Saint Gabriel's College Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

To raise standards further, leaders and managers should:

• ensure that all pupils have opportunities to deepen their understanding of subjects in all their lessons through: - further professional development of teachers, especially in the way they question pupils in lessons - continuing to embed the implementation of the new curriculum, especially at key stage 3.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• Leaders have played a pivotal role in establishing this growing and increasingly popular school. They have created a culture of high aspirations for pupils. Staff and pupils work closely together and contribute to the ethos of the school. As a result, pupils stated that they feel safe in school and incidents of poor behaviour and bullying are rare.
• Leaders have high expectations of the quality of teaching, learning and assessment. They monitor the quality of teaching frequently, and take swift action when they find that teaching does not have enough impact on pupils’ outcomes.
• Senior leaders with responsibility for teaching and learning provide a wide range of professional development opportunities. Teachers appreciate the support they receive and opportunities for regular training to help them improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment.
• Leaders have ensured that pupils, parents and carers understand their high expectations of behaviour and attendance. As a result, attendance is consistently above the national average. Leaders have successfully supported individuals to improve their attendance so that the proportion of pupils who are persistently absent has reduced, and is now lower than in most secondary schools, nationally.
• Leaders have used the additional funding the school receives for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) effectively. Pupils receive the help and support they need to overcome their barriers to learning. Disadvantaged pupils make strong progress from their starting points in English, mathematics and most other subjects.
• Year 7 catch-up funding is used well to support pupils who arrive in Year 7 with weak literacy and numeracy skills. These pupils are given additional teaching throughout, and sometimes beyond, Year 7. Most of these pupils make at least as much progress as their peers.
• The school makes a strong contribution to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. A rich array of extra-curricular activities take place before and after school, and during lunch and breaktimes. Participation levels are high, including of disadvantaged pupils.
• Leaders work closely with the Diocese of Southwark to ensure that Christian values are embedded across the school. Pupils are able to talk with confidence about the school values and have a deep understanding of other faiths.
• Leaders are committed to ensuring that the school works collaboratively with other local schools. Teachers and leaders are keen to share with and learn from others. As a result, staff welcome support and scrutiny from their peers, the local authority and the diocese. This helps sustain improvements in the school.

Governance of the school

• The governing body is well led, and has a clear vision for the school. Governors provide an appropriate balance of support and challenge to school leaders. They carefully check leaders’ actions to ensure that they have an impact on pupils’ learning and achievement. Governors have undertaken a skills audit and used this to ensure that they have the right breadth of skills and expertise to be effective in their roles.
• Governors check that leaders are effective in targeting funds available for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND. They have a good understanding of the impact that this has had on improving attendance and progress for these groups of pupils.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Safeguarding has a very high profile in the school, and pupils’ welfare and safety are paramount. Staff are relentless in their pursuit to keep pupils safe, and undertake a range of activities to ensure that their pupils are safe both in school and the wider community. For example, work with the local church has enabled pupils to have a safe place to congregate in the evening.
• All safeguarding arrangements are robust and rigorous. Staff are appropriately trained; they register concerns well, and these are handled appropriately and promptly. Case files are detailed and record information accurately. Staff work effectively with external agencies, and governors are kept up to date about safeguarding matters.
• Staff ensure that pupils are given every opportunity to learn how to keep themselves safe. Teachers make good use of lessons, tutor times and assemblies to teach pupils about the variety of risks they face. Pupils feel that they are well informed about how to be safe both in school but also in the wider community.
• Governors monitor the school’s safeguarding processes to ensure that these are robust. They make sure that all the required checks are carried out to ensure that staff are suitable to work with children. Through the work of their pastoral committee, they monitor all welfare and safeguarding concerns.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Teachers have high expectations regarding pupils’ readiness to learn. This has resulted in almost all pupils having positive attitudes to learning. Pupils take pride in their learning and take care to present their work well.
• Teachers know their pupils well and plan appropriate activities to support their learning. Teachers are highly skilled in planning to meet the range of pupils’ needs. As a result, most pupils make good progress.
• Leaders have worked hard to ensure that teachers provide most-able pupils with opportunities to develop the hardest skills and knowledge in their subjects. Teachers have responded positively to this and plan more demanding work for the most able pupils. However, the school recognises that more time is required to ensure that all teachers are highly skilled in their questioning techniques.
• Teachers’ subject knowledge is secure. They plan sequences of learning that build on what pupils already know. Inspectors found that across subjects, teachers plan learning that engages and interests pupils. This helps pupils make good gains in their knowledge, skills and understanding.
• Teachers give pupils helpful feedback and guidance on how to improve their work. Pupils respond well to this and value the comments from their teachers.
• Teachers use homework effectively to support and consolidate pupils’ learning. They check pupils’ understanding and encourage pupils to apply and extend their prior knowledge. Pupils and parents agree that teachers set appropriate amounts of homework, in line with the school’s policy.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding.
• Staff know pupils extremely well, and an overwhelming majority of parents and carers indicated that their children are safe, happy and well cared for. Pupils and staff frequently refer to the school in terms of a family. ‘My son has felt happy and safe since he joined in Year 7,’ was typical of the many comments that parents made to acknowledge the inclusive nature of the school.
• Pupils do not tolerate bullying. On the few occasions when it does take place, pupils are confident that staff will help them and resolve the matter quickly and effectively.
• The school has a significant number of vulnerable pupils. Staff work closely with other agencies to ensure that these pupils receive the help that they need. Staff chase up referrals relentlessly, particularly if they feel that they are not being processed quickly enough. Staff have implemented comprehensive support systems to ensure that all children are safe and well supported.
• Leaders ensure that pupils receive clear guidance to support their subject choices at the end of key stage 3. Pupils in Year 9 start a mini GCSE programme, which they say enables them to be flexible about choices, and offers them real insight into the demands of GCSE courses.
• Pupils value the high-quality careers education that enables them to make well-informed decisions about post-16 education and training. The school has started to work closely with a wide range of sixth-form providers to ensure that pupils in Year 11 have a wealth of information to help them make decisions about the next stage of their education.
• Many pupils across all year groups willingly take on leadership roles, such as prefects or ‘Challenge Ambassadors’. Pupils are confident to give their opinions and listen respectfully to the ideas of others.
• Pupils respect their environment and appreciate the facilities provided by the new school building. There is very little litter around the school site. Pupils are proud of their school and take pride in their appearance. The impact of leaders’ work to support pupils in developing positive attitudes to school life was evident in all meetings held with pupils.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• Leaders are clear that the management of pupils’ behaviour starts with positive relationships, and they model this routinely in their interaction with pupils. Pupils are polite and courteous.
• School leaders ensure that everyone understands the policy for rewards and sanctions. Pupils enjoy the wide range of rewards they receive and understand the consequences for not following rules. As a result, incidents of poor behaviour are rare.
• Older and younger pupils interact positively with each other at social times. Older pupils who act as school prefects support adults with the supervision of the younger pupils at break and lunchtimes. As a result, the school is a calm and orderly environment.
• Pupils feel confident to be different, and insisted that incidents of bullying are rare. Pupils talked to inspectors about the anti-bullying card, carried by each pupil, which enables any pupil to flag a concern at any time during the day. Pupils explained to inspectors that discrimination or derogatory language is not tolerated. Pupils are insistent that having a different background or outlook on life is respected in this school.
• Leaders monitor the attendance and punctuality of groups of pupils so that no one is disadvantaged by low attendance. Attendance rates are above the national average.
• Senior leaders have high expectations of punctuality to school, and have reinforced the importance of being on time to school and lessons. As a result, pupils’ punctuality has improved significantly. It is rare for a pupil to be late to school.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• On entry to the school, pupils’ standards in reading, writing and mathematics, overall, are below the national average and, by the time they complete their GCSEs, their attainment is in line with national average.
• In 2018, Year 11 pupils’ overall progress improved strongly, and was in line with the national average. The proportion of pupils achieving the higher GCSE pass in English and mathematics was slightly below the national average, but improved notably from 2017.
• Historically, the progress that pupils make has been weaker in mathematics than English. However, outcomes are now improving in both subjects for the majority of pupils.
• Inspectors sampled the work in pupils’ books and examined the school’s recent assessment information. This scrutiny demonstrated that pupils make good progress across all subjects and in all year groups.
• Disadvantaged pupils have not always performed as well as their peers in a range of subjects. However, the school’s internal assessment data indicates that this is no longer the case, and that these pupils make similar progress to their peers, with similar starting points across a range of subjects.
• Leaders have worked with teachers to ensure that pupils with higher starting points make good progress across a range of subjects. The most able pupils routinely experience high levels of challenge from teachers. Occasionally, pupils make less progress because their teachers do not ensure that pupils complete more demanding tasks.
• Pupils with SEND receive effective support. As a result, this group of pupils make good progress from their individual starting points and continue in education after they leave school.
• Pupils who enter the school with levels of literacy below those expected for their age make significant gains in their reading age and spellings. This is also the case for the progress that pupils make in their numeracy skills. This is as a result of the range of interventions that pupils receive to support their progress.
• The small numbers of pupils who attend alternative provision are monitored closely by the leaders in the school, and generally make good progress.
• The school prepares pupils well for when they leave school. As a result, most pupils secure a place in further education, training or employment.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 100627 Lambeth 10052804 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 Foundation 11 to 16 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 501 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Principal Jane Bevis Nick Butler Telephone number 020 7793 3901 Website Email address www.saintgabrielscollege.org principal@saintgabrielscollege.org Date of previous inspection 13–14 May 2015

Information about this school

• The school is a smaller than average-sized secondary school.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is above the national average.
• The proportion of pupils with SEND and the proportion who have an education, health and care plan are both significantly above the national average.
• The school uses two alternative providers: Arcor Academy and Bright Education, for a small number of pupils.
• The school is a Church of England School, part of the Diocese of Southwark. In November 2014, the Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools judged the school as outstanding.

The

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed learning in lessons across a range of subjects and in all key stages. Some lessons were jointly observed with senior leaders. Inspectors observed tutor time and looked at pupils’ work in lessons across all year groups.
• The lead inspector met with the principal, subject leaders, members of the governing body and one local authority adviser.
• Inspectors held meetings with the school’s leaders who have responsibility for safeguarding, teaching, behaviour, attendance and additional funding.
• Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour during lessons, and at breaktimes and lunchtimes. They listened to pupils read and spoke formally with pupils in key stages 3 and 4. Over the two days, inspectors spoke informally with pupils about their learning and their safety.
• Inspectors scrutinised a wide range of documents, including the school’s self-evaluation, the school’s development plan, minutes of meetings of the local governing body, information about the attainment and progress of all pupils, records relating to behaviour, attendance and safeguarding, and information on the school’s website. They also checked the school’s single central register of staff suitability to work with children.
• Inspectors evaluated responses to Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire, and responses to Ofsted’s staff questionnaire.

Inspection team

Helena Mills CBE, lead inspector Anne Murray-Hudson Laurence King

Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector