Camborne Science and International Academy Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the effectiveness of leadership and management by: ensuring that the use of additional funding for disadvantaged pupils is fully evaluated to support this group to make more rapid progress ensuring that teachers’ expectations are consistently applied so that variations in the quality of teaching, learning and assessment across the school are reduced embedding and sustaining improvements in English and modern foreign language teaching so that pupils make better progress from their starting points.
• Improve pupils’ personal development, behaviour and welfare by:

further developing support for pupils who find behaviour and attendance expectations difficult to manage, and particularly for those pupils who are persistently absent. Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• Governors and leaders share a clear vision for the school based on high expectations and raising pupils’ aspirations. This underpins the work of the school, resulting in clear routines and a positive climate rooted in mutual trust and respect.
• Senior leaders know the school well and have the skills and experience to identify areas that need further improvement. They are taking the actions that are required and so the school is improving.
• A priority for senior leaders has been to develop the skills and expertise of middle leaders. Senior leaders have taken decisive action where there are concerns and have made significant improvements to middle leadership. This is particularly evident in English and modern foreign languages.
• Senior leaders meet regularly with middle leaders to ensure an accurate evaluation of classroom practice based on a wide range of evidence. This is having a positive impact on improving the overall quality of teaching and learning across the school, although some inconsistencies remain.
• Middle leaders are positive about the support they receive and are determined to improve further. They are clear about how their roles and responsibilities contribute to whole-school improvement. This means that middle leaders prioritise their work effectively and focus on the actions which will have greatest impact. As a result, there are notable improvements in the effectiveness of practice.
• Leaders have successfully implemented a whole-school approach to ensure that assessment supports pupils’ learning effectively. Pupils understand the knowledge and skills needed and use time wisely to reflect on what they need to do next. This is having a positive impact in the majority of lessons.
• Middle leaders ensure that assessment of pupils’ work is accurate. Staff moderate their judgements about pupils’ work effectively through their work with other providers to share best practice. Consequently, there is confidence that assessment information is reliable.
• Academic and pastoral middle leaders work well together to share information and this is successful in identifying where support is necessary. However, this additional support does not yet extend to a minority of pupils who are regularly absent, particularly girls.
• Leaders plan consistent strategies across the school to improve the progress of disadvantaged pupils. The progress of this group is showing improvement. However, leaders have yet to evaluate the impact of additional funding fully.
• Leaders make sure that provision for pupils who have low prior attainment and those who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities is good. These pupils make good progress as a result.
• The curriculum meets the needs of pupils of all abilities and aptitudes well. Leaders offer pupils good advice about which subjects to choose from the wide range on offer in key stage 4. There is, for example, a successful focus on encouraging girls to take up subjects in science, technology and mathematics.
• The ‘Nexus’ centre, which is a specialist facility offering enhanced provision in mathematics, science and computing, is a real strength. Pupils benefit from teachers’ strong subject knowledge and effective planning and, as a result, are inquisitive and challenged. Input from higher education and industry prepares pupils well for the next stage of their education and raises their aspirations. The school has actively and successfully promoted equality of opportunity so that all pupils are able to benefit from the programmes offered.
• Staff are rightly proud of the school’s many links with institutions and programmes overseas. These offer high-quality experiences which have made a significant difference to pupils’ lives, broadening their horizons and developing their social and leadership skills.

Governance of the school

• Governors are committed to the success of the school and regularly evaluate progress towards school improvement priorities. They understand these fully and ensure that senior leaders provide evidence to support the assertions made.
• Governors review the skills they have, to ensure that they are able to evaluate information and challenge school leaders efficiently. This has been particularly effective, for example, in improving overall attendance figures. However, impact is not always swift enough because governors are not incisive enough when reviewing the impact of additional expenditure, particularly for disadvantaged pupils.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Governors and leaders fully understand their safeguarding responsibilities and ensure that a culture of vigilance underpins all aspects of the school’s work. Staff are knowledgeable and confident in applying child protection procedures. Their training is up to date and includes protecting pupils from radicalisation and extremism.
• Safeguarding has a high profile in the school and this is evident by the information available on the website. This highlights potential risks and provides guidance for parents and carers about how they can support their child to keep safe.
• Senior leaders follow safeguarding processes meticulously and keep detailed records, including referrals made to the local authority. This is indicative of the good practice evident across the school.
• Leaders work effectively with external partners and parents to support pupils who are at risk. Where necessary, they challenge other agencies to ensure that appropriate action is taken.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Teachers are reflective and use their good subject knowledge to engage pupils’ interest. They plan learning that is ambitious and challenging and use effective questioning to probe and develop pupils’ understanding further.
• Pupils’ attitudes to learning are positive. They are enthused and respond well to teachers’ expectations. As a result, pupils take pride in their work and are developing resilience and stamina to complete extended pieces of writing. This is particularly evident in recent work in English where teachers successfully support pupils to develop independence and analytical skills.
• Leaders have rightly identified literacy as a barrier to learning for some pupils. In the best teaching, this particular focus is evident and, as a result, pupils’ written accuracy has improved. Pupils are confident in writing for a variety of audiences and purposes.
• Teachers have accurately identified those pupils who are falling behind their peers and appropriate support is in place to address this. For example, the teaching in a Year 7 intervention class was having a positive impact on pupils’ ability to comprehend and infer. Pupils were encouraged to read more widely and were clearly developing good reading habits.
• The majority of teachers provide suitable support for pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities. Additional adults support the work of teachers effectively and, as a result, pupils are confident and adventurous in their use of vocabulary and in varying sentence structure.
• Teachers know the disadvantaged pupils in their classes well. The majority of these pupils make good progress.
• The majority of teachers give feedback in line with the school’s assessment policy. As a result, pupils understand what they have done well and know how to improve their work. However, where staff do not apply the policy consistently, pupils’ misconceptions continue. In some teaching, expectations are not high enough, resulting in pupils’ work which is unfinished and poorly presented. These pupils’ knowledge, understanding and skills are not secure.
• Parents are well informed about their child’s progress. Information evenings are well attended by parents.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• Pupils are positive about their experiences at school and say that they value clear boundaries and high expectations. They are confident and willing to talk about their learning. For example, the ‘learning ambassador’ programme has supported them to be able to do this articulately as well as develop their leadership skills.
• Pupils say that bullying is rare but are confident that teachers deal with it effectively should it occur. Pupils recognise and appreciate diversity. They are tolerant and supportive of each other.
• Pupils recognise different types of risk. They show a well-developed understanding of how to keep themselves safe, including when online, as a result of the school’s detailed work in this area.
• Leaders have ensured that the curriculum provides meaningful activities for pupils to consider issues relevant to life in modern Britain. As a result, pupils are confident and knowledgeable in discussing a wide range of topics such as democracy and the rule of law.
• Pupils clearly understand their social responsibilities as a result of their involvement in a wide range of charity projects.
• Careers guidance is strong across all key stages. Pupils are successfully encouraged to take advantage of many opportunities for engagement with local employers, apprenticeship providers and universities. Pupils are well supported, by work experience and other activities, to make good choices about their future plans.
• The school uses alternative providers such as Acorn Alternative Provision Academies. Leaders have a good understanding of pupils’ complex needs through regular reports and visits and, as a result, pupils’ progress and well-being are ensured.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• All staff actively reinforce behaviour expectations and, as a result, pupils are courteous and take pride in their appearance, their work and in their environment. Effective staff supervision at break and lunchtime creates an environment where pupils feel safe and move around the site in an orderly way.
• Relationships between staff and pupils are largely positive and distractions in class are rare. Where these do occur, additional adults are effective in enabling learning to continue without disruption. The majority of parents and staff who responded to the Parent View survey believe that pupils’ behaviour is good.
• Overall attendance has improved over the last two years and is in line with the national average. However, persistent absence, particularly for girls, disadvantaged pupils and pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities, is too high. Leaders have rightly prioritised a range of initiatives to reduce persistent absence, but it is too early to see the full impact of these.
• Leaders’ raised behaviour expectations have had a clear impact on improving pupils’ conduct around the school and in classrooms, but they have resulted in increased exclusion rates over the last two years. Leaders are well aware of this and ensure that exclusions are a last resort. However, exclusion rates are still high, particularly for disadvantaged pupils.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Pupils arrive at the school with prior attainment that is broadly in line with national averages. From these starting points, pupils overall make positive progress and have done so over a three-year period. Current projections show continuation of this.
• Disadvantaged pupils made slower progress than their counterparts over the last two years. However, progress has improved overall for this group of pupils, particularly in maths and science. Current assessment information shows that this is continuing.
• While pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities made slower progress from their starting points in the last two years, teachers provide current pupils with the targeted support they need to make effective progress.
• Pupils perform well in science and in a wide range of subjects and this continues to be the case for current pupils.
• Performance in English, history and languages is improving due to the improving quality of teaching. Evidence shows that pupils are increasingly able to extend their writing and access the higher-level skills needed to improve outcomes. Therefore, current pupils are making better progress than historic figures would suggest.
• The number of pupils achieving a good pass in English and mathematics was in line with national averages in 2017. Overall, the proportion of pupils achieving grade 4+ and 5+ in mathematics was higher than those for English. Current predictions show that this continues to improve.
• Leaders closely monitor the progress of pupils who attend alternative provision. They ensure that pupils’ academic needs are met and they are well looked after.

16 to 19 study programmes Good

• Progress for A-level students has improved over a three-year period and is now in the top 20% of schools nationally. Students’ progress on applied programmes is also significantly above national averages. Teaching provides suitable challenge for current students, particularly those targeting the highest grades. Therefore, students continue to make good progress.
• Teachers prepare students well for the rigours of A-level study, encouraging them to read widely. As a result, students develop their academic study skills, interest and a sense of enquiry.
• Students are positive about their choice of subjects and feel supported by teachers to help them improve their understanding so they meet exam requirements. Therefore, students respond well to teachers’ advice and take time to reflect and refine their work.
• The leadership of the sixth form is effective. Whole-school policies are applied consistently. Detailed tracking of student progress means that teachers identify and support those who fall behind. Middle leaders work well with senior leaders to ensure that action plans are in place to address gaps in learning and outcomes are improving as a result.
• As a result of more detailed monitoring and higher expectations, attendance in the sixth form has improved.
• The requirements of study programmes are met. Students balance their academic study with a consideration of issues relating to their personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) understanding. Students value these sessions, which are often engaging and lively.
• Pastoral care is good and there are positive relationships between teachers and students. Students feel that there is a real sense of partnership, reflected in the pride shown in the organisation and presentation of work.
• School staff prepare students well for the next stage of their education or training. Careers education in the sixth form is strong. The majority of students now enter higher education and they value the preparation they receive for university applications. Students who choose to leave at the end of Year 12 receive good advice and support which helps them to make appropriate choices about their future.
• Leaders ensure that students who join the sixth form without a good grade in GCSE English and mathematics have sufficient curriculum time and qualified staff to teach them. Students’ results from 2017 show that this had a positive impact on improving outcomes when they resit these subjects.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 136524 Cornwall 10049004 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Secondary Comprehensive School category Academy Converter Age range of pupils 11 to 18 Gender of pupils Gender of pupils in 16 to 19 study programmes Number of pupils on the school roll Of which, number on roll in 16 to 19 study programmes Mixed Mixed 1458 200 Appropriate authority Board of trustees Chair Principal Telephone number Website Email address Roger Penwarden Ian Kenworthy 01209 712280 www.cambornescience.co.uk enquiries@cambornescience.co.uk Date of previous inspection 19 May 2017

Information about this school

• Camborne Science and International Academy became an academy in 2011.
• It formed a multi-academy trust with St Michael’s Secondary School, a free school, in 2015. St Michael’s closed in 2016 and the site now houses the ‘Nexus’ centre, a provision for most-able pupils in subjects such as science, mathematics and computing. Pupils attend this facility for two days a week.
• The school is larger than the average-sized secondary school.
• The majority of pupils are from a White British background and the proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is below the national average.
• The number of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is in line with the national average.
• The number of pupils eligible for free school meals is above average.
• The school meets 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

• Inspectors visited lessons across a range of subjects and age groups and scrutinised pupils’ written work. Some of the observations were jointly conducted with curriculum leaders and members of the leadership team.
• Meetings were held with members of the leadership team and representatives of the governing body. In addition, inspectors met with curriculum leaders and pastoral managers.
• Inspectors met with pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, both formally and informally, to discuss their views about their learning.
• Inspectors looked at the school’s documentation, including the evaluation of the school’s effectiveness and priorities for future improvement, progress, behaviour and attendance information relating to current pupils, and governors’ minutes.
• The school’s polices relating to safeguarding, pupils’ behaviour, the use of additional funding, including pupil premium, and the curriculum were also scrutinised.
• Inspectors considered 67 responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View, and 80 responses to the staff questionnaire.

Inspection team

Sarah McGinnis, lead inspector Non Davies Sue Frater Paul Nicholson Matthew Shanks Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector