Hope Valley College Ofsted Report

Full inspection result: Inadequate

Report Inspection Date: 5 Dec 2017
Report Publication Date: 31 Jan 2018
Report ID: 2755423

Full report

In accordance with section 44(2) of the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that this school requires significant improvement, because it is performing significantly less well than it might in all the circumstances reasonably be expected to perform.

What does the school need to do to improve further?

Improve leadership and management by ensuring that leaders:
- urgently resolve the issues within the senior leadership team so that all senior leaders are clear about their agreed responsibilities, and provide clear direction and communication to staff
- work collaboratively to improve teaching, learning and assessment and so raise pupils’ outcomes
- review the curriculum, ensuring that pupils in key stage 3 are sufficiently challenged by their work and that the curriculum offer at key stage 4 enables all pupils to achieve good outcomes
- ensure that there is a coherent system of assessment in place across the whole school
- use performance management to challenge underperformance and set staff clear targets to improve their teaching
- manage the provision for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities effectively, so that governors have better information about the progress pupils make and know how funding is used to improve their achievement
- regularly measure the impact that the school’s use of additional government funding is having on improving the progress of eligible pupils, including disadvantaged pupils
- provide clear information to parents about their child’s progress
- improve the skills, knowledge and understanding of the governing body so that it is better able to hold leaders to account.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

Since joining the school, the principal has attempted to challenge underperformance and bring about greater accountability. He has worked with the new governing body to resolve some concerns from the previous inspection report. However, this has been met with resistance by other leaders, who have not united behind his vision to achieve ‘excellence for all pupils’.
A serious breakdown of leadership and management has left the school without a clear sense of purpose or direction. Roles and responsibilities are not clear. Leaders and staff do not work collaboratively to ensure that all pupils make good progress. Staff described the management as ‘dysfunctional’ and said there is a ‘lack of clarity of what we need to do to improve’.
Senior leaders and governors have not maintained or built on the above-average standards that inspectors identified at the last inspection. They have failed to act swiftly on the areas identified for improvement.
The arrangements to assess pupils’ progress are unclear and confusing. Parents do not receive clear information about their child’s progress. Senior leaders provide governors with muddled information about pupils’ overall progress and the progress of different groups. The use of assessment was identified as an area needing improvement at the previous inspection.
Leaders’ checks on pupils’ progress lack the necessary precision to identify quickly when pupils are not making good progress. As a result, leaders are not able to ensure that pupils receive timely support to increase their rate of progress.
Leaders have not adapted the curriculum quickly enough so that pupils are well prepared for the demands of the new GCSE examinations. Leaders have not ensured that teachers have been able to build on the higher standards reached by pupils joining the school in Year 7.
The provision for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is not well led. Leaders and staff know individual pupils well, but lack a coherent strategy to improve the provision. Staff who support pupils in class do not receive clear guidance about how to best meet their needs. Leaders do not have an overview of the progress that the pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities make and are not able to say how funding is used to improve their achievement. Governors do not receive adequate information on this aspect of the school’s work. Parents who made their views known to inspectors did not know how well their children were doing.
Leaders do not have a sufficiently sharp oversight of the use of additional government funding, including the pupil premium and the Year 7 literacy and numeracy catch-up. Leaders are not able to say what impact the support for Year 7 catch-up is having on those pupils eligible. However, governors are now beginning to challenge senior leaders on how the funds are being spent for disadvantaged pupils.
The principal and governors have recently restructured the middle leadership of the school. This has brought about some improvements to the approach to checking the quality of teaching. Some subject leaders spoke positively about the opportunity to work collectively and share good practice. However, not all subject leaders fully support these changes or act on them to improve teaching in the areas they lead.
The leadership of the specialised post-16 provision is a strength. The leader works collaboratively with teachers and adults who support students so that the students are well taught and cared for.
The wide-ranging extra-curricular activities enable pupils to develop their understanding and skills beyond the classroom. Sport, arts and drama activities allow pupils to explore their interests and grow in confidence.
There are many opportunities for pupils to contribute to the local community. For example, the ‘popping club’ sees pupils volunteer their time at a local care home for people suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. One pupil summarised the group’s feelings by saying, ‘It just puts such a broad smile on your face to help others.’ The school’s extensive charity work is very close to the community and pupils’ hearts. Pupils spoke confidently of why helping others is so important.

Governance of the school

The new governing body shares the ambition and high expectations of the principal. However, governors are yet to understand fully how they can effectively hold all senior leaders to account.
Governors visit the school to see it in action. They are working collectively with the principal to improve the school.
More recently, the appointment of a new chair and vice-chair has allowed governors to ask more challenging questions of senior and subject leaders.
Governors fully understand the actions that they must take when they have a safeguarding concern. This includes what to do if they have a concern about an adult’s actions towards a pupil.
Governors do not have a detailed enough understanding of the progress pupils make. They do not routinely challenge leaders on pupils’ progress and are therefore unable to set clear action points for leaders to secure further improvement.
Governors have not managed the school’s finances effectively. The school currently has a large deficit budget. This has been inherited by the principal, who is working closely with the new governing body to resolve this issue.
Governors care deeply about the school and actively support the wide extra-curricular and enrichment activities the pupils are involved in.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Checks on the suitability of staff to work with pupils meet the statutory requirements. However, the weaknesses in the school’s management means that managers are not clear about who is responsible for carrying out and recording all of the necessary checks.
Pupils learn about a wide range of risks that may affect them. This includes extremism, domestic violence, staying safe online, child sexual exploitation and self-harm.
Pupils who spoke with inspectors, and those who completed Ofsted’s questionnaire, feel safe and secure at the school. They said that there are adults who they can speak to if they have a concern. However, information about local concerns and risks are not included in the curriculum.
Leaders carefully record incidents that relate to safeguarding and take swift action to resolve them.
The training that staff receive to ensure that pupils stay safe within and beyond the school is effective. Staff are clear about their statutory duties and feel fully supported if they report a concern about one of their pupils.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

Not all teachers have high enough expectations of what pupils can achieve. Teachers’ planning does not routinely take into account the different needs and potential of their pupils. As a result, pupils, especially the most able, do not make fast enough progress.
The quality of teaching is too variable across the subjects to ensure that all groups of pupils make good progress.
Teachers’ assessment of pupils’ learning is not consistently accurate. As a result, teachers are not able to adapt their teaching precisely enough to help pupils develop their knowledge, skills and understanding. Similarly, leaders do not have a clear understanding of how well pupils are doing.
Pupils do not know how well they are doing in their different subjects, or what they can do to improve.
Parents do not receive good-quality information about their child’s progress. Some said that information about the new GCSE examinations was confusing.
While teachers have secure subject knowledge, not all use this well enough to plan activities that enable pupils to engage fully with their learning.
Where learning is most effective, teachers plan learning tasks that engage pupils well with their learning and enable them to become secure in their understanding. Pupils in Year 8 said that in English and mathematics they now ‘feel challenged’. However, this was not the case in all their subjects, particularly in modern foreign languages and some sciences.
Where teachers have high expectations and know the needs of their pupils, they are able to use effective questioning to check pupils’ understanding and provide further support when necessary.
When teachers use the school’s policy for written feedback, it is effective and allows pupils to improve their learning. However, not all teachers ensure that pupils receive high-quality feedback.
Staff have positive working relationships with pupils. Pupils have the confidence to ask and answer questions. For example, in a mathematics lesson on trigonometry, pupils were not afraid to make mistakes. The methods that the teacher used helped pupils to consolidate their learning.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

Personal development and welfare

The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
Leaders have ensured that pupils have access to interesting guest speakers and visit industries and universities as part of the careers curriculum. This is helping them to learn effectively from, and be inspired by, people from the world of business. Year 10 pupils are all encouraged to complete work-related learning. The school supports a specific enrichment week that focuses on skills needed for the workplace.
Pupils understand that bullying can sometimes come in different forms. They feel it is rare in their school and that members of staff deal swiftly and effectively with any incidents that do occur.
Pupils learn to respect everyone, including those who hold opinions and beliefs that are different from their own. They describe their school as ‘inclusive’, where all pupils are ‘cared for’.
Through the tutor programme and house activities, pupils learn how to live healthy lives. Pupils commented on how they feel the school is ‘sporty’ and value the opportunities to get involved in a wide variety of extra-curricular activities that keep them active.
Pupils have positive attitudes to learning and want to do well.
Pupils are confident and self-aware. However, the inconsistencies in the quality of teaching and assessment mean that pupils’ understanding of how to be a successful learner is also inconsistent.

Behaviour

The behaviour of pupils requires improvement.
The new ‘zero tolerance’ behaviour policy is not consistently used by all staff. Pupils feel that when it is used, they get on with their learning more effectively.
Lateness to lessons is not challenged consistently enough. This means that pupils are missing valuable learning time.
The overall attendance of all pupils at the school is in line with national levels. However, this is not the case for disadvantaged pupils and those who have SEN and/or disabilities. The higher level of absence of these pupils interrupts their learning and so hinders their progress.
Some learning is affected by low-level disruption. This is especially the case when teaching does not engage pupils’ interests or challenge them.
The learning environment reflects the school’s positive culture and celebration of diversity. It is well respected by the pupils, as demonstrated in the current displays of pupils’ work that permeate throughout the school.
Pupils who have difficulty in managing their own behaviour receive close support from the pastoral staff at the school. This support allows these pupils to manage their behaviour more effectively.
Pupils generally conduct themselves well during social times.
Staff monitor carefully the behaviour and attendance of any students who attend alternative provision. They are able to show improvements in pupils’ behaviour, attendance and progress.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

From when they start the school, the most able pupils and middle ability pupils make slower progress than similar pupils nationally.
The school’s performance information for current pupils, and the books that inspectors looked at, indicate that, in many subjects, the most able pupils make less progress than other pupils.
Provisional information indicates that in 2017, Year 11 pupils made average progress in a wide range of GCSE subjects, including English language. Information provided by the school shows that over a number of years, pupils’ progress has declined in an increasing range of subjects.
Attainment overall is above that seen nationally.
Pupils do not make consistently good progress in modern foreign languages and science, particularly in key stage 3. Provisional information suggests that GCSE outcomes have also declined in these subjects.
Teaching has not capitalised on the good foundation that most pupils begin the school with, nor has it prepared pupils well enough for the demands of the new GCSE examinations. Pupils have not made fast enough progress as a result.
Pupils in the main school who have SEN and/or disabilities do not make consistently good progress.
In 2016, disadvantaged pupils made progress that was well below average. In 2017, provisional information shows that these pupils’ overall progress is still below that of other pupils.
Outcomes in the bespoke post-16 provision are good. The pupils who attend this provision, all of whom have SEN and/or disabilities, make good progress in their learning and in their social and emotional development.
Almost all pupils who left the school in 2017 moved on to further education, employment or training.

16 to 19 study programmes Good

Leadership of the post-16 provision is effective and plays a crucial role in ensuring that students in the provision are able to succeed during and after their time at the school.
The leader of the post-16 provision works collaboratively with her small team of staff. They ensure that students, who have very specific learning needs, learn a range of life skills effectively.
Adults supporting learning in this very specialised post-16 provision maintain close relationships with the students’ parents. They ensure that parents are thoroughly involved in their children’s learning. Because of this, parents have a clear understanding of the progress that their child is making.
Students’ progress on their bespoke courses is good. There is a clear emphasis on developing literacy and numeracy skills to be applied in ‘daily life’ activities.
Students enjoy their time in the post-16 provision. They speak highly of the positive relationships they have with each other and their teachers. This positive learning environment allows students to make good progress. For example, in one work-related qualification, all students were successful.
The leader of the post-16 provision has an accurate view of the quality of the teaching and support that students receive. The leader knows the further developments that are necessary to ensure that students continue to make good progress.
Students have a variety of opportunities to develop their personal, social and employability skills. They are encouraged to take up positions of responsibility; an example of this is how they are leading charity events such as the Christmas bazaar. Such opportunities enable the students to grow in confidence and be actively involved in the community.
The vast majority of students participate in work-related learning, both within and beyond the post-16 provision. In 2017, almost all students moved on to appropriate places of employment or training.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 137350 Derbyshire 10036059 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Secondary comprehensive School category Academy converter Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Gender of pupils in 16 to 19 study programmes Number of pupils on the school roll Of which, number on roll in 16 to 19 study programmes 11 to 18 Mixed Mixed 572 22 Appropriate authority Board of trustees Chair Principal Telephone number Website Email address Steve Dawson David Willis 01433 620 555 www.hvcollege.com headteacher@hopevalley.derbyshire.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 1–2 July 2014

Information about this school

The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.
The school complies with the Department for Education’s guidance on what academies should publish.
The school has a relatively new principal and governing body.
This is a smaller than average secondary school.
The vast majority of pupils are of White British heritage.
The school runs a post-16 provision for a small number of students who have SEN and/or disabilities.
The proportion of pupils supported by the pupil premium is below average.
The school works with one alternative provider to provide pupils at the school with education at a placement off site. This alternative provision is ‘Integration Pathways’.
The school meets the government’s floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ achievement at key stage 4.

Information about this inspection

The inspection team visited lessons in a range of subjects and in all year groups. Some of these were undertaken jointly with school leaders.
Inspectors scrutinised a wide range of books, both during their visits to classrooms and when looking at pupils’ learning over time.
Inspectors held telephone conversations with the alternative provider and school improvement partner.
Meetings were held with senior and middle leaders to evaluate the impact of their work. Meetings were also held with governors, newly qualified teachers and teaching assistants. Inspectors also met a range of pupils from all year groups.
Inspectors considered a variety of documentation provided by leaders, including: assessment information in all year groups; external reviews of the school’s work; leaders’ self-evaluation; minutes of governing body meetings; attendance and behaviour information; and a wide range of other information relating to the safeguarding of pupils.

Inspection team

Sally Wicken, lead inspector Stephen Long Dick Vasey

Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector