Redbridge Community School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Enrich standards of teaching in all departments and across the curriculum by:
  • ensuring that existing excellence is shared fully with all the staff
• Improve outcomes in science.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• Redbridge Community School is led with skill, care and compassion. Leadership is characterised by passion and dedication. The headteacher sets the tone, and others willingly follow his lead.
• Leaders’ actions are all based on the shared values they have for the school. Leaders are determined that all pupils will do as well as they can. Leaders know that pupils need good or better qualifications to develop the best possible life chances. Leaders also know that pupils need to make rapid progress in school, given their lower-than-average starting points.
• Leaders’ actions are also based on research-informed and evidence-based decision-making. Leaders debate with each other contrasting approaches to teaching, learning and assessment before deciding on the best way forward. They look far and wide for examples and models, and seek constantly to update their own knowledge, skills and practice.
• Leaders invest heavily in their staff. For example, they provide opportunities for staff to take care of both their physical and mental health. Staff feel valued and like working at the school. They comment favourably on leaders’ attempts to reduce unnecessary workload, enable flexible working and respond positively to reasonable requests for compassionate or other leave.
• Most staff were working in the school at the time of the last inspection. They comment on how much the school has improved since then. They also applaud leaders’ work to ensure that they receive good-quality, helpful, developmental professional learning. The deputy headteacher leads this aspect of the school’s improvement expertly.
• Leaders’ commitment to continuous improvement means that they are constantly looking for ways to extend teachers’ knowledge and skills. There is much that is exemplary at Redbridge already. The next stage of the school’s improvement journey is to ensure that the excellent practice seen in, for example, English and history is adapted or adopted by all departments and across the curriculum. For example, there are aspects of the teaching of science which are not yet as effective as teaching in other parts of the school.
• Leaders are adept at making the most of the financial resources at their disposal. Given the high levels of need at the school, leaders receive a higher-than-average proportion of pupil premium, Year 7 literacy and numeracy catch-up funding, and funding for those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. All of this money is put to good use and is contributing to the strong progress made by each of the groups targeted for these additional resources. Leaders are currently reviewing how they report fully the successes achieved with each payment, the impact of the spending on pupils’ learning, and how they will make these gains sustainable into the future.
• In 2017, Year 11 pupils were the first cohort to be examined having followed the school’s completely overhauled curriculum. Results show that, with some further adjustments required, the changes were justified, and leaders’ decisions were vindicated.
• The curriculum balances nicely access for all pupils to GCSE subjects that will act as a stepping stone to further education, and opportunities that will enrich pupils’ experiences and their knowledge and understanding of the world.
• Pupils and some parents told inspectors that they benefit from a three-year key stage 4, because they have more time to study their GCSEs in depth. It also affords them time to engage in enrichment activities which build their self-esteem and resilience, as well as developing their study skills.
• The school maintains a small vocational curriculum for pupils who wish to pursue careers in sport or recreation, health, beauty and construction. Each curriculum pathway is carefully planned so that it supports the school’s overarching aim of building pupils’ knowledge and skills and improving their life chances.
• The school provides a rich extra-curriculum with multiple opportunities for wider learning. Among many other things, pupils benefit from trips abroad, across the city and to other parts of the United Kingdom. Groups of pupils visit theatres, temples and the Houses of Parliament. Alice, the school’s dog, also provides practical support to hearing-impaired pupils and enables other pupils to learn about animal care and respect for nature. Horticulture and gardening are increasingly popular with groups of pupils at Redbridge.
• The school’s contribution to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is impressive. At the time of the inspection, the school was immersed in ‘Britishness’ week. The many posters and works of art, often embellished with inspirational words or the sayings of world leaders, help to raise pupils’ aspirations. Leaders’ commitment to equality of opportunity and moral purpose provide strong models for the pupils.
• The renewed teaching of religious education gives pupils good opportunities to study others’ belief systems and to debate ideas. It also enables pupils to gather accurate information about others in their community. Religious leaders from several faith communities are welcomed to the school regularly.

Governance of the school

• The governing body is effective, supporting leaders and acting in the best interests of the school. The chair of governors has a purposeful and productive relationship with the headteacher which is mutually polite and respectful. The chair of governors does not, however, baulk at asking difficult and insightful questions. Governors:
  • are fully committed to the values-driven approach of the headteacher and his senior team.
  • review information about the progress and attainment of pupils regularly so that they can anticipate any potential decline in standards
  • challenge leaders about the school’s performance through their teaching and learning committee
  • review the school’s use of funding to ensure that money is spent wisely and that budgets are on track in each financial year
  • hold leaders to account for the progress and attainment of particular groups of pupils such as the disadvantaged and those with hearing impairments
  • know the school well and are aware of its many strengths and remaining areas for improvement.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. All statutory safeguarding processes are undertaken rigorously. The single central record of checks on those wishing to work at the school is fully compliant with current expectations.
• The site is well maintained and secure, with access controlled effectively. This is important given the number of community facilities on the same campus. Risk assessments are rightly and carefully carried out for all relevant activities.
• All staff are trained regularly on safeguarding matters. They receive appropriate updates to their training on an annual basis. The designated safeguarding lead for the school is well trained and assiduous in his work. He is ably supported by a team of other suitably qualified staff members.
• Leaders work efficiently with other agencies and statutory bodies to ensure that any pupil at risk of neglect, abuse or going missing from education is monitored and provided with meaningful support. Information about pupils is shared according to appropriate protocols.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Teaching is leading to strong progress and good outcomes over time. There is some outstanding practice, notably in English and history, and rapidly increasing effectiveness in mathematics, physical education and humanities subjects.
• Strong teaching across the school is based on leaders’ minimal but very clear expectations. Staff are expected to know their pupils. They do. Staff are expected to take account of pupils’ prior attainment and any barriers to their learning. They use the school’s extensive pupil performance information to good effect. Teachers are expected to build knowledge and skills relevant to their subject discipline. They are expected to test regularly that pupils are making strong learning gains over time.
• Teachers have good or better subject knowledge. They take care to keep themselves up to date with developments in their subjects or examination specifications. They work well as teams to plan learning and to extend the range of resources available for pupils.
• Well-established routines and procedures mean that staff and pupils know what to do and when to do it. Little time is lost, therefore, to classroom management activities because pupils have learned over time what each teacher requires, what equipment they need and where to sit. There is good order in all classrooms.
• Teaching assistants, where present, contribute efficiently to the good order and productive working conditions in lessons.
• Leaders are dedicated to increasing pupils’ literacy. Every teacher supports this strategy, reinforcing the technical language for each subject alongside enforcing the rules of correct English grammar and ensuring the accurate spelling of words. Pupils are increasingly encouraged to use sophisticated sentence construction and precise use of language. Inspectors heard and read some astounding examples.
• Classroom displays give frequent reminders of the correct parts of speech. Pupils are also shown on a subject-by-subject basis how to structure their writing so that they can write successfully at length. Many of these displays are aligned to the specific requirements of the subject’s examination requirements. This helps to develop pupils’ confidence and readiness for examinations.
• Pupils are encouraged to check their own work and that of their peers against appropriate assessment criteria. This helps pupils move forward in their own understanding. Teachers ensure that this process is reliable and accurate.
• Leaders ensure that teachers know pupils’ level of ability in reading. Many pupils arrive at the school at a level of reading ability well below their actual age. Leaders are determined that this will not be a barrier to any pupils’ engagement with the curriculum, and have invested heavily in resources to support the development of pupils’ reading. Library staff contribute well to this initiative.
• Since well over half the pupils are supported by the pupil premium, there are no specific examples of additional support in class for such pupils. However, teachers track the performance of disadvantaged pupils carefully and provide support or intervention if it is needed in order to ensure that they do not fall behind their peers.
• Teachers benefit from reliable and well-maintained technology. Some are imaginative in the way they use the systems to structure and sequence lessons. Others use technology creatively to enhance pupils’ learning experiences. Homework is supported by technology so that activities and resources are available online at all times. A few parents have mixed feelings about the effectiveness of this as an approach.
• The school’s justifiable and relentless focus on improvements to pupils’ literacy and the progress of disadvantaged pupils is commendable. As such, there is a growing cohort of pupils who would be even better served by greater stretch and challenge. Leaders already identify such pupils and require teachers to cater for them in their planning. However, these pupils, and others, could do more and at even greater depth. There are sometimes limited opportunities in lessons for the most able pupils, to think more critically, reason more deeply or to ‘shine’ even more brightly.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good. This work is a strength of the school.
• Leaders are determined that pupils’ well-being is catered for alongside their academic development. There is a wide range of services available to pupils to support their well-being. Some are supplied by the school and others through the effective partnerships that the school has built with service and charitable providers locally.
• Excellent attention is paid to pupils’ mental health. This stems from leaders’ passionate commitment that all pupils will do as well as they can. Leaders are keen to remove any barriers to pupils’ success.
• Leaders also ensure that staff are given support for their own well-being. Despite the challenges faced by the school, and the disappointment of having been judged to require improvement in 2016, most staff stayed at the school, are proud of it and say that they like working at Redbridge. A large majority of the staff who completed Ofsted’s survey were working at the school at the time of the last inspection. This is strong evidence that they believe they are valued and cared for.
• The care and nurture that encourages pupils to come to school and make it a comfortable place to be is also making a good contribution to pupils’ self-confidence. As pupils’ confidence and resilience grows, they are becoming more self-assured and independent in their learning.
• The school’s commitment to enrichment means that pupils have multiple opportunities to add to their academic learning. The ‘live lounge’, lunchtime ‘open mic’ events and the ‘corridor busking’ mean that pupils’ musical talents are nurtured. Pupils are comfortable performing for their peers. The school has a commendable commitment to performance opportunities, enabled by a well-resourced and talented music department.
• Younger pupils willingly participate in the school’s dance club, which enables older pupils to practise choreography for their examinations. The library provides a quiet and nurturing working space for pupils who need support for their homework. It also houses a regular Scrabble club.
• These many activities contribute extensively to the school’s mission to increase pupils’ general knowledge and skills and to extend their horizons. They also contribute effectively to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.
• Although the vast majority of pupils are cooperative and willing in lessons, there is still a large minority who have yet to develop outstanding attitudes to learning. Teachers still need to coax some to engage with lessons, or challenge them to take pride in their work.
• Teachers ensure that Redbridge is an inclusive and safe school where diversity and difference are celebrated and encouraged. There is no evidence of either racist or homophobic attitudes, language or behaviour among pupils. The school’s extremely positive teaching of contemporary values also means that pupils are taught to respect others’ beliefs and opinions and recognise signs of extremism.
• Pupils are taught how to keep themselves safe in relationships and online. In one information and communications technology lesson, for example, pupils were reminded of the need to create secure passwords for online applications.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good. Their conduct around the school is exceptional. They treat each other and adults with respect. The relationships between staff and pupils are good in the vast majority of lessons. Inspectors observed no low-level disruption to lessons during their time on site.
• Pupils know that the staff care about them. Staff want the pupils to be safe and happy in school. As a result, pupils ‘leave’ issues and disputes at the school gate, so that inside Redbridge there is a calm and orderly atmosphere.
• Pupils exhibit appropriate levels of courtesy and respect. The headteacher models such behaviours for all the community. While touring the school, he greets pupils warmly, aided by his impressive knowledge of their names. Most pupils respond to him with equal warmth. There are many with whom he exchanges short bursts of conversation, often accompanied by moments of humour. His knowledge of the pupils, their likes, dislikes, challenges and successes is remarkable. Pupils know that he cares for them. Parents and pupils confirmed to inspectors that this is the case.
• Parents also confirmed that they have no well-founded concerns about pupils’ behaviour, safety or well-being in school.
• Pupils confirmed additionally that bullying only happens occasionally. When it is detected, it is dealt with firmly and fairly. Victims are provided with support and perpetrators are educated about their behaviour.
• Leaders ensure that good behaviour and positive actions are rewarded. There is a wide variety of ways in which pupils are rewarded for good effort, great acts of community service and charitable works or acts of kindness. Staff contribute admirably to this ethos of reward and praise.
• Leaders have worked relentlessly to improve attendance and reduce persistent absence. Inspectors found them to have used the most extensive range of strategies to get pupils into school, on time and more frequently. Inspectors were left asking, ‘What else could they do?’ There remains a slowly diminishing group of pupils who still do not attend regularly enough. As a result, some are missing out on the wide range of activities specifically designed to enable disadvantaged pupils, in particular, to thrive at school.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Pupils’ outcomes are rapidly improving. Published information about the achievements of pupils in Year 11 in 2017 shows that they made much better progress than their predecessors. Their progress is judged now to be broadly average compared to all pupils nationally.
• Published information about Redbridge Community School shows that the school’s outcomes fell below the government’s floor standards in 2016. Due to academic performance in 2014, 2015 and 2016, the school then met the Department for Education’s definition of a coasting school. Results in 2017, however, were much better. These definitions no longer apply to this school.
• Most pupils join Redbridge School having attained levels below those expected for their age in reading, writing and mathematics. In 2017, nearly half the pupils attained the expected standards in English and mathematics at GCSE grade 4, and almost a third attained a strong pass in GCSE English and mathematics. This represents considerable improvement over time. It also demonstrates that during their time in school a majority of pupils make sustained and strong progress.
• Further examples of the school’s improving outcomes are the increased scores achieved by pupils in the ‘attainment 8’ measure in 2018 and the increasing proportions of pupils attaining the English Baccalaureate (EBacc) standard. Reliable information collected by school leaders shows that these improvements are set to continue in 2018.
• In many year groups and subjects, disadvantaged pupils currently on roll do better than their peers as a result of highly focused teaching and appropriate enrichment activities. Consequently, from low starting points, they are making strong progress during their time in school. Differences between them and other pupils nationally are diminishing over time.
• Pupils taking time in the EduK8 provision also make good progress. Many of these pupils were not doing as well as they could before they joined the unit. They are less distracted and are learning more now.
• Hearing-impaired pupils are very well supported and make good progress from their starting points. They do well in mainstream classes, where appropriately trained staff are able to provide helpful additional resources to aid their learning.
• Leaders’ thoughtful work to make the curriculum more relevant to Redbridge pupils is undoubtedly enhancing their life chances now. The range of qualifications pupils choose to study from Year 9 onwards means that they are better prepared for further education, apprenticeships or work. Consequently only a few pupils were not in education, employment or training in 2017 after leaving Year 11. This is another improvement in the outcomes for pupils.
• Of the core subjects, science remains the one where planned improvements have not, as yet, had the intended impact on outcomes. This is especially the case for pupils with middle-level prior attainment. Changes to the specifications and the move to the vast majority of pupils entering for a GCSE qualification have not, as yet, resulted in higher levels of attainment or stronger rates of progress.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 116453 Southampton 10040933 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Secondary School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Community 11 to 16 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 992 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address David Whalley Jason Ashley 02380 771381 www.redbridgecommunityschool.com info@redbridge.southampton.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 26–27 January 2016

Information about this school

• Redbridge Community School is a larger-than-average secondary school serving the Millbrook Estate in Southampton.
• The school houses Southampton City Council’s specialist provision for hearing-impaired pupils. There are currently six pupils on roll in this provision.
• The school has its own provision, known as EduK8, which caters for pupils who need additional support to be successful in education. The number of pupils attending this provision varies from day to day.
• There are slightly more girls than boys at the school.
• The percentage of pupils who are disadvantaged is well above the national average.
• Most pupils are of white British heritage and speak English as their first language.
• The proportion of pupils who receive support for their special educational needs and/or disabilities is well above average.
• The proportion of pupils who have an education, health and care plan is above the national average.
• The school serves a community which has above-average levels of deprivation.
• The school meets the government’s current floor standards.
• The school meets the Department for Education’s definition of a coasting school based on key stage 4 academic performance in 2014, 2015 and 2016.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed pupils’ learning in 44 lessons. They visited five different tutor-group sessions and an assembly. Inspectors also observed pupils engaging in five enrichment activities. Most of these activities were jointly observed with the school’s leaders.
• Inspectors spoke with many pupils informally. They met with five Year 7 pupils, six Year 9 pupils, five Year 10 pupils, and six Year 11 pupils. They considered 89 responses to Ofsted’s confidential pupil survey. Inspectors also took account of the outcomes of the school’s own pupil surveys.
• Inspectors spoke with several teachers about their work. Formally, inspectors met with progress leaders, the leaders of core subjects, teachers at different stages of their career, the special educational needs coordinator and individual subject leaders. The lead inspector reviewed 52 submissions to Ofsted’s confidential staff survey. Inspectors took account of the school’s own surveys of its staff.
• The school arranged for the lead inspector to meet seven parents of pupils currently on roll. The lead inspector took into account a letter handed to him, 21 responses to Ofsted’s confidential survey, Parent View, and 11 free-text responses.
• Inspectors met regularly with the school’s leaders. The lead inspector met members of the governing body and spoke by telephone with a representative of the local authority.
• The inspection team reviewed a wide range of the school’s documents. These included leaders’ evaluations of the school’s current levels of performance, the school’s action plan, and files providing evidence of the school’s progress over the last two years. The lead inspector examined information about the performance of pupils currently on roll.

Inspection team

Simon Hughes, lead inspector Debbie Godfrey-Phaure Peter Rodin Suzanne Richards Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector