Roundhay School

Age group 4–18 Inspection date(s) 9–10 May 2012 Inspection number 395319 Unique Reference Number 108076 Local authority Leeds Inspection number 395319 Inspection dates 9–10 May 2012 Lead inspector Clive Moss 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 Community 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 1,617 Of which number on roll in the sixth form 377 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Gillian Hayward Headteacher Neil Clephan Date of previous school inspection 6 November 2007 School address Gledhow Lane Leeds LS8 1ND Telephone number 0113 393 1200 Fax number 0113 393 1201 Email address secretary@roundhay.leeds.sch.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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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 assesses council children's services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Introduction

Clive Moss Mark Shenton Her Majesty's Inspector Additional Inspector Barbara O'Brien Additional Inspector Helen Gaunt Additional Inspector Sheila Kaye Additional Inspector

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out at half a day’s notice. The inspectors observed 43 lessons taught by 42 members of staff and observed tutorials and other occasions when students were learning. Meetings were held with parents and carers, governors, groups of students, groups of staff, and individual members of staff with particular responsibilities. Inspectors took account of the responses to the on-line Parent View survey in planning the inspection, observed the school's work, and looked at a range of documentation, including the school’s data on students’ achievement and behaviour, documents and policies relating to safeguarding, self- evaluation documents and records of the school’s monitoring, evaluation and planning. They looked also at 73 questionnaires completed by parents and carers and others from students.

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Information about the school

The school is larger than the average secondary school. The proportion of students known to be eligible for free school meals is average. The proportion of students from minority ethnic groups is well above average and has risen since the last inspection. The proportion of students with English as an additional language is also well above average and rising. The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs is average; their needs are mainly moderate learning difficulties, behavioural, emotional, and social difficulties and autism. The proportion supported at the school action plus level and with a statement of special educational needs is average. The school includes provision for students with dyslexia, which serves the whole of the local authority area. The school has exceeded the current floor standards set by the government for the attainment and progress of students. It has achieved the Investor in People award, the Healthy School status, and an

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Information about the school

Inclusion Chartermark for the quality of its work in these areas. The school has changed its name and status since the previous inspection and will change in September to being a school for students aged 4-18 years. 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

 Roundhay is a good school. It does many things outstandingly well. In particular, the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of the students is outstanding. The school is, justifiably, held in very high regard by parents and carers. The sixth form is good also. The school’s overall effectiveness is not outstanding because there is not yet sufficient teaching that is outstanding to make the quality of teaching better than good overall, including in the sixth form. This means, in turn, that the students’ achievement is good, rather than outstanding.

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Key Findings

 The students make good progress and achieve well. Their attainment is high by the end of Key Stage 4, particularly in English and mathematics. The achievement of students in the sixth form is better than average.

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Key Findings

 The quality of teaching is good. The inspectors saw examples of outstanding teaching and some that was satisfactory, rather than good.

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Key Findings

 The students, typically, demonstrate very polite, respectful and considerate behaviour and mature into confident young people with a well-balanced approach to their education, supported by the excellent care and guidance they receive from the staff. A comment by one parent summed up the views of many who wrote to the inspectors; ‘The commitment and genuine care and friendliness of the staff towards our son and our family are exceptional and I know I am not on my own in this experience of the school.’

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Key Findings

 Leaders and managers have been relentless and very successful in their work to improve the school. The performance management of the staff is very thorough and, linked with a very effective approach to professional development, provides significant support, challenge and inspiration to the staff, enabling continuous improvements in the quality of teaching and the achievement of the students.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the proportion of teaching that is outstanding by creating opportunities in all lessons for students to engage actively with the subject matter, including in the sixth form. 

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Achievement of pupils

The students’ attainment on entry to the main school varies significantly between year groups, but is generally above average. The attainment of the students on entry to the sixth form is average as a result of the increasing numbers joining from other schools. The students make good progress, including in the sixth form. The students’ achievement in the sixth form has improved in the last two years, although there remain some variations between subjects. The students are well equipped for the next stages of their education, training, or employment. An overwhelming majority of the students goes on into employment, education, or training post-16 and a very high proportion of the sixth form students are successful in gaining entry to the universities and courses of their choice. All of the parents and carers who responded to the inspection questionnaire indicated that their children make good progress.

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Achievement of pupils

The students say that they learn a lot in lessons. Routinely, they respond well in lessons, often showing much enthusiasm for learning and engaging in the work well. As a result, they make good progress. They are clear about the things they need to improve and what to do. Many speak eloquently, fluently and confidently on a wide range of topics. They demonstrate a positive disposition for learning and are very capable of working independently. The teaching ensures there are no significant differences in the achievement of different groups, including disabled students and those with special educational needs. In an outstanding lesson on coastal management, for example, students with English as an additional language made outstanding progress along with their peers, as a result of well-targeted additional support based on a precise assessment of their prior attainment. The support for students with dyslexia enables them to become independent readers by the time

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Achievement of pupils

they leave the school, many having made significant improvements in their reading ages.

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Quality of teaching

The great majority of students say that the teaching is good and often described lessons, when quizzed by the inspectors, with an unforced smile that indicated genuine pleasure. The teachers know the students well and develop high-quality relationships with them. The teachers have high expectations of the students. Typically:  the teaching is planned effectively to meet the students’ needs  tasks are challenging and based on accurate assessment of the students’ prior learning  the teachers question the students at a high level  teaching assistants are deployed effectively, including for students with dyslexia  work is marked well and students are provided with constructive feedback  there is a strong focus on developing the students’ literacy.

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Quality of teaching

The best examples of teaching observed by the inspectors capitalised on the students’ capacity to work independently. For example, in an outstanding design and technology lesson on a multicultural food topic, the teacher provided an opportunity for the students to select what they would do and the students challenged themselves by choosing to prepare more difficult dishes. The best teaching observed also included good opportunities for the students to reflect on a variety of issues, many with spiritual, moral, social or cultural themes, and included reflecting on their own learning.

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Quality of teaching

In addition, students who need it are provided with bespoke, targeted and focused support and interventions, including individual support within the school’s inclusion base, that lead to demonstrable improvements in their progress. One parent wrote, ‘The way that the school responds to my child’s learning disability is so incredibly helpful. They often go above and beyond what could reasonably be expected.’ The students receiving additional support with their reading skills make rapid gains in their reading ages. The students say that the teachers are very alert to any decline in performance and act swiftly to get any student back on track who may be in danger of falling behind.

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Quality of teaching

The small minority of less-successful, though still satisfactory teaching observed by the inspectors provided the students with too few opportunities to engage actively with the subject matter, though, typically, the students remained attentive and maintained their concentration. Their progress on these occasions was, nevertheless, less rapid than in other lessons.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

The students feel very safe at school. All of the parents and carers who responded to the inspection questionnaire confirmed that view, along with the parents and carers who met with an inspector. The school is very calm and orderly and the frequently impeccable behaviour of the students contributes significantly to a sense of harmony throughout the school and the smooth running of lessons. Parents and carers described the school as ‘relaxed and friendly’; that was the experience of the inspectors also. Parents and carers have very positive views of behaviour in general. Very effective arrangements ensure that the students settle rapidly into the school and feel secure. One parent summed this up by writing, ‘My son has flourished since moving to Roundhay. The transition was fantastic and I am delighted with his progress.’ Equally effective arrangements smooth the students’ entry to the sixth form, including the increasing numbers that do so from other schools. The students’

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

attendance is high and their punctuality, both to school and to lessons, is excellent.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Behaviour is managed by the staff consistently well. The students are supervised very well outside of lessons, but unobtrusively. Parents and carers appreciate the fact that the staff are prepared to extend the supervision beyond the school gates and into the nearby community after the end of the school day. Instances of bullying, including racist behaviour, are rare. The students and parents and carers, alike, state that any such issues are dealt with swiftly and effectively by the school and to the full satisfaction of the parents and carers. Parents and carers who spoke with an inspector described low-level disruption to learning as having all but disappeared. There have been no permanent exclusions from the school recently and the proportion of students receiving a short-term exclusion has halved each year for the last three years, from what was an already low level. The school data show that the school’s approaches to managing behaviour are very effective, with rapid

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

improvements amongst any students whose behaviour initially may be challenging.

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Leadership and management

Leaders and managers, supported by a very effective and highly productive partnership with the very well informed and astute governing body, have been remarkably successful in fostering a strong ethos and culture of continuous improvement. The school’s approach to self-evaluation is searching and makes very effective use of external benchmarks and views. For example, the school is now working towards the local authority’s Stephen Lawrence Education Standard, which requires it to demonstrate evidence of promoting inclusion and race equality. There is a rigorous approach to monitoring and evaluating the quality of teaching, and providing feedback to teachers, and a very effective approach to professional development. Leaders and managers have secured a high level of commitment throughout the staff to a culture of sustained, autonomous improvement. Areas of relative under-performance are identified accurately and quickly and the response is

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Leadership and management

both rapid and very well judged. The school’s determination to improve has resulted in a consistent trend of increases in the attainment of students at Key Stage 4 being sustained over a long period, marked reductions in exclusions, and consistently high attendance. This means that the school has demonstrated strong capacity for improvement and that is reflected in its increasing reputation and popularity amongst parents and carers, including for the sixth form.

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Leadership and management

The school is highly inclusive. The sense of togetherness evident amongst the staff is reflected amongst the students. Students from all of the different backgrounds represented at the school and including those attending the dyslexia provision blend together as a very cohesive community. The school’s partnership with parents and carers is excellent. Parents and carers describe the school as highly responsive and the staff as very accessible. There are many, highly creditable examples of work undertaken by the school to promote equalities and tackle discrimination, for example by engaging different sections of its community in work to increase the achievement of students from minority ethnic backgrounds. Particularly notable is a well established ‘Focus Group on Raising the Attainment of Pupils of Asian Heritage’, which includes parents and carers and discusses detailed analyses of student achievement data in order to develop improvement strategies.

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Leadership and management

The curriculum is replete with a wide variety of opportunities that provide the students with highly memorable experiences. The students respond enthusiastically and the experiences contribute significantly to their outstanding spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, in particular their maturity, their very positive attitudes to school and, consequently, their generally excellent behaviour. The range and breadth of options for students have been adapted regularly to meet the needs of the increasingly diverse student body. The range and frequency of extra-curricular and enrichment activities are exceptional and the uptake by students is high. The school’s arrangements for safeguarding meet current requirements and are kept under careful scrutiny.

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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 54 42 2 2 Primary schools 14 49 32 6 Secondary schools 20 39 34 7 Special schools 33 45 20 3 Pupil referral units 9 55 28 8 All schools 16 47 31 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.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

The data in the table above are for the period 1 September to 31 December 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 ).

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Type of school 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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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

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

Floor standards the national minimum expectation of attainment and progression measures

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

findings from the inspection of their school.

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Inspection of Roundhay School, Leeds, LS8 1ND

Thank you for talking to my colleagues and me when we visited your school recently. The inspectors spoke with you in lessons, around the school and in groups, looked at your work, read the results of questionnaires filled in by you and your parents and carers, and spoke with some of your teachers. Here is a summary of the main findings, which I hope will be of interest to you.

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Inspection of Roundhay School, Leeds, LS8 1ND

 You go to a good school, which does many things outstandingly well.  You make good progress in the school and sixth form. Your results in GCSE examinations are well above average.  Your attendance is also well above average and your punctuality excellent.  Your behaviour is predominantly mature, very polite, and considerate. You make the school the relaxed, friendly, calm and orderly place that it is. This does not mean that you never misbehave, but misbehaviour of any sort is not typical.  The quality of teaching is good overall and you respond very well to the teachers.  The headteacher and the senior leaders, including the governing body, know what needs to be done to make things even better.

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Inspection of Roundhay School, Leeds, LS8 1ND

I have asked the headteacher and the governing body to increase the proportion of teaching that is outstanding, including in the sixth form. I am sure all of you will give them your full support.

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Inspection of Roundhay School, Leeds, LS8 1ND

Clive Moss 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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