Teddington School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve teaching so that pupils’ outcomes rise and become at least good, by ensuring that teachers:
  • set work for pupils that matches their needs and challenges them to learn and make progress
  • encourage pupils to think deeply, explain their thinking and improve their work
  • receive the professional support they need so that teaching becomes consistently effective.
• Improve leadership and management so that leaders:
  • develop an accurate school self-evaluation process
  • improve the reliability and accuracy of the assessment system
  • act quickly to improve the prospects, provision and outcomes for disadvantaged pupils
  • ensure that the curriculum meets the needs of all pupils so that they can succeed and gain good qualifications
  • increase the support for the learning of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities
  • are challenged consistently, routinely and robustly by governors.
• Improve pupils’ behaviour so that it is at least good by:
  • ensuring that the behaviour policy is applied consistently across the school
  • improving pupils’ attendance, including the attendance of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities, so it is consistent across year groups
  • improving the quality of teaching. An external review of the school’s use of the pupil premium should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved. An external review of governance should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

• Since the previous inspection, leaders have developed systems which ensure that the school runs smoothly and happily, is a welcoming place, and works usefully with other schools. The new sixth form has been well established. Many parents value these achievements.
• Not all senior and middle leaders show high ambition for all pupils. Some have overrated, or excused, the middling rates of progress made by many. Leaders have not always dealt quickly with underachievement when it occurs. Leaders have not had enough positive impact on teaching, pupils’ progress and behaviour in key stages 3 and 4.
• The school’s self-evaluation is not accurate. Leaders have rated the school too highly and underestimated where improvements are needed. As a consequence, the school’s development plan is not sharply focused on the areas that need to improve.
• However, some key members of staff, including the new head of school, are aware of the improvements required, particularly in teaching. They have begun to address them, with some initial success. Many parents commented positively on recent changes initiated by the head of school. One typically said, ‘The head of school seems to be improving the school already.’
• The formal performance management of staff takes place in a timely way. However, it has not yet led to the needed improvements in teaching being made.
• Leaders have not ensured that the pupil premium funding is used effectively. Disadvantaged pupils are not helped to achieve as well as they could. Leaders have sought to address this very recently, and made changes, but these have had limited time to show their impact.
• Year 7 catch-up premium is well spent. Pupils who join the school with below-average literacy and numeracy standards quickly receive effective help, so that they can join in class with activities and make progress.
• The school provides a broad curriculum. Pupils participate in a wide range of activity that prepares them suitably for life in modern Britain. The school develops pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development effectively. Parents appreciate the high levels of information they receive about the subjects that their children study.
• Most pupils are served well by the wide range of subjects and qualifications offered at key stage 4. However, the school’s provision does not meet the needs of some pupils as effectively, and this limits their progress. The music department has helpfully bucked this trend by offering a successful GCSE course alongside a well-organised vocational BTEC course. This enables many pupils to be confident in taking this subject.
• Pupils enjoy an exceptional range of exciting and well-attended activities out of school hours. These include competitive sport, drama, music, technology, the arts and more. Almost all pupils participate enthusiastically, and this helps to motivate them in their learning.
• Mentoring and professional development for newly qualified teachers are appropriately structured. They help these staff to make a confident start to their careers.

Governance of the school

• The governing body is not sufficiently independent from the executive headteacher and other senior leaders. Although governors ask some valid and testing questions, they tend to accept, without sufficient scrutiny, the positive answers and presentations that some senior leaders provide. Governors are not insistent enough in teasing out problematic issues, checking whether school policies and systems work well for the pupils or requiring additional evidence when needed.
• Governors have not recognised the significance of the aspects that the school needs to improve. For example, they discussed a recent external evaluation of the school and were reassured, taking too lightly the weaknesses that it pointed out.
• The governing body has strengths in the way it is organised. Governors are committed and active in their roles. They visit the school at work. There is a suitable committee structure.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Pupils are well looked after.
• The school’s culture of safety is strong. For instance, in a Year 8 science lesson, pupils received careful guidance on how to protect themselves. This enabled pupils to make chemicals react together, and learn about this safely and with enthusiasm.
• Pupils can explain how to keep themselves safe, including when using the internet. Staff are well trained in what to do to protect pupils from different forms of abuse, extremism and radicalisation. Leaders ensure that staff training is regularly updated. Leaders ensure that pupils are safeguarded carefully when attending alternative provision.
• Child-protection procedures are well established and effective in addressing concerns. Parents commented on this positively. Leaders make sure that appropriate pre-employment checks are made on adults working at the school. Where necessary, records of any concerns are kept scrupulously.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• Teaching is of mixed quality, and is not good enough to enable pupils to achieve as well as they could.
• Too much work lacks challenge, pupils are insufficiently enthused and make less progress than they should. One parent typically stated, ‘My son is frustrated that the work is too easy.’
• This leads to pupils’ varied progress over time, even in the same subject. For example, in some key stage 4 mathematics lessons, when pupils focus well on difficult subject matter and teachers’ explanations are clear, pupils learn well. However, more widely, pupils are not challenged when they complete work already covered lower down in the school, or in primary schools.
• In key stage 3, the school has recently developed a system for checking pupils’ learning over time. The information from these assessments is not reliable. Teachers do not therefore have accurate information, particularly about pupils in Years 8 and 9. At times, teachers do not set work at the right level of challenge to meet pupils’ needs, which reduces their progress.
• Teachers usually set suitable homework, and provide helpful information to families about what is expected. Pupils and many parents said that they find this is useful in supporting learning.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• Staff provide strong pastoral care for pupils, especially those who are vulnerable. Parents and pupils spoke very highly of this aspect of the school’s work. School staff work closely with external agencies and families to make sure that pupils are supported and safe.
• Pupils know how to keep themselves safe. They also understand what they need to do to learn well. The school is a friendly and lively place for young people and their well-being is promoted successfully.
• There are some recorded instances of bullying. The school has suitable systems to deal with these, and usually they are addressed effectively and promptly, to pupils’ satisfaction. However, some pupils and parents said that bullying is occasionally not stopped quickly.
• Many pupils willingly take on responsibilities, such as being a prefect or school councillor.
• Staff check carefully the well-being of pupils who attend alternative provision, who are well looked after.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils requires improvement. When teaching does not engage pupils’ interest, pupils’ behaviour deteriorates and there is too much chatter and little attention on learning. This was an aspect identified for improvement at the time of the previous inspection and has not been fully addressed.
• Learning is frequently disrupted by pupils’ unsettled behaviour. One parent commented, expressing the views of others, ‘There is a problem with low-level disruptive behaviour, which interrupts learning.’
• Staff do not consistently follow the school behaviour policy. Pupils said that teachers apply the school’s rules differently. Some members of staff do not feel it is clear to them, or to pupils, what types of behaviour should merit a warning or punishment.
• Pupils’ behaviour around the school is variable. Pupils are generally polite and friendly. However, sometimes they forget basic manners, including holding doors open for others. Occasionally, behaviour is boisterous, particularly when pupils are not directly supervised.
• Pupils’ attendance is broadly average. At the time of the inspection, it was particularly low in Year 9, especially for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities. The school’s approach to encouraging regular attendance is appropriate, but in practice has not led to high attendance levels.
• The number of exclusions has fallen. The school has successfully improved its procedures for meeting the needs of pupils at risk of exclusion. The school’s approach to restorative justice supports pupils effectively.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• Pupils in Years 7 to 11 do not achieve as well as they should.
• In key stage 3, especially in Years 8 and 9, pupils’ rates of learning are very mixed, depending on the quality of teaching.
• There are gaps in the learning of older pupils as a result of the quality of teaching. For example, pupils in Year 11 expressed concern that they had not covered the science syllabus in sufficient detail, and had not achieved well in their mock examinations. Many parents also expressed concern about this.
• Disadvantaged pupils make less progress, including in English and mathematics, than other pupils across the school and in relevant national comparisons.
• The progress made by other groups of pupils, including those who have SEN and/or disabilities, those who speak English as an additional language and the most able, is similar to that of all pupils at the school. It is variable and requires improvement. The school’s provision for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is not extensive enough to make a strong difference to pupils’ learning.
• In 2017, GCSE results fell from those in previous years. Pupils in Year 11 in 2017 joined the school with slightly above-average attainment. They made generally average progress, and finished with slightly above-average attainment at GCSE. This overall picture masks some inconsistencies, however. Pupils attained well in mathematics, English and modern foreign languages, for example. They attained less well in some other subjects, including design and technology, media and photography.
• A sizeable proportion of pupils who left Year 11 in 2017, many of them vulnerable in some way, underachieved at GCSE, compared to their prior attainment. Although the school provided appropriate care for these pupils, it did not successfully meet their learning needs. The needs of some older pupils currently at the school are not well met. The school’s self-evaluation does not adequately recognise this shortcoming.
• Year 7 pupils make a positive start to their secondary education when they join the school. They generally feel happy and welcomed. Those who need to catch up with basic literacy and numeracy are helped to do so successfully.
• Almost all pupils find a suitable placement for the next stage of their education when they leave the school at the end of Year 11. The proportion of pupils leaving the school and not in education, employment or training is very low.

16 to 19 study programmes Good

• The sixth form is purposefully led. Leaders have carefully considered the role of this sixth form in the local area. There are sensible plans, which have begun in practice, to work more closely with other schools, to broaden further the existing wide range of A-level options.
• Teaching in Years 12 and 13 is good. Teachers are well versed in the expectations of sixth-form courses. Students’ progress is carefully monitored. Work set is well matched to the students’ needs, and helps them to think for themselves and to relate their new learning to examination requirements.
• Students complete their sixth-form courses in exceptionally high numbers. They make good progress, achieving the grades necessary to take them on to university or worthwhile employment. Many students in 2017 gained university places, including at well-renowned institutions.
• Sixth-form students receive good advice about courses, employment and university options. They value this very much, as well as the high level of pastoral support they receive. Students are suitably safeguarded. They feel secure and well cared for. They benefit from well-organised and targeted work-experience placements.
• Sixth-formers who have specific responsibilities, including those on the student leadership team, take their responsibilities seriously and serve their fellow students, and the younger pupils effectively. They represent the school proficiently, and take on some key roles, such as leading assemblies and raising charitable funds. Sixth-form students conduct themselves well. They are good role models for younger pupils.
• There is scope for teachers to expect still more of students in some lessons and subjects. A few students missed the highest grades of A and A* in 2017 that their records indicated they were capable of reaching.
• Disadvantaged students are underrepresented in the sixth form. The school does not allow students to retake English and mathematics GCSEs in Year 12 to improve their grades, so the sixth form is not accessible to students who need to do this.

School details

Unique reference number 138460 Local authority Richmond upon Thames Inspection number 10041046 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 Academy converter 11 to 18 Mixed Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 1,320 Of which, number on roll in 16 to 19 study programmes 120 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Jennifer Johnson Kathy Pacey (head of school); John Wilkinson (executive headteacher) Telephone number 020 8943 0033 Website Email address www.teddingtonschool.org info@teddingtonschool.org Date of previous inspection 26–27 February 2014

Information about this school

• This is an above average-sized secondary school, serving a suburban location by the River Thames. Since its previous inspection, it has opened a sixth form.
• The school meets the current floor standards, which are the government’s minimum expectation for pupils’ achievement at GCSE.
• Most of the pupils are White British. Many other ethnicities are represented in the school, in relatively small numbers.
• Fewer pupils than average speak English as an additional language.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils, who are entitled to pupil premium funding, is much lower than the national average.
• The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is below average.
• Some pupils attend alternative provision off site. The providers concerned are West Thames College, Malden Oaks and the local authority, which takes responsibility for some pupils who have medical needs.
• The school receives external support from an education consultant.
• Teddington School is a standalone academy, overseen by its governing body. The head of school joined in the autumn term of 2017. She is overseen by the executive headteacher, who was the school’s full-time headteacher from 2014 until the summer of 2017. The executive headteacher is also the chief executive officer of the Richmond West School Trust, and oversees two other nearby schools in this role.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors visited a large sample of classes across all year groups and in most subjects, many of them jointly with senior leaders. They observed around the school at break and lunchtimes, during assemblies and in after-school activities.
• They looked at samples of pupils’ work in several year groups and subjects, and in particular detail in Years 8 and 9.
• They held discussions with the executive headteacher, head of school, senior and middle leaders, governors and many members of staff. They spoke with the school’s improvement partner.
• They met with several groups of pupils and students formally and informally and heard pupils from Year 7 read.
• Inspectors evaluated documents, including the school’s development plan and school evaluations, and assessments of pupils’ outcomes. They considered pupil premium funding information, external evaluations of the school, records of pupils’ attendance and behaviour as well as written records of meetings.
• They took careful account of the 450 responses from parents to Parent View, Ofsted’s online survey, including over 100 written comments. They met with parents. They analysed the responses of pupils to confidential questionnaires. The school did not offer staff the opportunity to complete Ofsted’s confidential questionnaire.

Inspection team

Robin Hammerton, lead inspector Louise Voden Sue Bzikot Charles Spring Rice Avnee Morjaria Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector