Hadleigh High School

Age group 11–16 Inspection date(s) 21–22 May 2012 Inspection number 384808 Hadleigh High School Inspection report

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Unique reference number 136918 Local authority Suffolk Inspection number 384808 Inspection dates 21–22 May 2012 Lead inspector Frank Knowles

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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 11–16 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 778 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Elton D’Souza Headteacher Caroline Gibson Date of previous school inspection 17 September 2008 School address High Lands Road Hadleigh Ipswich IP7 5HU Telephone number 01473 823496 Fax number 01473 824720 Email address office@hadleighhigh.net 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

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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

This inspection was carried out with two days' notice. Inspectors observed teaching in 39 lessons taught by 37 teachers. They held meetings with staff, members of the governing body and groups of students, and listened to younger pupils reading. Inspectors took account of the responses to the on-line Parent View survey in planning the inspection. They observed the academy’s work, the academy’s analysis of its assessment data, and a range of documents relating to the curriculum, improvement planning, safeguarding, performance management and the monitoring of teaching and learning. Inspectors looked at a sample of students’ work done since the start of the school year. They also took into account the responses to inspection questionnaires from 348 parents and carers, including 131 with written comments, from a sample of 174 students and from 83 staff.

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Information about the school

Hadleigh High School converted to academy status in July 2011 and has a science specialism. It is smaller than the average-sized secondary school and serves Hadleigh and the surounding rural area. The very large majority of its students come from White British backgrounds and very few speak Enlish as an additional language. The proportion of students known to be eligible for free school meals is low. The proportion of disabled students and those with special educational needs supported through school action plus or a statement of special educational needs is well above average.

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Information about the school

The academy meets the current floor standard set by the government, which determines the minimum expectations for attainment and progress. It has achieved National Healthy Schools status and silver flag accreditation as an Eco 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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Key findings

 This is a good school. Recent work by the headteacher and other senior leaders has brought improved teaching and a change of school culture, and students are now making faster progress. The academy is not yet outstanding because inconsistencies in the quality of teaching mean that levels of challenge in lessons do not always match students’ individual needs.

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Key findings

 Students make good progress and are on target to show higher attainment this year when compared with the broadly average results achieved in 2011. Improvements are most marked in science, where the academy has focused effectively on remedying below-average results.

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Key findings

 Students respond well to teaching, with full and often animated participation in the group and paired activities that are now included extensively in lessons. Although students know their target levels and grades, not all know what they need to do to improve their work.

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Key findings

 The academy provides students with a calm and purposeful learning environment, and they feel safe at school. Students are courteous to each other and to adults around the academy and behave well in lessons. Disruption to learning is now much less frequent. Any cases of bullying are tackled quickly and, in most cases, it does not re-occur.

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Key findings

 The appointment of a new headteacher in 2010 and an almost completely new senior leadership team has led to a much stronger emphasis on improving teaching and learning and on well-focused professional development. Targeted support in science and modern languages has brought about good improvements. Extensive and accurate monitoring of teaching is now holding teachers to account more effectively, but does not make enough use of available data on students’ progress. Middle leaders are now more involved in monitoring, but the analysis of students’ work lacks a focus on the quality of marking, which is inconsistent. 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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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve teaching so that it is consistently good or better in all subjects by: - matching the levels of challenge in lessons to students’ needs more effectively, making more use of assessment data - improving the marking of students’ work, including homework, to ensure students know what they have to do to improve it - creating more opportunities in lessons to promote students’ spiritual, moral and cultural development.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the monitoring and evaluation of teaching and students’ progress, particularly among middle leaders, by: - making greater use of interim data on the progress of different groups of students to identify exceptional practice and where improvement is needed - focusing the monitoring of students’ work more clearly on the quality of output, presentation and marking.

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Achievement of pupils

In 2011, results at the end of Year 11 were broadly average from slightly below- average starting points in Year 7. This was a slight drop from 2010, where the year group was more typically average on intake, and there was some variation between subjects. Despite this, the academy had above-average results in the English baccalaureate. Students from Forces families made similar progress to their peers. Particular successes in 2011 were in narrowing the gap between boys’ and girls’ results, especially in English, where boys achieved above-average results compared with boys nationally. Students known to be eligible for free school meals also did well in 2011.

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Achievement of pupils

In lessons, students make good progress, and this is reflected in their work over the school year. Their enthusiasm for learning and high levels of participation in a range of interesting activities mean that they learn at a good pace. For example, in a mathematics lesson, students in Year 7 questioned each other as pairs taught the class how to round numbers to the nearest 10 or 100. Students who struggle with reading receive clearly focused support, as do disabled students and those with special educational needs, and this means their progress matches that of their peers. Students feel they make good progress, as do their parents and carers.

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Achievement of pupils

The academy has recently introduced software to record and analyse students’ attainment and progress towards their targets. This works very well to support individual students, through regular assessment, analysis and feedback. Students and their parents and carers value the access they have to this information from 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

home. The academy’s additional analysis of the interim progress through the school year made by different groups of students in Years 10 and 11 does not currently extend to Years 7 to 9, lessening the ability of leaders to provide support and intervention to staff where the data indicate slower progress. The academy’s data show that students are making good progress overall, and are on schedule to achieve higher results in most areas in 2012.

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Quality of teaching

The academy’s clear focus on teaching and learning has been one of the main elements in the change in culture that has taken place in the last two years. The drive to have more active engagement in learning through paired and group work has been successful, as students now see tackling challenging activities collaboratively as the norm. For example, students in Year 8 worked in pairs in physical education to coach each other in sprint starts, evaluating their performance effectively using relevant criteria and suggesting improvements. Students in Year 10 in a health and social care lesson worked very well in groups using video resources to plan a presentation to the class about the key elements of life experiences that influenced self-esteem. Lessons are well structured so that the pace of learning is generally good. Relationships are good, and teachers make extensive use of in-class assessment to judge how well students have understood what they are learning. The

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Quality of teaching

social aspect of students’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is well covered, although the other three elements are not included as prominently in many lessons.

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Quality of teaching

Students, parents and carers overwhelmingly see teaching as good, and this matches inspection findings. Students’ work shows that the improvements in teaching have been sustained throughout the school year. Withdrawal groups for reading and the development of other skills are effective in ensuring that disabled students and those with special educational needs make similar progress to their peers. The academy’s approach to matching tasks to students’ skills and knowledge, particularly in setting clear objectives for individual students, does not always provide the right level of challenge, with some cruising through easy tasks and others struggling.

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Quality of teaching

The strong focus on assessment in recent training has been translated into skilful questioning and a range of other effective assessment techniques in lessons. Students are aware of their target levels or grades, but are not always clear about what they have to do to improve their work. This is mainly because the quality of teachers’ marking varies considerably, with some setting very clear short-term goals to help students reach their targets, while other teachers rarely mark students’ work, or use ticks only, leaving students with no suggestions for improvement.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Students’ good behaviour stems from consistent application of the recently introduced behaviour policy, which was constructed with student involvement through the school council. Substantial inputs to assemblies and tutor groups have 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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Behaviour and safety of pupils

effectively raised students’ awareness of a wide range of spiritual, moral, social and cultural themes. In addition, the development of extensive participation in group and paired work in lessons has led to higher levels of engagement with learning, high levels of mutual support and less disruption through off-task behaviour. Behaviour referrals are now low. Where needed, members of the inclusion team provide good support, both within ordinary classrooms and the inclusion unit itself.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

The use of an on-line system means that students, and their parents and carers, have ready access to their behaviour records at any time. Students note this has begun to have a positive influence on behaviour. Records for the current school year and in the week before the inspection indicate few referrals at relatively low levels of concern. A minority of parents indicated in their responses to the inspection questionnaire that disruption has been a significant issue in the academy, although some noted recent improvement. Students indicated that disruptions were not frequent now, and this view is supported by the inspection evidence. The number of exclusions is below average.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

The academy’s response to bullying has also improved. Students know about the range of different types of bullying, including cyber and homophobic bullying, and indicated that bullying is rare. They felt confident that they could approach a member of staff in the secure knowledge that the issue would be dealt with quickly and said that, in nearly all cases, the bullying stopped. The academy takes racist and similar behaviour seriously and works effectively with individuals to prevent further occurrences and support victims.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Students feel safe in the academy. Site security is good, and students welcome their contact with the local police community support officer. They value the extensive care and support they receive from staff, particularly through additional support and extra-curricular activities. Students enjoy coming to the academy and their attendance is above average.

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Leadership and management

The headteacher has seized the opportunity afforded by an almost complete change of senior leaders in the academy to rethink roles and leadership strategies. As a result, the governing body and senior leaders have a strong focus on improvement, and middle leaders have been empowered to develop their roles as leaders of their area. The headteacher has brought with her an unshakeable focus on high achievement and has identified clearly what needs to be done to improve the academy. The culture of the academy has been transformed in just over two years to one in which staff and students are fully involved in its development. They value this change highly. In addition, the academy’s leaders have tackled weaknesses in science and modern languages and have brought about significant improvement in students’ progress in these two subjects, demonstrating the academy’s good capacity to improve further.

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Leadership and management

The governing body has a very good understanding of the academy’s performance 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

and is effective in challenging senior and middle leaders through, for example, their ‘subject champions’. The academy’s arrangements for safeguarding students are secure, with extensive training and thorough recording.

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Leadership and management

Monitoring and evaluation of teaching and the analysis of data are rigorous. A clear drive to provide challenging and interesting activities that match students’ expressed preferences for active and participative learning has brought much greater engagement with classroom activities. Training in assessment has resulted in the effective use of wide range of in-class strategies. The management of teachers’ performance is also being transformed so that it provides support and holds them to account more clearly for students’ performance. Senior leaders have an accurate view of the quality of teaching and are working jointly with middle leaders so that they can take a stronger lead in improving the quality of teaching in their area. Currently, the analysis of students’ work is not as sharply focused as it needs to be on quality, particularly on the quality of the work produced, its presentation and teachers’ marking.

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Leadership and management

The curriculum is broad and balanced and meets students’ needs well, with some vocational courses provided in conjunction with two other schools. Students’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development has a strong central focus and is planned into schemes of work, but this emphasis is only reflected fully in lessons in respect of students’ social development. Senior leaders and governors are highly aware of the need to consider the performance and progress of different groups of students, particularly to ensure equality of opportunity. Staff tackle all forms of discrimination robustly, and work with individual students to overcome prejudice where it is noted.

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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. 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 ). 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

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

main findings from the inspection of their school.

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

Inspection of Hadleigh High School , Ipswich , IP7 5HU

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

Thank you for your welcome when the inspection team visited your academy. We all gained much from our discussions with you, whether it was in lessons, the discussion groups, looking at some of your work over the year, or listening to some of you read. We were particularly pleased to see your above-average attendance and hear how you enjoyed learning through active group work.

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

You go to a good school. You make good progress because teaching is good. Older students told us how things have improved over the last two years. You all said how much you value after-school activities and the extra help you get when you need it. We noted how courteous and thoughtful you are to each other and adults, and concluded that your behaviour is good. Your parents and carers will be pleased to hear that you don’t now experience as much disruption to your lessons as happened in the past. Your headteacher and other senior staff lead the school well.

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

To help the academy improve even further we have asked the headteacher and staff to do two things.

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

 We have asked them to make sure that all the teaching you receive is good, especially getting the right level of challenge in activities and showing you in marking how you can improve your work

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

 When they monitor the work of a year group or in a subject, we have also asked them to focus more on the quality of your work and on how well it is marked, and make more use of the assessment data they have to see what sort of progress different groups of students are making.

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

We hope you will continue to be enthusiastic learners and get the most out of your lessons by contributing as much as you can. We wish you well for the future.

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

Frank Knowles Lead 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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