target 56

52

58

56

56

100

55

10

20

64

Progress in2015 looks positive so far (March 2015) though we need to move the 5 target SEN/lower ability students on rapidly and pupil premium students are making progress but are not as yet hitting targets- this too need attention. Tracking of students with a prior attainment of 4c and 5c, a ‘problem ‘ group nationally and at Leek High, indicates that they are hitting targets at this point.

11/31

Sixth form – Grade 2 Performance at Key Stage 5 continues to improve. The number of students is small but outcomes are getting better. In 2011 the sixth form was judged as good by Ofsted - results have improved considerably since that point. APS per entry was 179.1 in 2011 and had risen to 187 in 2013. The 2014 cohort were less able, their key stage 4 APS was 42.1 which generated a KS5 APS minimum target per entry of 185.8 and an aspirational target (which is the one the students are set) per entry of 195. Both targets target were beaten and when all post 16 qualifications are considered students achieved, on average, half a grade above target 

APS for A level attainment - 202.6



APS for vocational attainment - 215



APS for academic attainment - 203

Year

KS4 APS

KS5 APS

2012

44.4

199.0

2013

42.1

187.0

2014

42.1

202.6

APS per candidate has risen from 595.1 at the time of the last Ofsted, reached 680 in 2013 and stands at 688 in 2014. There was a 100% pass rate at A level for year 13 leavers of which 70% were grades C or above, 17% were A*/A. We try to be inclusive and give youngsters a genuine opportunity to be aspirational. High quality independent careers advice is available to youngsters prior to joining the sixth form but our entry policy is based on giving the opportunity to succeed to youngsters who might have been turned away by other institutions as well as pushing the most able (in 2014 out of our small sixth form two were made Oxbridge offers) The average GCSE point score for year students was 42.1 i.e. the ‘bottom’ third of a C and in terms of ALIS banding the norm for the upper ability band is 25%, of our students only 13% were classed as band A. Value added for this group was pleasing, being significantly above average at AS and A2 – a very positive outcome. This is now a three year trend of value added that is above national figures for A/S level- and the second year the performance has been significantly above. Value added for A level is also significantly above expectations.

12/31

th

Of the 55 institutions in Staffordshire the school we were pleased to be placed 4 in A level progress th and 5 in Academic progress- both excellent outcomes. Value added A level =0.24 (above average) Value added academic =0.17 (above average) There were only 6 vocational entries and therefore not statistically reliable

Historically year 12 has been regarded as something of a problem year but there is clear evidence of significant progress. Year 2012 2013 2014

KS4 APS 41.6 39.1 42.4

A-C 37.7 39.2 43.1

A-E 71.4 79.1 81.0

KS5 APS 72.8 78.4 84.3

The figure for A/B didn’t rise between 2013 and 14(23.5 for both years) which was disappointing but the value added score is on a three year upward trend figures from the February 2015 Panda shows the A/S value added being above national figures significantly so in 2013 and 2014 Small numbers in the cohort mean statistical analysis is not reliable but in the last four years but the anecdotal evidence is positive; for example every student bar one seeking a place at university been able to go. In 2014 from a cohort with an average GCSE grade of barely a C students have gone to some very good universities including Edinburgh, Warwick, Birmingham and Oxford. It is statistically unreliable to focus on individual department on an annual basis so as of September 2014 we are in the process of making a judgement over three years to reach an accurate assessment. A gender issue has arisen this year that we need to be mindful of as outcomes for girls were not as good as those for boys this year though that hasn’t always been the case. The figures are skewed by four girls who having decided university wasn’t for them (a reasonable decision for two of them, less so for the other two) then became demotivated. In a small school this does make difference. We will review our policy on admission into year 13 not for the sake of any measure but so we can consider, along with the student, if year 13 is best for them. Year 13 (2014/15) is marginally more able than that of 2013/14. The average KS4 APS of 42 has generated a very aspirational target KS5 APS per entry of 223 and a perhaps more realistic base line target of 200. Tracking shows current performance as 204 in January 2015 rising to 208 in March. Our inclusive ethos included the sixth form. We believe students can achieve and while our youngsters have lower prior attainment than the National figure (see below) they enjoy positive outcomes. According to the Panda (Feb 2015) 67% of our students entered higher education – 11% better than the national figure, 78% continued their education (nationally 70%), 11% to training /employment (nationally 7%). 13/31

Skills – RWCM across the curriculum

3

A systematic examination of literacy needs within the school is being undertaken led by a new appointment. This has involved an audit of all teaching and support staff, to determine current skills and possible areas for development. A key factor emerging from the audit has been to support staff in enabling parental access to subject specific literacy needs. The possibility of electronic access via the website to subject specific requirements is currently being explored. This is an important factor which needs support in order to implement the Literacy Across the curriculum policy, agreed with all schools within and affiliated to the Federation. There have been a number of whole school and tutor focused projects to promote and improve the reading and writing skills of the students. For example, tutor time reading weeks; books staff ‘are reading’; tutor time punctuation practice and competitions; poetry and writing competitions; a specific and regular time for reading for enjoyment allocated within English lessons in years 9 and 10. Strong support from the English and Humanities department, and specialised support staff in room 24, is helping to determine specific focuses. Regular meetings of the Literacy Co-ordinators within the Federation has promoted a much clearer route for progression which is ongoing. For example, a Federation-wide marking code for literacy has been established, but with individual autonomy for additional needs to be incorporated within different key stages. Good practice is regularly shared and concerns explored. The school has operated without a library for two years; it has now been re-sited and is part of the English suite of rooms. A literacy coordinator has been appointed and support for literacy from the local authority agreed to. Reading ages of all students are measured on entry to the school; this is then used as a targeted tool for assessing the progress of student with literacy needs and pupil premium students. Reading ages will be one measure to judge the impact of the literacy measures. Headline figures look questionable especially in the light of some very good data in 2011 however the performance in 2014 represents an improving picture in most areas Percentage achieving 5+EM

Number of students

Pupil Premium Non Pupil Premium GAP

Attainment and closing gaps

3

Percentage achieving 5+

2012

2013

2014

2012

2013

2014

2012

2013

2014

27

27

28

31

19

29

38

42

36

92

91

84

58

63

48

72

75

55

27

44

19

34

33

19

Clearly the ‘gap’ has narrowed considerably from 2013 to 2014 and 2012 to 2014. 7 of the PP students had significant and major (documented) health or other issues, beyond the school’s control, which were the main cause of their underachievement. If these students were taken out of the calculations then 40% would have achieved 5 higher grades including maths and English and 48% would have achieved any 5 higher grades.

The learning of groups of pupils is generally good and/or improving

The pupil premium students had an average APS of 24.76, an average of a 4C, suggesting that to be in line with national figures (not just PP) 44% should have made 3 levels of progress in maths and 45% in English. Maths PP students made that progress, English students didn’t . Both show an improving picture. When the impact of the 7 students is taken into account the progress is quite 14/31

positive. According to Raise (December 2014) compared with 2013 the performance of disadvantaged students improved in English, Science, languages and humanities and the overall figure. It was identical in maths. Of the 9 categories identified in Raise gaps were closed in 8 of them, English APS, Maths APS, Capped APS, 5A-C, basics, English A-C, Maths A-C and % A-G, only the E bac went in the wrong direction. We do expect to improve on the figure five good GCSEs this year.

Pupil Premium

2013

2014

2014 (students removed)

PP students improvement in progress since 2013

Expected progress Maths

33%

44%

55%

11% / 22%

Expected progress English

22%

41%

55%

19% / 33%

13% of SEN students gained 5 ‘good’ GCSEs including English and Maths, 26% achieved any 5 good grades. 2013 was very disappointing in terms of closing gaps, 2014 was considerably better especially when the ability of the cohort is considered. According to the most recent validated figures, as produced on the data dashboard, disadvantaged pupils made better than national progress in English in 2011 and 2012 and in maths in 2011 and 2012.

15/31

Quality of Teaching

Overall:

3/2/ sixth form 2

5A. Last revision date: Spring term 2015

5B. Author: J Spencer

‘Students make good progress through a combination of good and sometimes outstanding teaching’ Ofsted

4. Summary

Teaching is graded historically at 3 because Ofsted criteria presently suggest that underachievement in one key area means teaching requires improvement. However this is a judgement based primarily on teaching up to in one subject area and does not reflect the present situation or the wider achievement in 2013 and 2014. Present performance and external assessments suggest teaching at this point is good at key stage 4 and at key stage 5  14 subject areas have improved attainment compared with 2013, 12 are higher than the three year average including the last Ofsted visit. This suggests that teaching that is at good  8 GCSE subjects and a vocational subject1 were at or above national averages despite significantly lower than expected prior attainment indicating that teaching in those areas is at least good.  Staffing difficulties in English have now been resolved; there has been a 75% turnover in the department from the staff teaching in 2013 and progress of the present year 11 is pleasing.  All teaching staff are observed three times annually in the lesson observation cycle  In addition staff involved in internal department reviews (every two years or annually if the department is judged to be in need of improvement)  An ofsted inspector acting as a consultant graded all lessons he observed (20% of the staff) as good or outstanding (Feb 2014). This external validation is in line with school records.  No lessons observed internally or by external observers were deemed to be unsatisfactory in 2013/14. Three lessons were graded unsatisfactory in 2012/13. One member of staff taught two of those lessons, he has left the school. The other member of staff graded at 4 has now returned to his subject specialism, his most recent aggregated grading was 2.14  Additional observations may be undertaken as part of teacher appraisal or sharing of good practice and will be undertaken if lessons are graded 3 or 4  Learning walks ensure typicality and have been standardised across the Federation  Lesson observation data supports the identification of relative strengths/weaknesses of teachers/departments/the whole school. Questioning was seen as a comparative weakness and has been addressed by whole school training- impact can be quantified over the remainder of 2014. Behaviour management issues for one colleague have led to internal support and external CPD.  The method of data collection has been revised in the light of Ofsted and teacher standards changes the bar has been raised. It is difficult to make direct comparisons and changed results reflect a changed methodology not standards- we will not be complacent. In their most recent round (February 2014) 5 lessons of 29 were classified as grade 1/outstanding, 2 lessons were judged as requiring improvement and the remainder as good thus meeting the target of at least 80% of lessons graded good or better. This has been a consistent pattern in recent years. We are presently (January 15) refining our observation process to be in line with Ofsted and progress over time will a key factor in all future observations/assessment of teaching. A greater range of factors will be used to judge teaching quality.  Departments are subject to internal/ federation wide and external reviews- Science and the pastoral team will be reviewed externally in the summer term 2015.

16/31

Lesson observation records Whole school average

Average grade 1.93

Whole school average

Observation Round 2 2013-14 Observation Round 1 2013-14 2012-13

Whole school average

2011- 12

Average grade 1.75

Whole school average



  

Even better...To ensure that our teaching is at least good and ensure that outcomes and progress are at least good we must

      

Average grade .1.62 Average grade 1.78

Timetabled pupil performance meetings and regular work sampling by subject leaders does appear to be having an impact. Teachers are increasingly likely to make their assessment formative and to ensure that students are aware how they can progress. Staff are now encouraged to engage in a dialogue with students- evidence of this is beginning to emerge. There are clear examples of excellent practise, an Ofsted subject visit for MFL noted ‘Marking is also for the most part outstanding, ensuring that students are aware of what they need to do next to help them improve’ but this then sets the bar high. Whole school Insets, led by high profile educationalists Robert Powell and Claire Gadsby were very informative and have been followed up. Examples of their work has been observed in lessons Feedback about teachers has been positive, an e mail received from a visiting prospective parent said, ’All the teachers we met were engaging, enthusiastic and it was clear that they have a passion for teaching’ An AQA media studies moderators report (2012) was similarly impressed ‘highlighting the ‘extremely accurate marking’, the ‘copious and meaningful’ annotations and that Leek High is’ A wonderful centre to moderate- a total pleasure’. Media studies is taught by the English staff. However the new board the English department is using moved internally moderated marks down considerably making huge inroads on progress- exam board unpredictability is unhelpful.

No grade 4 lessons were observed in 2013/14, this has to be an expectation again in 2014/15 Stretching the most able to ensure a better return of the highest grades – aspirational target of 18% A*/A in 2014 Improve level of challenge and the matching of tasks to student need Develop effective questioning as measured by lesson observation records Revise the lesson observation format so it continues to give detailed data but is more reflective of new Ofsted criteria. Good practise re formative marking and student response is consistent across the school There is an apparent mismatch between outcomes and the school’s assessment of teaching. However the headline figures mask very positive outcomes in many areas including some- such as GCSE literature, and A level English- which are taught by staff teaching GCSE English, the area of greatest concern. Rankings of lesson observation by subeject and outcomes largely correspond

17/31

Sub-criterion

Pupils’ learning and progress in lessons* Engagement in Learning

Teachers’ expectations

Teachers’ planning and strategies

Interventions and support

Teaching of RWCM

Assessment. Marking, feedback and homework

1. Key phrases from the Criteria Progress is good and sometimes excellent in most subjects most of the time Students have a positive attitude to learning Teachers plan and teach lessons that deepen knowledge and understanding

Teachers planning and strategies means individual needs are met Intervention and tracking of those interventions is proving to be effective in most subject areas.

Reading, writing, communication and maths are well taught though English Language results in year 11 were disappointing in 2014

There have been noticeable

Grade

2

2

2

2

2

3

2

2. Main strengths and areas for development Evidence from lesson observations suggests that learning and progress are good in the majority of lessons for the majority of students regardless of their ability. Observers base the final lesson grade on the basis of student learning and from 2014/15 it will be based on learning over time. Evidence from lesson observations suggests that there is a positive attitude to learning and students are engaged on their tasks regardless of their ability. Behaviour was graded at 1.58 in the most recent round of observations an improvement from 1.63 (2012/13) and 1.85 (2011/12) Teachers have high expectations. Target set are aspirational and agreed with students. One area for further development is in raising the aspirations for the most able, all upper band students plus 4a students now have a target based on 4 levels of progress. Leek High has a higher band that is considerably smaller than the national figure (17% in 2014 compared to a national figure of 32%) The staff in all subject areas work hard to ensure that there is no gender divide in option choices post 16- students make their choices based on their skills and aptitudes not their gender. A whole school lesson plan is developed that ensures teachers focus on prior attainment, vulnerable groups, learning strategies and objectives and differentiation. Recent CPD focused on planning for effective questioning In October 2014 the federation CPD focus is on differentiation Pupil performance meetings take place in all subjects for each year group termly. Vulnerable group students are named on the pro-formas and staff comment on progress, any intervention needed and impact of interventions already taken. In recent months we have taken major strides forward in making our interventions more directed, whole school in nature and involving parents at a much earlier point. Systems will need to be refined and impact assessed but initial anecdotal evidence is positive. A member of staff has been given responsibility for whole school intervention and a newly appointed member of staff has a specific role in intervening with pupil premium students The English department have introduced focussed units of SPAG work into year 9. This focus is being built into all English units in all years. There have been whole school focus weeks on, for example, the use of capital letters in marking in all subjects. Independent reading is being promoted in English lessons with regular reading starters in year 10 being introduced to year 9. There is also a planned reading cycle in tutor time. The reading and spelling ages of all students are assessed on entry in year 9 and student, where there is cause for concern, are given extra literacy support in room 24 and regularly re-assessed for progress. A new, more refined reading and spelling package has been introduced. A new library is open. The new subject leader for English has a strong background in literacy and is already impacting on literacy. A member of the maths staff has been begun a review work in cross curricular numeracy and has produced a draft policy. The school has placed increased emphasis on expecting staff to mark formatively and having done so take steps to see a response from students. However at this point this is not secure for all teachers and is being followed up by work sampling. 18/31

improvements but there remains is a need for greater consistency to ensure that assessment is promoting learning

Recent CPD has also focussed on what constitutes effective feedback. A HMI consultant described oral feedback as ‘outstanding’ (Feb 2014) Work sampling is done by middle leaders half termly at a timetabled meeting. Work sampling is also being done at ELT and SLT and recommendations made. It is clear that the quality of feedback is improving rapidly and a’ dialogue’ between staff and students is emerging Assessment of marking is not always commented on in lesson observations and needs to be a focus on the next cycle. Assessment is a key agenda item on federation meetings of the Learning and Teaching group and good practice is shared. Tracking has been reviewed and cross town moderation is scheduled. When asked in a parent voice questionnaire (Nov 13) 20% disagreed with the statement’ my child receives an appropriate amount of homework. This was the biggest dissent by a considerable margin and though a very clear majority (80%) were comfortable with the amount given there is clearly a cause for reflection especially as comment varied from not enough to too much

Safety

Overall

2

5A. Last revision date: Spring term2015

5B. Author: J Spencer

‘A real strength of the school is its excellent pastoral care. The very caring ethos of working with students and their families permeates all elements of the school’s work’ Ofsted Pastoral care is given high priority by the school, despite its small size the pastoral leader is part of the leadership team, and the two house leaders have key high profile roles in school. The school has a renowned multi –agency facility that has been acknowledged at a national scale- (the school was previously awarded National Extended School of the Year on the basis of the work done), the facility is permanently staffed by learning mentors employed by the school throughout the year, not just term time. We believe that the emphasis given to pastoral care has a positive impact on behaviour and safety. Although it can be difficult to measure the success of pastoral care some points are worth noting; 4. Summary

 

   

No ‘school girl mums’ while the multi-agency facility has existed. In the most recent (Spring 2014) parental voice survey results responses were very favourable; 97% of the response agreed/strongly agreed that their child enjoys school 100% agreed/agreed strongly that the school keeps their child safe 94% agreed/strongly agreed that the school deals effectively with unacceptable behaviour These figures echo findings from November 2013 which were 92%, 95% and 98% Just one neet has have been recorded in the last four years up to and including 2014, around 0.2% (Staffordshire 4.5.West Mids. 5.4% as at end 2014) a remarkable record. It reflects the support students get including continued emphasis given to high quality specialised one-to one careers advice The Careers England website identifies just 27 institutions as examples of best practice for delivery of independent careers advice –Leek High is one of them Students display good attitudes towards others, only one racist incident has been recorded 2012-13, two in 13-14 Student voice, staff voice and Ofsted all suggest that relationships between staff and students are very good 19/31



Our Facebook page is now very active and has become a very effective means to disseminate information, act as a reminder and celebrate achievements- it is proving popular and effective- we have many ‘likes’

Multi Agency Facility A key feature of the school is the award winning multi –agency facility. It is widely used and students/parents who benefit from a rage of agencies on offer. Since the beginning of the new term, January 2014, Room 21 has been accessed by both students and/or their parents 438 times, this does not include all careers advice, full year group workshops for PSHE, contact via telephone, email or text message or break and lunchtime ‘drop in’s’ for leaflets etc. In total 88 students have accessed the room in January-March 2014. 23 were male and 65 female of which 6 were year 12/13, 17 Year 11, 25 Year 10 and 40 Year 9

Student referrals from Room 21 to other agencies January- March 2014 4 T3 substance misuse 4 Local Support Team 2 CAMHS 2 NSPCC 16 Pupil Premium y11 mentor 1 Arch 3 Changes Impact of the facility is difficult to judge as you are dealing in negatives- no permanent exclusions, no school girl mums for years, no students lost to education and with imponderables- e.g. Leek High attracts more LACs because of the support- where would the youngsters go if not here -but no one in school doubts its importance. Students- who thus far have visited on average over five times clearly believe in its efficacy.

20/31

Attendance

Judging attendance out of context is unhelpful- the best attending secondary year groups nationally are years 7 and 8 and the school does include an area of growing social and economic deprivation according to Staffordshire County Council – one of only two areas of focus in the county. However the in school attendance is on a three year upward trend –green shows improvement Data for 2014/15 as at 2/4/15

Whole school

National 2013/14

Year 9

School 2012/13

School 2013/14

School 2014/15

94.8%

95.1%

94.7%

Year 10

94.4%

94.0%

93.7%

Year 11

94.1%

91.7%

92.5%

Overall

94.9%

93.4%

93.6%

Year 9

93.2%

93.4%

Year 10

89.8%

91.3%

Year 11

86.9%

88.2%

90.2%

90.9%

Year 9

95.9%

95.1%

Year 10

94.8%

94.5%

Year 11

93.4%

93.9%

94.7%

94.5%

93.3%

Pupil Premium

Overall

92.7%

89.4%

Non Pupil Premium

Overall

95.9%

94.3%

PA Comparisons 21/31

Whole School

National 2013/14

Year 9

School 2012/13

School 2013/14

School 2014/15

5.8%

3.4%

4.0% (4)

Year 10

7.1%

8.3%

7.6% (9)

Year 11

8.3%

12.7%

8.4% (10)

Overall

5.8% (i)

8.8%

6.8%

Year 9

5.9% (2)

4.3% (1)

Year 10

15.0% (3)

14.2% (5)

Year 11

26.7% (7)

20.0% (5)

14.8%

13.3%

Year 9

2.4%

3.8% (3)

Year 10

7.7%

4.9% (4)

Year 11

8.3%

5.3% (5)

6.2%

4.6%

11.5%

Pupil Premium

Overall

11.5% (ii)

24.0%

Non Pupil Premium

Overall

(i)

3.4% (iii)

8.2%

This figure is 7.1% if years 7 and 8 are excluded

(ii) This figure appears as 13.4% in National Attendance Data (iii) This figure appears as 4.3% in National Attendance Data (iv) The National figures in the table are from Raise On-line

Figures for 2015 are not yet validated but look positive, figures for overall attendance, attendance of pupil premium students, PAs and pupil premium PAs are all better than 2014 which were in turn better than 2013. The fall in non PP figure is attributable to very bad weather- the school was open but attendance was badly hit.

22/31

Behaviour

Overall

2

5A. Last revision date: Spring term 2015

5B. Author: J Spencer

‘Students enjoy school life and behaviour is good’ Ofsted  

 



4. Summary

  

Ofsted said of the students ‘Their social skills are particularly strong, as is their understanding of what right and wrong’ In December 2012 we sought external validation from the local authority –they confirmed our opinion that behaviour is good, ‘Overall we judged behaviour to be good, with potential to be outstanding, and when students are given appropriate opportunities they are able to display exemplary attitudes to learning’ We have built on that by encouraging to have an actively good attitude to learning, they are not ‘controlled’ for example we now encourage students to regard the building as ‘theirs’ and they self-police it at lunch time. Only one permanent exclusion in the past 6 years. The school’s reputation for being inclusive has led to an increasing numbers of agencies seeking places for disadvantaged youngsters including school refusers, looked after children who have had been out of education for some time and students excluded or on the point of exclusion. Although this clearly has a potentially negative statistical impact on league tables and rates of progress from the schools point of view it has a major positive outcome for youngsters. In the most recent (February 2014) parental voice survey results responses were very favourable; 94% agreed/strongly agreed that the school deals effectively with unacceptable behaviour These figures echo findings from November 2013 - 98% Students display good attitudes towards others, only one racist incident has been recorded 2012-13, two in 13-14 Student voice, staff voice and Ofsted all suggest that relationships between staff and students are very good Our Facebook page is now very active and has become a very effective means to disseminate information, act as a reminder and celebrate achievements- it is proving popular and effective- we have many ‘likes’

In schools were students start in y9 losing the best attending years 7 and 8 have lower than average attendance rates. In 2012 we agreed to take in two school refusers, two out of county looked after children with a disrupted educational patterns and had four students attending the PRU who were all PP youngsters consequently the figures are skewed. However figures for 2013/14 at the half way point through the year are much healthier. Exclusions Our exclusions are focused, limited and effective. We apply sanctions to deal with specific issues and then move on. We use it to make a point to students but not as a means of keeping students out of school and we want it to cause minimum disruption to learning- thus the vast majority of exclusions, over 80% in 2013/14, were for one day or less. The national figure is only 41.2%. The average length of exclusions nationally is 2.4 days; the figure for Leek High is 1.25 in the last 12 months. This means that net our student’s spend considerably less time out of school excluded than the national figure. We continue to take a strong line on smoking on site and swearing at or in the direct hearing of staff. This accounts for 62.5% of the exclusions. In2014 there were no repeat offenders in smoking, 2 students have had 2 exclusions for swearing. In 2013/14 One troubled young man had 5 ‘swearing’ exclusions but we have chosen to work with him rather than against him. We are of the opinion that children learn, including learn to behave, better when in school than out. It is worth noting nationally over 52% of all exclusions are from years 9 and 10. 23/31

Exclusion records Reason

Spring 2013

Summer 2013

Autumn 2013

Spring 2014

Summer 2014

Smoking

3

1

3

2

0

Physical assault against pupil

0

2

2

1

1

14% (18.5%)

Physical assault Against adult

0

0

0

0

0

0 (2%)

Verbal abuse

8

3

7

5

1

46% (21.5%)

0

1

1

1`

0

7% (2.9%)

0

2

1

0

0

3.6% (24.1%)

Bullying

0

0

0

0

0

0 (1.5%)

Damage

0

0

0

1

0

3.6% (2%)

Inappropriate use of the internet

0

2

0

0

0

0%

Other

0

5

0

2

0

12.5% (19.2%)

TOTAL

12

14

14

12

2

Drug/Alcohol related Persistent disruptive behaviour

%age of exclusions 2013/14national figure in brackets 18% (no national figure)

There are variations in the number of exclusions- there was a peak in 2011/12 when smoking became an excludable offence – it is difficult to be clear about trends because of the relatively small numbers, it is generally downwards but our aim is good behaviour not good data. The total number of exclusions for the Autumn term 2014 was identical to that of Autumn 2013, the Spring term 2015 had just 5 exclusions- suggesting the downward trend is continuing. 24/31

3. Even Better To reach the next grade or to continue to be outstanding we need to:

Sub-criterion

Engagement in Learning

          

Year

Exclusions total

Exclusions no. of days

2010/11

44

63

2011/12

55

61.5

2012/13

50

56.5

2013/14

26

35

Attendance at 95% Increase the reach of Insight to 70% plus at least once every half term Reduce level of PAs to 10% Improve attendance of Pupil Premium students from 89% to national standards Parental voice has not been systematic enough, more effective methods of gathering views need to be found Gain accreditation for our work on inclusion Update behaviour and related policies in the light of the new framework and ensure consistent application by staff Embed new behaviour for learning data strategy Develop the consistent use of PARS to record achievement and concerns Work with colleagues to develop a consistent approach to behaviour across the federated schools Continue to bear down on exclusions. Put appropriate support in place for excluded students.

1. Key phrases from the Criteria Pupils’ attitudes are consistently positive.

Parents’, staff and pupils’ views of behaviour and safety

There are few well founded concerns expressed by parents, staff and pupils

Pupils’ behaviour

There is a positive ethos around school.

Grade

2

1/2

2

2. Main strengths and areas for development Students are engaged in their learning and poor behaviour rarely impacts on learning and when it does it is dealt with well. Students want to do well In the behaviour logs, achievements outnumber concerns by a ratio of 7.59 to 1 (2013/14). ‘Excellent contribution today’ is by far the most noted achievement. Pupil premium students are more likely to receive achievement marks than the school population as a whole (32 to 31 per student) but they are also more likely to have concerns flagged (6,6 compared with 4 for non- pupil premium). In the most recent Ofsted visit, 95% of parents said they agreed that the agreed /strongly agreed that their child enjoyed school and a remarkable 98% said that the school keeps their children safe. Further parental surveys in November and February 2013/14 confirmed these results, 100% of parents agreeing or strongly agreeing that children are kept safe. Well over 90% of parents agree/strongly agree that the school deals with unacceptable behaviour in both surveys. A survey focussed on behaviour conducted by the local authority was clear that behaviour is good with the potential to be outstanding. This is reinforced by the behaviour logs –students are 7 times more likely to have achievement logged than concerns. Steps have been taken to give students greater ‘ownership’ of the school at lunchtime, monitors are 25/31

responsible for an area of school and sixth formers are to be employed in a supervisory capacity

Safety and mutual support

All groups of pupils are safe and feel safe at school

1

School systems for behaviour management

Behaviour is managed consistently and well

2

Bullying

Pupils have a good awareness of different forms of bullying. There are few instances of bullying and these are dealt with effectively by the school

Attendance

2

2

The success of the anti –bullying work at the school has borne fruit. Student response when asked about their feeling of being safe was described by Ofsted as ‘overwhelming’, this is echoed by parental responses The multi- agency facility has proved to be an invaluable tool in keeping youngsters safe, in and out of school. Pupil premium students have found it very useful, by March 2014, 62 out of 93 had accessed the room in 2013-14. In term 1 2013-14 students/parents/carers accessed the room 561 times by 99 students, 438 times by 88 students in the spring of 2014 and 768 times by 104 students in the summer. As students are only expected to drop into the facility during their own time they clearly believe it works. Students and parents are able to access a wide range of services The use of ‘Insight’, a means by which parents can log on remotely to the schools attendance/behaviour/punctuality log, is valuable and does have a serious impact on behaviour but we want it to have a greater reach. There are clear behaviour management systems in place but we take advantage of our small size by doing our best to respond to behavioural issues and other factors that are a barrier to learning by working on a personal rather than systems led basis. It works. As of September the school adopted a new method of tracking behaviour for learning via registration. It is anticipated that we will be more accurately to track behaviours, positive and negative and add it to insight to give parents even greater access to the schools records. The school understands that bullying exists in any institution but takes it seriously and works hard to tackle it. Leek High was the first high school to have its anti-bullying work recognised by the local authority and has successfully re- accredited each year since. We are anything but complacent and will continue to give it a high profile. Student voice indicates that youngsters do feel it is an issue so we will refocus the question to go beyond the generic to allow youngsters to respond personally to bullying questions giving them another avenue to raise concerns with us. As Indicated above not having the statistically best attending year groups in school makes comparison more problematic but while year 11 figures were disappointing year 9 were above average and year 10 on average last year. The figures for the autumn term in 2014 look promising. We are working hard on key areas including pupil premium PA.

26/31

Leadership

Overall

3/2

5A. Last revision date: Spring term 2015

5B. Author: J Spencer

‘Leaders have a good understanding of the school’s strengths and areas in need of further development’ Ofsted ‘I would like to congratulate your staff, governors and pupils for their hard work and success and thank you for your leadership in continuing the drive towards high standards of educational achievement’ David Laws, Minister of State for Schools, letter to the head teacher 2013

4. Summary

Leadership requires improvement because achievement, especially in GCSE English in 2014, requires further improvement: This is more important than any other factor however major changes in the last 8 months have led local authority monitoring visit to suggest grade 2 is more appropriate.  School Management has adopted an outward facing approach to the challenges , national and local, facing the school including maintenance of an effective curriculum and staffing in a small institution, threat to numbers, financial threats and being seen as the ‘second school’ in a small town. Ofsted acknowledged the strengths of leadership deeming it to be good, acknowledging the detailed planning and that management has ‘a clear determination to ensure the school carries on improving’  The school has been at the centre of moves to rationalise and improve education across the town and surrounding areas by becoming part of the hard federation and part of the Leek Education Partnership  Leaders have high standards and by setting aspirational targets and embedding a rigorous lesson observation structure teaching and learning is clearly improving  Leaders meet with subject leaders fortnightly to maintain effective monitoring.  The school has been proactive in working with partners to promote the learning and well-being of youngsters. The collocation with the special school has allowed for targeted curriculum development and effective progression. The partnership will enhance learning and further enhance value for money and the federation offers the possibility of radical change to lever up attainment. Ofsted deemed the effectiveness of partnership working even prior to federation to be ‘outstanding’  The governing body has changed since September 2012, The new governing body gives effective leadership to all the schools in the federation as noted in the ofsted report for one of our partner federation schools in 2013, ‘The governing body is very well informed and qualified. It provided strength through the partnership while ensuring individual support and challenge for each school’  The school has also established a Management Committee to oversee day to day operational running of the school to compliment the strategic overview of governors  The Ofsted report would indicate that parental engagement is good, 96% of respondents indicate that the school informs them about their child’s progress, all parents are issued with a password allowing them to log into the schools registration system to check on attendance, punctuality and conduct in real time.  Leek High is at the forefront of encouraging cooperation and collaboration with other schools, sharing teaching across schools, sharing facilities with the Meadows and the school actively facilitates opportunities to ensure effective CPD opportunities for schools in its locality. An example of this is organising and hosting the termly SENCo updates. Feedback from the 30 local schools who participate indicates that 100% of them consider the Updates to be of value to them in bringing about change to better meet the needs of their pupils with SEN.  Leadership has brought about major changes in learning observations, tracking, intervention, data management and judgements of teaching over time since September

27/31

 3. Even Better To reach the next grade or to continue to be outstanding we need to:

Sub-criterion

Impact on outcomes

Impact on teaching and learning Performance management & professional development

   

Leaders must keep a clear focus on student progress, holding to account colleagues who do not move students on. All other issues are secondary to this. Embed effective governance and school leadership across the federation Embed/establish closer links with colleagues working in the federation and partnership schools Work towards improving Ofsted grading across the school Maintain schools improved profile to counter potential falling rolls

1. Key phrases from the Criteria As leaders did not secure good GCSE achievement in certain areas in 2014 then it has to be graded as requiring improvement. Better outcomes in 2015 are anticipated. Teaching is good as a result of accurate monitoring and in many areas leads to students making very good progress

Grade

3/2

2

Performance management is effective

2

Curriculum

The curriculum covers a range of subjects, provides opportunities for excellence and contributes well to the pupils’ academic achievement

2

Self-evaluation

Self- evaluation is thorough and accurate

2

Expectations Ambition Professional Standards

2

2. Main strengths and areas for development As outcomes are deemed to be 3 then it follows that impact on outcomes are 3. However senior leaders adopted a more hands on approach to departmental development in 2012/13 and the one most closely monitored, Science, has seen a marked improvement in outcomes. English, which wasn’t ‘inspected’ by senior leaders because of the absence of the department leader on maternity leave now has been and strategies for improvement have been put in place. A new head of department in in place form September 2014 and an external review is to take place in October 2014 Teaching and learning has improved over recent years as a consequence of much more systematic lesson observations and follow up, learning walks to establish typicality and whole school CPD that has focussed on teaching and learning. The federation wide performance management programme, introduced in 2013/14 now plays much closer attention to the revised teacher’s standards. Staff are encouraged to take responsibility for their own learning. Whole school/cross federation inset focussed on best practice and on external teaching and learning has proved to be effective. The school hosts CPD for all local SENCos Leaders have been flexible in their response to a new curriculum. They have been open to innovation and willing to provide additional curriculum opportunities for students when a diet of just GCSEs has been seen as inappropriate. Part –time vocational education offered by an alternative provider has been purchased for one pupil premium student, work based learning opportunities for another. – the former has been a long term success , the later went well initially but not in the long term. In addition this year we have included an agricultural placement as part of our vocational offer. Sometimes development are successful but not always; art has been innovative, textiles have proved popular, the entry level qualification in year has been rewarding but the contextual art exam taken in year 10 has not seen good results and has hampered the core art activity so has been dropped. All departments are expected to self-evaluate. The school has a programme of internal departmental ‘inspection’ including lesson observation, interviews with staff, student voice, data and documentation analysis. All departments are covered in a two year period. Departments not achieving at least a 2 are’ re-inspected’ within a year. Science was given a 3 in 2012 and has been re-inspected (achieving a 2), English was graded at a 3 and is being reinspected externally in 2014 The school has also had external evaluation from an Ofsted inspector to help SLT develop further. Two of the three members of SLT are NPQH qualified. All have high expectations of themselves, their colleagues and the students. 28/31

Engagement with parents and carers

Safeguarding

The school has highly successful strategies for engaging with parents

1

The school’s arrangements for safeguarding pupils meet statutory requirements

1

‘Insight’ which gives access for all parents to the schools electronic monitoring systems does help engage parents. In a parental voice survey (2013/14) 75% of parents agreed or strongly agreed that they regularly use Insight and over 85% agreed or strongly agreed that the school keeps them informed about their child’s progress. The school employs staff other than teachers who can work with parents without being tied to a restricted to a timetable or school holidays. Staff and agencies based in school reach parents in school and at home. Safeguarding is always a key concern. Staff are aware of the issues, the staff responsible for more serious issues are appropriately trained and the deputy child protection officer has no teaching commitment so can be vigilant at all times. The governors have been ‘rigorous in ensuring that safeguarding procedures have been fully implemented evidenced by the vast majority of students reporting that they feel safe’. Ofsted . A safeguarding inspection of one of our partners confirmed that our shared governing body ‘hold the school to account with regard to safeguarding and child protection to keep students safe. The report goes on to acknowledge that the responsible governor is highly experienced and knowledgeable , that policies are clear and governors minutes reflect the good level of challenge governors provide. The parental survey carried out in November also indicated overwhelmingly that they are of the same opinion. Having two schools on one site brings with it issues but also ensures that there is mutual support

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Overall Effectiveness

Overall

3/2

5A. Last revision date: Spring term 2015

5B. Author: J Spencer

‘The outcomes achieved by your students are outstanding and must be a great source of pride to you, your school staff, governors and wider school community. I know this represents a great deal of sustained hard work for everyone involved and reflects the schools commitment to continued improvement for all students’ Letter from Councillor Liz Staples the Staffordshire cabinet member for Education and Skills to the head teacher, 2012 According the Ofsted criteria of overall effectiveness the school is deemed to be requiring improvement because of outcomes, primarily in English language, but this a skewed grading and ignores the much bigger educational picture.

4. Summary

Ofsted (2011/12)were right to identify Leek High as a good and improving school with some outstanding features. Despite concerns in some areas the school has many things to be proud of including;  Every student leaving with GCSE qualifications  No NEETS in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 - a remarkable record- the national figures of NEETs is 6.6% and 11.8% not known  Markedly improved A level outcomes for youngsters in 2012, 2013 and 2014  Financial prudence- reserves have been built up to guard against fewer students in feeder schools meaning a dip at Leek High  Truly inclusive with excellent pastoral care a caring ethos  An effective innovative curriculum that meets the needs of our youngsters  Many students make excellent progress despite prior attainment that is significantly below expectations  Good and sometimes outstanding teaching  Excellent relationships between students and staff  Outstanding multi-agency support resulting in students experiencing an overwhelming feeling of being safe  Extremely positive support from parents  Outstanding links with other institutions aimed to improve outcomes for all youngsters

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Sub-criterion

Achievement

Quality of Teaching

Judgement

Grade

Achievement at GCSE requires improvement based on attainment in 2014 especially in English language though value added tell a rather different story

3/2 th 6 form 2

Teaching in most subjects at GCSE KS4 and KS5 is good

3/2

Literacy

Monitoring of literacy needs to be improved

3

Behaviour and safety

Past evidence supports the judgement of good but the school needs to develop methods of assessing attitudes to learning

2

Leadership

Leadership is good though there is a need for all adults to see themselves as leaders

3/2

SMSC/ PSHE British values

SMSC has been strong in the school because it is personalised to some degree rather than one size fits all

2

2. Brief summary of main strengths and areas for development There are many areas where progress is good despite the unsatisfactory prior attainment .However GCSE English was disappointing and thus achievement requires improvement. Outcomes in a range of subjects have all improved for three years since our last inspection and some beat national figures despite the starting point. Performance at A2 has also improved markedly since the last Ofsted visit and is above expectations In most subjects teachers take students from a position of inadequate prior performance and move them on to close to or above national averages. We are developing teaching over time as a key focus

A wholesale review of literacy is being undertaken across the federation and in school. Progress is being made, the profile of literacy raised and there is an increased emphasis on literacy across subjects. The local authority has agreed to offer support in this area. The new subject leader for English also has a literacy brief having been praised by Ofsted at his previous school., he has produced the basis of a literacy policy for the federation which will be further developed Behaviour, as judged by external observers, student, staff and parental voice is good but we have extended our monitoring of behaviour further this year. Safety is at least good and possibly outstanding but this is a constant issue. We tend to become the school of choice for troubled youngsters- this presents challenges. Over time leaders have seen a rise in outcomes in most areas, an improvement in the financial situation, maintenance of numbers despite local authority predictions of a rapid fall, improved behaviour, improved teaching and an ability respond to the big picture by establishing strong cooperative links with other institutions instead of damaging competition. However outcome in some areas are lacking hence the grade 3 for 2013/14. The school works hard to develop students SMSC. There is a broad range of involvement in extracurricular activities including performing arts and sport through the house activities. Assemblies and tutor time promote a positive ethos spiritual and moral ethos in school. PSHE is delivered by experts (e.g. NHS/Police/Microsoft) rather than half-heartedly by teachers in a way that impressed Ofsted in their subject visit. Outside agencies seek out Leek High as being receptive to innovation and a willingness to deliver the difficult messages if it helps children (e.g. Police delivering PSHE on sexual exploitation was piloted at Leek High in September 2014). The multi-agency facility means that students can receive personalised and effective guidance rather than a one size fits all more commonly offered to students. Improved teaching of RS has enhanced SMSC The gender awareness/ food bank focus had real impact in the autumn term and led to the school taking part in the national ‘We’ day for the first time. We use well developed local links to ensure we can respond rapidly to developing issues eg the police delivered a hard hitting session with year 9 girls when bullying became an issue. We have always promoted British values of tolerance, fairness and respect. All Year 9 students have a specific Great Britons topic, the HPA in 2014/15 was ‘Best of British, we encourage students to engage with democracy and there is a strong focus on the general election proposed for the summer term including an ‘election’ and a candidates forum.

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