Hindley High School

Age group 11–16 Inspection date(s) 05–06 December 2011 Inspection number 377420 Unique Reference Number 106528 Local authority Wigan Inspection number 377420 Inspection dates 5–6 December 2011 Reporting inspector Sally Kenyon 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 Secondary School category Foundation Age range of pupils 11–16 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 895 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair S Shaw Headteacher J Lees Date of previous school inspection 3 October 2006 School address Mornington Road Hindley Wigan WN2 4LG Telephone number 01942 767704 Fax number 01942 748054 Email address enquiries@admin.hindleyhs.wigan.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 other secure establishments. It rates council children's services, and inspects services for looked after

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children, safeguarding and child protection.

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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.

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T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out by one of Her Majesty's Inspectors and four additional inspectors. Inspectors observed 29 teachers in 32 lessons and held meetings with senior and middle leaders, members of the governing body and students. They observed the school's work, and looked at documentation, scrutinised a sample of students’ books and considered the responses from 318 parental questionnaires.

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Introduction

The inspection team reviewed many aspects of the school's work. It looked in detail at a number of key areas.

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Introduction

 Is cross-curricular literacy being used effectively to raise attainment in English?  Are the most able students sufficiently challenged in lessons to facilitate good or better progress?  How effectively does the curriculum allow all students to achieve five A* to C GCSE grades, including in English and mathematics?  How rigorously do leaders and managers at all levels track, monitor and review progress?

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Information about the school

Hindley High School is a smaller than average sized secondary school. The school has specialist status for visual arts, music and information and communication technology (ICT). The proportion of students known to be eligible for free school meals is above the national average. The overwhelming majority of students have English as a first language. The proportion of students with special educational needs and/or disabilities is above average and the percentage of students with a statement of special educational needs is well above average. Since 2006 the school has had a resourced unit for students with complex medical difficulties and currently has five students in this provision.

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Information about the school

The school has many awards including Artsmark Gold, National ICT Mark, Geography Quality mark, DfE immersion school for officers and staff, Sports Mark and Football Charter Mark and Healthy School status. The school is a National Professional Qualification for Headship Leadership Development School. 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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Main findings

Hindley High is a good school and many aspects of the school’s work are outstanding. When asked about their view of the school, one parent commented, ‘I couldn’t ask for more, my son loves going to school and has improved so much since coming to Hindley High.’

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Main findings

Students make good progress from their below average starting points and leave with average attainment. Students with special educational needs and/or disabilities, including those with a statement of special educational needs and the few with complex medical needs, make outstanding progress due to high quality teaching and outstanding care, guidance and support they receive. Many students enter the school with below average reading ages, some significantly so, which has a considerable impact on their overall achievement. The proportion of students gaining five A* to C GCSE grades including English and mathematics was below the national average for 2011. However, the school is relentless in its drive to improve literacy skills across the curriculum and, as a result, forecasts are for above average GCSE results in 2012.

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Main findings

A broad range of literacy interventions are currently used including one-to-one tuition by specially trained staff, the use of classroom resources, such as key-word sheets and many more. While some highly effective use of these strategies was seen to accelerate progress in lessons, in others interventions were used less seamlessly and progress stalled. Some good examples of cross-curricular numeracy were seen but this is not as developed as the literacy programme. The school has made great efforts to engage parents and carers in a programme where they can learn numeracy alongside their children in order to effectively support their out-of-school learning.

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Main findings

The school ensures that students of all abilities are integrated well into school life. Bespoke care is provided for many groups of students through a range of agencies working in highly effective partnerships starting with transition work for some students in Year 5. One parent commented, ‘there is outstanding counselling available for students at the school’ and another commented that her son has a ‘wonderful head of year, very pleasant and approachable.’

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Main findings

Students make an outstanding contribution to the school and wider community ably led by the head boy, head girl, prefects and the 80-strong ‘student voice’. Students are confident ambassadors for their school and local community and regularly invite more senior members of the community in for ‘dawn patrol’, an opportunity to have some light refreshments, chat and play games. Spiritual, moral, social and cultural education is outstanding and tutor time is now being used very purposefully to explore ethical questions and a variety of topical issues such as human rights.

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Main findings

The quality of teaching is good with a few satisfactory lessons seen and a small minority of outstanding practice. The strongest teaching is characterised by well- paced lessons, extended opportunities for independent learning supported by the firmly embedded use of assessment information in planning work. In these lessons, students often respond with outstanding behaviour and are rewarded with lots of appropriate praise and encouragement. Many good examples of diagnostic feedback were seen in books giving students levels for their work and specific feedback so they know how to improve. Likewise in some lessons, effective verbal feedback from teachers allowed students to make good progress. Some strong examples of peer and self-assessment were also seen in lessons and in books. However, not all books are marked to an equally high standard and opportunities are missed to provide good feedback to students both in lessons and through marking.

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Main findings

The school’s specialism of visual arts, music and ICT is having a positive impact on raising achievement, particularly through the use of ICT and by creating engaging learning experiences in the personal development days where students created a huge banner for the school dining room and developed a piece of music for the school’s annual and prestigious ‘Morny Awards’.

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Main findings

Leaders and managers have a clear understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. Leaders at all levels are involved in school improvement planning and rigorous self-evaluation. Since the last inspection the school has made good improvements in raising levels of attendance and reducing persistent absence. All of these factors demonstrate that the school has a good capacity for further improvement. Safeguarding arrangements are outstanding as is the way that the school engages with parents and carers.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the proportion of students gaining five A* to C GCSEs, including English and mathematics by: - consolidating teachers’ good practice in written and verbal feedback to enable students to improve their work - sharing outstanding practice in independent learning - embedding literacy and numeracy strategies across the curriculum.

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Outcomes for individuals and groups of pupils 2

The attainment of students on entry varies greatly from year to year. The cohort starting Year 7 in 2011 had low attainment whereas the current Year 11 was broadly average. The school has revised its target setting during the last academic year to ensure that targets set for all students are suitably challenging. It tracks the progress students make with subject leaders working in partnership with heads of year. Swift interventions are put in place for groups identified as underachieving. Students make good progress due to the good quality teaching they receive. A learning walk through Year 11 English classes showed some outstanding progress being made by the most able students, as a result of excellent planning for independent learning and good use of challenging questions to enhance progress. Students were successfully analysing poetry to identify different techniques used, such as rhyming couplets,

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Outcomes for individuals and groups of pupils 2

applying skills they had acquired in the previous lesson. Progress is weaker in lessons where too much time is dominated by the teacher, and so there are too few opportunities for independent learning. Learning also slows where there is a lack of pace and challenge and assessment information is not used effectively in planning lessons which meet the needs of all students.

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Outcomes for individuals and groups of pupils 2

Students with special educational needs and/or disabilities make outstanding progress. This was seen in a Year 11 resistant materials class where students used a wide variety of tools, including hand saws and power tools to create their own bird box. Students worked independently with complex equipment, and with a very high regard for safety. Students were clearly very proud of their creations and the skills learnt prepare them well for the world of work.

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Outcomes for individuals and groups of pupils 2

Most of the students who responded to the survey feel that behaviour is good at school and, as a result, almost all students say that they feel safe in school. Many staff have been trained in ensuring internet safety and the school offers safety advice to parents and carers through its newsletter. The very large majority of behaviour seen in lessons was good with a small minority outstanding.

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Outcomes for individuals and groups of pupils 2

Students adopt healthy lifestyles well and many partake in extra-curricular sporting activities. Attendance is above average and the proportion of students who are persistently absent has significantly reduced since the previous inspection due to the successfully targeted actions of staff. Attendance remains low for a few students, however, the school is taking swift and effective action to further improve it. The school prepares students well for their future economic well-being, resulting in almost all going on to further education, employment or training.

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Outcomes for individuals and groups of pupils 2

A wealth of opportunities to promote students' spiritual, moral, social and cultural education, are exploited by the school. Students raise money for Children in Need and send gifts abroad through Operation Christmas Child. They also take part in a wide variety of educational visits, including to a Buddhist temple and a Holocaust memorial centre. Students also have regular contact with schools in France and Nigeria exchanging cultural ideas and experiences. The school runs an innovative adult community learning programme where members of the local community can learn to make jewellery, tiaras and cards. Adults can also opt for cake decorating or help with interview preparation or writing a curriculum vitae.

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Outcomes for individuals and groups of pupils 2

These are the grades for pupils' outcomes Pupils' achievement and the extent to which they enjoy their learning Taking into account: Pupils' attainment 1

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Outcomes for individuals and groups of pupils 2

1 The grades for attainment and attendance are: 1 is high; 2 is above average; 3 is broadly average; and 4 is low The quality of pupils' learning and their progress The quality of learning for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities and their progress The extent to which pupils feel safe 1 Pupils' behaviour 2 The extent to which pupils adopt healthy lifestyles 2 The extent to which pupils contribute to the school and wider community 1 The extent to which pupils develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being Taking into account: Pupils' attendance 1 The extent of pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 1

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How effective is the provision?

Teaching is good, as is the use of assessment to support learning. However, variations remain in these two areas both within and between departments. In an outstanding biology lesson about genetics, students took part in highly engaging group work from which they have to produce a presentation. Some of the most able students were nominated as group leaders to take charge of the learning ensuring that all groups of students made outstanding progress. The teacher used challenging questions to identify any misconceptions and pick up on key learning points and students knew at what level their work was and how to improve it. In a Year 7 art lesson, students created their own interpretations of Picasso. All students were engaged by their work showing their ability to work independently using a range of techniques. Teaching becomes less effective when teachers continually intervene by addressing the whole class or when they give too little time for tasks to be

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How effective is the provision?

completed. Where teaching was satisfactory, there was a lack of active engagement in learning, a slower pace and sometimes a lack of challenge.

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How effective is the provision?

The curriculum is good and offers a well-organised and effective range of options particularly at Key Stage 4. Care is taken to ensure that those taking vocational qualifications do not miss work in English, mathematics and science. However, in Key Stage 3, some students are withdrawn from non-core subjects on a temporary basis for literacy and numeracy interventions, which affects their progress in these subjects. The specialism provides some very creative option choices including fine art and digital photography. The school places high priority on ICT and every student takes the double GCSE option. A successful programme for more academically able students allows them to visit a highly ranked university to raise their aspirations to go on to further education. The school’s own vocational centre provides some students with a strong foundation for continuing on to apprenticeships and other courses.

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How effective is the provision?

Care, guidance and support are at the heart of the school’s ethos of ‘excellence, relevance, access.’ The very large majority of students who responded to the survey say they feel adults in the school care about them. A few parents and carers commented about the smooth transition from primary school and the high quality induction students receive when transferring to the school mid-year. Students report that they receive strong careers guidance and feel confident in taking their next steps. These are the grades for the quality of provision The quality of teaching Taking into account: The use of assessment to support learning The extent to which the curriculum meets pupils' needs, including, where relevant, through partnerships The effectiveness of care, guidance and support 1

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How effective are leadership and management?

The headteacher and the leadership team are ambitious for the school and highly committed in their pursuit of continually raising achievement. Sharply-focussed improvement plans are monitored regularly by leaders at all levels. Middle leaders welcome the support and challenge they receive from senior leaders and the governing body. Middle leaders make a significant contribution to self-evaluation and are responsible for closely monitoring and tracking progress. Standards are systematically monitored, evaluated and reviewed by the senior team who carefully moderate and seek evidence for the judgements made.

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How effective are leadership and management?

The leadership and management of teaching and learning are good. The school has a broadly accurate picture of teaching, however, some of the school’s judgements on the quality of teaching were over-generous. All staff who responded to the survey felt that the school made appropriate provision for their professional development which has rightly focussed, for example, on the use of assessment to support learning. The school runs much in-house training to develop the many and varied skills of their highly committed staff.

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How effective are leadership and management?

The school provides good value for money and deploys resources strategically. The governing body are passionately committed to the school. They regularly seek the views of parents and carers and offer appropriate challenge to senior leaders in acting as a supportive but critical friend.

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How effective are leadership and management?

Most parents and carers who responded to the survey feel that the school takes account of their views. The school provides many and varied opportunities for parents and carers to learn about their child’s progress and effectively support them. The school has highly effective systems to communicate with parents and carers including newsletters, a website and text messages. The school has been most effective in developing a dedicated pastoral team to build meaningful relationships with some families to improve attendance and raise achievement.

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How effective are leadership and management?

The school is a cohesive community and creates good opportunities for students to experience lifestyles different to their own. The school promotes equal opportunities well and, although there are gaps in attainment for some groups, these are closing. Safeguarding arrangements are outstanding, partly due to the strength of partnerships to promote learning and well-being. There are highly effective relationships with primary schools, a local children’s centre, the police, health awareness agencies and the British Heart Foundation. These are the grades for the leadership and management The effectiveness of leadership and management in embedding ambition and driving improvement Taking into account: The leadership and management of teaching and learning The effectiveness of the governing body in challenging and supporting the school so that weaknesses are tackled decisively and statutory responsibilities met

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How effective are leadership and management?

The effectiveness of the school's engagement with parents and carers 1 The effectiveness of partnerships in promoting learning and well-being 1 The effectiveness with which the school promotes equality of opportunity and tackles discrimination The effectiveness of safeguarding procedures 1 The effectiveness with which the school promotes community cohesion 2 The effectiveness with which the school deploys resources to achieve value for money

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Views of parents and carers

The very large majority of parents and carers who responded to the survey feel that: the school is effectively led and managed; it helps them support their child’s learning; their child’s particular needs are met and that; their child enjoys school. Almost all parents and carers who responded feel their child is making enough progress, that teaching is good and that the school helps their child be safe. A few comments were received about bullying, healthy eating and care, guidance and support. All of these were followed up with the school and inspectors are satisfied that behaviour is well managed, good options for healthy eating are available and strong policies and that strong procedures are in place regarding care, guidance and support.

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questionnaire

Ofsted invited all the registered parents and carers of pupils registered at Hindley High School to complete a questionnaire about their views of the school. In the questionnaire, parents and carers were asked to record how strongly they agreed with 13 statements about the school. The inspection team received 318 completed questionnaires by the end of the on-site inspection. In total, there are 893 pupils registered at the school.

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questionnaire

Statements Strongly agree Agree Disagree Strongly disagree Total % Total % Total % Total % My child enjoys school 103 33 199 63 8 3 1 0 The school keeps my child safe 156 50 154 49 4 1 0 0 The school informs me about my child's progress 153 49 155 49 7 2 0 0 My child is making enough progress at this school 135 43 175 56 2 1 2 1 The teaching is good at this school 144 46 168 53 2 1 0 0 The school helps me to support my child's learning 112 36 180 57 21 7 0 0 The school helps my child to have a healthy lifestyle 81 26 201 64 27 9 2 1 The school makes sure that my child is well prepared for the future (for example changing year group, changing school, and for children who are finishing school, entering further or higher education, or entering employment) 106 34 182 58 8 3 3 1

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questionnaire

The school meets my child's particular needs 117 37 186 59 9 3 1 0 The school deals effectively with unacceptable behaviour 147 47 157 50 9 3 1 0

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questionnaire

The school takes account of my suggestions and concerns 91 29 192 61 19 6 0 0

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questionnaire

The school is led and managed effectively 136 43 165 52 4 1 1 0 Overall, I am happy with my child's experience at this school 152 48 155 49 5 2 0 0

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questionnaire

The table above summarises the responses that parents and carers made to each statement. The percentages indicate the proportion of parents and carers giving that response out of the total number of completed questionnaires. Where one or more parents and carers chose not to answer a particular question, the percentages will not add up to 100%.

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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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Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Nursery schools 43 47 10 0 Primary schools 6 46 42 6 Secondary schools 14 36 41 9 Sixth forms 15 42 41 3 Special schools 30 48 19 3 Pupil referral units 14 50 31 5 All schools 10 44 39 6

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Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

New school inspection arrangements were introduced on 1 September 2009. This means that inspectors now make some additional judgements that were not made previously.

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Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

The data in the table above is for the period 1 September 2010 to 08 April 2011 and are consistent with the latest published official statistics about maintained school inspection outcomes (see www.ofsted.gov.uk ).

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Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

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.

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Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Percentages are rounded and do not always add exactly to 100. Sixth form figures reflect the judgements made for the overall effectiveness of the sixth form in secondary schools, special schools and pupil referral units.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Achievement: the progress and success of a pupil in their learning, development or training.

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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

Capacity to improve: the proven ability of the school to continue improving. Inspectors base this judgement on 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 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. The following judgements, in particular, influence what the overall effectiveness judgement will be.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

 The school's capacity for sustained improvement.  Outcomes for individuals and groups of pupils.  The quality of teaching.  The extent to which the curriculum meets pupils' needs, including, where relevant, through partnerships.  The effectiveness of care, guidance and support.

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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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to share with their children. It describes Ofsted's main

findings from the inspection of their school.

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Inspection of Hindley High School, Wigan WN2 4LG

Thank you for the warm welcome you gave to the inspection team when we visited your school earlier this month. We really appreciate the time you spent in meetings with us telling us about your learning and what you do to make a difference. It is clear that you are very proud of your school and you give up your time to help others both in school and the wider community. All of your contributions through the meetings and questionnaires were taken into account and helped us in coming to our final judgements.

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Inspection of Hindley High School, Wigan WN2 4LG

 You go to a good school and many aspects of your school’s work are outstanding.  Your behaviour and achievement are good.  You make an outstanding contribution to the school and wider community.  Your spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding.  Teaching and assessment are good.

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Inspection of Hindley High School, Wigan WN2 4LG

We have asked your school to increase the number of students who leave the school with five A* to C GSCEs including English and mathematics by ensuring that all teachers give you specific feedback on how to improve your work both in lessons and in your books. We have also asked the school to continue its work in providing good opportunities for you to improve literacy and numeracy across different subjects and to create more opportunities for you all to learn independently.

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Inspection of Hindley High School, Wigan WN2 4LG

Sally Kenyon 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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