Handsworth Grange Community Sports College Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Further improve the progress and attendance of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities.

• Continue to share the best practice in teaching so that all teaching is as effective as the very best.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Outstanding

• The headteacher provides ambitious and highly effective leadership. Her astute and precise evaluation of the school’s strengths and weaknesses results in pupils making outstanding progress over time. Her relentless determination to provide the very best education for her pupils is shared by her staff. Staff described her as ‘inspirational’. Curriculum leaders said that she encourages them to ‘make things happen’ for the benefit of the pupils.

• Senior leaders demonstrate an impressive range of skills and uphold the headteacher’s high expectations. Their sharply focused actions bring about rapid improvement as soon as any weaknesses are identified.
• Leaders have robust systems for checking pupils’ progress, making sure that assessments are accurate. They set aspirational targets for pupils’ progress. Pupils respond very positively to this high level of challenge, believing that they can meet the goals set for them and with them.
• The senior leader with responsibility for teaching, learning and assessment provides excellent direction for teachers and leaders. Under her leadership, curriculum leaders check the quality of teaching and pupils’ progress in their subject areas systematically. Leaders at all levels provide effective support, coaching and training for teachers who are enthusiastic about learning from each other. Consequently, the quality of teaching and learning is outstanding.
• Leaders’ work with newly qualified teachers and trainees is very effective. Staff who are newly appointed are very well supported. They receive high-quality mentoring and training. They said that they feel welcomed as part of the school ‘family’ of staff, pupils and parents.
• The curriculum is planned carefully to make best use of the pupils’ interests and aptitudes. Leaders have a clear rationale for ensuring that pupils benefit from a wide choice of subjects, both academic and work-based. Leaders keep the curriculum under regular review to make sure that it meets pupils’ needs. Increasingly, the most able pupils are choosing to follow an appropriately academic programme. Pupils who have lower starting points focus more of their time on improving their basic skills with high levels of success. All pupils progress onto appropriate next steps in their education or training because they are well prepared to do so.
• Leaders ensure that there is a well-organised programme to develop pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. This programme of engaging assemblies, tutorials and lessons develops pupils’ understanding of fundamental British values. Many displays around the school promote a culture of respect for diversity and recognise the pupils’ many achievements. Pupils also have many opportunities through ‘drop-down’ days and tutorials to discuss beliefs and values, which they debate in a respectful way. The elected school council play an active role in influencing school life, for example introducing the school’s recycling programme and a wide range of charity work, including organising a regular ‘food bank’.
• The rich variety of extra-curricular activities enables pupils to develop other practical and social skills such as perseverance and team working. The school’s status as a sports college has led to a wide and varied offer of sporting activities and competition through the School Sports Partnership programme. Pupils also take advantage of various educational visits to broaden their cultural experiences. The school offers a comprehensive programme for young leaders, for example in engineering, languages, science and computer science, as part of the Cutlers’ education programme in Sheffield.
• The school has been recognised for a national award for its excellent work with disadvantaged pupils. Leaders and governors make sure that the additional funding for pupils who are disadvantaged is used extremely well. Over the last three years, disadvantaged pupils have made better progress than other pupils nationally across a range of subjects. In 2016, disadvantaged pupils in Year 11 achieved better results in English than in mathematics, but leaders addressed this gap quickly. The school’s performance information shows improved outcomes for disadvantaged pupils in 2017 in mathematics, due to excellent teaching and intervention. Disadvantaged pupils continue to achieve well in English because of the quality of teaching and the literacy support that they receive.
• Leaders make sure that the Year 7 catch-up funding is used to improve the reading and number skills of pupils who arrive at the school with below-average attainment in English and mathematics. Most Year 7 pupils make rapid gains in their reading, and those who do not are given additional support. Pupils go on to achieve well in their English and mathematics qualifications at key stage 4.
• Leaders use the extra funding for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities efficiently to support pupils in making good progress from their starting points. However, these pupils do not yet make the accelerated progress at key stage 4 that the other pupils in the school make. This is partly because some of them do not attend regularly enough. Senior leaders are ambitious to support this group of pupils more effectively. They have appointed a new special educational needs coordinator who demonstrates the skills to drive further improvements in pupils’ progress and attendance.
• The overwhelming majority of parents who responded to Ofsted’s online questionnaire were very positive about the school. They remarked on the high standards of behaviour and the excellent progress that their children are making. Some parents praised the school for the way in which staff have helped their child to overcome barriers to learning. Several parents described the school as ‘fabulous’, ‘outstanding’, a ‘great school’. One parent reflected the kinds of comments made by many pupils parents during the inspection: ‘My children feel safe and are excited to go to school in the morning.’

Governance of the school

• Governors are rightly proud of the way in which they have supported and challenged leaders to continually improve the school over recent years. They are absolutely committed to serving their local community and they speak passionately about improving pupils’ life chances.
• Governors are highly skilled, and the trustees have been elected to make best use of their experience in financial management, personnel management or the law. They access appropriate training to ensure that their knowledge of education is kept up to date. Governors are actively involved in developing the multi-academy trust because they believe that the pupils and staff can benefit from effective partnership working.
• Governors have an in-depth knowledge of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. They receive detailed and accurate reports from leaders and visit the school regularly. They recognise the high quality of education which pupils receive, while appreciating that leaders continue to work tirelessly to maintain high levels of attendance and to engage with hard-to-reach parents.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Staff and governors take shared responsibility for safeguarding pupils.

• Training for staff and governors on safeguarding children is comprehensive and up to date. Systems for ensuring staff suitability and for reporting any concerns are robust. The designated leader for safeguarding is very knowledgeable and has established strong partnerships with other agencies to support pupils with a range of social, emotional and health needs. Record-keeping is meticulous and individual cases are reviewed regularly by the pastoral team.
• The school’s welfare officer visits pupils who are regularly absent from school. He and the pastoral team work with families to encourage better attendance and provide support to reintegrate pupils into school. The attendance and safety of pupils who are in alternative provision are checked rigorously.
• Pupils overwhelmingly reported that they feel safe in school. Pupils and parents who responded to Ofsted’s online questionnaire commented on the way in which staff deal effectively with any rare incidents of bullying.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Outstanding

• Teaching, learning and assessment across the school are of a very high quality. This is because teachers and leaders have a shared commitment to providing a first-class education. Consequently, pupils make outstanding progress from their starting points.

• Teachers are highly enthusiastic and passionate about developing excellent practice. They seek out professional development opportunities to continually strengthen their teaching practice. They use their detailed subject knowledge and information about pupils’ progress exceptionally well. They use their expertise to design and deliver engaging learning activities, which suit the individual needs of pupils, including the most able pupils.
• Evidence in pupils’ books shows that pupils are making rapid progress across a range of subjects and year groups because sequences of learning are carefully planned. Evidence in pupils’ assessment folders shows that pupils are well prepared for external examinations, gaining the confidence to tackle increasingly difficult topics and questions.
• Exceptionally strong relationships between teachers and pupils result in a studious atmosphere in lessons. Pupils show tremendous pride in their learning. Their work is neatly presented, enabling them to have comprehensive revision notes. Homework is valued by most pupils because, they said, they like being given the responsibility to prepare in advance for lessons. Pupils gave examples of carrying out research in English before starting new topics or problem-solving tasks in mathematics.
• Teachers use very skilful questioning to check pupils’ understanding and to move pupils onto new learning swiftly when they have secured the basic concepts. Teachers identify misconceptions quickly so that no learning time is lost. Teachers know their pupils well so they ask questions that are increasingly challenging and targeted effectively to individuals. As a result, pupils develop their thinking, show empathy with others and make helpful links between current topics and prior learning.
• Literacy is developed extremely well across the curriculum. The teachers’ consistent approach is clearly focused on improving pupils’ vocabulary, comprehension and reading skills. Consequently, teachers actively increase the range of language that pupils can use, including subject-specific terms. As a result of this effective practice, pupils gain confidence, understand more complex texts and respond more fully to examination questions. Pupils also engage very well when reading and discussing books together during tutorials and lessons.
• Leaders have an accurate picture of the quality of teaching and strive hard to make sure that teaching is consistently outstanding for all pupils. Very occasionally, learning activities are not challenging enough for some pupils or too challenging for others. Leaders take effective action to provide training where necessary and to share the very best practice across the school.
• Leaders are ambitious to ensure that pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities make the same outstanding progress as other pupils in the school. This group of pupils already receives excellent support from specialist teachers. Intervention is well planned and regularly reviewed. Recent training for teaching assistants and teachers is leading to a marked improvement in the teaching across the curriculum, especially at key stage 3, of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding.
• Pupils are confident and eager to tell visitors why they are very proud of their school. They are exceptionally polite and friendly. They are self-assured in lessons and fully engaged in learning activities. They try hard when the work is challenging and they are keen to ask and answer questions.
• Pupils benefit from a high level of care from school staff. Pupils know whom to go to when they need support, and they have confidence that any concerns will be dealt with quickly. They know about the different forms of bullying but said that bullying is very rare. The school’s records of bullying support this view, and most parents who responded to Ofsted’s online questionnaire agreed.
• Pupils and staff describe the school community as a ‘family’. Pupils from different backgrounds integrate very well with each other. Pupils listen to each other respectfully and take turns to contribute to discussions. Inspectors observed many examples of pupils helping each other in class and around the school without any prompting from school staff.
• The school provides a structured programme to teach pupils how to stay safe. In discussions with inspectors, pupils could articulate how to keep themselves safe online and how to stay healthy. Leaders have recently reviewed the sex and relationships education programme to make sure that it is relevant and up to date.
• The few pupils who attend off-site provision gain skills and qualifications through a variety of placements. These pupils are well looked after by school leaders and course leaders who keep detailed records of pupils’ behaviour, attendance and progress. In most cases, pupils attending this alternative provision improve their attendance or behaviour and they re-engage with their work in school.
• Pupils benefit from well-structured information, advice and guidance. The independent careers adviser provides pupils with current information about local and national trends. Pupils said that they find the ‘business day’ memorable because they take on the role of applicants for employment and are interviewed by local employers. Pupils said that they are given very helpful guidance when choosing their key stage 4 options and when moving on to other sixth forms, colleges or apprenticeships at the end of Year 11. Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is outstanding.

• Pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around the school is exemplary. Relationships between staff and pupils are highly positive so learning proceeds without interruption. Pupils move around the school calmly. They socialise with each other in a friendly and considerate way. Pupils show a high level of respect for the school environment, which is bright and engaging with numerous displays celebrating the pupils’ many successes.
• The school provides an effective range of interventions to support the small number of pupils whose behaviour is more challenging. For example, the Phoenix room provides structured support for pupils who have social and emotional needs.
• Attendance is average and improving. Many pupils enjoy coming to school and have excellent attendance records. School leaders and the school’s welfare officer are relentless in their efforts to work with families and other agencies to support pupils to attend regularly. However, a small proportion of pupils, especially some who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, are absent from school regularly, and leaders are fully committed to improving their attendance further.

Outcomes for pupils Outstanding

• Outcomes for pupils have been consistently strong for the past three years. Pupils join the school with prior attainment that is typically much lower than that seen nationally, and they leave Year 11 having made outstanding progress from their starting points. The school’s methods for assessing pupils’ progress are very robust. They allow leaders to plan extra help for any pupils who may be falling behind. Consequently, pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, make progress that is well above that of their peers nationally.
• Published performance information for 2016 shows that pupils’ progress in almost every subject was above average, and progress in English was average. Provisional information for 2017 shows that pupils in last year’s Year 11 made much better progress in English than Year 11 pupils the year before. Pupils made particularly strong progress in work-related qualifications.
• The school’s current performance information shows that pupils in all year groups continue to make outstanding progress. Any potential ‘dips’ in a subject area are quickly picked up by leaders and tackled effectively. For example, in 2016, the progress of the most able pupils was average so leaders reviewed the quality of teaching for this group. The most able pupils in the school now make above-average progress due to the effective improvements made by teachers and leaders.
• The progress of disadvantaged pupils, including the most able disadvantaged, is often better than that made by other pupils nationally because teachers have very high expectations of all pupils. Leaders use the additional funding judiciously to make sure that disadvantaged pupils make the same outstanding progress as other pupils in the school. For example, in 2016, the progress of disadvantaged pupils was slightly lower in mathematics than in other subjects across the curriculum. Leaders reviewed the teaching and tracking of these pupils in mathematics rigorously. The school’s performance information for 2017, and for current pupils in the school, shows that their progress is now above average in mathematics, in line with other subjects.
• The progress of pupils whose first language is believed not to be English is also above the national average. The school supports them very well with specialist language teaching and tailored support in lessons.
• Pupils’ writing is well developed across the curriculum, reflecting the school’s focus on literacy. Work in pupils’ books shows that they are expected to write extensively and they are often given the opportunity to revisit their work to make improvements. The library is well used and pupils talk enthusiastically about the books that they are reading.
• In mathematics, teachers develop pupils’ problem-solving skills well, and subjects such as science enable pupils to apply their mathematical learning in context.
• All pupils are well prepared for the next stages in their education, employment or training. In 2017, all of Year 11 moved onto further education, employment or training.
• Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities make average progress from their starting points. Leaders are, rightly, ambitious for them to make outstanding progress like their peers in the school. Consequently, the newly appointed coordinator for special educational needs has reviewed the way in which pupils are identified and supported. She has led training for staff on how to structure work more effectively so that pupils make rapid gains in their learning. Changes in teaching are already making a real difference to pupils’ progress, particularly at key stage 3.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 141495 Sheffield 10036403 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 16 Mixed 1010 Appropriate authority Board of trustees Chair Headteacher Telephone number Website Email address Elizabeth Underwood Anne Quaile 01142 694801

www.hgcsc.co.uk aquaile@hgcsc.co.uk

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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.
• Handsworth Grange Community Sports College is an average-sized secondary school within The Minerva Learning Trust.

• About half of the school population is White British and the proportion of pupils from minority ethnic heritage is above average. The largest minority ethnic heritage group of pupils is of Pakistani heritage, and Bangladeshi pupils make up the second largest group.
• The proportion of pupils known to be disadvantaged and supported through the pupil premium is above average.
• The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities receiving support is average.

• The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics by the end of Year 11.
• A small number of pupils are educated offsite. A wide range of placements are arranged through Sheffield local authority’s ‘Direct Programme 14─ 25 Progressions Team Lifelong Learning, Skills and Communities’.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed teaching and learning in 38 lessons across all key stages and subjects and in 14 tutorial sessions. Some were observed jointly with members of the senior leadership team. In addition to looking at pupils’ books in lesson observations, inspectors undertook a separate scrutiny of books. Inspectors also undertook a learning walk with leaders to evaluate the effectiveness of support for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. Inspectors evaluated the effectiveness of literacy by visiting a range of subjects across the curriculum.
• Meetings were held with the headteacher, senior and middle leaders, governors and trustees. Inspectors also met with a group of teachers and with pupils from key stages 3 and 4.
• Inspectors reviewed the school’s self-evaluation, the school’s improvement plans, the school’s quality assurance, monitoring and assessment records, minutes of governing body meetings, and case studies of vulnerable pupils who receive additional support. Inspectors scrutinised safeguarding procedures and related policies.
• Inspectors considered 42 responses received from parents to Ofsted’s survey and 42 responses from staff. They also considered the views expressed by many pupils during lessons and social times.

Inspection team

Lynn Kenworthy, lead inspector George Gilmore Gordon Watts Steve Rogers Bernard Clark Chris Stevens

Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector