St Andrew's CofE School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve pupils’ outcomes by ensuring that:
  • teachers in all subjects plan activities that meet pupils’ needs, particularly for those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities and for the most able disadvantaged pupils
  • middle leaders quickly embed routines to improve the quality and consistency of feedback on pupils’ work
  • teachers maintain consistently high expectations of what pupils can achieve and use skilful questioning to probe pupils’ understanding, particularly the most able.
• Leaders and governors must ensure that:
  • new strategies are fully implemented and all processes, including those relating to pupils’ welfare, are routinely reviewed to secure rapid improvements in the school’s performance
  • the new assessment system is quickly embedded so that staff have quick and easy access to reliable information that informs their planning and interventions.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management

Requires improvement

• The headteacher was appointed in September 2015 and accurately concluded that the school’s teaching and learning, and pupils’ outcomes, were not good enough. The headteacher’s work shows signs of developments; however, significant staff turnover hampered the pace of improvements last year. The full impact of the headteacher’s strategies to implement new systems, processes and appointments, including a new senior leadership team, is only now emerging.
• The school’s professional development programme did not improve the quality or consistency of teaching. Consequently, pupils’ outcomes were not as strong as leaders had hoped last year. This year, a more robust professional development programme is in place and new staff, including newly qualified teachers and trainees, are beginning to secure greater consistency in the quality of teaching.
• Leaders’ evaluation of pupil premium and catch-up funding has not been robust enough to drive rapid improvements in pupils’ progress across year groups. Although more effective strategies have been implemented more recently, it is too early to see their effect, particularly in teachers’ planning. Leaders’ focus upon Year 11 disadvantaged pupils last year did improve outcomes for this group; however, the most able disadvantaged pupils did not attain as highly as they could have.
• Too few pupils gained qualifications that led to the English Baccalaureate (Ebacc) in the past two years because curriculum decisions made prior to the headteacher’s arrival hindered pupils’ ability to succeed. The curriculum has since been reviewed so that pupils are now studying appropriate courses.
• Newly appointed subject and middle leaders have the necessary skills to support quick improvements in pupils’ outcomes. However, new strategies to improve the effectiveness of subject assessment have not had time to secure consistency in the way teachers provide effective feedback that pupils can use to improve their performance.
• The new assessment system is designed to help all staff and governors have quick and easy access to information about pupils’ progress. However, the system has not been in place long enough to ensure that staff’s use of the available information leads to highly effective and consistent planning for teaching across subjects.
• Newly qualified teachers receive an effective programme of support which is partly delivered through the Croydon hub. Leaders monitor their progress closely, providing prompt and effective support where needed.
• Leaders have maintained and enhanced the way the school develops pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural skills. Pupils have a keen understanding of British values and are well prepared for life in modern Britain by visits from external speakers, topics in the personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education lessons and regular assemblies.
• Pupils enjoy and take up the increasing provision of enrichment activities, including opportunities for pupils to showcase their talents. This balances the curriculum and supports pupils’ personal development.
• Effective external support is provided by the local authority and diocese, which provide leaders with accurate evaluations of where developments are already improving standards and where work remains to be done. This means that leaders are well informed and now accurate in their evaluations.

Governance of the school

• Following an external review of governance after the previous inspection, the governing body is more effective at holding leaders to account for their work. However, governors recognise that more remains to be done to ensure that all aspects of the school’s performance are robust. This includes the completion of all health and safety checks and routine monitoring of the school’s administrative systems so that pupils’ welfare is secured. Governors are supporting the headteacher to ensure that the school’s finances are managed to meet the goals agreed with the local authority. This means that previous financial barriers to further developments are being managed.
• Governors share leaders’ high ambitions for pupils’ personal development and outcomes. They have supported leaders in ensuring that the curriculum is now accessible to all pupils, for example with the physical education (PE) curriculum for girls.
• Governors have taken steps to improve their skills so that their scrutiny and questioning of assessment and behaviour information mean that leaders expect to be challenged and are held firmly to account for pupils’ performance.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. The newly appointed safeguarding leader is already firmly established as the ‘go to’ person in the school for pupils and staff who may have a concern. Effective processes are in place to ensure that any issues are appropriately dealt with to ensure that pupils’ well-being is secured. The work that the school’s attendance team does bolsters the school’s safeguarding arrangements by promptly following up absentees and working with the local authority to good effect.
• Staff are appropriately trained to support the school’s safeguarding systems, including in the ‘Prevent’ duty. Staff are able to recognise signs of neglect and potential radicalisation, and the school is keenly aware of local gang-related and knife-crime issues that exist within the borough. The school works well with parents and pupils to help keep pupils safe. Pupils, staff and parents agree that the school is a safe environment because of the culture of safeguarding that leaders have created. Leaders recognise that further improvements in how the school site is routinely evaluated for risks would enhance pupils’ welfare.
• Pre-employment checks pay due regard to the latest statutory guidance, which all staff have received as part of their training. The single central record of those checks meets requirements.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• Teaching, learning and assessment require improvement because there is inconsistency in the way teachers plan their lessons so that pupils’ needs are suitably met. Teachers do not regularly use the information they have to hand to help inform the activities they then use in lessons. Where this does occur, for example in English and religious education, pupils’ progress is more secure.
• Teachers’ use of questioning is not consistently good at probing pupils’ ideas and accelerating their progress. Where this is done well, for example in English and modern foreign languages, then pupils are able to take full advantage of the skills being developed by applying them to the content taught.
• Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are not supported well enough in all subjects. Where learning support assistants are well deployed, then pupils’ progress is rapid. However, teachers do not do enough to ensure that their planning includes activities that reflect pupils’ needs.
• Teachers’ expectations of what pupils can achieve are not consistently high enough across subjects, leading to variable quality in the presentation of pupils’ work. The most able are not always challenged enough to ensure that they make rapid progress from their starting points, particularly the most able disadvantaged pupils.
• Pupils’ numeracy and literacy skills are not well developed across subjects. Where teachers miss opportunities to link those skills to the learning, then pupils’ work reflects a lack of accuracy in their use of literacy and numeracy skills.
• Too often, teachers’ feedback does not identify clearly how pupils might improve their work or is not followed up to secure rapid progress. Where feedback is effective, there is evidence of pupils being able to move on quickly, for example in history.
• The most able pupils and pupils from lower starting points read well. The new library is now open to provide a hub for reading in the school and supports the leaders’ plan to improve literacy across the curriculum.
• Pupils who join the school and are in the early stages of learning English are well supported by dedicated additional sessions. This is sometimes built upon in subjects where teachers shape their planning to meet pupils’ needs.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare requires improvement because some aspects of the school site are not fully risk assessed or routinely and thoroughly checked. Leaders are aware of this and have strategies in place to improve the situation.
• Pupils reported to inspectors that clubs and activities are now more available and taken up than used to be the case. However, pupils also reported that they want more to be done to support their emotional and physical well-being.
• Pupils’ personal development and preparation for life in modern Britain are good because of the programme of activities that teach pupils about e-safety, staying safe in the local community and their options for subsequent education, training and employment. Visits from external speakers such as ‘mighty men of valour’ exemplify the school’s work to promote respect and tolerance.
• The school has recently adjusted the pastoral system so that pupils are in year-based tutor groups. This is helping to support pupils’ transition into the school in Year 7, led by a new Year 7 transition leader, while also improving the link between pastoral support and pupils’ academic performance.
• Few pupils attend alternative provision. Those who do are monitored by the school but leaders recognise that their monitoring is not robust enough.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good. Since being appointed, the headteacher has adopted a zero-tolerance approach to behaviour and implemented new behaviour systems that staff now use well. Consequently, the number of recorded behavioural incidents rose sharply last year but is now significantly lower. Exclusions and the use of internal isolation have followed suit.
• Incidents of bullying are uncommon and pupils told inspectors about how well teachers deal with instances. Pupils told inspectors that people tend to get along and look out for one another.
• Attendance and punctuality are good. Pupils are typically well prepared for lessons and arrive to school ready to learn. Effective follow-up procedures have meant that parents of pupils at risk of persistent absenteeism are part of solutions to addressing potential barriers to attendance.
• Standards of behaviour are yet to consistently meet leaders’ high expectations, and leaders recognise where some staff would benefit from further training so that they are more confident in managing behaviour.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• Pupils’ outcomes at GCSE in 2016 were not as strong as leaders had anticipated. This is because teaching was not consistently strong enough to secure better outcomes, particularly in science, music and computing.
• The most able pupils made weaker progress from their starting points than their peers last year. This is because outcomes in science were particularly weak compared with those in their other subjects. Leaders have now addressed the underlying issues in science through the appointment of new staff, but there remains some variability in the way teachers stretch the most able across subjects.
• Leaders’ focus of pupil-premium-funded resources upon Year 11 disadvantaged pupils last year meant that their outcomes improved during the year, including for the most able disadvantaged in English and mathematics. However, recent actions are only now having an impact on pupils’ outcomes lower down the school.
• Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities have historically made sound progress. Work in books indicates a mixed picture now because teachers’ planning to meet pupils’ needs is inconsistent. However, current assessment information shows that improvements are beginning to improve their outcomes.
• Pupils who speak English as an additional language are well supported when they join the school in order to access the curriculum. However, there remains variability in their progress between subjects and year groups.
• Pupils successfully move on to 16 to 19 study programmes at other schools and colleges after Year 11. This reflects their preparation for further study and the effectiveness of the support provided by the school.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 101813 Croydon 10019659 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 Voluntary aided 11 to 16 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 541 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Andrew Massiah Kerry Targett 020 868 68306 www.standhigh.net office@st-andrews.croydon.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 23–24 September 2014

Information about this school

• This school is smaller than the average-sized mixed secondary comprehensive school. It is a voluntary-aided Church of England school within the diocese of Southwark.
• A higher than average proportion of pupils come from disadvantaged backgrounds. Similarly, a higher than average proportion of pupils have special educational needs and/or disabilities. The proportion of pupils who have education, health and care plans is broadly average.
• A larger than average number of pupils come from minority ethnic backgrounds. The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is broadly average but increasing.
• The school receives external support from the diocese of Southwark and Croydon local authority, and works with other schools within the borough. The school is part of the newly qualified teacher development programme through Croydon hub and is part of the Teach First programme.
• Since the last inspection, the school’s sixth form has closed.
• The school does not meet requirements on the publication of information about pupil premium, Year 7 literacy and numeracy catch-up premium and examination results on its website. The school’s website is currently under construction as part of the school’s rebranding programme.
• A very small number of pupils attend Saffron Valley Collegiate Trust, an alternative provider.
• The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ achievement.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors visited 40 lessons, some with members of the school’s leadership team. Inspectors listened to pupils read and visited additional sessions for pupils learning English as an additional language.
• Inspectors met with staff, governors, and representatives from Croydon local authority and the diocese of Southwark. Inspectors also spoke with pupils both formally and informally, and spoke to a small number of parents at the start and end of the school day.
• Inspectors scrutinised school documents including: pupils’ work; policies and procedures; evaluations of the school’s performance and plans for development; and assessment and behaviour information. Inspectors also considered the views of staff, parents and pupils via Ofsted’s surveys.

Inspection team

Matt Tiplin, lead inspector John Seal Duncan Kamya Gerard Strong

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