Chislehurst School for Girls Ofsted Report

Full report

In accordance with section 13(5) of the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that the school no longer requires significant improvement.

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve pupils’ progress further by:
  • ensuring that teachers routinely plan activities that support the progress of lower-attaining pupils
  • improving the attendance of the small proportion of disadvantaged pupils who are persistently absent
  • using the newly developed assessment information on A-level courses to raise students’ outcomes.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• Leaders and governors have been effective in swiftly improving the school and continue to demonstrate the capacity to do so. Their evaluation of systems and processes is precise and means that plans for development focus on the correct priorities. Consequently, the school now provides a good standard of education and safeguarding arrangements are effective.
• Leaders have tightened up their monitoring and evaluation arrangements so that they can demonstrate where pupil premium funding is used effectively. The recommended external review has supported leaders and governors to continue to improve spending and the impact that strategies have on disadvantaged pupils’ performance. The attendance of disadvantaged pupils is better and their progress is improving as well. Leaders are correct to identify that some work remains to ensure that, for a few in this group, persistent absence declines so that disadvantaged pupils’ performance is sustained and strong.
• The curriculum design enables pupils to follow courses at GCSE and A level that reflect their prior learning and skills. Further adjustments to the GCSE options process are due for pupils starting their courses in September 2018. Already, courses that pupils select are more closely matched to their abilities and aspirations than was previously the case. Pupils’ GCSEs and 16 to 19 study programmes prepare them well for their subsequent education, training or employment.
• Catch-up premium and additional funding to support pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities is used effectively. Leaders measure the progress of pupils who receive additional support in lessons and through external work. They check that the work of teachers and support staff is targeted and effective. Pupils’ progress is improving over time because of this effective support.
• Pupils who join the school with lower than expected reading ages are very effectively supported and improve their literacy skills rapidly. Extended writing opportunities exist across subjects such as history and religious studies. Reading time is built into every pupil’s timetable, in addition to bespoke catch-up support.
• Staff receive precisely focused professional development so that they improve their skills. The school’s partnerships through the Bromley Collegiate form part of a wider strategy to help improve teaching and learning. Consequently, teaching, learning and assessment are now good. This is because of improved consistency across subjects, including mathematics, and between year groups. Improvements have resulted in the better performance of groups of pupils, particularly those who are disadvantaged.
• Pupils learn about contemporary issues, global affairs and are well prepared for life when they leave the school. Pupils have a secure understanding of issues including personal safety and healthy lifestyles, and receive regular visits from outside speakers that contribute well to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

Governance of the school

• Governors have improved the precision of their work when challenging leaders. They have heeded the advice of an external governance review. New systems have been implemented or refined so that pupils’ welfare and performance are scrutinised closely and leaders’ reports are challenged appropriately.
• Governors know the school well but recognise that in the past visits and meetings did accurately record how they held leaders to account for their work. This is no longer the case. Governors are not complacent. They support and challenge leaders well, in line with the school’s ethos to ‘aim high’ for pupils’ achievements in every respect. Governors have helped leaders to ensure that weaknesses identified in the school’s safeguarding arrangements at the last inspection have been resolved.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Policies and procedures underpin a strong culture of safeguarding throughout the school.
• Procedures and protocols to support pupils who have medical needs are in place and secure. Every teacher has an appropriate understanding of pupils’ medical or special educational needs and knows how to respond should the need arise. The school’s monitoring of attendance is rigorous. Increased staff understanding, including through bespoke training, means that school policies are followed precisely.
• The school’s procedures for supporting vulnerable pupils in need of early or ongoing help are highly effective. Staff know pupils’ needs very well and leaders have ensured that partnerships with external agencies improve pupils’ development and welfare.
• Pupils, staff and parents agree that children are safe at this school. Pupils reported to inspectors that they feel safe in school, particularly as behaviour has improved strongly due to the implementation of the new behaviour policy which was developed during 2016–17. Bullying is rare and the community spirit of the school is built around the principles of equality and inclusion. Staff and pupils receive regular input so that their knowledge and understanding of risks is secure, including radicalisation, female genital mutilation, sexual health and online grooming.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Teachers develop good relationships with pupils that support effective learning over time. Little learning time is now lost through disruption.
• Pupils take pride in their work, producing written, mathematical, technical and creative pieces that are of high quality.
• Routines are embedded so that pupils know what to expect when they enter a classroom or are set work to do outside of lesson times. Pupils’ learning is promoted by teachers’ challenge and high expectations.
• Pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities make good progress because of the closely monitored and planned support that they receive. Pupils who have education, health and care plans (EHCPs) do particularly well from their starting points because teachers receive and use helpful guidance to remove barriers to learning.
• English has historically been a subject in which pupils make strong progress and this continues to be the case. Humanities subjects are quickly catching up. Mathematics teaching is now secure because of improved leadership support and more stable staffing. This is resulting in better progress being made over time than was previously the case.
• Literacy is developed well across the curriculum. Staff understand the challenges that disadvantaged pupils need to overcome to catch up with their peers and so plan effective interventions to develop those pupils’ literacy.
• Teachers probe pupils’ understanding with effective questioning and provide time for them to reflect on their work. Variability in teaching and learning is reducing because of the focused professional development that staff have received.
• Teachers plan activities that account for pupils’ needs and prior attainment. Teachers hold consistently high expectations for pupils’ achievement and push them to do their best. At times, tasks provided to lower-ability pupils are too hard and this slows their learning. In these cases, teachers do not use assessment information well enough to plan for pupils’ progress from their starting points.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• Leaders have acted quickly to tighten up the school’s internal attendance monitoring and ensure that pupils’ medical conditions are supported well.
• Pupils, staff and the majority of parents are confident that pupils are safe in school. Pupils confirmed that trusted adults help them to deal with any problems or should any concerns arise.
• The school’s extra-curricular provision is extensive and popular. Leaders closely monitor take-up of clubs, activities and trips so that disadvantaged pupils benefit as much as their peers do. Disadvantaged pupils’ and their peers’ personal development is effectively supported because of the care taken with this aspect of the school’s curriculum.
• The last inspection found that leaders were beginning to improve the match between pupils’ course choices and their prior attainment. Pupils receive effective and extensive advice when making decisions about their futures. Pupils move on to suitable courses that now closely match their prior attainment and aspirations. Consequently, progress is improving at GCSE and A level because pupils are studying courses that are right for them. Students in the sixth form have the opportunity to pursue additional courses, including the extended project qualification, which further prepares them for apprenticeships, university and employment.
• Leaders monitor closely the performance of the small number of pupils who attend alternative provision so that the placements are effective in supporting their needs.
• Pupils receive regular timetabled opportunities to explore topics associated with their personal health, well-being, careers and the wider world. Pupils’ knowledge and understanding of online grooming, sexual health and making wise decisions when outside of school is strong.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good. Leaders have made sure that the new behaviour system has embedded quickly since its introduction in September 2017. Pupils and staff were consulted on the changes, which has enabled new procedures to become well known more quickly. For example, mobile phones are not permitted except in the sixth-form common room and inspectors did not see a pupil with a mobile phone throughout the inspection. Staff and pupils report that this is now typical.
• Pupils are polite and courteous. All those who spoke to inspectors demonstrated self-confidence, which was reflected in the lessons that inspectors visited. Older pupils are role models to younger pupils.
• Low-level disruption in lessons has diminished because the quality of teaching and learning has improved. Pupils do not tend to look for excuses to become distracted.
• The school’s records show and pupils agree that bullying is rare. Pupils reported to inspectors that the school is a community and that abuse or nastiness is unacceptable, particularly if aimed at pupils’ personal characteristics.
• Pupils’ attendance overall is above average and improving because leaders have swiftly introduced effective support systems that help them attend school regularly. This is particularly helping disadvantaged pupils to attend and has resulted in the recent rapid improvement in progress by this group. However, leaders understand that a few disadvantaged pupils’ persistent absence now needs to reduce further to sustain their better progress over time.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Progress at GCSE was significantly better than average in 2017. Following poorer outcomes in 2015 and in 2016, leaders’ revisions to the curriculum, focused work on improving teaching and learning, and more effective support for underperforming groups has been effective.
• Pupils’ progress in English and subjects that count towards the English Baccalaureate open element (such as arts, music, physical education, religious studies) continued to be strong in 2017, following a trend of success in those areas. Progress in science, humanities, languages and mathematics improved so that it was in line with other schools nationally in 2017.
• The difference in progress made by disadvantaged pupils and their peers diminished in 2017. While still slightly lower than average, better attendance and more focused strategies removed barriers to their progress that existed in the past. Currently, the difference between disadvantaged pupils and their peers in the current Year 7 to Year 11 cohort is small or in disadvantaged pupils’ favour.
• The most able and middle-ability pupils made strong progress from their starting points at GCSE in 2017 and continue to do so across year groups. Attainment at GCSE was higher than average for these groups last year, including the proportions achieving a higher grade in English and mathematics.
• Pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities do well because of the effective support that they receive. Teaching assistants are well deployed alongside additional resources to support this group, including those with EHCPs.
• Pupils’ development is well supported by the impartial careers advice and guidance that they receive. Consequently, the vast majority of pupils move on to suitable and aspirational education, apprenticeship or employment destinations after Year 11 and Year 13.
• Pupils from lower starting points did not do as well as their peers at GCSE in 2017. This links to improvements needed in how teachers use their knowledge of pupils’ prior learning to inform their planning so that activities appropriately challenge pupils from lower starting points.

16 to 19 study programmes Good

• Leadership of the sixth form is strong. This has meant that improvements to the development of study programmes have increased students’ progress. Enhancements in the quality of teaching have meant that former variability is now reducing quickly because teachers plan lessons that are well suited to students’ needs and starting points.
• Students use their private study time effectively. This is because leaders have invested resources into making the sixth-form centre an effective space where students can learn well outside of lessons.
• Students with low starting points do well in the sixth form because of the support that they receive. For example, students who are working towards a passing grade in GCSE English and/or mathematics achieve well because of the improved support that they receive from specialised staff.
• Progress and attainment on vocational courses are a strength because courses are well matched to students’ prior attainment and career ambitions. For example, the applied sciences course is providing some students with a route into careers around medicine and veterinary science.
• The last inspection report noted that retention was improving. The proportion of students completing their study programmes is now in line with national averages because of the improved advice and guidance that they have received.
• Improvements in attendance lower down the school are reflected in the sixth form, particularly in Year 12 and for disadvantaged students. Students value their education and the foundation it provides them with before leaving school.
• Students are well prepared for the challenges of later life through the PSHE programme, mental health support and daily pastoral support provided by staff.
• Teachers provide effective support in lessons and outside of class time. Students told inspectors that teachers are there for them and support their learning well.
• Progress on popular subjects, including A levels in history, sociology, biology and mathematics, is improving quickly. Smaller cohorts in other subjects means that current assessment information cannot be reliably analysed for significant trends.
• Current progress in Year 13 shows improvement but some assessment information is conservative. This is because teachers are incorporating national changes to A levels into their practice.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 136467 Bromley 10044089 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 11 to 18 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 Girls Mixed 1101 166 Appropriate authority Board of trustees Chair Headteacher Jatin Mehta Karen Raven Telephone number 020 8300 3156 Website Email address www.chislehurstschoolforgirls.co.uk kraven@chsfg.co.uk Date of previous inspection 23–24 May 2017

Information about this school

• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.
• The school complies with Department for Education guidance on what academies should publish.
• This is a larger than average secondary school. A small number of boys attend the sixth form.
• The school is the lead school of the Bromley Collegiate school-centred initial teacher training programme.
• A broadly average but increasing proportion of pupils come from disadvantaged backgrounds. Most pupils are White British but the proportion of pupils from other ethnic backgrounds is increasing. The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is below average.
• A small number of pupils attend alternative off-site provision including TLC, Tutorial Foundation and Bromley Trust Academy. The school also makes use of Academy 21, an online service.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors visited 62 lessons, some of which were accompanied by a member of the school’s leadership team. Inspectors scrutinised pupils’ work and discussed their learning with them.
• Inspectors met with leaders, staff, pupils and members of the governing body, including one by telephone.
• Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour before school, at social times and after school. Inspectors held informal conversations with pupils throughout the inspection.
• Inspectors scrutinised school documentation relating to attendance, behaviour and pupils’ performance. Inspectors also reviewed school policies and procedures, including those related to safeguarding, medical support, attendance, governance and safer recruitment of staff. The single central record was checked.
• Inspectors considered the views of the 70 staff who responded to the inspection questionnaire. In addition, inspectors analysed the responses of 152 parents who completed Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View.

Inspection team

Matt Tiplin, lead inspector Sarah Parker Rebecca Allott Susan Conway Avnee Morjaria

Her Majesty’s Inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector