Malton School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment to achieve the school’s ambition for all students to make more than good progress in every subject, by: ensuring all teachers consistently follow the agreed approach to give students time to respond to clear advice about how to improve their work and deepen their understanding of the subject teachers ensuring that all students clearly describe what they understand and record their work systematically, particularly in mathematics lessons.
• Improve the personal development, behaviour and welfare of students by fully implementing plans to improve their appreciation of the benefits of the diverse world of which they are a part.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

• The headteacher’s measured and considered approach to leading improvements has ensured that the overwhelming majority of staff and parents have accepted changes and are very proud to be associated with the school. His approach, shared by all the leaders and governors, provides a model of calm determination to do well, reflected in students’ conduct and positive attitudes to learning.
• Leaders have an accurate view of students’ achievements and what more needs to be done to reach outstanding outcomes. Planning for further improvements involves all groups of staff, parents and students. The high number of positive written comments to the inspectors from staff and parents demonstrates the success of this approach.
• Leaders check that teachers assess students’ learning accurately and spot any students who are not doing as well as they can. As a result of their checks and subsequent actions, different groups of students, including disadvantaged students benefiting from the pupil premium, are making better progress than at the time of the last inspection.
• Leaders and subject leaders regularly check teachers are using the school’s agreed systems for assessing and feeding back to students. Clear guidance is helping teachers to meet the required standard for all aspects of their teaching. Training and development for teachers have a good impact because stronger teachers are used to model good practice, and activities are matched to the specific development needs of individual teachers.
• Leaders have made sure that students receive helpful information and guidance from independent advisers about choices and opportunities for further studies and employment. The courses followed at alternative providers extend the range of career opportunities for students to consider.
• The range of subjects and enrichment activities are well matched to students’ interests, supporting their development as well-rounded individuals prepared to be active citizens. There is good provision for the students’ social, moral, spiritual and cultural development. However, leaders recognise the need to do more to open students’ minds to the wider world outside their immediate community so that they are well prepared for life in modern Britain. This includes more girls being confident enough to venture into male-dominated work places. The plans to do this have been developed.
• The partnership with Red Kite Teaching Schools Alliance has been of great benefit in supporting improvements in leadership and teaching, learning and assessment. The local authority has provided support to the school in line with its needs.
• The governance of the school:

works effectively to challenge and support leaders. Individual governors, as well as the Chair of the Governing Body, have knowledge and skills that they use to analyse what is working well and to understand when further improvements are needed. This includes purposeful performance management of staff and the appropriate use of pay awards is rightly confident that students have equal benefit from their time at school, as governors visit school regularly, meeting with leaders, staff and parents is managing to reduce a deficit budget with the agreement of the local authority. This has not stopped governors from making sure the pupil premium grant, and additional money to support students with special educational needs, is used to support the progress of those students for whom it is intended.

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Through the use of robust procedures, the headteacher and governors have shown themselves capable of taking swift and decisive actions to safeguard students in their care. All staff are trained and supported to ensure students are safe. Work with parents and other agencies to safeguard students is productive.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

• A considerable amount of teaching is highly effective because teachers plan work that builds on what students already know and understand. Teachers use skilful questioning to ensure any misconceptions are quickly identified and rectified. In some lessons inspectors saw a genuine excitement about learning, even when some students were new to the subject, for example in a Year 7 French lesson.
• Examples of successful learning were seen when students checked their work themselves and with other students. Teachers then checked for any gaps in understanding or knowledge and gave guidance to students on how to improve. Students had time to respond to the guidance, and the impact on their progress could be seen in their books.
• Teachers and students have strong relationships based on trust. As a consequence, in many lessons students are prepared to risk answering challenging questions because they do not worry about making mistakes. This means their confidence is high and supports their positive attitudes to learning.
• The gradual distribution of individual tablet devices is proving a very useful teaching tool. Students in Year 10 and those on 16 to 19 study programmes demonstrate faster progress due to the use of an application that enables teachers to give very personal oral feedback, which the students can access anywhere they choose to learn. Students find teachers’ creative use of the devices motivating, for example by setting homework for students to develop their speaking skills by recording ‘voice-overs’ to slide presentations.
• Teachers make sure students get a wide range of opportunities to develop a love of reading. Students in Year 7 who are behind in their reading catch up quickly because of the good use of additional money provided to help them improve their reading skills. The development of literacy skills across all subjects is good. Students’ mathematical skills are not as well developed across the range of subjects.
• Some teachers do not use the school’s well-defined procedures for planning and assessing learning as productively as others, for example not all teachers give time to students to respond to comments about how to improve their work. As a result, these students do not get the full advantage of the teachers’ guidance.
• A few teachers do not always recognise when students are struggling to understand. In these classes students do not get a chance to explain their ideas and are not encouraged to record their work systematically. This leads to a small number of lower-ability students, particularly in mathematics, making slower progress.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare are good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote students’ personal development and welfare is good. Students and their parents are almost universal in their praise for the school’s work in this area. Students know they are well supported, particularly for their emotional well-being, and as a result they are confident and effective learners.
• Staff tackle sensitive issues and use a wide range of opportunities to make sure students think about the consequences of choices and risks they may take. For example, Year 9 students learn about the impact of chlamydia resulting from unprotected sex.
• Staff are active in supporting students who may be vulnerable to risky behaviours. Students learn how to keep themselves safe and how to manage acceptable risks appropriately. The distribution of tablet devices to individual students has been well supported by e-safety training.
• Students know that bullying can occur in different forms and they are confident that staff will sort out any issues between students. They are actively encouraged to talk about concerns. Leaders know some students are not aware of the impact the use of some words have on individuals. A plan is in place to deepen the students’ awareness of the unintentional impact of words linked to homophobia, alongside work to increase the students’ understanding of diversity.
• Students are actively encouraged to adopt healthy lifestyles, through the food offered in school, the range of sporting activities on offer and through citizenship lessons and form-time activities.
• All aspects of the students’ welfare when they attend alternative providers are regularly checked by leaders. Students talk confidently about how safe they feel and how placements encourage them to develop as young adults.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good. Students are polite and engaging young people. Their conduct in lessons is good; the very rare low-level disruptive behaviour is linked to teaching that is not well-matched to students’ needs. During social times, the students remain calm and move around the school in an orderly manner.
• The school’s information shows that the numbers of positive comments students receive far outweigh negative comments. This positive approach to discipline is reaping rewards. Inspectors were all impressed by the students’ behaviour.
• Attendance is above average and persistent absence is low. Staff are not complacent and chase up any absences and the reasons behind any students being late. Students on 16 to 19 study programmes benefit from the same high expectations of attendance and punctuality. Vulnerable students are very well supported by the attendance team.

Outcomes for pupils are good

• Students across all year groups and in most subjects make strong progress from their different starting points. The rates of progress of different groups of students have improved since the last inspection and particularly in the last academic year. Inspectors confirmed the school’s view of outcomes by reviewing students work from last year as well as their current work books.
• The proportion of 16 year olds gaining at least five GCSEs at A*-C grades, including English and mathematics, compares favourably with other secondary schools nationally. Disadvantaged students made good progress. The gap between their grades and other students nationally is closing. The in-school gap between disadvantaged and other students has been closing over the last three years, although more slowly in mathematics than in English.
• The very small numbers of disabled students and those with special educational needs means that comparisons with national average results are not helpful. However, individual case studies demonstrate that over half of this group of students in all year groups make good progress in a range of subjects. Progress in English is stronger than progress in mathematics for this group, as with other groups, of students.
• The most-able students make good progress in all subjects and are ambitious to achieve the highest grades at GCSE.
• Outcomes for students attending alternative providers are also good. The long-standing benefits of the engineering programme, taught jointly by school staff and those at Derwent Training Association, has supported several students into engineering careers either through apprenticeships or university.
• In the sixth form, good achievement on both A level and vocational programmes means that students are well prepared for their next steps. The overwhelming majority of 16 year olds and all sixth formers move on to further or higher education, training or employment.

16 to 19 study programmes are good

• Students achieve well on the varied sixth form study programmes. Across the wide range of A level subjects, standards are consistently in line with national averages. Students also achieve well on the small number of vocational programmes, including those offered by specialist, alternative providers.
• Leaders of the sixth form have a clear understanding of the effectiveness of teaching, learning and assessment and the resulting outcomes achieved by the students. However, there is some variation in the way teachers follow the school’s requirements. This leads to slightly slower progress for some students.
• High expectations for attendance and punctuality and purposeful personal study result in young people who are prepared for the work place or university studies. Opportunities for extended project studies motivate students to develop research and extended report-writing skills.
• Advice and guidance given to students help to make sure their personal aims are met. These include a range of work-experience placements, visits from inspirational speakers and visits to top universities. Sixth formers persevere with their studies and see their courses through to completion.
• Most sixth formers who have not achieved the required Level 2 qualifications in mathematics and/or English are receiving good support to catch up on these essential qualifications. The quality of this aspect of the study programme is variable across the providers used by the school, a concern which the school is addressing.

School details

Unique reference number 121681 Local authority North Yorkshire Inspection number 10002070 This inspection was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

Type of school Secondary Comprehensive School category Community Age range of pupils 11–18 Gender of pupils Mixed

Gender of pupils in 16 to 19 study programmes

Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 657

Of which, number on roll in 16 to 19 study programmes

161 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Lucy Legard Headteacher Rob Williams Telephone number 01653 692828 Website www.maltonschool.org Email address admin@maltonschool.org Date of previous inspection 17–18 October 2013

Information about this school

• Malton School is a smaller-than-average secondary school with a small sixth form.
• The overwhelming majority of students are from White British backgrounds. A small number of students are from a range of other ethnic minority groups. The number of students with disabilities and those with special educational needs is much lower than found in most secondary schools.
• The number of students for whom the school receives the pupil premium (additional government funding to support students who are disadvantaged) is also well below average but is slowly rising.
• The school currently uses two alternative providers to extend the range of subjects the school can offer. Key Stage 4 students and sixth formers attend Derwent Training Association on a part-time basis to study engineering. A group of sixth formers attend, full-time, the East Coast Sports Academy to study sports.
• The school uses ROOSE (Ryedale Out of School Education) to support a very small number of students. The centre is a collaborative partnership with three other schools.
• The school receives school-to-school support as a partner within the Red Kite Teaching School Alliance. The interim deputy headteacher is part of this arrangement, as is the reducing level of support provided by the National Leader in Education from Harrogate Grammar School.
• The school meets the government’s floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for students’ attainment and progress at the end of Key Stage 4 and the interim standards for the 16 to 19 study programmes.
• Information about this inspection
• Inspectors visited a number of lessons for varying lengths of time, over a wide range of subjects and year groups, including 16 to 19 study programmes. Six of the visits were conducted jointly with senior leaders.
• Inspectors talked with students both informally and in meetings at lunchtimes. Specific meetings were held with students attending Derwent Training Association and Key Stage 4 girls.
• Inspectors reviewed 40 responses to the staff questionnaire and 126 responses to Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire, including 63 free text responses.
• Inspectors met with senior leaders, subject leaders, governors, a representative from the local authority, the head of the ROOSE centre and held a telephone conversation with the Director of the Red Kite Teaching Schools Alliance.
• The inspectors reviewed the school’s information about students’ progress and the standards achieved. Students’ current work and examples from the last academic year were reviewed.
• A wide range of school documents were considered, as well as case studies relating to the impact of the schools’ procedures on the outcomes for individual students.
• An inspector visited the alternative provider East Coast Sports Academy, Scarborough.

Inspection team

Susan Hayter, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector David Woodhouse Ofsted Inspector Fiona Dixon Ofsted Inspector Marian Thomas Ofsted Inspector