St Andrew the Apostle Greek Orthodox School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Leaders should ensure that:
  • they continue to develop the sixth form, so that current quality is maintained as the sixth form expands
  • the quality of teaching and learning across mathematics and science improves, so that pupils make strong progress in these subjects
  • all teachers use assessment information to plan suitable activities for their pupils
  • teachers make sure that pupils’ work improves as a result of the feedback given.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• Governors and senior leaders set high expectations for pupils. They set challenging targets and provide support so that pupils can achieve them. Pupils’ outcomes in 2018 GCSE examinations were above the national average, especially those of disadvantaged pupils. Pupils’ overall progress at the end of Year 11 in 2018 was also above average.
• Most staff are highly motivated. They value the coaching and training provided by the trust and the school. Staff are proud of their school and feel supported and valued by senior leaders.
• The headteacher has an accurate understanding of the quality of education in the school. Together with senior leaders, he constantly reviews strengths and areas for development. For example, leaders have recently focused on improving pupils’ attendance, which has improved.
• Leaders plan a curriculum which ensures that pupils learn and make progress across a range of subjects. While a wide range of extra-curricular activities is offered, which includes sports, drama, and an orchestra, pupils said that they would like even more opportunities for extra-curricular activities.
• Pupil premium funding and Year 7 literacy and numeracy funding are used well. Disadvantaged pupils make stronger progress than other pupils nationally and their outcomes are well above national averages in GCSE English and mathematics. Pupils who join the school in Year 7 with reading, writing and numeracy skills lower than their peers make good progress. Pupils read fluently in lessons.
• Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is developed well through assemblies and lessons. The religious nature of the school is particularly strong. Local priests lead assemblies that develop pupils’ spiritual education. Pupils value this aspect of school life and listen attentively in assemblies.
• The leadership of SEND is a strength of the school. Funding for this aspect of the school’s work is used effectively. Pupils with SEND are well supported and make strong progress from their starting points.
• The high expectations set by the senior team are not shared by all staff. The quality of teaching and learning in a few lessons does not match the quality of teaching seen in the best lessons. As a result, relationships between pupils and their teachers in these lessons are less strong and pupils do not make the progress of which they are capable. Leaders check the quality of teaching and provide training for staff where improvements are needed.
• The trust provides support for mathematics. However, the impact of this is yet to be seen. Pupils’ progress in mathematics last year was broadly average. Current pupils are making below-average progress in mathematics. Year 11 pupils said that they are very worried about their progress in mathematics. Their concerns are well founded.

Governance of the school

• Governors are actively engaged in the life of the school. They visit regularly and talk to pupils. They support and challenge both the senior team and the trust. Following the GCSE results in 2018, they challenged the school about the outcomes in mathematics and insisted that the trust provide even more support in mathematics.
• Governors take their responsibility for safeguarding seriously. They check the actions school leaders take to keep pupils safe and they meet with pupils to listen to their views about the school and their safety.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Leaders ensure that processes for staff recruitment are safe and effective. Staff are trained thoroughly and are vigilant in their practice of keeping pupils safe. There is a safer schools police officer who works with pupils to alert them to local risks. Pupils said that they feel safe in school. Staff always ensure that they escort pupils between the two school sites.
• Staff and governors receive training to identify pupils at risk of radicalisation and extremism. Pupils know where to go for help for any issues, including online safety, and are confident that staff will support them.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Leaders’ evaluation of the quality of teaching is accurate. They regularly check the quality of teaching and provide effective training for teachers. As a result, the quality of teaching in lessons is good.
• Teachers have good subject knowledge. Teachers plan activities that match their pupils’ abilities. Pupils respond with enthusiasm and make good progress in lessons.
• Most teachers give effective guidance to pupils about how to improve their work. This is particularly strong in French lessons and pupils respond to this guidance and make rapid progress. Many teachers use questioning effectively to deepen and develop pupils’ understanding.
• Relationships between pupils and teachers are generally positive. There are particularly strong relationships between staff and students in the sixth form. This positive climate encourages pupils to reflect on their learning.
• The trust provides advisers to support mathematics provision where the school has had difficulty in recruiting specialist mathematics teachers. The impact of this support is not clear. Teaching in mathematics and some science is weaker than in other parts of the school. Where teaching is weak, pupils disrupt lessons.
• A few teachers do not use information they have about pupils to plan activities that challenge their pupils. They do not give appropriate guidance to pupils about how to improve their work. As a result, some pupils are not making the progress of which they are capable.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding.
• Pupils are self-confident and very articulate. They like their school and they want to do well. Pupils said that there is a ‘family atmosphere’ in the school and there is a warmth in the relationships between pupils. Most parents and carers who responded to the Ofsted online questionnaire said that their children are well cared for in school.
• Pupils are taught about healthy lifestyles and they understand the importance of exercise and a healthy diet. They have a strong knowledge of how to keep safe, an awareness of types of bullying, including cyber bullying, and know where to go for help.
• There is a chapel and posters around the school to develop pupils’ reflection on their religious and school values. The religious ethos of the school promotes a very strong caring atmosphere. Pupils are taught about other religions and they have a good understanding of diversity, including protected characteristics. Pupils talk with respect about others who are different from themselves.
• The school uses a commercial package to support careers advice and guidance. Sixth-form students find this very useful. Younger pupils said that they would prefer more personal information and help for post-16 choices. The outcomes pupils achieve at the end of Year 11, together with their positive attitudes, prepare them well for the next stages in their education.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• Pupils’ attendance has improved and is now at the national average. All groups of pupils have improved their attendance. This is a result of leaders’ actions to improve attendance.
• Pupils’ behaviour around the school is very good. They manage their own behaviour well on very narrow corridors without adults’ supervision. Pupils respond to adults in a polite and mature manner around the school. Despite having to move between the two sites, pupils are rarely late for lessons.
• A small minority of pupils disrupt learning where teaching is weak.

Outcomes for pupils

Good

• Pupils’ outcomes in their GCSE examinations in 2018 were strong. Disadvantaged pupils achieved particularly well. The progress of pupils who were in Year 11 in 2018 was above average. The trust provides support for pupils who fall behind in their work. This support from the trust ensured that pupils’ outcomes were good in the 2018 GCSE examinations.
• Leaders check that teachers provide additional support for disadvantaged pupils. Disadvantaged pupils are tracked carefully. When they fall behind in their learning, extra support is promptly put in place. Disadvantaged pupils make stronger progress than other pupils nationally.
• Pupils with SEND are tracked carefully by leaders. Each pupil has an individual learning plan. Teachers are supported in adapting their teaching to meet the learning needs of their pupils with SEND. These pupils make good progress because of this support.
• The most able and least able pupils make the strongest progress across all subjects. Middle-ability pupils make less progress than others; however, their progress is still above average in many subjects.
• From different starting points, pupils’ progress in English is above national averages. School information on pupils’ progress in mathematics indicates that progress is at least at the national average. However, current pupils’ progress in mathematics based on lesson observations, the quality of work in pupils’ books, and talking to pupils is below the national average. Some weak teaching in mathematics is limiting pupils’ progress.
• Pupils’ progress varies between subjects. Pupils’ progress is stronger in French, humanities, English and physical education than their progress in mathematics and science. Students’ progress in the sixth form is stronger than in key stages 3 and 4 because the teaching is better.

16 to 19 study programmes Good

• Leaders in the sixth form set high expectations for their students. They know their students well and track their progress carefully. Students really enjoy their learning in the sixth form.
• The sixth form is small, with only 37 students. This limits the range of subjects on offer. Nevertheless, there is an appropriate offer of academic and two vocational subjects.
• Teaching in the sixth form is robust and there is particularly strong teaching in psychology, business studies and chemistry. Students who need further support with English and mathematical skills are making good progress because of the effective teaching they receive.
• Evidence from sixth-form lesson observations and students’ folders indicates strong progress across most subjects. In business studies, the students follow a vocational course and have completed assignments that show very strong progress. Leaders have not yet collected data on pupils’ overall progress. This information will be collected at the end of their first term, so leaders do not yet have a clear view of students’ overall progress.
• Students’ attendance is good. Students value opportunities to help around the school, particularly with supporting younger pupils. Relationships with teachers are particularly strong and students say that they are supported very well. Students are given very effective guidance on keeping safe and healthy. During the inspection, all sixth-form students attended a safe driving course. Students were very positive about the careers advice and guidance they receive in school.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 139410 Barnet 10059002 This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. The inspection was also deemed a section 5 inspection under the same Act. Type of school Secondary comprehensive School category 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 Academy free school 11 to 19 Mixed Mixed 674 37 Appropriate authority The board of trustees Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Yiannis Pareas Rob Ahearn 0203 195 5444 www.standrewtheapostle.org.uk admin@standrewtheapostle.org.uk Date of previous inspection 9–10 June 2015

Information about this school

• St Andrew the Apostle is a Greek Orthodox secondary school and is part of the Russell Education Trust (the trust).
• The trust delegates most aspects of governance to the local governing body.
• The trust appoints the local governing body.
• The school is not currently using any alternative provision.
• The trust provides support for leadership and management and support for teaching in mathematics. Across the trust, standardised assessments are used to assess pupils’ progress and compare progress with that of other pupils in the trust.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors visited lessons in key stages 3 and 4 and in the sixth form and across a range of subject areas. They also visited one assembly. They carried out checks on pupils’ books and talked to pupils about their work.
• Inspectors met with pupils, teachers, middle and senior leaders, governors and representatives from the trust. Inspectors reviewed a range of school documents relating to pupils’ behaviour, safety, teaching and learning, and pupils’ progress and attainment.
• There were 71 responses from parents, no responses from pupils and 35 responses from staff to the Ofsted online questionnaires.

Inspection team

Joan McVittie, lead inspector David Boyle Yvonne Chisholm Bruce Goddard

Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector