Chipping Campden School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve teaching, learning and assessment in the sixth form by ensuring that recent improvements are embedded across all subjects.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Outstanding

• The principal sets high expectations for himself and others in the school. He is articulate and straightforward in communicating these expectations and he is supportive of those colleagues and pupils who sometimes fail to meet them. This balance between clarity of accountability and compassion is at the heart of the school.
• Teachers and pupils strive to do their best because leaders communicate a passion for the school and are respectful and caring about them as individuals.
• Governors and leaders have built the success of the school incrementally since the previous inspection. Pupils’ progress in their GCSE subjects has improved each year because there is a clear focus on the fundamental features of high-quality teaching. The culture is now firmly embedded and teachers deliver such features consistently right across the school on a daily basis.
• Leaders monitor and evaluate learning carefully to improve pupils’ progress. When they identify a barrier to progress, they plan a comprehensive response. For example, leaders realised that pupils sometimes lacked the resilience to persevere with independent research, and this was affecting the progress of students in the sixth form. They have, therefore, made this a whole-school priority. Senior leaders ensured that teachers had the necessary training and middle leaders have created opportunities in the curriculum for pupils in all year groups to learn the necessary skills. Leaders then monitored the improvements. The result of this whole-school approach is that pupils are showing more perseverance and becoming better skilled in research.
• Leaders use performance management well to improve the quality of teaching across the school. Targets are clear and rigorous and they are focused on the key elements of teaching, learning and assessment. Leaders link these to whole-school priorities and so training opportunities are sharply focused on teachers’ needs. Leaders’ monitoring is focused on helping their colleagues be successful.
• Leaders and governors reacted to a dip in A-level results in some subjects in 2016 with a detailed and wide-ranging plan. Students are now receiving significantly improved teaching as a result and are making good progress.
• Leaders use pupil premium funding effectively to ensure that disadvantaged pupils make good progress. A range of additional pastoral support is in place and pupils’ progress is closely monitored. Leaders make sure that the funding available for Year 7 pupils who need to catch up with their peers is equally well targeted. These pupils make very good progress from their starting points.
• The curriculum is designed well to meet the needs of pupils of all abilities. There is a balance of academic subjects and the opportunity for pupils to study vocational skills. Some pupils, for example, have the opportunity to study AS-level philosophy alongside their GCSEs, while others are studying drystone walling alongside their more usual diet of core subjects.
• Leaders ensure that there is a rich variety of extra-curricular opportunities available for pupils and students. Sports and arts clubs are numerous and well attended. Leaders make sure that disadvantaged pupils have equal access to these opportunities.
• Leaders have reacted quickly to the changes to the National Curriculum for English and mathematics by working closely with partner primary schools so that pupils in Year 7 can build on the skills they have learned in their primary schools.
• Governors and senior leaders have a strong moral commitment to ensuring that every pupil in the school community maximises their potential. They have collaborated with neighbouring schools to set up a free-school alternative provision for those pupils who struggle in a mainstream environment, so that they can access appropriate provision without being excluded from the school community. Pupils who may otherwise be excluded are now able to experience success when they return to the main school.

Governance of the school

• The governing body is a highly skilled group which is well equipped to hold school leaders to account. They are self-critical and, after the last inspection, they felt that they were not providing the oversight the school needed. They therefore instigated a review and acted on the recommendations. The result is a reconstituted governing body with a broad range of governors who have the necessary skills to fulfil their roles very effectively.
• Governors have an accurate view of the strengths and weaknesses of the school and are relentless in their drive to improve it further. They scrutinise performance information closely and they are robust in their questioning of leaders about sixth-form performance. They have a clear understanding of the school’s improvement plans and carry out their monitoring role effectively.
• Governors scrutinise the school’s arrangements for safeguarding on a regular basis and with rigour.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Leaders have ensured that there is a strong culture of safeguarding prevalent across the school. Staff are well trained and understand their roles. Systems for reporting any incident are well established and embedded. Pupils report that they feel safe and they know where to go should they have a concern. Parents say that the school communicates well with them and they express confidence in the school’s work to keep pupils safe.
• Pastoral staff have good links with local authority agencies and work in partnership with them well to keep vulnerable pupils safe.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Outstanding

• Teachers set very high expectations in all curriculum areas and they are determined that all pupils will achieve well. They set challenging targets and relentlessly focus on modelling top-grade answers in every year group.
• Teachers are adept at use probing questions effectively to promote high-order thinking skills such as analysis and evaluation. They use resources and scaffolding techniques very well to enable pupils to write extended answers.
• Teachers provide timely intervention when pupils need support and, as a result, pupils are always willing to attempt tasks, even when they find them difficult.
• Teachers create a culture in classrooms where pupils feel able to take risks and work on open-ended research tasks. Pupils are motivated by these activities and so make excellent progress.
• Teachers apply the school policy consistently when giving feedback to pupils on how to improve their work. Consequently, pupils understand how to make better progress.
• Subject teams work together very effectively to plan their work. This ensures that all teachers, including the less experienced, deliver consistently high-quality teaching.
• Teachers and leaders understand the importance of ensuring that disadvantaged pupils are supported. Teachers ensure that these pupils are well supported in lessons and their progress is closely monitored. As a result, disadvantaged pupils make similar progress to other pupils nationally.
• Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are supported very well by teachers and teaching assistants, whether they are in lessons or in the support centre. As a result of this additional support, pupils’ progress is at least as good as other pupils and, in some cases, considerably better.
• Teachers give literacy a high profile. In English lessons, pupils are required to read regularly and time is put aside in tutor periods and in the homework timetable for additional opportunities to read. Pupils are expected to practise their extended writing regularly in English and also in other parts of the curriculum, for example in history. The result is that pupils are typically highly literate.
• Key stage 4 pupils are well prepared for their GCSEs by teachers who are experienced and understand the examination requirements well. Pupils are given regular feedback on how well they are meeting their targets and which topics are holding them back.
• Students in the sixth form benefit from many of the same strengths of teaching, learning and assessment as in key stages 3 and 4. Teaching is typically challenging and focused on high levels of progress. Questioning and feedback are equally strong and students are well prepared for their examinations. Teachers also put an emphasis on providing opportunities for students to develop their resilience and research skills.
• Sixth-form staff monitor the progress of their students closely and intervene when they are struggling to meet their targets. Students appreciate this support and typically work hard to improve. Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding.
• Pupils have excellent attitudes to learning. They enjoy coming to school and they enjoy their lessons. The atmosphere in classes is typically very positive, with a clear focus on making progress.
• Relationships between teachers and pupils are very good. Teachers and pupils have high expectations of each other and generally they are not disappointed.
• Pupils are friendly and tolerant of each other and most are socially mature. They are respectful of those who may be different from them and there was a noticeable absence of derogatory or poor language during the inspection. Friendship groups socialise well at breaks and lunchtimes.
• Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural education plays a key role in school life. There is a rich pool of opportunities in the curriculum and outside of the school day and large numbers of pupils and students benefit from it. Pupils are typically knowledgeable about life outside of school. For example, an inspector overheard one group of friends discussing the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s recent budget as they walked to their lesson.
• There are many opportunities for pupils and students to take on leadership roles within the school community. For example, pupils in each tutor group can become careers leaders and take on a responsibility to help their peers explore potential career paths. In the sixth form, students volunteer to support primary pupils with their science. They take on mentoring roles and develop their own skills as they guide primary pupils.
• There is a comprehensive careers programme for all pupils and students, which starts in Year 7. Disadvantaged pupils are given additional support. As a result, pupils are able to discuss their plans and aspirations for the future knowledgeably.
• A small number of pupils who struggle to meet the expectations of a mainstream school go to a partner school that offers an alternative provision which can meet their needs. These pupils generally spend half a term or more there before returning. These pupils make good progress with their personal development and most return and successfully reintegrate into the mainstream school.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is outstanding.
• Pupils, teachers and parents agree that behaviour in lessons and around the school is
• There are clear expectations of behaviour, and systems and sanctions to deal with poor very good. Pupils move around the school site responsibly and enter classrooms calmly. behaviour are in place. However, few pupils misbehave and the principal rarely has to exclude anyone.
• Attendance overall is good and the number of persistent absentees is low. However, too many disadvantaged pupils are persistently absent. This is an issue that school leaders have attempted to address for some years. They have worked hard on this problem and are doing all that they reasonably can but they have not yet been able to reduce the number to the national average.

Outcomes for pupils Outstanding

• Pupils make strong progress and achieve well across the whole range of subjects as a result of the teaching they receive over time.
• Pupils have been making increasingly good progress at GCSE level over the last four years. In 2016, for the third time in a row, pupils achieved rates of progress significantly in excess of the national average. This sustained high level of performance is the direct result of the improvements in the quality of teaching that leaders instigated after the last inspection.
• Pupils now achieve GCSE attainment well above the national average. Eight out of 10 pupils achieve A* to C grades in English and mathematics, compared to around six out of 10 nationally. Over a third achieve the English Baccalaureate suite of subjects, compared to under a quarter nationally.
• Progress is particularly strong in English, where the school is in the top 5% of all schools. Pupils also make significantly better-than-average progress across a broad range of subjects, for example mathematics, science, languages and humanities.
• The most able pupils produce work of an excellent standard. Their levels of reasoning and literacy are high and their ability to construct a coherent written argument is very good. In last year’s examinations, these pupils made more progress overall than all but a few schools across the country. In each of the major subject areas, they did better than other schools nationally.
• Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are achieving well from their starting points as a result of the effective spending of the funding for these pupils. Extra support from teaching assistants and teachers is targeted well to support their individual needs.
• The majority of disadvantaged pupils are making good progress overall. In 2016, they did better in English than in 97% of schools nationally. Their progress in mathematics and other core subjects, while not quite as good, is still worthy of note. This is the result of a combination of teachers setting uncompromising targets and the support that is put in place so that pupils do not flounder.
• Younger pupils are building on the English and mathematics skills they learned at primary school and making rapid progress. Those that joined the school lagging behind their peers are catching up as a result of the intervention work that the school is doing with them.
• Standards of reading and writing are very high. The pupils that the inspection team heard read did so with fluency, comprehension and an obvious enjoyment.

16 to 19 study programmes Good

• Students in the sixth form are making good progress towards their targets across a broad range of subjects because of good teaching.
• Last year, students’ A-level results dipped. They did not achieve well, despite the support that teachers and leaders put in place for them. Leaders analysed the causes and have moved rapidly to ensure that improvements are made. Consequently, students now receive consistently good teaching across the whole range of subjects offered.
• Students are given a comprehensive package of support to guide them through their programmes of study. Students’ progress is closely monitored and staff intervene to mentor them should they fall behind. The principal and sixth-form leaders are committed to ensuring that every student completes their studies and none are left to fail or drop out.
• Those students who are retaking their English and mathematics GCSEs alongside their A levels make very strong progress. Their success rates are substantially better than the national average because of the high quality of teaching they receive.
• Students’ personal development is good. They are mature and confident and have very positive attitudes to learning. Students’ relationships with teachers and other staff are very strong.
• Students benefit from a broad range of opportunities to undertake work experience at least once during their time in the sixth-form studies and in some cases, where it is appropriate, twice. Leaders are keen to ensure that the quality of placement is high and students gain experiences which prepare them for the future. Students are well prepared for university or employment and they talk knowledgeably about their future plans.
• There is a good transition programme in place for Year 11 pupils who join the sixth form. As a result, students in Year 12 make a strong and confident start to their studies. Sixth-form leaders identify the most able students before they join the sixth form and ensure that there is a programme of opportunities to stimulate them. Around four in 10 students go to Russell Group universities, compared with one in 10 nationally.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 136960 Gloucestershire 10025123 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 Gender of pupils in 16 to 19 study programmes Academy converter 11 to 18 Mixed Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 1,253 Of which, number on roll in 16 to 19 study programmes 240 Appropriate authority Academy trust Chair Principal Telephone number Website Email address Andrew Sunderland John Sanderson 01386 840 216 www.ccsacademy.net/ office@ccsacademy.net Date of previous inspection 4–5 October 2012

Information about this school

• The school is larger than the average-sized secondary school.
• The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is broadly average.
• The proportion of pupils supported by pupil premium funding is well below average.
• Almost all pupils are of White British heritage. There are very few from minority ethnic groups and very few who speak English as an additional language.
• Chipping Campden has set up a free school in collaboration with two other schools that provides alternative provision for pupils who find mainstream school life challenging. At any one time, approximately four to six pupils are based there.
• 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.
• The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.
• The school complies with Department for Education guidance on what academies should publish.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed learning across a wide range of subjects and age groups, and scrutinised a wide range of pupils’ and students’ written work. Some of the observations were conducted jointly with senior leaders.
• Inspectors looked at a range of documentation, including minutes of governors’ meetings, development plans, analysis of pupils’ progress, attendance and behaviour data, safeguarding documents and the school’s review of its own performance.
• Meetings were held with governors, the principal, senior and middle leaders and groups of pupils and students.
• An inspector listened to pupils read.
• Inspectors took account of 233 responses to the online questionnaire, Parent View. They also took into account the 89 responses to the staff questionnaire and 94 responses to the pupil questionnaire.

Inspection team

Andrew Lovett, lead inspector Steve Colledge Eddie Wilkes Sheila Crew Teresa Hill Judith Mee

Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector