Katharine Lady Berkeley's School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Further improve the quality of teaching and learning by ensuring that:
  • all pupils take pride in the presentation of their work
  • teachers consistently provide clear, meaningful feedback that pupils use to improve their work
  • teachers consistently provide work that is matched to pupils’ abilities so that different groups of pupils make the progress of which they are capable.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Outstanding

• Leaders have built on existing strong foundations to ensure that the school has continued to improve since the last inspection. This is because the headteacher has steadily nurtured high-quality leadership throughout the school. His calm, reflective and measured approach inspires other leaders to approach their work in a similar, considered way. As a result, leaders have shaped effective systems that ensure that pupils are very well supported and achieve highly.
• Leaders have a very clear understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for development. This is because they understand the importance of being open and honest about their work in order to move forward. Consequently, leaders are not complacent; they tackle areas for development swiftly and with conviction.
• The pupils in this school are delightful; they enjoy their experience of school and it shows in their contented cheerfulness, attitudes to learning and courtesy. This is because leaders and the wider staff promote a school culture where these qualities are valued. In the words of the headteacher, ‘it’s about mutual respect throughout the community’.
• The leadership of teaching is strong. Leaders take both a pragmatic and principled approach to developing practice which is continuing to improve the quality of teaching across the school. Effective systems are in place to manage staff performance and tackle underperformance where it arises. Additionally, leaders ensure that staff benefit from training opportunities to develop aspects of practice.
• The curriculum is suited very well to pupils’ needs. This is because leaders have given careful thought to its purpose and the way it is organised in school. As pupils move through the school they are able to take advantage of a wide range of courses. For example, pupils can study from a range of languages, including Japanese, Spanish, Chinese and French. Pupils’ high levels of achievement across the curriculum reflect the suitability of courses on offer.
• Pupils feel very enthusiastic about school, in part because of the wide range of extra-curricular clubs on offer to them. These activities are fully funded for disadvantaged pupils. Activities that pupils say they enjoy include street dance, fencing, chess and archery, in addition to a number of sporting activities.
• Additional funding for disadvantaged pupils is being used well to raise their achievement and ensure they have an engaging, happy experience of school. This is because it is successfully being used to meet both academic and pastoral needs. For example, an inclusion assistant assumes a mentoring role to assist pupils who have attendance and emotional issues.
• Funding for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is used effectively to support pupils’ achievement and wider experience of school. The special educational needs coordinator provides very strong leadership of this area. She ensures that support within and beyond the classroom is ‘well joined up’. She has an excellent understanding of individual pupils’ needs so that they receive the support they need.
• Leaders successfully use the support provided by the school improvement partner to refine and develop their work further. She knows the school well, is aware of areas for development and signposts further support, which the school makes very good use of.
• The additional funding used to help Year 7 pupils catch up in English and mathematics is enabling pupils to make more rapid progress. This is because the funding is primarily being used to provide two specialist subject teaching assistants, in English and mathematics respectively. These well-qualified staff are not only improving pupils’ subject skills but also developing their confidence and resilience. This work is also supported by additional reading and library-based activities and close liaison with primary schools.
• Nearly all of the parents who responded to the online survey Parent View, of whom there were a large number, are extremely positive about all aspects of the school’s work. Ninety-eight percent of parents agreed that the school was well led and would recommend the school. A similar proportion of pupils would also recommend the school.

Governance of the school

• School leaders are supported by a very strong governing body. The chair of governors is very experienced and has fulfilled this role for many years. She and other governors have ensured that the school has maintained its high standards over this time.
• Governors are able to talk confidently and in detail about the strengths of the school and, more importantly, the areas that require further development. They take the same open, honest approach as school leaders. This is because staff and governors work closely together and because they share the same high expectations of their work. They too know that there is more work to be done.
• School leaders are provided with the appropriate level of support and challenge from the governing body. This is because governors are clear about their roles and purpose. It is also because they make effective use of external support, training and sources of performance information to ensure that they ask the most pertinent questions.
• Governors are driven by a passionate commitment to the school. They have integrity and care about the things that matter most. As the chair said to the lead inspector, ‘The students are the most important thing.’

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Leaders have created an open culture in the school so that pupils know that they can freely talk to any adults if they are worried about anything. Pupils report that they are not embarrassed or reluctant to share concerns and that they would happily speak to different members of staff. Pupils feel safe in school. They say that on the rare occasions bullying does occur it is dealt with effectively. In the words of one pupil who spoke with me, ‘the school really clamps down on it’. Another pupil told me, ‘I’ve never heard of any trouble happening.’
• Leaders ensure that processes, systems and checks to safeguard pupils are fit for purpose, operate as they should and are continually monitored. As a result, staff are appropriately trained. They are also clear about what they should do and to who to speak to if they need to register a concern about a child. Checks to ensure that staff are suitable to work with pupils are complete and up to date. The designated safeguarding lead monitors closely all ‘live’ referrals about pupils. She ensures that the appropriate action is taken, and external agencies involved as necessary, in each individual case.
• High levels of staff supervision and CCTV help to ensure that pupils are safe on this open site. Appropriate measures are in place to check the identity of visitors entering the school.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Pupils benefit from very positive relationships with staff because they are based on mutual respect. Teachers are keen to engage pupils with their learning and encourage participation. Pupils’ contributions to discussion are valued and they enjoy their learning more as a result.
• The school’s system of assessment, devised following the removal of national curriculum levels, is robust and effective. It enables pupils’ progress to be tracked carefully across key stages so that staff are keenly aware of pupils’ ongoing performance. Leaders have carefully thought about and ‘road tested’ the system to ensure that it leads to accurate and meaningful assessment. Ongoing moderation ensures that data fed into the system continues to be accurate.
• The vast majority of pupils who completed a survey issued as part of the inspection agree that the work teachers set challenges them. Pupils who spoke with the lead inspector reported that pupils are expected to think for themselves. One pupil commented, ‘you need to use outside knowledge’ in addition to whatever skills and knowledge pupils are expected to acquire in lessons.
• Pupils receive a high level of support from staff if they get stuck or find their learning difficult. Pupils who responded to the pupil survey agree that in most of their lessons teachers go to great lengths to ensure that everyone understands things. Pupils who spoke with the lead inspector concurred with this view. They also said that teachers assist pupils further by encouraging self-reliance and the use of other resources before looking to the teacher for help.
• Teachers use their subject knowledge to good effect, planning activities that meet the needs of most pupils and enable them to make strong progress. However, a small number of pupils do not make the progress of which they are capable because work is not consistently tailored to meet their needs.
• The feedback provided by staff to help pupils improve their work is used to good effect by some teachers and in some subjects. However, the use and impact of feedback is inconsistent across the curriculum. Where feedback is less effective it is because the advice does not help pupils to improve or because they are not encouraged to act on it. To leaders’ credit, they are aware of this inconsistency and are taking action to tackle it.
• The work of some pupils is not presented as well as it could be. The majority of pupils take pride in their work, which matches the attitudes to learning observed in lessons. However, inspectors noted that features of presentation in some pupils’ books, such as handwriting and use of space, were not strong.

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 a highly positive experience of school and feel very well looked after. This is because of the quality of wide-ranging support in place to meets their needs, managed by highly effective staff who care for, and value, the pupils.
• Staff have audited the needs of every pupil in the school, so that support is clearly targeted where it is needed most. Staff have been trained within school, and external support secured from outside of school, to ensure that pupils have the services they need. For example, the school provides bereavement counselling. Staff work closely with the parent support adviser and the education welfare officer to ensure that vulnerable pupils engage with school. The number of vulnerable pupils in the school is decreasing as a result of this work. The governors’ well-being committee monitors the impact of work closely to ensure that support is helping pupils in the way it is supposed to.
• Staff throughout the school are excellent role models for pupils. Consequently, pupils reflect these attitudes and behaviours, looking out for each other and being mutually supportive. Pupils develop important qualities and attributes that will help them flourish in their future lives, such as self-sufficiency, reliability, open-mindedness and tolerance. Pupils are encouraged to take up leadership roles. For example, pupils run all aspects of the school council.
• The school curriculum ensures that pupils receive a range of opportunities to develop their spiritual, moral, social and cultural education. Religious education, assemblies, visitors to school and lessons supporting pupils’ personal, social and health education are all means that successfully develop this area of work. Pupils learn about rights and responsibilities in society, the principles of democracy and how to live healthily. In religious education, pupils consider philosophical questions, such as ‘Will having everything you want make you happy?’
• Staff are responsive to current affairs and world events in the way they shape provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural education. For example, staff were quick to anticipate inappropriate responses from pupils that might arise as a result of ‘Brexit’ and the recent attacks in Westminster. Opportunities were planned in order to rationalise and challenge inappropriate views.
• A small number of pupils attend alternative provision in different institutions better suited to their needs. In some cases this is because pupils have specific medical needs. Pupils are looked after well and make the progress expected of them given their specific circumstances. Staff receive regular reports about pupils’ well-being and progress so that they are aware of how they are doing at any given time.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is outstanding.
• Pupils take pride in their school. They treat the school building with respect so that inspectors did not see any litter or graffiti around the campus, inside or out. Pupils also take pride in their own presentation. They like to look smart and wear their uniform as it is supposed to be worn.
• Pupils move around the school campus in an orderly fashion. Although the building is small for the number of pupils now on roll, pupils show consideration and navigate the corridors around each other carefully. In outside areas during breaks, pupils congregate in small groups and converse at a reasonable volume. No pupils were observed running around or shouting, either inside or out.
• Pupils are very polite, cheery and friendly. A number of pupils said ‘hello’ to inspectors with a smile and held doors open for them. This is also how pupils behave with each other and staff.
• Overall attendance is above average and continues to improve over time. Moreover, absence is decreasing over time for different groups of pupils. This is because staff monitor absence closely on a case-by-case basis. They work closely with the education welfare officer to establish appropriate expectations and effective communication with parents.
• Overall exclusions are below average and have reduced over time. This is particularly notable for disadvantaged pupils, for whom exclusions have halved since last year. Exclusions for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities have fallen considerably, so that there have been no exclusions this academic year.
• Nearly all of the pupils who responded to the pupil survey issued during the inspection agree that the behaviour of their peers is good in all or most lessons.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• In 2016, pupils’ overall progress by the time they reached the end of Year 11 was above average. Their progress in many individual subjects, including mathematics, science and languages, was also above average. In English, pupils’ progress was in the top 10% of schools. This year’s high achievement builds on a trend of strong outcomes over time.
• In 2016, the overall progress of middle- and high-ability pupils was above average. Girls’ progress specifically was in the top 10% of schools. The most able pupils also made above-average progress across a range of individual subjects, particularly English.
• Pupils’ attainment has been consistently strong over time in a range of subjects. In English and mathematics in 2016, the attainment of lower-ability pupils was above average. The attainment of disadvantaged lower-ability pupils was in the top 10% of pupils nationally.
• Disadvantaged pupils make progress that is in line with all pupils nationally across a range of subjects. Over time, disadvantaged pupils are catching up with their peers in school. However, currently, they do not make the same rapid progress that non-disadvantaged pupils make.
• The school’s robust assessment information indicates that current pupils continue to make strong progress across year groups in most subjects. English continues to be a notable strength. Some pupils are currently not making as rapid progress in subjects such as art and drama. However, leaders are aware of this and are taking action to ensure that pupils make the progress of which they are capable.
• Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities make progress that is similar to all pupils nationally. Correspondingly, their attainment was also in line with the average in 2016 by the end of Year 11. This is because their progress is closely monitored by the special educational needs coordinator. She ensures that the right support, often provided by teaching assistants, is in place and having an impact.
• The quality of work in pupils’ books indicates that although pupils are making good progress across different subjects, it is not yet outstanding.
• Pupils’ experience of school ensures they are well prepared for the next stage of their educational careers. Many pupils continue into the sixth form and others make appropriate further education choices having received good advice about careers, apprenticeships and higher education. Pupils leave Year 11 academically well qualified. They also leave as caring, responsible citizens able to make a positive difference in the world around them.

16 to 19 study programmes Outstanding

• Students follow personalised study programmes that meet their needs and interests. This is because the design of the academic curriculum, range of courses and quality of guidance that students receive enable them to choose suitable programmes. The courses students follow are also complemented by a range of extra-curricular opportunities that broaden their interests and develop their employability skills. For example, sixth form students chair the whole-school student council.
• Students make sustained progress from their starting points in their different subjects. Over time, progress has been at least in line with the average. More frequently, it has been above the national average.
• The number of students completing their courses and going on to higher education, employment or training is higher than the national average. This is because students enjoy their courses and respond well to the teaching they receive. It is also because they have high aspirations and benefit from strong support that helps them to achieve highly.
• Leadership of the sixth form is very strong. Leaders have very high expectations of students who, in turn, are determined to meet these expectations. The systems for monitoring students’ progress are rigorous and drive improvement.
• The quality of teaching is high in the sixth form. Staff and students visibly enjoy opportunities to debate issues and wrestle with intellectual concepts. In an observed Year 13 English lesson, students enjoyed considering essay questions that sought to compare the play ‘A Doll’s House’ by Ibsen with poetry by Rossetti. Essay titles for discussion included ‘Emotive decisions often lead to regret’ and ‘Masculinity is often depicted as rigid and uncompromising’. Students enjoyed discussing these ideas with each other and their teacher.
• Teaching strikes the right balance between support and challenge for students. They are encouraged to think for themselves, develop powers of argument and learn how to interrogate ideas and challenge hypotheses. When students need help, staff provide them with the personalised attention that moves them forward. These relationships with staff are highly valued.
• Sixth form students set a fine example for pupils in the rest of the school. They are self-assured and confident, but also embody qualities such as modesty and humility. They, like other pupils in the school, are caring and altruistic. As such, students are highly effective ambassadors for the school.
• Students’ excellent attitudes to learning reflect their high standards of behaviour and attendance. There is no behaviour management system in the sixth form because there is no need for one. Poor behaviour has never arisen as an issue.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 137033 Gloucestershire 10025007 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 Number of pupils on the school roll Academy converter 11 to 18 Mixed 1,510 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Gillian Hayward Andrew Harris 01453 842227 http://klbschool.org.uk/ aharris@klbschool.org.uk Date of previous inspection 3–4 October 2012

Information about this school

• 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.
• Katharine Lady Berkeley’s School is a larger than average school.
• The school converted to become an academy in 2012, forming the Katharine Lady Berkeley’s School Trust. There are no other schools in the trust currently.
• The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic groups is well below average, as is the proportion of pupils whose first language is not English.
• The number of pupils eligible for the pupil premium is much lower than average.
• The number of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities who receive support, or who have a statement or an education, health and care plan, is below the national average.
• Nine pupils currently attend alternative provision at different establishments. Four pupils attend the Gloucestershire Hospital Education Service, one pupil the South Gloucestershire Hospital Education Service and another pupil St Andrew’s Hospital in Northampton for medical reasons. Other pupils are attending, and being supported by, Bristol Further Education College, Stroud Alternative Provision and Brinsham Green School.
• The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 11.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed pupils’ learning in a range of subjects and across year groups. Many observations were jointly conducted with school staff.
• Meetings were held with the headteacher and other senior leaders, groups of pupils, and representatives of the governing body. The lead inspector also spoke with the school improvement partner.
• Inspectors scrutinised a wide range of documentation, including information on pupils’ outcomes, the school’s self-evaluation, governing body minutes, records relating to the monitoring of teaching, learning and assessment, behaviour, attendance, exclusion and the safeguarding of pupils.
• Inspectors took account of 383 responses to the Parent View survey, 130 responses to the pupil survey and 84 responses to the staff survey.
• Inspectors scrutinised pupils’ work and observed their conduct at break and lunchtimes.

Inspection team

Steve Smith, lead inspector Martin Watson Non Davies Ray Hennessy Mark Thompson Gill Hickling Malcolm Davison Paul Nicholson Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector