Addey and Stanhope School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that:
  • teaching results in pupils’ progress being outstanding in a wider range of subjects, including English and mathematics, especially for pupils with high prior attainment
  • the number of fixed-term exclusions is reduced further to align with or be below the national figure for all pupils
  • whole-school procedures are systematically recorded to support leaders to share their expectations with all stakeholders.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The headteacher’s vision and ambition has changed the culture of the school. This is because she has empowered leaders, staff and governors to drive forward changes under the credo of ‘compelling learning supported by the culture created through the Addey’s Way’. This approach underpins the ethos of the school and the actions taken to improve the life chances of all pupils.
• The headteacher has developed the school into a pillar of the community. For example, the facilities are used as a local centre for the performing arts. Parents are supported by attending weekly computing skills workshops run by the school. Parents’ evenings are regularly attended by over 90% of parents. This is a testament to the effectiveness of the school’s work to engage parents.
• Since taking up post in September 2015, the headteacher has recruited and built a strong leadership team to improve the effectiveness of the school and pupils’ outcomes. Senior leaders have clearly defined responsibilities, which they undertake successfully, closely monitoring and evaluating the impact of teaching, learning and assessment on pupils’ learning. Middle leaders and senior leaders form the leadership group. This means that expectations of leaders at all levels are aligned. Leaders and teachers are clear about the headteacher’s expectations, and are held firmly to account for their performance. This empowers them to work together as a collective with the senior team. As a result, current pupils make good progress in both key stages.
• Leaders have strengthened the security and accuracy of performance information used to track and target pupils’ progress. Since September 2017, pupils receive much more targeted additional academic and pastoral support. This strengthens outcomes for pupils.
• The school’s self-evaluation is accurate. Leaders know what is going well and what action is required to improve further. For example, the timing of the school day was changed in September 2017 to include a weekly staff training event. This is mainly focused on developing teaching and the use of assessment to improve pupils’ learning. Subject leaders say they enjoy working together and feel valued by senior leaders and know they are key to developing whole-school approaches to support pupils to learn well. Teachers who are new to the profession also find this training helpful and informative.
• Leaders and governors make good use of the recommendations from external reviews to verify they are taking the right action to improve pupils’ outcomes and the effectiveness of the school. Nonetheless, school documents which outline agreed practices and procedures are occasionally incomplete or not produced. While this does not impact negatively on pupils’ learning, inspectors noted that sometimes teachers’ practice is inconsistent across different subjects in the school.
• The majority of parents would recommend the school. The majority of staff appreciate that leaders take workload issues into account and are happy working in the school. This is strong evidence of the headteacher’s pragmatic and collaborative approach to working effectively with her senior leaders and staff.
• The curriculum closely matches pupils’ specific learning needs, develops their well-being and supports them to be good citizens. For example, pupils with high starting points study Latin GCSE, and this is being offered in Year 7 from September 2018. This is complemented by a very strong personal development curriculum. Pupils said their citizenship lessons encourage them to reflect and teach them to voice their opinions about sensitive topics. For example, they discuss radicalisation and extremism with their peers with increasing confidence.
• There is a wide range of extra-curricular activities on offer. The school’s extensive extra-curricular programme supports pupils to stay healthy and extend their interests by targeting them to take part in physical sporting events and educational visits. Furthermore, some activities, for example karaoke, are organised and led by pupils, which enables them to develop their leadership and organisational skills.
• Leaders and governors use pupil premium funding effectively to support disadvantaged pupils and reduce potential barriers to their learning and well-being. The school’s assessment data shows the progress made by disadvantaged pupils equals or is stronger than that of others in every year group and across a range of subjects.
• The Year 7 catch-up funding is used well, and leaders monitor and review the impact of this funding through a range of intervention activities, which are effective and respond to pupils’ needs. For example, current Year 7 pupils who started school behind their peers in reading have made one year’s progress in six months.
• The school has a speech and language resource base, and pupils in the base are integrated into mainstream lessons. Leaders use the funding for pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities very effectively. These pupils are making good progress through targeted support across the curriculum, and through the effective support of teaching assistants in the resource base.
• In April 2018, the school was assigned the support of three subject consultants through the Atlas Teaching School Alliance. However, the focus of this support was only just confirmed at the time of this inspection, so its impact could not be judged. Senior leaders and governors value the challenge received from the local authority’s school improvement partner.

Governance of the school

• Governors are committed to bringing about improvement. They share the same ambition as school leaders for improving pupils’ outcomes, whilst also ensuring that pupils feel safe and happy at school.
• Governors visit the school regularly and review evidence with the senior leadership team. There is a culture in school of checking that students are safe, and governors lead on this. They know the school well and speak to pupils about their safety. Members of the governing body undertake relevant training to meet their statutory duties, including training related to safeguarding.
• Governors effectively challenge leaders and work closely with the headteacher and senior team, supporting them to drive forward the changes required to ensure that the school improves further. The governing body evaluates its effectiveness by commissioning external reviews to identify aspects of its performance to develop, and acts on any recommendations.
• Governors have an effective performance management system in place to hold the headteacher to account for pupils’ outcomes, and the development of staff linked to clear targets.

Safeguarding

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Teaching is good across all year groups, and enables pupils to make good progress in most subjects. Furthermore, in modern foreign languages teaching is leading to pupils making outstanding progress, compared with pupils with the same starting points nationally.
• Leaders know that the next steps in teaching, learning and assessment are to secure outstanding progress for all groups of pupils, in a wide range of subjects. This includes extending the challenge for pupils with higher starting points.
• Teachers have strong subject knowledge. This means they explain difficult content and ideas effectively, which helps pupils to learn well. Pupils are usually clear about what they need to do and why.
• Pupils’ behaviour in lessons is good and supports a safe and secure climate for learning. Pupils are very respectful to each other and their teachers. They are eager and willing to support their peers, and feel confident to explore their learning when they respond to teachers’ questions.
• Pupils’ attitudes to learning are positive and they are proud of their work. Work seen in pupils’ exercise books indicates they have comprehensive notes, which are well organised. This also helps pupils to learn well because they are able to refer to their previous learning to deepen their understanding, and refer to their notes when revising for examinations.
• Teachers are improving their use of pupils’ assessment information to inform their teaching and to target pupils for intervention. Leaders constantly review and improve this part of the school’s work. The result is that pupils’ progress is good in all year groups, especially in Years 7 to 9. This demonstrates the impact of the headteacher’s recent changes to raise expectations of both teachers and pupils about what can be achieved.
• In most lessons, different groups of pupils, including the disadvantaged, are sufficiently challenged when completing learning activities in classrooms. This includes pupils with low starting points and pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities, who make good progress over time. However, this is not always the case for pupils with high starting points. When this happens, pupils’ progress over time is generally good, but is limited because these pupils are not adequately stretched to improve the depth of their knowledge and understanding.
• At times, even though teachers’ aspirations of what pupils are capable of achieving are high, pupils are sometimes moved on in their learning before they are ready. As a result, these pupils become confused and are at risk of falling behind.
• Teachers and teaching assistants scaffold work effectively for pupils who learn in the speech and language resource base. Teachers constantly link the work pupils are learning to their lessons in the main school. This re-enforces pupils’ understanding and leads to them making good progress over time.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding. This is because senior leaders, teachers and governors develop pupils’ personal skills effectively, and put welfare at the top of their agenda.
• Pupils are acutely aware of their rights and responsibilities. They appreciate having weekly citizenship lessons where they are taught to express their points of view in a respectful manner, even when they disagree with others. It was noted in a discussion with pupils that they feel they are learning how to achieve their goals in the ‘real world’.
• Pupils understand the importance of developing their listening skills so they can have thoughtful and respectful discussions. Pupils said they have the confidence to challenge stereotypes and understand the principles which underpin British values. This is equipping pupils to be successful, self-aware citizens in school and the wider society, and to develop essential work place skills.
• School leaders are passionate about developing pupils to be future leaders, and encourage them to stand up for what they believe to be right. Pupils are encouraged and supported to be leaders by taking on the role of an ‘Addey’s change maker’. They organise and lead a range of whole-school events. For example, during the inspection Year 9 pupils played a major part in hosting a community safety conference held at the school. This was attended by members of the community, including local young people and community leaders, and focused on issues of safety, including knife crime. This promotes pupils’ leadership skills and supports them to develop their self-confidence and to be self-assured.
• The school’s approach to giving pupils information, advice and guidance about their career pathways and the courses they choose to study in Years 10 and 11 has improved since the last inspection. A new progression and pathways leadership role has been created to oversee this part of the school’s work. This means pupils in Years 7 to 11 have carefully planned career pathways, which are monitored and reviewed as pupils move through the school. This career plan is also linked to pupils’ ongoing performance in their examinations.
• The school has created a partnership with an enterprise adviser. This link ensures that pupils are given frequent opportunities to experience and interact with a range of businesses and professionals. The school’s careers programme for pupils meets the government’s national careers strategy. This means leaders track pupils’ careers education against national milestones (the Gatsby benchmarks). Pupils said the school prepares them well for their future careers and choice of education pathways.
• All groups of pupils, including those with complex needs, who met with inspectors, and those who spoke to inspectors informally, said they feel safe in school. They know who to turn to if they need additional counselling or support, and are very well informed about potential risks to their safety in and beyond school. Pupils care about each other’s well-being, and said bullying is rare and dealt with very effectively by staff, if and when it occurs.
• Staff check carefully that those pupils who attend alternative provision away from the school site are properly cared for, behave well, attend regularly, achieve well and are safe.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good. This is because the pupils are polite, friendly and respectful to their peers and adults. They work well together in classrooms, without needing to be closely managed by teachers. Generally, lessons are calm and no time is wasted because pupils are engaged in their learning. Pupils respond positively to instructions from their teachers and other adults who work with them.
• Pupils have high aspirations to achieve, and have positive attitudes to their work and learning. This contributes well to their good progress. The school’s expectation that everyone has the right to learn is evident in classrooms through pupils’ resilience and eagerness to support their peers to learn.
• Pupils’ attendance has rapidly improved due to leaders’ consistent monitoring of pupils’ absence, and taking appropriate steps to get pupils to come to school regularly. The impact of leaders’ work to reduce pupils’ absence is evidenced by the school’s lower than national absence figures. This high attendance trend is the same for different pupil groups in the school. Pupils are punctual to school, and their lessons. This demonstrates that pupils enjoy coming to school to learn in a welcoming learning community.
• The conduct of pupils at break, lunchtimes, while moving in the corridors and leaving the school site to go home is polite. This reflects the calm and safe atmosphere in the school.
• Staff and parents’ responses to the Ofsted survey support the view that behaviour is managed well by school leaders. The impact of this is that fixed-term exclusion figures are falling year on year, even though they remain slightly above the national average. Furthermore, the number of repeated fixed-term exclusions is below the national figure and permanent exclusions are very low, and only used as a last resort. This shows leaders’ success to help vulnerable and potentially vulnerable pupils to succeed.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Outcomes for pupils are good. This is because current pupils in key stages 3 and 4 are reaping the benefits of the changes made by the new headteacher, senior leaders and governors. These include improving teaching, leading to pupils learning well and making good or better progress over time from their starting points.
• Leaders have improved the reliability of teachers’ assessments used to track pupils’ performance across the school during each academic year. Senior leaders check the suitability of the test materials used in each subject. Leaders also monitor whether teachers have graded the tests correctly. This supports leaders and teachers to identify pupils at risk of underachieving and to take appropriate action promptly to boost their learning and progress.
• The combination of these improvements results in current pupils with low, middle and high prior attainment making good progress from their starting points. This is in all year groups and across a range of subjects, including English and mathematics. This is also the case for different pupil groups, including boys, girls and pupils who speak English as an additional language. Inspectors observed pupils making good progress in a range of lessons. However, the progress of pupils with high prior attainment is limited in some lessons, because the work they are given is sometimes not sufficiently challenging. Evidence gathered by inspectors during visits to classrooms showed pupils’ learning over time is good overall, but stronger in Years 7 to 9.
• In 2016 and 2017, pupils’ progress between Years 7 and 11 in modern foreign languages was outstanding, compared to their peers nationally. However, although pupils’ progress is good in many other subjects, it is not outstanding. Therefore, leaders are focusing on improving pupils’ progress further. This is so that pupils’ progress is outstanding by the end of Year 11 in a wider range of subjects, including English and mathematics.
• Disadvantaged pupils currently in the school make progress similar or better to other pupils. This is due to improvements in teaching and learning, as well as the pre-planned targeted intervention given to pupils. This means pupils who need to catch up are supported during their lessons and by additional extra-curricular classes.
• In 2017, pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities, and those who learn in the resource base, made progress that matched or exceeded their peers nationally with the same starting points. Furthermore, pupils with low starting points made progress equal to their peers nationally. The school’s current assessment information confirms an even better picture for these groups this year, because the quality of teaching and support from teaching assistants is improving.
• In 2017, the school’s analysis of Year 11 pupils’ average GCSE examination results, which include English and mathematics, was broadly equal to the national average. The assessment results for current Year 11 pupils indicate pupils’ attainment is improving.
• Pupils are encouraged to read, and the school supports learners with low reading scores in Years 7 to 9 by targeting them for various reading intervention support programmes. This prepares pupils to have the literacy skills they require to make good progress in Years 10 and 11. As a result, pupils are being well prepared for the next stage of their education, training or employment.
• The school’s average progress score for Year 11 pupils who sat their GCSE examinations in 2017 was low compared to the national average. This was because a significant number of vulnerable pupils with middle and high starting points attained extremely negative progress scores (outliers). Furthermore, the progress scores for these pupils were included in the Department for Education’s (DfE’s) published progress score for the school. This resulted in the school’s 2017 average progress score not meeting the government’s floor standard. In addition, the school was deemed to be a ‘coasting school’.
• Leading on from the last point, the school’s analysis of the 2017 Year 11 pupils’ GCSE outcomes indicates that pupils made broadly similar progress from their starting points compared to their peers nationally. This marked improvement in the school’s average progress score compared to the government’s published progress score occurred when the outliers were removed from the calculation. This means, in real terms, Year 11 pupils made broadly average progress from their starting points in 2017. Evidence gathered during the inspection shows that the progress of current pupils has improved and is good.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 100748 Lewisham 10047354 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 578 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Dr Paul Trynka Jan Shapiro 020 83056100 www.as.lewisham.sch.uk info@as.lewisham.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 8−9 March 2012

Information about this school

• Addey and Stanhope is smaller than the average-sized secondary school and serves a diverse area in Lewisham. The headteacher has been in post since September 2015.
• The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is higher than average. There are more boys than girls.
• The school had a sixth form until the summer of 2017, and is in the final stages of the formal process required to close the sixth form. The school did not offer 16 to 19 study programmes, and did not have post-16 pupils on the school roll at the time of this inspection.
• The school has a speech and language resource base on-site, which educates 24 pupils. Some pupils attend alternative provision. The alternative provider used is Lewisham College, which is within the local borough.
• The proportion of pupils with a statement of special educational needs or an education, health and care plan is well above average. More than three out of five pupils are entitled to the support of pupil premium funding. This is well above the national average
• The school has recently been assigned support through Atlas Teaching School Alliance, which supports Lewisham schools in partnership with the local authority.
• The school did not meet the government’s floor standards in 2017, which set the minimum expectation for pupils’ progress.
• The school meets the DfE’s definition of a coasting school, based on key stage 4 academic performance results in 2015 to 2017.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors visited a range of classes, some jointly with senior leaders, and reviewed a wide range of pupils’ work across the curriculum. Inspectors listened to pupils read in lessons and spoke to them about their learning.
• The evidence inspectors considered when observing in classrooms came from three sources. First, looking at the learning in pupils’ workbooks. Second, speaking to pupils about their knowledge and understanding of the topics they have been taught during the academic year. Third, scrutinising the school’s analysis of pupils’ latest performance information.
• Inspectors met with groups of pupils and spoke to pupils around the school.
• The inspection team held meetings with senior leaders and middle leaders to evaluate the impact of their work. Inspectors also held meetings with governors and teachers who are new to the profession. The lead inspector had a meeting with a representative of the local authority.
• Inspectors evaluated the 21 responses and written comments made by 11 parents to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View. There were no responses to Ofsted’s online survey for pupils. There were 43 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire for staff.
• Inspectors scruntinised a wide variety of documentation provided by leaders, including: the school’s analysis of the 2017 Year 11 GCSE examination results, the school’s internal assessment information of pupils’ progress in all current year groups, and leaders’ self-evaluation and improvement planning. They reviewed attendance, exclusion, punctuality and behaviour information, a variety of school policies, the single central record of recruitment checks, and a wide range of other information relating to the safeguarding of pupils. Inspectors also reviewed case studies of vulnerable pupils.

Inspection team

Pamela Fearnley, lead inspector Tim Williams Jason Hughes

Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector