Redruth School

Age group 11–18 Inspection date(s) 17–18 January 2012 Inspection number 378413 Redruth School Inspection report

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Unique reference number 112054 Local authority Cornwall Inspection number 378413 Inspection dates 17–18 January 2012 Lead inspector Robert Pyner HMI

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This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Type of school Comprehensive School category Community Age range of pupils 11–18 Gender of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils in the sixth form Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 1,084 Of which, number on roll in the sixth form 140 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Ross Williams Headteacher Craig Martin Date of previous school inspection 13–14 May 2009 School address Tolgus Vean Redruth TR15 1TA Telephone number 01209 203700 Fax number 01209 313604 Email address enquiries@redruth.cornwall.sch.uk achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and

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other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when.

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You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk, or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Introduction

Paul Delbridge-Smith Additional inspector

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out with two days’ notice. The inspectors visited 53 lessons or activities, including five joint observations with members of the senior leadership team, and observed 45 teachers. They held meetings with senior and middle leaders, the Chair, Vice-Chair and a member of the Governing Body, staff, groups of students and two representatives from the parents’ forum. Inspectors took account of the responses to the on-line questionnaire (Parent View) in planning the inspection. They observed the school’s work, and looked at progress tracking and performance data, the school development plan, students’ work and numerous policies, guidelines, plans and reviews. The questionnaire responses from 447 parents and carers, 152 students and 107 staff were also analysed.

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Information about the school

Redruth School is larger than the average secondary school and serves the town and the surrounding rural area. Almost all students are from a White British heritage and the proportion known to be eligible for free school meals is broadly average. The proportion of students with disabilities and those with special educational needs is above average; students’ needs include moderate and specific learning and behavioural, emotional and social difficulties. The proportion with a statement of special educational needs is also above the national figure.

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Information about the school

The school meets the current government floor standard, which set the minimum expectations for students’ attainment and progress.

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Information about the school

The headteacher has been in post since September 2010.

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Key findings

 This is a satisfactory school. Since the last inspection, there have been effective improvements across a range of provision, which are recognised and appreciated by parents, staff and students. The headteacher has successfully developed links with the community, raising the school’s profile significantly, and created a strong focus on improving the achievement of all students, building on the strengths within the school. The sixth form is good and improving well.  Attainment in key subjects, including English and mathematics, is broadly in line with national averages and reflects strong improvement over the last few years, particularly at GCSE level. The improvement in the progress that students make in English and mathematics has been a strong year-on-year trend, reflecting the support older students receive when they are not fulfilling their potential. Staff recognise that this could be more effective if support and intervention were

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Key findings

targeted at younger age groups, building on the recently introduced accelerated reading scheme.  The focus on developing effective teaching within the school has led to the improvements seen in attainment and progress. However, good teaching is not consistent across the school. In particular, lessons do not always provide sufficient sharply focused activities which challenge different ability groups. In addition, marking does not consistently follow the school’s guidance.  Students, parents and carers and staff are overwhelmingly positive about procedures to keep students safe. Attendance rates are high and rates of exclusion low, reflecting the school’s extremely strong culture of inclusion. Pastoral support is of a very high quality and consequently, overall, behaviour and safety are outstanding.  In a short time, the headteacher has developed a strong ethos of improvement and an increasingly important role for middle leaders in the leadership of the

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Key findings

school. There is effective clarity of direction in relation to school improvement. This has a focus on the development of a fully coherent curriculum which meets the changing needs of all students and, in technology, the appropriate skills to support learning.

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Key findings

Schools whose overall effectiveness is judged satisfactory may receive a monitoring visit by an Ofsted inspector before their next section 5 inspection.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise attainment and accelerate the progress made by students further by:  improving the planning in lessons to ensure more sharply focused activities which match the specific needs of ability groups  developing intervention strategies further to support students in Key Stage 3 who may be underachieving in basic skills, building on the accelerated reading scheme  improving consistency in the quality of marking to give students clear and specific guidance on what they need to do to improve their work  using more effectively the models of good teaching found in the school to support colleagues’ professional development.  Develop the curriculum further so that all students can undertake varied, coherent and accredited learning programmes which meet their specific needs more effectively.  Complete the re-structuring of provision in technology so that it effectively supports students’ learning across the curriculum.

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Achievement of pupils

Inspection evidence shows that in lessons students make clear progress, and this is strongly supported by the responses in parents’ and carers’ and students’ questionnaires. Students say that they enjoy lessons, particularly practical activities where they can use their understanding and skills in pairs or in groups. Students listen to instructions well and highly effective relationships mean they are encouraged to ask questions that support their learning.

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Achievement of pupils

Standards continue to rise. In 2011, the proportion of students gaining five or more higher GCSE grades including English and mathematics was in line with the national average, showing a strong improvement over the last three years. This trend of year- on-year improvement is also seen in English and mathematics separately, reflecting the drive by school leaders to raise achievement in these subjects. Work on the identification of underachievement and provision of appropriate support is developing well through the increasingly cohesive approach by subject and pastoral leaders. However, this is currently focused on Key Stage 4 students. Leaders acknowledge that this could be introduced for younger year groups and linked with the recently implemented targeted support for literacy. Provision in technology is being developed appropriately to provide a more focused range of skills which support learning across

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Achievement of pupils

Students enter the school with broadly average attainment and make satisfactory progress overall throughout their time at the school. Progress measures in English and mathematics have shown significant year-on-year improvements over the last four years and this has resulted in strong improvements in outcomes for these subjects. Girls make better progress than boys generally, and this is good in English. In mathematics, boys’ and girls’ progress is satisfactory, with both groups showing a clearly improving trend. Students with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those from vulnerable groups make at least the same progress as similar cohorts nationally. Some, for example, students identified by the school as needing additional support, make good progress in English. This is the result of the very strong inclusive ethos found in the school and the specific support developed through the learning

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Achievement of pupils

In the sixth form, students’ outcomes are good. They generally make good progress, the outcome of the rigorous tracking of progress and challenging learning targets for individual students. Retention rates have improved well, the result of effective support and guidance in the choice of courses.

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Quality of teaching

Most parents and carers and students noted in responses to the inspection questionnaires that teaching in the school is effective. Although there are strengths to some of the teaching, overall it is satisfactory because it is inconsistent. The strengths include high expectations, the use of teachers’ subject knowledge to ask probing questions, and a lively pace to lessons that include a variety of activities, including practical tasks, requiring students to practise their understanding and skills. The best lessons display well-targeted activities planned to challenge specific groups of students. The very high quality of relationships ensures that pupils are well engaged, motivated and enthusiastic across the range of subjects in the planned curriculum. The effective use of good subject knowledge is a strong characteristic of teaching in the sixth form. These positive features are not evident in all lessons,

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Quality of teaching

Satisfactory teaching is characterised by a slower pace, too much work directed by the teacher and over-long introductions to lessons. In these lessons, there were fewer opportunities for the involvement by students and, consequently, the opportunity to practise skills and use their knowledge and understanding. As a result, their progress slows. Marking is variable across the school. The best marking seen used the school’s latest guidance and provided clear support on how individual students can make the next step in their learning. Students who spoke to inspectors appreciated the careful marking in, for example, their English books which exemplified these characteristics. Where the marking of work is less robust, presentation in books can deteriorate significantly. Overall, although lesson planning is uniformally applied, attention to the development of literacy and numeracy across the curriculum is not a consistent feature.

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Quality of teaching

There are good contributions in lessons to moral, social and cultural development but less to spiritual reflection. However, the school-wide programme of personal health and social education lessons enables effective reflection on, for example, The Holocaust, as observed during the inspection.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

The school has worked hard in partnership with external agencies to improve attendance over the last few years and, as a result, this is significantly higher than the national average. Consequently, rates of persistent absence are very low. Students are friendly and courteous to each other and staff, creating an extremely pleasant, calm and harmonious working environment. Relationships are excellent. Students greatly appreciate belonging to a supportive community where everyone is valued for their contribution and encouraged to make the most of the opportunities available in the school. They say they enjoy their lessons. Almost all respondents replying to the parental questionnaire noted that their children felt safe at school. Similar proportions of students noted that they were safe at school and that they are helped to do as well as they can.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pastoral systems are highly effective and students are particularly well cared for by adults who know them extremely well. This is confirmed by parents and carers. Students interviewed said bullying was not a problem, but on the rare occasions when it did occur, it was dealt with quickly and effectively. Any incidents are fully documented and followed up. Potentially vulnerable students, including those who had been subject to a fixed-term exclusion, said they were very well supported academically and in terms of their personal development. As a result of this highly effective support, the number of fixed-term exclusions has fallen significantly over the last four years and during the same period there has been only one permanent exclusion. Both of these indicators are well-below national averages.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Students’ behaviour is particularly good in lessons that motivate and challenge them through active learning. Students report that behaviour has improved and that disruption in lessons is rare and dealt with firmly. Most parents and carers and students agree that the school promotes excellent behaviour based on individual responsibility. Students are proud of their roles in supporting the work of the school through such activities as membership of the school council, prefects, peer mentors and house duties. Students in the sixth form are very positive role models for younger students.

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Leadership and management

Since his appointment, the headteacher has successfully built on the strengths of the school with an unrelenting focus on raising achievement and providing improved provision for all students. He has introduced greater responsibility for middle leaders to support students who are danger of underachieving, using a more cohesive approach, and linked this to the professional development for teachers. The effect of this can be seen in the improvements in progress made by, for example, vulnerable groups. The successful strategies used to improve attainment and progress in English and mathematics have been applied more widely and the results of this are seen in the improvement in a range of attainment indicators. Members of the governing body are knowledgeable and understand the strengths and weaknesses of the school. They have high expectations for improvement in outcomes for students and hold senior leaders to account. Staff have a shared vision for the work of the school,

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Leadership and management

which was comprehensively demonstrated by the overwhelmingly positive responses in the staff questionnaire. Nevertheless, school leaders are well aware that there is more work to do in order to meet their high aspirations. However, the improvements achieved and the commitment to meet the changing needs of the community demonstrate a good capacity to improve further. Leadership of the sixth form is effective, leading to a clear trend in improved outcomes and provision for students.

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Leadership and management

The school has been working on the improvement of the curriculum, with a particular focus on developing appropriate vocational and life-skills courses to improve the outcomes for less able students. Plans are in place to introduce appropriate courses but these have yet to be implemented fully. Review of the outcomes for subjects within the school’s technology faculty has led to decisive school action, with plans to refocus aspects of provision, in particular information and communication technology, to support learning across the curriculum. However, the changes are not yet fully in place. The school’s provision for students’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is effective and sits at the heart of this cohesive learning community. Students’ learning is enhanced by a comprehensive range of extra- curricular activities, visits and cultural activities.

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Leadership and management

Safeguarding procedures are a priority for the school, resulting in highly effective systems which meet all current government requirements. The school’s strong commitment to equality of opportunity is exemplified by its work to support students whose circumstances make them vulnerable. Analysis of school data and evidence from lessons show that the impact of the school’s support for students with special educational needs or disabilities accelerates the progress made by this group, narrowing the gap in achievement with other groups of students.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding These features are highly effective. An outstanding school provides exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. Grade 2 Good These are very positive features of a school. A school that is good is serving its pupils well. Grade 3 Satisfactory These features are of reasonable quality. A satisfactory school is providing adequately for its pupils. Grade 4 Inadequate These features are not of an acceptable standard. An inadequate school needs to make significant improvement in order to meet the needs of its pupils. Ofsted inspectors will make further visits until it improves.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Nursery schools 46 46 8 0 Primary schools 8 47 40 5 Secondary schools 14 38 40 8 Special schools 28 48 20 4 Pupil referral units 15 50 29 5 All schools 11 46 38 6

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

New school inspection arrangements have been introduced from 1 January 2012. This means that inspectors make judgements that were not made previously. The data in the table above are for the period 1 September 2010 to 31 August 2011 and represent judgements that were made under the school inspection arrangements that were introduced on 1 September 2009. These data are consistent with the latest published official statistics about maintained school inspection outcomes (see www.ofsted.gov.uk). The sample of schools inspected during 2010/11 was not representative of all schools nationally, as weaker schools are inspected more frequently than good or outstanding schools. Primary schools include primary academy converters. Secondary schools include secondary academy converters, sponsor-led academies and city technology colleges. Special schools include special academy converters and non-maintained special schools.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Percentages are rounded and do not always add exactly to 100.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Achievement: the progress and success of a pupil in their learning and development taking account of their attainment.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Attainment: the standard of the pupils’ work shown by test and examination results and in lessons.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Attendance the regular attendance of pupils at school and in lessons, taking into account the school’s efforts to encourage good attendance.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Behaviour how well pupils behave in lessons, with emphasis on their attitude to learning. Pupils’ punctuality to lessons and their conduct around the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Capacity to improve: the proven ability of the school to continue improving based on its self-evaluation and what the school has accomplished so far and on the quality of its systems to maintain improvement.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Leadership and management: the contribution of all the staff with responsibilities, not just the governors and headteacher, to identifying priorities, directing and motivating staff and running the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Learning: how well pupils acquire knowledge, develop their understanding, learn and practise skills and are developing their competence as learners.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Overall effectiveness: inspectors form a judgement on a school’s overall effectiveness based on the findings from their inspection of the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Progress: the rate at which pupils are learning in lessons and over longer periods of time. It is often measured by comparing the pupils’ attainment at the end of a key stage with their attainment when they started.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Safety how safe pupils are in school, including in lessons, and their understanding of risks. Pupils’ freedom from bullying and harassment. How well the school promotes safety, for example e-learning.

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carers to share with their children. It describes Ofsted’s

main findings from the inspection of their school.

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Inspection of Redruth School, Redruth TR15 1TA

Thank you for making the inspection team so welcome when we inspected your school recently. Special thanks go to the student guides who helped the inspectors find their way around, the groups who met inspectors and to those of you who completed the questionnaire; we found these very useful. We enjoyed talking with all the students we met and found what you had to say very informative and relevant.

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Inspection of Redruth School, Redruth TR15 1TA

This letter is to tell you about our findings. Redruth is a satisfactory school which is improving well. You and your parents told inspectors that you feel very safe in school and that staff help you in many ways to do as well as you can. Relationships are excellent. Your overall attendance has improved significantly. Overall, therefore, behaviour and safety are outstanding. Your achievement overall at the end of Year 11 is satisfactory and improving. The achievement of students in the sixth form is good. Teaching is satisfactory overall, with a significant proportion that is good and better.

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Inspection of Redruth School, Redruth TR15 1TA

The headteacher, senior staff and governors provide effective leadership and management. They recognise that there are aspects of the school that need improvement, and these are the areas that the inspection team identified.

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Inspection of Redruth School, Redruth TR15 1TA

 Raise attainment and accelerate the progress you make by:  improving lesson planning to give you sharply focused activities that meet your individual needs  supporting students in Key Stage 3 who may be underachieving in basic skills more effectively, building on the accelerated reading scheme  improving the quality of marking so it gives you clear and specific guidance on what you need to do to improve your work  using more effectively the good teaching found in the school to help other teachers.  Develop the curriculum to enable you to undertake varied programmes of work that meet your needs more effectively.  Complete the re-structuring of provision in technology so that it effectively supports your learning across the curriculum.

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Inspection of Redruth School, Redruth TR15 1TA

You too have an important part to play by continuing to work hard and making the most of the wide range of opportunities you have at school.

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Inspection of Redruth School, Redruth TR15 1TA

Robert Pyner Her Majesty’s Inspector procedures set out in the guidance 'Complaining about inspections', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234 , or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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