Mangotsfield School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve leadership by:
  • ensuring that leaders’ initiatives to improve teaching across the curriculum have sufficiently rapid impact, particularly in science
  • ensuring that additional funding is used to best effect to raise the achievement of disadvantaged pupils and those who have SEN and/or disabilities, particularly those higher up the school
  • continuing to strengthen governance so that leaders are fully held to account for the progress of pupils
  • ensuring that support from the multi-academy trust enables pupils to make better progress
  • ensuring that leaders of the sixth form more effectively monitor the progress of groups of pupils and improve aspects of provision to raise achievement.
• Improve teaching and raise achievement by ensuring that:
  • teachers set work that meets the needs of pupils of different abilities
  • feedback is consistently applied according to the school’s policy and used by pupils to improve their work
  • teaching more routinely engages pupils’ interest and encourages more positive attitudes to learning.
• Improve personal development, welfare and behaviour by ensuring that:
  • all staff challenge low-level disruption and inappropriate language through consistent application of the ‘Ready to Learn’ system, including outside of lessons in social time
  • the attendance of persistently absent disadvantaged and SEN pupils improves
  • all pupils take pride in their appearance. A review of pupil premium funding is recommended to consider how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

• Over time, leaders’ work to raise the achievement of pupils has not had sufficient impact. In some cases, initiatives to improve aspects of the school’s work were not established quickly enough.
• Various initiatives to improve the quality of teaching have only recently been introduced and evidence of success is not yet visible. Leaders acknowledge that the quality of teaching across the school is consequently variable and pupils’ outcomes require improvement.
• Support from the multi-academy trust, to which the school belongs, has not resulted in improved achievement for pupils. Although partnerships with other schools in the trust have promoted greater sharing of best practice, this work has not led to a rise in pupils’ achievement.
• Additional funding has not been used well enough to improve the achievement of pupils, especially older pupils, who are disadvantaged or who have SEN. This is because leaders do not have clear processes in place to monitor the progress of these pupils. It is also because leaders do not have sharp enough strategic oversight of this area of the school’s work.
• Leaders take an honest, accurate view of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. They know what needs to be done and are confronting underperformance. They have taken difficult decisions to ensure that the right staff are in place to lead initiatives and improve the quality of teaching.
• The leadership of teaching is now more focused and purposeful. Leaders are encouraging staff to share ideas, discuss best practice and try new strategies. This is encouraging teachers to feel more engaged in their professional development.
• Middle leaders are rising to the challenge of improving teaching because they feel trusted by senior leaders to take responsibility for their work. Consequently, middle leaders are motivated and upbeat about this collaborative approach. They are responding well to the heightened support and challenge that is spurring them on.
• Since the predecessor school was last inspected, leaders have introduced a curriculum that is better tailored to pupils’ different academic needs. There is now more flexibility in the curriculum. This is because pupils can take advantage of different pathways leading to appropriate qualifications. Revisions to the curriculum have also ensured that pupils experience greater depth and breadth in the range of courses they are studying.
• Outside of lessons, pupils benefit from a range of extra-curricular activities. These include, yoga, chess and a full range of sports clubs. Furthermore, Year 11 pupils can also attend subject revision sessions after school, which help prepare them for examinations. Pupils who spoke with the lead inspector said that these sessions reflect the high level of staff commitment.
• A large minority of parents who responded to Parent View are not satisfied with various aspects of the school’s work. Nearly one in three parents would not recommend the school.

Governance of the school

• Many members of the local governance committee are new to their role. They are not, as yet, sufficiently well trained. The current chair has detailed and appropriate plans in place to provide governors with the relevant skills. However, she acknowledges that the local governance committee is currently too over-reliant on her.
• The chair of governors, who took over at the beginning of this academic year, is highly experienced and knowledgeable. She has a very clear understanding of how governance needs to improve and is taking decisive steps to achieve this. She has raised the level of challenge directed at leaders in order to hold them to account better. At the same time, however, she has formed a supportive, constructive relationship with leaders.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• The designated safeguarding lead has clear, effective oversight of her responsibilities. Consequently, she ensures that all staff are trained to an appropriate degree and know the procedures to follow should they have concerns about a child.
• The new online system for recording concerns has enabled designated safeguarding staff to monitor referrals much more closely. This enables them to keep abreast of developments and take appropriate action. Staff also work closely, and successfully, with external agencies to ensure that vulnerable pupils receive the support they need.
• The majority of pupils who spoke with inspectors agreed that they feel safe in school. This is because the school is a happy, welcoming place. However, a minority of parents who responded to Parent View do not agree. Nevertheless, this view is not supported by other inspection evidence. Pupils say that bullying incidents are not common and that staff deal with them quickly when they do occur.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• Teachers do not routinely match work to pupils’ different needs. As a result, the work for some pupils is either too easy or too hard in some subjects. In the case of the most able pupils, this means that they are not challenged to make the progress of which they are capable.
• Leaders have ensured that inadequate teaching has been eradicated. However, too little teaching fails to inspire or excite pupils. As a result, pupils are not sufficiently engaged and ‘hungry’ to learn. Although they generally behave well in lessons, pupils’ attitudes to learning require improvement because they lack enthusiasm for learning.
• Teachers across the curriculum do not consistently provide feedback in line with the school’s policy. Some subjects use different approaches, which is confusing for pupils. Moreover, pupils do not consistently use this feedback to improve their work in some subjects.
• Teachers, many of whom are fairly new to the school, are keen to improve their practice and enjoy their work. Their subject knowledge is strengthening. Where the teaching is particularly effective, teachers use their expertise to question pupils well and involve them in interesting class discussions.
• The quality of teaching in humanities and languages subjects is a strength of the school. Staff in these areas have high expectations of pupils, set demanding work and monitor pupils’ progress carefully. Pupils respond well to this challenge and make more rapid progress as a result.
• Pupils’ cross-curricular literacy is well developed in English and other subjects, such as humanities. Pupils are encouraged to write at length and develop their skills at writing for different purposes and audiences. Teachers in different subjects help pupils to identify spelling and punctuation errors.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• Leaders work effectively with staff who have responsibility for pastoral matters. This good communication means that staff have been able to form a cohesive network of support that meets the needs of the ‘whole’ child. Services such as ‘Thrive’ and ‘Man-Up!’ support the behavioural, social and emotional needs of vulnerable pupils well.
• Pupils receive good careers advice and guidance. Staff have put an effective programme in place in conjunction with other providers. This programme is linked to the options process, so that a joined-up approach links the curriculum with advice about careers.
• Leaders and the wider staff have nurtured a school culture that is welcoming, tolerant and caring. The large majority of pupils who responded to the pupil survey reported that they enjoy their school experience. They also agreed that staff help them to do their best and listen to what they have to say. As one Year 11 pupil told the lead inspector about staff, ‘I know they wouldn’t judge me and they want the best for me.’
• A minority of parents who responded to Parent View do not agree that pupils are well looked after.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils requires improvement.
• Pupils do not take enough pride in their appearance. Too many pupils do not wear their uniform in accordance with the school’s policy. This means, for example, that these pupils do not tuck in their shirts or wear their ties as they are supposed to.
• Attendance overall, and for disadvantaged pupils, has improved because staff are proactive about employing different strategies to tackle individual pupils’ absence. Nevertheless, the number of disadvantaged pupils who are persistently absent is too high.
• The ‘Ready to Learn’ behaviour system has helped to improve behaviour. There are now fewer incidents of high-level disruption and overall exclusions have fallen as a result. The pupils who spoke with the lead inspector reported that learning was disrupted less as a result of the new system.
• However, pupils who spoke with inspectors reported that staff do not always apply ‘Ready to Learn’ consistently. This means that there is still too much low-level disruption at times.
• The needs of pupils in alternative provision are well met. Staff work closely with other institutions to ensure that support meets a wide range of social, emotional, behavioural and medical needs. Furthermore, pupils’ academic progress is also monitored closely, so that leaders know they are achieving well in difficult circumstances. The effectiveness of alternative provision arrangements has helped to reduce the number of exclusions.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• For the past two years, pupils’ overall achievement has been below average by the time they leave Year 11. It has also been below average in science and English. Furthermore, the progress of middle-ability pupils has been below average for the last two years in these areas.
• The achievement of disadvantaged pupils has been below average in a range of subjects for the past two years. The school’s progress information shows that current pupils are making better progress this year than last year. However, it is still not rapid enough. This is because leaders are not monitoring their academic progress closely enough and ensuring that additional funding is being put to best use.
• Pupils who have SEN are not making enough academic progress. Although their pastoral needs are well catered for, leaders do not monitor their academic progress closely enough. Consequently, provision does not always enable pupils to catch up rapidly when they fall behind.
• As a result of stronger teaching, pupils’ achievement in humanities and languages subjects by the time they leave the school is at least in line with average. Pupils’ overall progress in languages improved in 2017. In 2016, pupils’ progress in humanities was above average.
• Concerted efforts to try new teaching approaches, evaluate effectiveness and develop greater consistency in English are paying dividends. The quality of teaching is improving as a result, although this impact is not yet visible in published information.
• Leaders acknowledge that further improvement is required in science and that the pace of improvement must quicken. Following recent staffing turbulence, the department is now fully staffed and led by a committed and focused subject leader. She knows what needs to improve.
• Lower-ability pupils are making strong progress across the curriculum. For the past two years, these pupils made progress that was at least in line with the national average across most of their subjects.
• Higher-ability pupils respond well to strong teaching and make correspondingly strong progress when they are stimulated by interesting, engaging teaching. The work in their books shows that they take greater pride in their work when teachers’ expectations are higher and tasks are more challenging.

16 to 19 study programmes

Requires improvement

• Students do not make enough progress by the time they leave the school because the teaching they receive is too variable across subjects. For the past two years, students’ overall progress has been below average, particularly for those students who achieved a grade B at GCSE.
• The school’s own progress information indicates that students’ attainment will be much higher in 2018. However, this information is not sufficiently robust. As a result, leaders’ analysis is over-optimistic.
• Attendance in the sixth form is too low. Leaders have not taken enough steps to ensure that students attend not only their lessons but extra-curricular activities as well. Although a tutorial programme is in place, offering different activities, students too often choose not to engage with these activities. Instead, they opt for private study or leave the school site at this time.
• Students value the personalised support they receive from their teachers. They report that staff have their best interests at heart and ‘go the extra mile’ to help them catch up if they fall behind.
• Considering the small size of the sixth form, students have a wide range of academic courses from which to choose. Leaders have ensured that students have appropriate study programmes in place, including GCSE resits, should students need to achieve a higher grade in English or mathematics.
• Staff provide helpful advice and guidance to students to assist their next steps once they leave school. For example, they help students to prepare university applications. In addition to this support, students benefit from a range of visiting speakers, helping them to make appropriate choices.

School details

Unique reference number 142008 Local authority South Gloucestershire Inspection number 10048361 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 Gender of pupils in 16 to 19 study programmes Academy sponsor-led 11 to 18 Mixed Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 1,147 Of which, number on roll in 16 to 19 study programmes 57 Appropriate authority Multi-academy trust Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Ann Duff David Spence 01454 862700 www.mangotsfieldschool.org.uk info@mangotsfieldschool.org.uk Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

Information about this school

• The school became an academy in September 2015, sponsored by the Castle School Education Trust.
• The school will suspend sixth-form teaching at the end of this academic year.
• 20 pupils attend alternative provision. Providers include, Rock Steady, Pathways Learning Centre, City of Bristol College and CLF Engage.
• The number of girls in the school is below the national average.
• The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium is just below the national average.
• The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities who receive support is higher than average. The proportion of pupils who have a statement of special educational needs or an education, health and care plan is lower than average.
• The level of local deprivation is in line with the national average.
• The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress by the end of Year 11.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed pupils’ learning in a range of subjects and across year groups. Some observations were jointly conducted with school staff.
• Inspectors held meetings with the headteacher and other senior leaders, middle leaders, groups of pupils, and the chair of the governing body. The lead inspector also spoke with the chief executive of the Castle School Education Trust.
• Inspectors scrutinised a wide range of documentation, including information on pupils’ outcomes, the school’s self-evaluation and development plans. They also scrutinised records relating to the monitoring of teaching, behaviour, attendance and the safeguarding of pupils.
• Inspectors took account of 213 responses to the Parent View survey, 72 responses to the staff survey and 53 responses to the pupil survey.
• Inspectors scrutinised pupils’ work and observed their conduct at break and lunchtimes.

Inspection team

Steve Smith, lead inspector David Herbert Julia Chapman Mark Lees Alun Williams Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector