Headlands School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the consistency and quality of teaching, learning and assessment, especially in English and science, by ensuring that teachers:
  • use the information they have in relation to pupils’ prior learning to plan activities that meet their varying needs, particularly for the most able
  • provide sufficient opportunities for pupils to deepen their knowledge and develop subject skills before moving on to their next topic
  • use transition information effectively to better understand pupils’ strengths and weaknesses when they arrive at the school
  • continue to work together to share the effective teaching that does exist in the school.
• Improve the effectiveness of leadership and management by ensuring that leaders:
  • check regularly that all school policies are applied consistently so that the variability in outcomes and the quality of teaching, learning and assessment are reduced, including in English and science
  • review and amend strategies designed to support disadvantaged pupils so that the progress these pupils make is accelerated
  • refine improvement plans and evaluations of teaching, learning and assessment so that they support improving outcomes.
• Continue to develop strategies to improve attendance so that the more vulnerable pupil groups do not remain absent from school for long periods.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management

Requires improvement

• Since the previous inspection, there has been a significant change at senior management level and a reduction in the number of teaching staff. Despite the changing staff profile, pupils’ attainment continues to improve. However, pupils’ progress in English and science requires improvement.
• Leaders have recently introduced a number of new policies and ways of working designed to improve the quality of teaching and pupils’ outcomes. However, leaders do not ensure that teachers apply the new policies consistently. Consequently, variations in the quality of teaching, learning and assessment remain.
• Additional funding to support disadvantaged pupils is allocated appropriately. However, disadvantaged pupils make less progress than others. This is because leaders do not routinely review the effectiveness of support and know which strategies are having the most impact.
• Leaders’ evaluations of the effectiveness of the school are overgenerous. When leaders review their own work, they identify appropriate strengths and areas to develop. However, evaluations do not always inform their next steps in sufficient detail to support improving outcomes.
• A high proportion of middle leaders are relatively new in post and are still developing their skills and understanding of what is expected of them. This has led to varying standards and degrees of accountability within and between subject departments.
• Staff and pupils support the vision created by the headteacher. Her leadership is rooted in the belief of doing ‘what is right for our pupils and the wider community’. She is reflective and steadfast in her determination to improve the life chances for all pupils.
• Leaders have developed partnerships with local employers and other education providers to ensure that the curriculum is broad and provides opportunities to meet the needs and interests of pupils. A wide range of extra-curricular activities is provided. Key stage 4 pupils benefit from weekly support sessions in English and mathematics which are starting to improve their rates of progress in these subjects.
• Leaders have a firm commitment to developing pupils’ social, moral, spiritual and cultural awareness and skills and do so effectively. Pupils are provided with a good range of opportunities to celebrate diversity and to help others, which promotes pupils’ understanding of British values. The peer mentoring scheme is very effective and competition to become a mentor is high.
• The Education Alliance (TEAL) continues to provide effective and intensive challenge and leadership support specifically linked to the management of financial resources within school. This has contributed to the submission of appropriate action plans to the local authority to tackle the school’s current deficit.

Governance of the school

• In the past, governors did not provide sufficient challenge to leaders about pupils’ underachievement or the management of financial resources. This has hindered the rate of improvement over time. Difficult decisions on the reduction of staff have had to be made.
• Governors now work more closely with school leaders and have a greater understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the school. They make regular visits to the school and observe the work of leaders. Scrutiny of recent minutes from governors’ meetings shows that they ask challenging questions and do not readily accept the information provided to them by leaders. Such actions are helping them to hold leaders to account more effectively for the impact of their work.
• Governors are fully aware of their safeguarding responsibilities and are appropriately trained to help sustain the strong culture of safeguarding that exists within the school. The governing body has a wide range of skills and levels of expertise and new governors are supported by effective induction procedures.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Induction for new staff is strong. A wide range of information is shared and expectations of all staff are made explicit in terms of conduct and vigilance. Staff receive regular safeguarding updates and understand their responsibilities.
• Appropriate checks are carried out to ensure that staff are safe to work with pupils. The systems to record these checks are robust and well led and managed.
• There is a strong culture of safeguarding across the school. Pupils said that they feel safe and know who to speak to if they have any problems. Staff and pupil ‘peer mentors’ are appropriately trained to listen to others and know to whom they must report any concerns.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• The quality of teaching varies across the school. Some teachers focus too much on topic coverage, often ‘skimming the surface’ at the expense of deepening pupils’ understanding and knowledge.
• The level of challenge in some lessons is not high enough. Some key stage 3 pupils told the inspectors that they had studied their current work in English lessons when they were in primary school. Teachers’ expectations of what the most able pupils can accomplish are variable, including in science. This has undoubtedly contributed to pupils not being pushed to the levels of which they are capable.
• New systems to assess pupils’ learning have been introduced. However, the application of the new way of working is inconsistent because some teachers ignore pupils’ prior attainment information and deliver lessons that are too easy or too difficult for some pupils.
• Senior and middle leaders’ observations in lessons focus too much on what they see rather than the impact on pupils’ progress over time. This has led to some groups of pupils falling behind because leaders judge teaching to be more effective than it is.
• Leaders have developed a culture in school where teachers enjoy teaching and learning, and are expected to learn from each other. Teachers who are new to the profession feel supported and enjoy the opportunity to observe and learn from more experienced colleagues. Such practice has yet to make its mark.
• Learning is more effective in mathematics, history and physical education (PE). These lessons are often characterised by teachers’ high expectations and their incisive questioning that probes pupils’ understanding, redirects thinking or tackles common misconceptions.
• Pupils value the support they receive in class and say that teachers and other adults help them do their best. This was evident in a Year 7 textiles lesson where pupils were making creatures from fabric. The teachers’ effective routines and positive relationships with the pupils led to pupils acquiring the required skills and knowledge in a safe and orderly manner.
• Numeracy skills are developed within and beyond mathematics lessons because teachers look for opportunities in lessons to develop such cross-curricular links. This supports the development of basic mathematical strategies and reinforces to pupils how skills can be transferred from one situation to another.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good. There are very few instances of bullying and pupils say that there are many trusted adults they can speak to if they have a problem.
• Pupils have access to many innovative and unique projects that help to develop their confidence and well-being. Notable examples include the health academy, supervised by a local GP, sports leadership, peer mentoring and the school SMASH initiative, designed to provide pupils with strategies to deal with specific social and emotional issues.
• Pupils work well in groups. They collaborate effectively and most are able to listen attentively to the opinions of others.
• Careers advice and guidance are a strength of the school. Local business professionals are invited into school regularly to take part in mock interviews or act as mentors. The close business links and the headteacher’s commitment to supporting the wider community ensure that all pupils go on to education, training or employment at ages 16 or 18.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good and has improved since the previous inspection.
• Effective systems to track and analyse instances of poor behaviour are in place and higher teacher expectations of pupils’ behaviour are promoted regularly. This has led to a reduction in the number of pupils who receive a detention or an exclusion for inappropriate behaviour.
• Where teaching is weaker, a small minority of pupils engage in low-level disruption, slowing the progress of all pupils.
• Leaders’ work to improve the attendance of pupils is having a positive impact. Pupils attend school far more regularly than they did previously. However, disadvantaged pupils and pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities are still more likely to be persistently absent from school.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• Outcomes require improvement because, over time, pupils’ progress from their different starting points has been below that of other pupils nationally, in a range of subjects. The progress Year 11 disadvantaged pupils made in English and science in summer 2017 was not good enough.
• Published performance information and leaders’ own analysis of current pupils’ progress highlights that the most able pupil group continue to make the least progress. Work scrutiny of current pupils’ books showed that it is rare to see a most able pupil fail or learn from their mistakes. This is because the work set is too easy due to teachers’ low expectations.
• Current pupils’ progress within and beyond subject areas and year groups is variable, including that of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities.
• Progress is hindered in some subjects because teachers do not always allow pupils sufficient time to embed new knowledge and skills, or attempt the expected ‘challenge’ tasks as set out in the schools assessment policy.
• Nevertheless, despite the significant reduction in teaching staff, overall attainment in English, mathematics and science has improved for the last three years. Attainment is now in line with or above that found nationally and leaders predict further improvements.
• When compared to other pupils nationally, Year 11 disadvantaged pupils in 2017 made progress that was in line with the national average for mathematics. This is an improvement of nearly half a grade from 2016.
• Programmes to improve pupils’ reading are well developed. When inspectors listened to a group of Year 7 and 8 pupils read, pupils were able to decode unfamiliar words and had an appropriate comprehension of the text.
• Pupils who enter the school in Year 7 and need to catch up to the levels of their peers receive appropriate help and guidance. Leaders allocate the additional government funding effectively. By the end of the last academic year, approximately three out of every four pupils had reached the level of their peers in literacy and numeracy. The few pupils who did not catch up now receive bespoke smaller-group tutoring.

16 to 19 study programmes Good

• Leaders promote high expectations successfully. Students confirm that they are challenged to aspire and succeed. Leaders take appropriate action to address underperformance and have a successful track record of doing so.
• Students are proud of their school. They behave very well and take on volunteering roles with younger pupils to ‘give something back’. Students attend lessons regularly. In the minority of cases where attendance continues to be an issue, leaders are tenacious in tackling the cause of absence. Students enjoy coming to school and there are very few who leave their courses prior to completion.
• Extensive enrichment and careers advice and guidance programmes exist which prepare students for life in modern Britain and beyond. This includes effective links with the local community, businesses, public services and higher educational establishments. Consequently, all students progress to higher education or employment.
• In contrast to some key stage 3 and 4 lessons, teachers know their students well and use assessment information to plan activities to meet the needs of all learners. The level of challenge is high and teachers’ use of demanding, appropriate subject terminology enables students to investigate more complex ideas.
• The mainly academic curriculum is broad and appropriate to students’ future career aspirations. Leaders have established a partnership with Bridlington School to ensure that those students who would like to study vocational subjects are able to do so. Stringent quality assurance and safeguarding checks occur regularly and a reciprocal agreement is in place.
• Student outcomes have been improving each year and continue to do so. The very small differences in progress between disadvantaged students and their peers have diminished over time successfully. In many cases, disadvantaged students make greater progress than other student groups.

School details

Unique reference number 118085 Local authority East Riding of Yorkshire Inspection number 10042167 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 Number of pupils on the school roll Of which, number on roll in 16 to 19 study programmes Community 11 to 18 Mixed Mixed 893 97 Appropriate authority The local authority Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Andrew Hirst Sarah Bone 01262 676198 www.headlandsschool.co.uk admin@headlandsschool.co.uk Date of previous inspection 9–10 December 2015

Information about this school

• The school is an average-sized secondary school with a sixth form.
• The proportion of pupils who are disadvantaged and receive support from the pupil premium is slightly above the national average.
• Almost all pupils are White British. The vast majority of pupils speak English as their first language.
• The school works in partnership with Bridlington School to deliver the 16 to 19 programmes of study.
• The school receives school improvement support from The Education Alliance (TEAL).

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors visited a wide range of lessons across the school. Some of the observations in lessons were carried out with senior leaders from the school.

• Discussions were held with senior and subject leaders, teachers, governors and local authority representatives.
• The inspectors held informal and formal discussions with pupils and observed an assembly and pupil interactions during social times.
• Inspectors spoke on the telephone with parents and the headteacher of Bridlington School.
• Inspectors listened to two groups of Year 7 and Year 8 pupils read.

• Inspectors observed the work of the school and scrutinised a wide range of evidence, including the school’s own self-evaluation, analysis of performance data, action plans and evaluations, attendance and behaviour records, safeguarding files, recruitment checks and pupils’ work.
• Inspectors took into account the 43 responses from parents and carers who completed Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire. They also took account of the 64 members of staff who completed the staff survey. Thirty-five pupils responded to Ofsted’s online pupil questionnaire and their views were taken into account.

Inspection team

Lee Elliott, lead inspector Steve Shaw Stuart Cleary Darren Stewart

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