Cannock Chase High School

Age group 11–19 Inspection date(s) 14–15 March 2012 Inspection number 386197 Cannock Chase High School Inspection report

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Unique reference number 137384 Local authority N/A Inspection number 386197 Inspection dates 14–15 March 2012 Lead inspector Davinder Dosanjh 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 Academy School category Non-maintained Age range of pupils 11–19 Gender of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils in the sixth form Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 1342 Of which, number on roll in the sixth form 163 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Barbara Lomas Headteacher Barrie Scott Date of previous school inspection 19 March 2009 School address Hednesford Road Cannock WS11 1JT Telephone number 01543 502450 Fax number 01543 577528 Email address office@cannockchase-high.staffs.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

Davinder Dosanjh Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out with two days’ notice. Inspectors took account of the responses to the on-line questionnaire (Parent View) in planning the inspection. They observed 45 lessons, including six joint observations with members of the senior team, taught by 45 teachers. Inspectors met with senior leaders, groups of students, members of the governing body and staff. They observed the school’s work, looked at the tracking of students’ progress, and scrutinised students’ work, whole-school and subject development plans, numerous policies, records of students’ attendance, exclusions and records of any bullying. They reviewed responses to questionnaires from 154 parents and carers, 141 students and 41 staff.

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Information about the school

This school is larger than the average-sized secondary school. The number of students known to be eligible for free school meals is higher than the national average. The vast majority of students are from a White British background. The proportion of disabled students and those with special educational needs is below the national figure. The school has specialisms in science and mathematics. The school meets the current floor standard set by the government, which determines the minimum expectations for attainment and progress. In addition, it holds a number of awards including the Diana Anti-bullying Award and Stonewall School Champion. Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Key findings

 Cannock Chase High is a satisfactory school that continues to improve. The school provides a supportive and inclusive environment for its students, especially those students whose circumstances make them vulnerable. Relationships are positive and the mixed year tutor groups help students to get on with each other. The sixth form is satisfactory. The school is not good overall because teaching does not ensure that all students make good progress. Attainment is not above national averages and attendance is below average.

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Key findings

 Students’ achievement is satisfactory, and attainment is low. The achievement of disabled students and those with special educational needs is good due to well-targeted intervention in and outside lessons. In the sixth form, students make satisfactory progress on their courses. There is a wide variation in the performance of subjects.

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Key findings

 Teaching is satisfactory, including in the sixth form. Lessons are well structured but do not always challenge students sufficiently or match their varying needs. Marking gives helpful feedback on how students can improve their work and the ‘Chase marking’ system is understood by all.

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Key findings

 The school is an orderly place and behaviour is satisfactory. Students say they feel safe and are confident that when bullying happens, it is dealt with swiftly. Attendance is below average and currently shows limited signs of improvement. Strategies and procedures to improve attendance have recently been revised but have not had sufficient time to make a difference.

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Key findings

 Effective leadership from the headteacher and leadership team has ensured improvements in attainment and a strong pastoral system. School leaders, including the governing body, have a clear vision for the school’s future and increasingly hold staff to account for the school’s performance. Past weaknesses in subject performance are being addressed with significant Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Key findings

improvements in English. Middle leadership is improving but there remain too many inconsistencies in evaluating and the improving the quality of teaching. The school’s specialism in science and mathematics has had limited impact on driving up standards.

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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 students’ achievement by:  developing students’ literacy and numeracy skills across the curriculum  increasing the proportion of students who get the highest grades at GCSE  ensuring a consistent approach by middle leaders in monitoring and evaluating their subject areas.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the proportion of teaching which is good or better to over 75% by July 2013 by ensuring that all teachers:  match work carefully to students’ varying needs so that they are challenged at the right level, particularly for those of high ability  use effective questioning to consolidate and extend students’ understanding  provide more opportunities for students to be active and independent learners  have frequent checks on learning during the lesson.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve attendance by:  monitoring and evaluating the strategies developed to combat low attendance to ensure they are effective  engaging parents and carers in a high profile strategy to promote good attendance.

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Achievement of pupils

Students enter the school with attainment that is low. The proportion of students gaining five or more A* to C grades at GCSE including English and mathematics continues to rise and, while still low, represents satisfactory progress. Mathematics has performed consistently over a number of years. Students have made slower than expected progress in English. However, evidence in lessons and books indicate they are now making progress in line with expectations. In some subjects, GCSE results are above average, such as drama, physical education and religious studies. A similar picture in the sixth form sees students making satisfactory progress overall but good progress in physical education and further mathematics courses. Current Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Achievement of pupils

data and students’ progress in lessons indicate that all abilities are making at least satisfactory progress towards challenging targets. Children who are looked after make good progress as do disabled students and those with special educational needs. This is due to small group and key worker support for individual students. In addition, students’ weak literacy skills in the lower years are being effectively addressed by additional reading support. There is evidence to show improvement in reading in Years 7 and 8. Disabled students are fully integrated into all aspects of school life. Close attention is paid to their individual needs so learning materials are prepared in advance and reasonable adjustments made.

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Achievement of pupils

In the majority of lessons observed, progress and the quality of learning were satisfactory. Learning is strongest in lessons where there is an element of independence and students have opportunities to undertake self- and peer- assessment. In satisfactory lessons, learning tasks do not always meet the needs of students sufficiently well because all groups are learning at the same pace; thus, some are not challenged enough. Most students have positive attitudes, listening and cooperating well with teachers. The development of students’ literacy and numeracy skills across the curriculum varies. There are examples of effective strategies ensuring students understand key words for the subject but these are not consistently applied. Not all teachers regularly identify common spelling, punctuation or grammatical errors in students’ work and support them to correct any misconceptions. Most parents and carers are positive about the progress their

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Quality of teaching

Teaching is satisfactory and results in most students making progress that is broadly in line with expectations. Where teaching is good, it is characterised by a high level of independent work, good teacher subject knowledge which supports and challenges students. There are high levels of student engagement as a result of tasks and questioning that are appropriate to all abilities. In an outstanding physical education lesson, students worked collaboratively in groups in examining the effects of exercise. Peer assessment was used well and students considered the views of others. A very good a range of activities ensured students were engaged and challenged to evaluate the impact of exercise. A science lesson promoted outstanding learning for students because the teacher used questioning to probe understanding and targeted questions at a wide range of students. The work on osmosis was linked to GCSE grades with precise guidance on what is required for

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Quality of teaching

each grade. The teacher carefully built on prior knowledge and gave students confidence to tackle challenging activities. Satisfactory teaching was characterised by high levels of teacher input which resulted in a lack of pace and challenge, learning objectives which were task related rather than focusing on learning. Teachers often set explicit expectations for students of differing abilities but the subsequent work is not necessarily matched closely enough to their current attainment, resulting in all students doing the same level of task. This disadvantages higher ability students in particular. Most parents and carers feel that their children are taught well but they comment on the variation across subjects, as Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Quality of teaching

do students. Inspectors also found some variation.

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Quality of teaching

There are examples of good specific subject marking which supports students’ progress and gives clear guidance on how to improve but is not always acted on by the students and followed up by the teacher. The curriculum meets students’ needs, and cross-curricular skills from the Year 7 ‘curriculum plus’ programme are used effectively in other lessons. Teachers often provide time to reflect and broaden students’ understanding of spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. In Year 8 English, students had good opportunities to reflect on a speech by Martin Luther King and analyse its powerful impact on the audience.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

During the inspection, students’ behaviour was good around the school. In those lessons that are good or better, students are well behaved because the lessons are engaging and they are willing participants in effective group work and peer- assessment. Behaviour is less than good when teachers are not consistent in using agreed behaviour management strategies and this was confirmed by students and parents and carers in the questionnaires. Students generally engage in the tasks set for them, but show a lack of urgency in lessons where the work is not well matched to their needs. In the sixth form, students’ behaviour is good because in lessons they are actively involved and respond well to teachers.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Students know how to keep themselves safe. They are confident that the small numbers of bullying incidents are dealt with appropriately by their teachers. Students have a good understanding of different types of bullying, such as cyber- bullying, prejudice-based bullying and homophobic bullying, and feel that the use of inappropriate language is not tolerated. Some act as ‘house champs’ to mediate problems between students, having a dedicated base to carry out their work. As a result, students feel safe in school and a large majority of parents and carers agree.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Attendance rates are below the national average. Recent developments have been put in place to in order to have a more systematic approach to improving attendance. These include house managers and focused multi-agency work. Punctuality, although improving, remains a focus for the school. There is still a significant minority of students who are slow to arrive at lessons.

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Leadership and management

The school is led effectively, and senior leaders are driving forward improvements. There are clear lines of accountability which enable senior and middle leaders to ensure the smooth running of the school. The key priorities are shared with staff so that there is a clear agenda for raising standards and improving teaching. Central to these improvements has been the establishment of ambitious target setting. There are rigorous systems to monitor and evaluate the progress the school is making, such as data systems to track students’ progress. Accurate assessments mean that the school can now identify more precisely the individuals and groups where further Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Leadership and management

support is needed, leading to better achievement, however leaders do not ensure that assessment information is used sufficiently by teachers in planning lessons. Directors of the different subjects have an effective understanding of data and whole-school priorities. There have been significant improvements in English but slower progress is evident in science and modern foreign languages. Some subjects are more successful then others in securing good achievement. Subject improvement plans are variable, with insufficient focus and precision in driving up the quality of teaching. Senior leaders are improving teaching and tackling weak performance with training programmes in place to develop classroom practice.

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Leadership and management

The leadership and management of the sixth form are satisfactory. There remains some underachievement because intervention and tracking of students’ progress has not always been effective. Staying on rates are high and indicate students are on appropriate courses.

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Leadership and management

The school’s effectiveness in promoting equal opportunities and tackling discrimination is satisfactory. It is closing the gap in achievement between different groups of students. Those whose circumstances make them vulnerable are well supported and make good progress during their time in school. The school has demonstrated that it has capacity to make further improvements because achievement continues to improve.

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Leadership and management

The governing body discharges its responsibilities effectively. Its members understand the strengths and weaknesses of the school and bring a broad range of expertise to their work. They provide appropriate challenge. Safeguarding arrangements are fully in place and are thorough, thus, ensuring the well-being of students.

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Leadership and management

The broad and balanced curriculum enables students to achieve satisfactorily. The range of GCSE and vocational courses meets students’ needs. Extra-curricular activities and trips broaden their experience. Provision for disabled students and those with special educational needs is good. The alternative curriculum ensures students are on appropriate courses, enabling them to achieve qualifications. The community provision has positively raised the profile of science as a discipline both in the school and beyond as part of the specialist status. The ‘classroom medics’ workshops during the inspection were fun and engaging. Reasonable actions are taken to ensure that students’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is satisfactory. These aspects of learning are evident in subjects and promoted through lessons in personal development, enrichment activities, assemblies, tutor- time and events such as Black History Month. The house system of mixed aged

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Leadership and management

groups promotes a strong sense of belonging and students are proud to wear their house badges.

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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 Cannock Chase High School, Cannock, WS11 1JT

Thank you for the welcome you gave us during the inspection. We found it very helpful to talk to you, look at your work and visit your lessons. You helped us to understand what it is like to be a student at your school.

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Inspection of Cannock Chase High School, Cannock, WS11 1JT

The school provides you with a satisfactory education. Staff work hard to support you in your work. GCSE results are improving year on year and you make satisfactory progress. The quality of teaching you receive is varied and the ‘Chase Marking’ system gives you an idea of what you need to do to improve. The curriculum is broad and you benefit from a wide range of courses. Provision for disabled students, those with special educational needs and those whose circumstances make them vulnerable is good. You feel safe and your school is led effectively by your headteacher and the team of leaders and managers, who are determined to ensure that it provides the best for every one of you. We were very impressed by the ‘classroom medics’ workshops during the inspection which were fun and engaging. The house badges you wear give you a sense of belonging and the mixed age groups ensure you get on with each other well. To improve some areas of its work,

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Inspection of Cannock Chase High School, Cannock, WS11 1JT

 raise achievement so GCSE results continue to improve in all subjects  provide more good or better teaching by matching tasks to your abilities so that you are challenged effectively  improve your attendance.

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Inspection of Cannock Chase High School, Cannock, WS11 1JT

You have a part to play and you can help your school by ensuring that you attend regularly. I wish you all success in the future.

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Inspection of Cannock Chase High School, Cannock, WS11 1JT

Davinder Dosanjh 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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