Paget High School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve teaching, so that pupils, especially disadvantaged pupils, make consistently good progress, by ensuring that all teachers:
  • have high expectations of the quantity and quality of work that pupils should produce
  • consistently apply the school’s ‘non-negotiables’ policy to improve the quality of learning for all pupils.
• Strengthen leadership by ensuring that:
  • leaders swiftly and effectively evaluate improvement strategies to check the impact they are having on pupils’ outcomes leaders make better use of the school’s system to track pupils’ achievement to identify where interventions and additional support are needed
  • leaders evaluate the impact of pupil premium funding on pupils’ achievement
  • governors are trained to understand externally published information about pupils’ attainment and progress so that they are able to hold leaders to account for the school’s performance
  • there is a school-wide, consistently applied strategy for improving pupils’ literacy and numeracy skills.
• Improve behaviour so that the number of fixed-term exclusions and internal isolations reduce by ensuring that all staff:
  • have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour
  • consistently apply the school’s behaviour policy. An external review of governance should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership may be improved. An external review of the school’s use of the pupil premium funding should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership may be improved.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management

Requires improvement

• Leaders’ implementation of improvement strategies has been too slow since the last inspection. The quality of teaching has improved but, other than in the sixth form, it varies too much. Consequently, pupils’ progress, especially that of disadvantaged pupils, is not improving fast enough.
• Leaders have introduced several initiatives to bring about improvement. The ‘non-negotiables’ policy, for example, sets out minimum expectations for staff and pupils. While this policy is beginning to have some impact on improving the quality of teaching, learning and assessment it has been too recently introduced to have had a sustained impact on the development of pupils’ skills, knowledge and understanding.
• School leaders do not effectively analyse the impact of their actions on pupils’ outcomes. This means they are not in a position to put timely interventions in place to support pupils who are at risk of falling behind. As a result, the support and interventions that have been provided are not enabling pupils’ good learning.
• Leaders’ evaluation of the effectiveness of the pupil premium funding and Year 7 catch-up funding lacks precision and detail. Leaders are not always able to identify which strategies are having a positive impact on pupils’ achievement and which are not.
• Leaders’ approach to checking pupils’ achievement in Years 7 to 10 has not been effective enough. Teachers’ assessments do not enable leaders to spot when pupils or groups of pupils are falling behind with their work. As a result, some pupils are not given the help they need to catch up. Leaders are fully aware of this problem and are now planning a new approach.
• Tracking of pupils’ learning is more effective in Year 11. Here, regular assessments are compared with GCSE target grades and careful moderation helps teachers to give accurate information about pupils’ progress.
• Senior leaders have a clear vision and drive for the school. They know their school well and have high aspirations for the standard of education they provide. The impact of leadership in the sixth form is good.
• The leadership of teaching now has a number of strengths. Leaders provide targeted training and support for teachers because they know where teaching is strong and where it needs improvement. Recruiting high-quality teachers has proved challenging in recent years, resulting in shortfalls in some subjects. This has led to inconsistencies in teaching which have a negative impact on pupils’ learning and behaviour. Leaders have recognised this and have acted accordingly. The school is now set to be fully staffed for the new academic year in September 2017.
• Middle leaders form a hardworking and committed group of professionals. They are now fully engaged in the school’s improvement drive and play a vital role in the implementation of the ‘non-negotiables’ policy across the school. Middle leaders have an accurate picture of the quality of teaching and learning within their subjects.
• The curriculum is broad, balanced and designed effectively to support pupils’ learning. Extra-curricular activities include numerous sporting activities, the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award and the school farm. All pupils speak very highly of the many activities on offer at the farm. These activities range from enterprise activities to well-being support for pupils whose circumstances make them vulnerable. All pupils have the opportunity to take an active role in the running of a real business. These activities complement the curriculum very well and allow pupils to broaden their learning considerably.

Governance of the school

• The governing body does not hold school leaders to account well. Governors do not have enough understanding for themselves about pupils’ outcomes and changes to national assessment systems. They overly rely on leaders to interpret information about the school’s performance for the governing body. Consequently, governors have not been effective enough in challenging leaders about low outcomes, especially for disadvantaged pupils.
• Governance has several strengths. Governors are proud of the school and play a very active part in school life. They visit the school regularly as link governors and understand many day-to-day issues. For example, governors were able to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of different subjects within the school and when they have a clear understanding of the information they are presented with, they influence improvements.
• The governing body discharges its statutory duties with diligence. For example, governors carefully monitor the school’s budget, they check that safeguarding arrangements are robust and ensure that performance management focuses on improving the quality of teaching.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• School leaders have ensured that all statutory safeguarding duties, including recruitment checks, policies and training, are in place. They keep accurate records and liaise well with other agencies as and when required.
• Leaders have successfully created a culture throughout the school of keeping pupils safe. Staff understand the school’s detailed policies and procedures, and their responsibility to keep pupils safe. Members of staff receive regular training and updates about safeguarding and, as a result, they are confident to make referrals if they have any concerns. Leaders deal with all such referrals speedily and appropriately.
• All pupils who spoke with inspectors, and those who completed the online questionnaire, confirm they feel safe in school. The large majority of parents who completed the Parent View questionnaire also confirmed their child feels safe in school. Pupils have a secure understanding of how to keep themselves and others safe. They understand the risks surrounding online safety and social media.
• Pupils who spoke with inspectors about some poor behaviour in lessons were clear that the low-level nature of the disruption means that it does not make them feel unsafe.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• The quality of teaching and learning varies between year groups. It is weaker in key stage 3, but stronger in key stage 4 and the sixth form. Consequently pupils, and especially disadvantaged pupils, make slower progress than they should in several subjects.
• In some lessons teachers do not consistently expect pupils to work hard and do their best. The quality of work in pupils’ books varies too much. Pieces of work are sometimes incomplete or poorly presented. Teachers do not routinely challenge poor work.
• Not all teachers consistently apply the ‘non-negotiables’ policy in lessons, which includes high expectations of pupils’ behaviour and achievement. As a result, some pupils’ attitudes to learning are negative. They become disengaged in their studies and display off-task behaviour.
• The assessment of pupils’ learning in key stage 3 is not effective. It does not allow teachers to identify early enough when pupils are falling behind in their work. This results in interventions not being timely enough for pupils to catch up. Leaders have recognised this and are now planning a new approach to evaluating the learning of all pupils in key stage 3.
• Weaknesses in pupils’ literacy are not being tackled consistently enough. Successful teaching of literacy skills in some lessons results in improved spelling and punctuation in pupils’ work. Where teaching is weaker, pupils’ literacy skills remain low and show no signs of improving.
• Some teaching is characterised by skilful questioning, high expectations and work that is well matched to the needs of pupils. For example, in a computing lesson the teacher’s high expectations of what pupils are able to achieve led to almost all pupils making strong progress.
• Similarly, relationships between teachers and pupils are strong in some classes. They lead to effective learning and good progress. Pupils in these classes display a positive learning ethos and attitudes towards their studies. This was seen in several lessons by inspectors, including in science and computing.
• Teaching in the sixth form is consistently good. Teachers use their secure subject knowledge to plan engaging and challenging activities that are well matched to students’ abilities. Excellent relationships mean that teachers give students high-quality feedback and guidance. Positive attitudes to learning mean that students act on their teachers’ guidance and make good progress.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• Governors, staff, parents and pupils share the headteacher’s vision for a school in which pupils ‘experience an inclusive and caring school, striving in partnership with the community to become resilient learners with high aspirations and levels of achievement’. Pupils feel safe because teachers and other adults provide care and support, especially to those who need it most. The majority of parents who responded to Ofsted’s Parent View agreed that their children are happy and well looked after in school.
• The inclusive and caring ethos of the school is a strength. Pupils feel valued and the majority who completed the online survey said that they are encouraged to respect others’ differences. This ethos permeates the school and was evident during the inspection. Inspectors saw and met with courteous and friendly pupils.
• Pupils understand different types of bullying and they know what to do if they experience any. Pupils told inspectors that bullying is rare in the school and they expressed confidence in adults to deal swiftly and effectively with any that occurs. Several pupils told inspectors how much they appreciated the support from members of staff when they experienced difficulties.
• Parents, pupils and staff are unanimous in their praise for the pastoral care the school provides. Pupils know who to talk to if they need help, support or have concerns. Parents who responded on Parent View commented on the high-quality pastoral provision of the school.
• The very small number of pupils who study full time or for part of the week at an off-site provider achieve well because teachers give them high levels of support, both when they are in school and when they are attending their alternative provider. School staff regularly visit pupils at their vocational placements to ensure that they are safe. The personal development of these pupils is good.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils requires improvement.
• The number of pupils who have been excluded for a fixed term or internally isolated remains high, particularly for disadvantaged boys. The school farm is now beginning to have a positive impact on behaviour. Pupils who display challenging behaviour have intervention sessions at the farm to improve their engagement in learning. Records show that pupils are now reintegrating into their classes because of the interventions taking place at the farm.
• In some lessons, pupils respond with low-level disruption because lessons are not well planned, teachers lack expertise in behaviour management or do not consistently apply the school’s behaviour for learning policy. For example, in some lessons during the inspection, pupils talked while the teacher was speaking, shouted out or were not attentive. In a few lessons, some pupils did little work or work of poor quality.
• A small minority of pupils lack self-discipline. Teachers do not apply the school’s behaviour policy consistently with these pupils. As a result, pupils are unclear about the expectations staff have of them. In conversation with inspectors, pupils said that ‘not all teachers deal with bad behaviour in the same way’. Pupils who completed the online survey said that behaviour is not dealt with fairly by some staff.
• Behaviour around school between lessons, at break and at lunchtime is good. The school is calm and orderly. Pupils are sensible and courteous to each other and to adults.
• Attendance is in line with the national average. The attendance of disadvantaged pupils, which has been low for several years, improved last year and further improvement is evident this year. Consequently, differences between attendance of disadvantaged pupils and that of others are diminishing.
• Pupils who attend alternative provision full time or for part of the week attend regularly and their placements help them to re-engage with education. Several received temporary exclusions last year, contributing to the school’s high exclusion figures.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• Although pupils make average progress overall from their low starting points, the progress of disadvantaged pupils remains below that of pupils nationally in several subjects, including English and mathematics.
• Over recent years and up to 2015, disadvantaged pupils’ progress had declined significantly and differences between their outcomes and those of other pupils nationally had grown. However, GCSE results in 2016 indicate that leaders have stemmed this decline. Disadvantaged pupils’ progress has risen and differences, although still existing, are now beginning to narrow.
• The use of pupil premium funding has not had the desired effect on disadvantaged pupils’ progress. This is because the evaluation is not focused enough upon the impact of spending on pupils’ achievement.
• Many pupils have weak basic literacy and numeracy skills when they join the school. A school-wide programme to improve literacy levels has recently been introduced. Inconsistent application of the school’s literacy strategy, however, means that progress has been slower than it might have been. There is no programme to tackle pupils’ weak numeracy skills beyond mathematics lessons and consequently these are not improving quickly enough.
• GCSE results for 2016 show that pupils made good progress in several subjects including art and design, personal finance and health and social care. Pupils made weak progress in English, mathematics, German and history. Standards in science have improved, although they still fall below the national average. Leaders have recognised the major shortfalls in science and restructured the curriculum. As a result, teaching has now improved and pupils are making better progress.
• Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities made good progress in 2016 as they left Year 11, and better progress than their peers in some subjects. Extra help from specialised teaching assistants supports pupils in lessons and enables them to tackle tasks, even when classroom teaching is weaker. Personalised support helps pupils to catch up with their work.
• The school’s careers advice and guidance scheme offers a range of advice to pupils in key stage 4 about appropriate sixth-form options and apprenticeships. The programme is effective and prepares pupils well for life beyond secondary school. Pupils are complimentary about the advice and support they receive.
• Standards in the sixth form have improved, from a low base, over the past two years. Results in all subjects are at least in line with national figures. Boys and girls achieve similar standards and the progress of disadvantaged students is similar to that of other students nationally. The proportion of students achieving the very top A-level grades, remains below national figures however.

16 to 19 study programmes Good

• The sixth form has grown in popularity within the community and, as a result, has rising numbers of students. It offers sixth-form experiences to students who were unsuccessful in other colleges and gives them the opportunity to gain access to higher education. Students are very complimentary about the school and the fact that some students are able to complete three-year courses.
• The sixth form is well led and has many strengths. All requirements of the 16 to 19 study programmes are met. Leaders understand its few weaknesses and have effective plans in place to secure further improvement. High expectations, excellent relationships and strong teaching have resulted in positive outcomes.
• The curriculum in the sixth form is broad and balanced. It offers a range of level 2 and 3 courses in academic and vocational subjects. It is the only sixth-form provider to offer such courses within the local area. As a result, many students join the sixth form from a range of other secondary schools.
• Students have access to a broad and appropriate range of activities that supplement their academic studies. For example, students are heavily involved in the running and upkeep of the school farm and are encouraged to undertake a work experience placement that is closely matched to their future career aspirations.
• High-quality careers education enables students to make informed choices about their futures. Almost all students who completed their courses in 2016 moved into higher education, employment or apprenticeship. A number of students have been successful in securing places at prestigious universities across the country.
• All learners who start the sixth form without a GCSE grade C or above in English or mathematics are required to follow a course to improve their results. Success rates on these courses are poor, however. This is because students are entered for the qualifications before they are ready. Leaders are aware that this is the weakest aspect of the sixth form.
• Students are very proud of and complimentary about their sixth form. They are articulate and mature, and conduct themselves in an exemplary fashion. Attendance in the sixth form is slightly below that in the rest of the school, however. Leaders are aware of this and are taking steps to tackle the issue.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 124392 Staffordshire 10032609 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Comprehensive School category Age range of pupils 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 Community 11 to 18 Mixed Mixed 936 152 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Tim Craner Marc Howell Telephone number 01283 239 000 Website Email address http://paget.staffs.sch.uk/ office@paget.staffs.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 24–25 June 2015

Information about this school

• The school does meet requirements on the publication of information about governance on its website.
• The school is an average-sized secondary school.
• The proportion of pupils who are from minority ethnic backgrounds is above average, the largest group being of Pakistani heritage. The proportion who speak English as an additional language is above average.
• The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is below average.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is average.
• Full- or part-time off-site alternative provision is currently provided for a small number of pupils in Years 9 to 11 at the Burton PRU–Short Stay School (which is a pupil referral unit) and Curzon Street Business Centre for vocational courses such as motor mechanics and bricklaying.
• The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for students’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics by the end of Year 11.
• The school runs a farm and an orchard, including a falconry, on the school site. These provide opportunities and support for pupils and students from the local schools.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed teaching and learning in lessons across subjects, and observed some lessons with a senior leader. They observed pupils’ behaviour between lessons and at breaktime and lunchtime.
• Inspectors evaluated the work in pupils’ books and folders in lessons across a range of subjects and year groups. They listened to pupils of different abilities read.
• Inspectors held meetings with governors, senior and middle leaders, and teachers, including those that are newly qualified.
• The views of parents were considered through the 36 responses to Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire, as well as the 28 free-text comments parents provided.
• Inspectors considered 70 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire for staff.
• Pupils met with inspectors in four separate focus groups. Inspectors had numerous informal discussions with pupils. Inspectors also considered pupils’ views from their responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire for pupils.
• Inspectors reviewed a wide range of documentation. This included: the school’s self-evaluation and action plans; minutes of meetings of the governing body; school policies; information about pupils’ attainment and progress, behaviour, attendance and the quality of teaching, learning and assessment.
• Inspectors visited ‘The School Farm’ and the on-site isolation hub.

Inspection team

Bianka Zemke, lead inspector Julie Griffiths Sara Arkle David Hermitt

Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector