Eastlea Community School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the effectiveness of leadership and management by ensuring that:
  • monitoring and evaluation processes enable leaders and teachers to compare the progress of different groups of pupils from their starting points
  • leaders and governors evaluate the impact of additional funding on the achievement and attendance of disadvantaged pupils; and of those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities.
• Improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment by ensuring that:
  • teachers consistently plan activities which closely match the abilities and prior attainment of pupils, particularly the most able
  • teachers develop their use of questioning to deepen pupils’ understanding
  • pupils know exactly what they need to do improve their work. An external review of governance should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved. An external review of the school’s use of the pupil premium should be undertaken in order to ascertain how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

• The school’s leadership, including the governing body, has not been successful in sustaining the good quality of education seen at the previous inspection in March 2014.
• School leaders, including governors, have not evaluated the performance of the school accurately. This has led to complacency and an acceptance of pupils’ poor progress from different starting points. Although expectations are now higher, senior leaders have not secured consistently strong teaching so that pupils make good progress across a range of subjects.
• The quality of middle leadership is variable. Some middle leaders have not ensured that teaching improves rapidly in their subject areas. In some areas, such as English and science, teaching is improving quickly, but in others change is slow. This has resulted in uneven progress for pupils.
• Good practice in the application of the school’s policies in subjects such as English and science is not replicated across all subject areas.
• Leaders have not ensured that the funding to support disadvantaged pupils is targeted precisely to raise attainment. However, Year 7 catch-up funding is used more effectively and is improving the pupils’ reading ages.
• Teachers’ performance management is rigorous and staff are set clear targets. Newly qualified teachers are enthusiastic and value the supportive and constructive feedback they receive from mentors.
• The curriculum is broad and balanced and fully inclusive to ensure equality of access to those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, including those with profound disabilities.
• Additional study in philosophy and Mandarin is offered to the most able pupils. They also receive one-to-one mentoring from local business personnel and take part in a range of trips to deepen their knowledge and understanding, such as visits to leading universities. There is insufficient evaluation of the impact of this programme on the progress of the most able pupils.
• Governors, leaders and teachers are all committed to maintaining the inclusive nature of the school, which welcomes pupils of all abilities and backgrounds. They are keen to meet the needs of every pupil. The school integrates pupils with profound special educational needs and/or disabilities into mainstream school life very effectively.
• School leaders promote well pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and ensure that pupils are prepared well for life in modern Britain. Pupils develop a good understanding of and respect for different cultures and religions through a programme of personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education. Pupils are also helped to develop a good understanding of the importance of democracy and the rule of law.

Governance of the school

• Governors are very supportive of senior and other school leaders and are involved in the life of the school. There is a good breadth and depth of expertise on the governing body. However, they do not challenge senior leaders robustly enough about pupils’ achievement and attendance.
• Governors’ knowledge of the effectiveness of the school in some crucial areas has been limited. For example, governors are not clear on how pupil premium funding is used to raise the achievement of eligible pupils.
• The governor responsible for safeguarding works closely with leaders to check that the school’s procedures for keeping pupils safe are effective. All members of the governing body fully understand their responsibilities regarding keeping pupils safe.
• Governors are rightly proud of the inclusive ethos of the school.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Appropriate checks are carried out to ensure that staff are safe to work with pupils. The recording of these checks meets statutory requirements.
• There is a culture of keeping pupils safe right across the school. All staff are trained appropriately and understand their responsibilities. Pupils say they feel safe in school.
• School leaders ensure that vulnerable pupils who face substantial personal challenges in their lives are given the support they need to be successful. School staff work well with parents and the local authority to protect those in need of care and support.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• The quality of teaching, learning and assessment is too variable between and within subjects.
• School leaders have not given middle leaders clear direction as to how pupils’ work should be assessed. There are too many different systems of assessment used between departments and within departments. Consequently, teachers do not consistently use pupils’ prior assessment information to plan lessons to help pupils to make good progress from their various starting points.
• Too often, pupils complete the same work as their peers, regardless of whether it is too easy or too hard for them. As a result, pupils across the range of ability are not provided with challenge or support that allows them to make consistently good progress.
• The use of questioning to deepen pupils’ knowledge and understanding is uneven. Where questioning is more skilful, for example in science and English, pupils provide extended answers which are used to deepen the learning of others. However, where less effective questioning is used, pupils’ answers lack depth of understanding. Consequently, pupils do not make consistently good progress.
• There is inconsistency in the way teachers apply the school’s policy on feedback to pupils. For example, learning in mathematics and French is sometimes hampered because of a lack of clear guidance. This means that pupils’ work in these subjects is, too often, not of the standard expected for their age. In subjects such as English and science, feedback contributes to pupils’ good progress.
• Teachers’ expectations of the most able pupils are inconsistent. There are times when pupils are given opportunities to extend themselves, for example by discussing ideas and solving complicated real-life problems. However, this does not happen often enough, and at times they are given tasks which fail to stimulate them.
• Pupils’ positive attitudes to learning lead to a pride in their work. This was evident across the subjects and from all ability levels.
• Teaching assistants are used well to help pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. They encourage pupils’ independence by providing a good balance of challenge and support.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good. Pupils feel well cared for and safe. They value the help provided by the student support team of staff.
• Pupils are known as individuals by staff. Relationships between pupils and teachers are good. Pupils feel confident that they can approach staff with a problem when they need to.
• School leaders have successfully developed pupils’ awareness of the need to be alert to threats such as gang crime, extremism and sexual exploitation. Pupils have good knowledge about matters of safety when using technologies, including the internet.
• The vast majority of pupils are proud of their school. They wear their uniform well and the site is clean and free from litter.
• Pupils enjoy good opportunities to develop their personal views and understanding of world affairs, during mentor (form) time, PSHE education lessons and after-school clubs. For example, in a form period, pupils were considering the roots of extremist behaviour. Pupils were able to discuss values and beliefs that different faiths have in common and the importance of inter-faith collaboration.
• Older pupils told inspectors that they feel well informed about their career choices for the next stage of their education or training. They have access to good-quality, impartial advice and time is devoted to exploring the wide range of opportunities available.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils behave well in lessons; they are keen and ready to learn. At break, lunchtime and at the change of lessons, pupils move around the school in a sensible, orderly and timely manner and are polite to visitors.
• Pupils’ attendance is broadly in line with other schools nationally. Persistent absence and the absence levels of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities remain higher than for other pupils nationally. Leaders routinely follow up on absent pupils. However, the impact of their work lacks sharp analysis.
• A small proportion of pupils have particularly challenging medical circumstances which prevent them from attending regularly. The school works effectively with other agencies, including health professionals, to minimise disruption to learning for these pupils.
• Pupils report that bullying is rare and when it does occur it is swiftly dealt with by staff. The inclusive nature of the school enables pupils to have a strong awareness of the individual needs of others.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• Pupils across the school are not making good progress overall. This is the result of inconsistencies in the quality of teaching.
• Over the last three years, pupils have made significantly less progress in mathematics and English than found nationally. This is particularly the case for middle-attaining and most-able pupils. Current school assessment information and work in books indicates that progress in both mathematics and English is now improving and pupils are achieving more. However, there remains too much variation in progress between groups of pupils.
• In humanities subjects, many pupils achieved broadly the same outcomes as other pupils nationally in 2016, but this was not the case for the most able pupils, including the most able disadvantaged pupils. Work in books and the school’s assessment information shows that these pupils are now making improved progress.
• The progress and attainment of disadvantaged pupils is uneven across the school. So, too, is the progress of those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. In 2016, these pupils made progress that was considerably below that of their peers nationally. Some pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities successfully follow alternative courses to GCSE, such as applied and general science, which equip them well for the next stage of their education.
• The most able pupils, including the most able disadvantaged pupils, have not been stretched sufficiently in recent years. Across a range of subjects in 2016, a smaller proportion of these pupils attained the top grades at GCSE than found nationally. The work in pupils’ books shows that the most able pupils currently in the school respond well to better teaching.
• Outcomes for lower-ability pupils are better than for other groups in the school. The progress of these pupils, including those who are disadvantaged, is stronger than that of other pupils nationally with the same starting points.
• Many pupils join the school in Year 7 with standards in reading, writing and mathematics which are well below the national average. The Year 7 catch-up funding helps pupils with low literacy and mathematical skills to improve. However, they do not apply the skills that they gain consistently across subjects.
• The school promotes reading for all pupils and provides support for pupils to overcome any barriers. The strategies used include regular reading lessons for key stage 3 pupils and the use of computer systems that check their understanding of what they are reading. As a consequence, reading standards are improving.
• Pupils who attend off-site provision at Education Links make good progress towards their learning goals because teaching is tailored to their needs.
• Despite underachievement in key stage 4, the number of pupils who go on to further education or training remains high. This is because the quality of information, advice and guidance is tailored to individual pupils, and helps them to achieve appropriate next steps in their education or training.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 102784 Newham 10036341 This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. The inspection was also deemed a section 5 inspection under the same Act. Type of school Secondary comprehensive School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Maintained 11 to 16 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 925 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Principal Telephone number Website Email address Sara Kassam Chinye Jibunoh 020 7540 0400 www.eastlea.newham.sch.uk/ info@eastlea.newham.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 27–28 March 2014

Information about this school

• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.
• The school is an average-sized secondary school.
• The proportion of pupils at the school who are disadvantaged is above average. The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is above average.
• More pupils join and leave the school part-way through their secondary education compared with pupils nationally.
• A very small number of pupils attend alternative educational provision at Education Links.
• The majority of pupils are of minority ethnic heritage. The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is well above average.
• In 2016, the school met the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress by the end of Year 11.

Information about this inspection

• The inspection team visited teaching sessions across a wide range of subject areas in Years 7 to 10. The majority of these visits were conducted together with members of the senior leadership team.
• Inspectors held meetings with the headteacher and senior leaders. Inspectors looked at work in pupils’ books and spoke to pupils informally during observations of teaching and around the school. They also met with groups of pupils from Years 7 to 10. Inspectors listened to selected pupils read.
• Meetings were held with staff, including newly qualified teachers, pastoral and academic senior and middle leaders.
• An inspector spoke with a representative from the local authority via the telephone and met with a governor.
• Inspectors took into account the views of 15 parents who responded to Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire. There were no responses from staff or pupils to the inspection surveys.
• Inspectors scrutinised a variety of documentation provided by the school including: assessment information for pupils currently at the school; the school’s self-evaluation; improvement plans; minutes of meetings; attendance and behaviour information; case studies; the single central record of recruitment checks; and other information relating to the safeguarding of pupils.

Inspection team

Carolyn Dickinson, lead inspector Tim Williams Beverley Johnston Anne Murray-Hudson Katerina Christodoulou James Whiting Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector