Crestwood Community School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Ensure that the recently restructured leadership team fulfils its aim of further refining teaching and the use of assessment, in line with the best practice already found across the school.
• Enable pupils to make even more rapid progress, by ensuring that teachers consistently:
  • use skilful questioning to promote deeper thinking and improve pupils’ knowledge, particularly for the most able
  • promote pupils’ application of their literacy, communication and mathematical skills across the curriculum.
• Embed strategies to accelerate the progress made by disadvantaged pupils still further, so eliminating the gaps between them and their peers.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Outstanding

• The headteacher is inspirational. Her dedication, infectious enthusiasm and clear vision underpinned the success of the recent expansion of Crestwood Community School. Passionately committed to providing a first-class inclusive education for all pupils in the town, she and her team are tenacious in their pursuit of additional resources and approaches to continually improve provision. The outstanding personal development and welfare she and her team offer at Crestwood are particularly valued by pupils and their parents. As one parent remarked, ‘I can’t praise Mrs Dawkins highly enough for the personable care she has shown myself, my children and our family.’
• There was a short period of staffing turbulence following the expansion of the school to incorporate the Cherbourg campus in 2016 after the closure of Quilley School. The headteacher’s dynamic leadership and highly effective communication with leaders, staff and the wider community ensured that this was rapidly resolved. Staffing is now secure and standards have rapidly improved. Pupils, staff and parents and carers now see Crestwood as very much ‘one school on two sites’.
• Working with governors and senior leaders, the headteacher has forged a highly dedicated and professional staff who share her passion to deliver the best possible outcomes for every pupil. Standards have rapidly risen and pupils flourish because they receive first-class pastoral care and increasingly effective teaching. One parent spoke for many when they commented, ‘We have been exceptionally impressed by the leadership and culture of this school.’ Another added, ‘a richly diverse school with inspirational leadership’.
• Leaders’ forensic self-evaluation gives them an accurate oversight of all aspects of their work in the pursuit of excellence. They regularly review the school’s performance, involving external advisers from the local authority if necessary. As a result, leaders have a clear understanding of the strengths of the school, together with any shortcomings and areas for action. Consequently, leaders at all levels are quick to support improvements. For example, the recent development of the school’s Aspire Centre has brought about significant reductions in exclusions and increased attendance for pupils who had previously struggled with their behaviour and attendance.
• Senior leaders ensure that securing the very highest standards of teaching and learning is at the heart of the school’s work. Together with subject leaders, they lead by example and provide highly effective challenge and support for teachers as well as access to a wide-ranging package of relevant training. Staff morale is high. They are open to new ideas, embrace challenge and relish the opportunity to refine and improve their practice. As standards have improved, leaders have taken actions to reduce staff workload, but are aware that there is more to do.
• Subject leaders are an enthusiastic and committed team and they are determined to continually improve standards in their areas. The English, mathematics and science departments are well led and pupils make strong progress. A culture of collaborative learning, coaching and professional dialogue has led to improved teaching and learning in these subjects and across the school.
• Leaders ensure that the curriculum is well planned and provides pupils with a firm foundation for the next stages of their education. The majority of pupils in key stage 4 follow a challenging GCSE curriculum in preparation for further study. However, leaders ensure that the curriculum is flexible and, where necessary, adapted to meet the needs of vulnerable pupils. Although pupils’ outcomes dipped in 2017 following the amalgamation of the two school sites, progress across the curriculum in key stages 3 and 4 is now good.
• Governors and leaders ensure that very good use is made of the additional funding for specific groups of pupils. Strong leadership of SEN and the school’s two resource provisions ensures that these pupils are very well supported and make strong progress from their starting points. Actions taken by the school have ensured that the attendance of disadvantaged pupils has continued to rise. Leaders ensure that a raft of support enables disadvantaged pupils to make accelerated progress and diminish the differences in attainment with other pupils nationally.
• Crestwood’s wider curriculum is a particular strength. Leaders ensure that pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain and the curriculum provides rich opportunities for spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. A wealth of extra-curricular activities and trips contextualises, enriches and extends pupils’ learning. Well-planned assemblies, and a very rich ethics and philosophy curriculum, ensure that pupils regularly focus on moral choices, relationships and different faiths and cultures.
• Leaders make sure that the Year 7 catch-up funding is used to good effect to raise standards of literacy and/or numeracy for those pupils arriving at the school with below-average attainment in English, mathematics or in both subjects.
• The large majority of parents are very positive about the school. They recognise the exceptional support and pastoral care the school provides and the increasingly high standards of teaching. The majority who responded to Parent View would recommend the school to another parent. As one parent enthused, ‘I believe the staff go above and beyond for all their pupils and, as a parent, cannot ask for more than that!’

Governance of the school

• Members of the governing body bring a wealth of business skills and educational experience which enables them to support and challenge leaders at all levels. Governors share the headteacher’s ambitious aims for the school and they manage the performance of the headteacher well. Governors ensure the fair and consistent application of policies and determine that only the best teaching is rewarded with pay increases.
• The governing body has successfully challenged and supported leaders to raise the quality of teaching and learning and outcomes and holds them to account for further improvements. Governors scrutinise performance information, alongside externally produced analyses, in order to assess the success of the school against its own targets, and the standards achieved by similar schools.
• Regular meetings and visits enable governors to evaluate aspects of the school such as safeguarding, provision for the most able pupils and the impact of the pupil premium funding. As a result, they have a very clear understanding of the school’s performance and its day-to-day work.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Well-organised systems are managed methodically and an effective team approach involving governors, leaders and office staff ensures that all pupils are kept safe. For example, regular high-quality training for all staff is provided by the school on safeguarding matters and careful records are maintained. Consequently, staff understand and carry out the school’s policy and procedures well, ensuring a culture of vigilance.
• Leaders are passionate in ensuring that the needs of the most vulnerable pupils are met. Referrals are made swiftly where pupils’ needs are such that they require assistance from the local authority. Detailed records are kept and the impact of external agencies is monitored closely, enabling swift intervention if there are any delays.
• A nurturing ethos lies at the heart of the school’s work to keep pupils safe. Pupils recognise this, as do the parents who responded to Parent View, with many of them referring to the care and attention given to vulnerable pupils as a strength of the school.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Teachers are well informed with progress information. They know their pupils’ strengths and weaknesses well and have very high expectations. Productive relationships and sense of trust underpin the strong progress pupils make at the school. There is a mutual respect between teachers and pupils and a calm working atmosphere across the school.
• Most teachers possess a good subject knowledge and keen grasp of the courses that they are delivering. They plan engaging lessons which challenge pupils at an appropriate level. All teachers have access to professional development and many have links with other schools to moderate their work.
• Teachers’ planning is effective and makes sure that little time is wasted in lessons. Teachers and teaching assistants work in close partnership as a highly effective team to support pupils who have SEN to make good progress over time.
• Assessment is used increasingly well to promote pupils’ progress. Pupils receive regular, helpful feedback in line with the school’s policy. Most use this well to refine and improve their work, supporting them to improve their knowledge and understanding. Leaders are aware that in some areas, more needs to be done to ensure that the most able pupils are fully stretched.
• The high-quality care, guidance and support on offer ensure that the school day is very productive for most pupils. Pupils’ progress is regularly tracked by teachers and monitored well by leaders. This enables well-organised interventions to be used to bridge any gaps in learning and understanding for vulnerable pupils or those who have fallen behind.
• Leaders have driven improvements to the quality of teaching and learning across both school sites over the last two years. Leaders encourage both the sharing of ideas and the best teaching. Further improvements are still required in some areas, such as modern foreign languages, to ensure consistently good teaching. However, leaders are well aware of this and have detailed plans to achieve greater consistency.
• The quality and use of teachers’ questioning vary between lessons. However, there are examples in all subject areas where questioning is well targeted to check understanding, promote discussion and deepen pupils’ thinking. In a minority of classes, questioning does not sufficiently promote learning or challenge pupils, including the most able. Where this occurs, a minority of pupils can become disengaged and slow the pace of learning through chatter.
• Pupils’ reading, writing, communication and mathematical skills are, in the main, well developed. In most lessons, teachers take account of the need to develop pupils’ literacy skills and technical vocabulary. However, in some areas, greater priority needs to be given to ensuring that pupils are engaged in deeper thinking and extended writing skills and/or their accurate use of charts, graphs and diagrams.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding.
• The headteacher and senior leaders have embedded an exceptionally caring and nurturing ethos across the school. Staff know their pupils well and parents and pupils describe the school as being the ‘Crestwood family’. Pupils gain a sense of community, security and pride in their time at Crestwood Community School. This equips them with improved self-confidence and maturity.
• Pupils feel safe and they are safe. Leaders and governors are clear that pupils’ welfare has top priority, and very good systems are in place to offer guidance and support, involving external agencies where appropriate. Parents report that their children are well looked after and happy at the school.
• The small number of pupils who attend alternative provision at The Bridge Education Centre are well cared for. Good relationships and regular communication between the school and centre ensure that the welfare and academic needs of these pupils are met.
• Pupils show a well-developed understanding and tolerance for others who are different from them. Pupils were keen to explain that they find racism, sexism and homophobia unacceptable. Parents were keen to confirm this. As one reported, ‘My child suffered homophobic bullying at a previous school. This school has changed my child’s life.’ Tolerance and diversity are promoted well at the school. Crestwood’s ethos actively encourages pupils to understand, accept and respect people from all backgrounds, cultures and beliefs.
• Pupils are keen to excel, ambitious for their own future, and value the school’s support to help them achieve their goals. There are excellent programmes to promote high aspirations. For example, older pupils mentor younger ones, and pupil leadership opportunities are promoted through the school council, sporting clubs and the wealth of activities and trips. This sense of pride in the school community is particularly well promoted by sporting events, drama productions and most especially by Panatical, the school’s awe-inspiring and nationally recognised steel pan band.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is outstanding.
• Nearly all pupils behave very well in lessons. They are hungry to learn and motivated to succeed. Pupils work together, and with staff, very well. Older pupils from the Cherbourg campus told inspectors with pride how they have gained self-confidence and increased their aspirations since the amalgamation of the two schools. Pupils who achieve highly now gain the respect of others.
• Very occasionally, some pupils lose concentration but teachers act quickly to remedy this. The consistent application of the school’s behaviour policy ensures that the incidents of poor behaviour are low and declining.
• Pupils report that bullying only takes place rarely and when it occurs, it is swiftly dealt with by teachers. The school’s own records confirm this. Through the well-planned curriculum, teachers ensure that pupils understand risk, and how to behave responsibly and keep themselves safe, including from cyber bullying and extremism.
• Pupils are rightly proud of their school. They are polite and show high levels of respect for adults and other pupils. Litter is rare and the school uniform is worn with pride.
• The school’s new Aspire Centre offers a bespoke package of suitable courses and a personalised curriculum for pupils whose behaviour has been poor in the past or who have struggled to attend school. Consequently, exclusions figures have declined. Case studies demonstrate how the patience and perseverance of staff in offering support to the school’s most vulnerable pupils have significantly improved these pupils’ attendance and achievement. As one pupil was keen to tell an inspector, ‘They’ve completely changed my attitude and confidence. I love learning now and want to become a teacher.’
• Attendance is above average overall and pupils are happy at school. The attendance of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals was significantly lower than that of their peers last year and levels of persistent absence within this group were high. However, this year, these figures are rapidly improving because of leaders’ highly effective personalised support for these pupils and their families.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• In 2016, pupils’ progress overall and in a range of subjects was below the national average. In 2017, the first year after the amalgamation of the two schools, GCSE results indicated that overall progress decreased, with English, mathematics and other subjects being well below the average. The progress of disadvantaged pupils and the most able pupils in this cohort was particularly weak.
• The school’s own progress information and work in pupils’ books indicate that this is no longer the case and progress is now strong. Pupils’ high-quality work shows that they are making good progress in English, mathematics and science and across the wider curriculum in key stages 3 and 4. High-quality teaching, regular assessment and improved teacher questioning have ensured that current cohorts of the most able pupils make stronger progress.
• Strong leadership and good relationships with parents ensure high-quality bespoke provision for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities, including those who attend the specialist resource provisions. This high-quality support is well matched to pupils’ individual needs and so they make strong progress from their starting points.
• Progress and attainment for disadvantaged pupils at GCSE were both very low in 2017. This is changing. School information and pupils’ work indicate that, although there are still some gaps in Year 11, outcomes have much improved for this group. Current disadvantaged pupils have made progress much closer to that of their peers. In the younger year groups, the proportion of disadvantaged pupils on track to make the very rapid progress needed to diminish the difference with other pupils nationally has increased significantly.
• Pupils who arrive from primary school needing to catch up in English, mathematics or both are given appropriate support to help them improve.
• Pupils in Year 8 are prepared well for their transition into an early key stage 4 in Year 9. They are given useful advice about their pathways in the light of their chosen potential career paths. A comprehensive package of careers advice and guidance has supported increasingly high proportions of Year 11 pupils to progress to meaningful and appropriate next steps. In 2017, the proportion gaining access to sixth form, further education, employment or training was in line with national figures. Despite historically below-average outcomes, pupils in key stage 4 have been prepared well for their future lives and careers. Careers advice and guidance continue to be a strength in the school.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 116445 Hampshire 10049022 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 Number of pupils on the school roll Maintained 11 to 16 Mixed 1,070 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Angela Wright Krista Dawkins 02380 641232 www.crestwood.hants.sch.uk adminoffice@crestwood.hants.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 3 July 2013

Information about this school

• Crestwood Community School is slightly larger than the average-sized secondary school. In September 2016, Crestwood School expanded to amalgamate with the site previously occupied by Quilley School, which closed the previous term due to a falling roll and declining standards. Crestwood Community School now provides education for pupils in key stages 3 and 4 on both its Shakespeare and Cherbourg campuses.
• Following the amalgamation of the two schools, there was a period of significant staffing turbulence and a restructure of leadership at all levels.
• The proportion of pupils who are disadvantaged and eligible for the pupil premium funding is above the national average. Some pupils are eligible for the Year 7 catch-up premium.
• The majority of pupils are from White British backgrounds.
• The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is in line with the national average. The proportion with a statement of special educational needs or education, health and care plan is above the national average. The school operates two specialist resource provisions. One offers 22 places for pupils who have dyslexia and is based on the Shakespeare campus. A second offers places for up to 10 pupils who have social, emotional and mental health needs on the Cherbourg campus.
• A small number of pupils attend alternative provision at The Bridge Education Centre.
• In 2017, the school did not meet the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed learning in 42 lessons. In addition, short visits were made to other lessons and assemblies. Several lessons were visited jointly with senior leaders. During visits to classes, inspectors looked at pupils’ work in books.
• Together with senior leaders, inspectors examined a wide selection of pupils’ work from key stages 3 and 4 from both school sites.
• Meetings were held with the headteacher and staff, including senior and middle leaders, and teachers and support staff. Inspectors took account of 104 responses to Ofsted’s staff questionnaire.
• Inspectors took account of 71 responses from parents to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, as well as written comments submitted by 63 parents.
• Pupils’ views were gathered from meetings with groups from Years 8 and 10. Informal conversations with pupils took place around the school site.
• Inspectors scrutinised a wide range of school documentation. This included leaders’ evaluations of the school’s performance, the school’s self-evaluation document, the school improvement plans, information about standards and pupils’ progress, the school’s website, records of attendance, minutes of governing body meetings, and a range of policies and information, including those relating to safeguarding.

Inspection team

Matthew Newberry, lead inspector Ross Macdonald Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector Christopher Doherty Ofsted Inspector Dylan Davies Catherine Davies

Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector