Orchard Park High (Croydon) Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Continue to improve outcomes, particularly in modern foreign languages, design and technology, and geography.
• Ensure that teaching, particularly in key stage 3, challenges pupils with work at the right level of difficulty, including for the most able pupils.
• Continue to improve attendance and reduce the rates of persistent absence.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The leadership team has secured rapid improvements in the school over the last two years. Leaders are ambitious for the school and have set high expectations for pupils and staff.
• Leaders have established a culture of continuous improvement. They know where aspects of the school could be better and have clear plans to address them. The impact of their actions can already be seen in the high standards of pupil behaviour and improved key stage 4 outcomes.
• Leaders have a comprehensive staff training programme which develops teachers’ skills and improves outcomes for pupils. Staff members value this training and are proud to be part of the school community. Consequently, teaching is good across the school. Where there are weaknesses, action is being taken to improve them rapidly.
• School leaders and governors have acted swiftly to eradicate poor teaching or ineffective departmental leadership. Established and newly appointed subject leaders have a clear understanding of their role in raising and maintaining high standards across the school. The leadership team monitors their performance closely and holds staff rigorously to account.
• Leaders have put in place an effective system to assess pupils. Leaders check pupils’ progress meticulously and have identified key subject areas causing concern. Leaders and staff know whether pupils are on track to make strong progress. They intervene and support pupils who fall behind. For example, Year 11 pupils have additional time with their tutors to catch up on work.
• The provision for pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities is good. Leaders take collective responsibility for this group of pupils and ensure that they receive tailored support to meet their needs. Additional funding is used effectively to ensure that pupils make good progress.
• The progress of disadvantaged pupils is improving. Leaders have developed the use made of the pupil premium funding so that it is now targeted more specifically to support eligible pupils. Leaders keep the use and impact of the funding under regular review.
• Leaders have planned the curriculum to meet pupils’ needs and interests. Year 9 is a ‘bridging year’ for pupils, and leaders have ensured that pupils are well equipped to develop the knowledge and skills required for key stage 4. The school’s current assessment information indicates that this new approach is starting to have a positive impact on pupils’ outcomes.
• Compulsory enrichment sessions for Year 7 pupils enhance their mathematics and English learning. Leaders plan and evaluate the use made of Year 7 literacy and numeracy catch-up funding to ensure that it is spent effectively. Pupils also enjoy choosing from the range of extra-curricular clubs on offer, including rugby, dance and gardening.
• Pupils understand British values and demonstrate tolerance and respect for the beliefs and attitudes of others. Leaders promote concepts of democracy and the rule of law through assemblies and the curriculum. Leaders ensure that pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural education is developed across the curriculum.
• School leaders accurately evaluate the quality of teaching. Frequent changes of staff have hindered pupils’ progress in some subjects, and securing greater stability of staffing is a high priority for school leaders.

Governance of the school

• The board of trustees has delegated responsibility for overseeing the school to the local governing body. Governors have an accurate and detailed understanding of the school’s overall effectiveness. They play an important role in checking and reviewing the school’s performance and holding leaders to account.
• Members of the governing body visit the school regularly and evaluate aspects of the school’s work. Governors’ wide range of skills and expertise provides a diversity of perspectives, which they use effectively to challenge and support school leaders. The governing body also checks the use made of additional funding to ensure that it has the necessary impact.
• The board of trustees provides strategic direction and practical support. Trustees have clear processes for overseeing and checking school improvement. They provide constructive challenge to leaders.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Leaders carry out thorough pre-recruitment checks on the suitability of staff. Members of staff have received up-to-date training on how to keep children safe. They understand how to report any concerns they may have. The school works well with outside agencies to support pupils. Leaders ensure that pupils and their families receive the help they need.
• Pupils receive information about a range of risks that may affect them, including gang membership and knife crime. This helps pupils to identify risks to themselves and others and gives important guidance on how to stay safe.
• Pupils said that they feel safe in the school and that it is a secure environment. The majority of parents and carers who responded to the Ofsted questionnaire agreed that their children are safe.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• The quality of teaching is good and enables pupils to make good progress over time.
• Teachers use a range of resources that engage pupils’ interest. Pupils listen carefully to their teachers and quickly get on with the tasks set. Teachers have effective classroom rules that set high expectations and are understood by all pupils.
• Typically, teachers have secure subject knowledge that they use to improve the skills and knowledge of pupils. Teachers use subject-specific vocabulary and terminology that deepens pupils’ learning. They ask probing questions to check how well pupils build their understanding. For example, in science, pupils explained their understanding of evolution when teachers challenged them to demonstrate what they knew.
• Pupils know what to do to improve their work, because teachers guide them to review and develop classwork and homework tasks. Pupils appreciate the school’s ‘improve to upgrade’ approach and follow teachers’ suggestions.
• Teachers meet the needs of different groups of pupils in their classes, including pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities. Teachers and support staff carefully assist selected pupils in their learning.
• Work in different subjects reinforces and builds on pupils’ prior knowledge. Teachers set purposeful homework which consolidates prior learning and helps to develop pupils’ research skills.
• Pupils are very positive about the quality of teaching and learning in the school. They said that it has improved significantly in recent years. This improvement is reflected in pupils’ outcomes. However, frequent changes of staffing in some subject areas have hampered pupils’ progress.
• Teachers do not consistently provide pupils with appropriate challenge. The school’s ‘aim higher’ approach encourages pupils to attempt more difficult work. However, work is sometimes not demanding enough for the most able pupils in some subjects, particularly in key stage 3.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• Pupils’ attitudes to learning are positive and they work conscientiously. They understand the importance of studying hard.
• Pupils are able to explain their learning and demonstrate how their understanding and skills have developed over time. They know what to do in order to make strong progress. They are confident that staff will help them to succeed.
• Pupils are very clear that homophobia and racism are unacceptable. They understand and explain why derogatory language must not be used. School leaders explore these issues in assemblies and in form time.
• Pupils feel safe in the school. They have a secure understanding of how to stay safe in a wide variety of contexts, including when travelling to and from school. Issues about the safe use of social media and the internet are discussed regularly.
• Careers advice is included within the school’s personal, social, health, citizenship and economic education programme. Pupils benefit from independent support and guidance from visiting advisers. Pupils are well supported to make decisions about the next stage in their learning.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• Pupils’ conduct in classrooms and at social times is calm and sensible. Pupils respond quickly to instructions from staff, and are polite and courteous. They are respectful towards each other and, consequently, relationships are positive.
• Pupils say that behaviour in the school has improved over the last two years. They do not consider bullying to be a problem and say that it is dealt with seriously if it occurs. Good supervision by staff helps with this, but pupils are able to regulate their own behaviour.
• The number of pupils excluded from school has decreased significantly. School leaders are working to reduce this number further by increasing the support for behaviour. This includes an effective initiative to support pupils in school to take responsibility for managing their own behaviour so that they do not miss valuable education.
• Pupils are punctual, and few pupils are late to school each day.
• Leaders have put in place measures to improve attendance, and these are starting to have an impact. However, attendance is below the national average and persistent absence is relatively high, compared with the national average.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Reviews of pupils’ work in a range of subjects and from all year groups show that most pupils make good progress from their different starting points.
• In 2018, pupils’ overall progress in key stage 4 was considerably higher than the previous year and in line with the national average. Levels of attainment improved in a range of subjects, including in English and mathematics.
• Current assessment information shows that disadvantaged pupils are making much better progress than previously. This is a result of leaders’ focus on improving teaching and providing additional support for this group.
• Pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities make strong progress because of the effective support they receive. Leaders have improved how they deploy additional staff, so that support is well targeted and matched to pupils’ individual needs.
• School leaders place a strong emphasis on developing pupils’ literacy skills by allocating time in the curriculum specifically to reading. This initiative is in its early stages. Pupils’ work, particularly in subjects such as English, religious education and history, shows that pupils are developing strong writing skills. Pupils are confident in using subject-specific vocabulary and write at length using a variety of writing styles.
• Teaching has a positive impact on pupils’ outcomes in most subject areas. However, in some subjects pupils are not making as strong progress, notably in modern foreign languages, design and technology, and geography. Frequent changes in teaching staff over recent time has hampered pupils’ progress.
• Scrutiny of pupils’ work shows that the progress of most-able pupils is not as consistently strong. Sometimes work does not stretch the most able pupils. This is particularly evident in key stage 3.

16 to 19 study programmes Good

• The programmes of study for the sixth form ensure that students now make good progress given their starting points. Leaders in the sixth form have high expectations of the quality of teaching and resources used to extend students’ learning.
• Leaders in the sixth form check the quality of teaching frequently and are quick to tackle inconsistencies. Consequently, the quality of teaching has improved and is now good.
• Leaders have ensured that students have a good working environment in which to study. The school has a well-resourced study area, which is used regularly by students. Sixth-form students show positive attitudes to learning and make good use of their private-study time.
• Students appreciate the help, advice and guidance they are given by their teachers. Careers information is strong, and students are well informed about their choices in further education, training and employment.
• Outcomes in the sixth form have improved rapidly. Students made good progress last summer in both A-level and BTEC courses. Current students are well prepared for moving to academic and vocational courses.
• Provision for students to gain a pass in GCSE mathematics and/or English if they have not previously done so is effective. Sixth-form pass rates for GCSE English and mathematics are in line with, or above, national averages.
• Teachers set homework regularly and give students advice on how to improve their work.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 142040 Croydon 10053426 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. 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 sponsor-led 11 to 19 Mixed Mixed 918 36 Appropriate authority The governing body/Board of trustees Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Brenda Morley Ciara Warnock 020 8776 0220 www.orchardparkhigh.co.uk admin@orchardparkhigh.net Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

Information about this school

• Orchard Park High School is a school for pupils aged 11 to 19.
• In 2015, the school converted to an academy and is part of the Greenshaw Learning Trust. The school has a local governing body, which has delegated responsibilities from the trust. In September 2017, the school changed its name to Orchard Park High.
• The sixth-form provision is due to close in July 2019.
• The proportion of pupils who receive free school meals is above the national average.
• The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is in line with the national average.
• The school does not currently use any alternative provision.

Information about this inspection

• The school was initially inspected on 18 and 19 September 2018. On 18 October 2018, two of Her Majesty’s Inspectors returned to the school to gather further evidence about pupils’ outcomes. The evidence gathered over all three days was used to inform the inspection judgements.
• Inspectors visited classes in all year groups and in a wide range of subjects. They carried out these observations jointly with school leaders.
• Inspectors held discussions with groups of pupils and sixth-form students. They observed pupils’ behaviour in class and around the school.
• Inspectors held meetings with school leaders to discuss the impact of their work. They looked at a range of documentation provided by the school, including assessment information relating to current pupils’ progress, the school’s self-evaluation, attendance information, records of pupils’ behaviour and plans for school improvement.
• Inspectors examined the schools’ arrangements for the safeguarding of pupils and the school’s checks on the suitability of staff.
• Inspectors held meetings with members of the local governing body and with representatives from the multi-academy trust.
• Inspectors considered 34 responses to Ofsted’s online survey Parent View and 28 responses to the staff survey. There were no responses to the pupils’ survey.

Inspection team

Stephen Adamson, lead inspector Janet Hallett Rebecca Allott David Boyle Terry Millar Jude Wilson Nasim Butt

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