Crown Hills Community College

Age group 11–16 Inspection date(s) 29–30 May 2012 Inspection number 379988 Crown Hills Community College Inspection report

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Unique reference number 120277 Local authority Leicester Inspection number 379988 Inspection dates 29–30 May 2012 Lead inspector Trevor Riddiough 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 11–16 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 1200 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Iqbal Ismail Headteacher Bernadette Green (Principal) Date of previous school inspection 16 September 2008 School address Gwendolen Road Leicester LE5 5FT Telephone number 0116 2736893 Fax number 0116 2730413 Email address bgreen@crownhills.leicester.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 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

Trevor Riddiough 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. Inspectors observed 47 lessons taught by 44 teachers, of which four were joint observations with members of the senior leadership team. They also sat in on five tutor groups and one assembly. Inspectors carried out brief visits to a series of other lessons and held meetings with senior leaders and other staff, groups of students, and members of the governing body. They observed the college’s work and looked at the tracking of students’ progress, performance data, students' work, whole-college and subject development plans, numerous policies, college documents, incident logs and case studies. Completed questionnaires from 522 parents and carers, 150 students and 96 staff were received and analysed.

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Information about the school

This college is an above average-sized comprehensive school serving the inner city area of Leicester. There are more boys than girls. The college community is culturally diverse. Nearly all the students have minority ethnic heritage, and over half of students are from Indian backgrounds. About half the students speak English as an additional language and many are at the early stages of speaking English. The proportion of students known to be eligible for free school meals is well above the national average. The proportion of disabled students and those who have special educational needs supported by school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is broadly average. The college is a specialist sports college. It holds a number of awards including Sportsmark, Career Mark, Healthy Schools status and Investors in People. The college provides educational and recreational opportunities for adult learners and other members of the community. It makes

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Information about the school

specially resourced provision for four learners with hearing impairment managed by the local authority. At the time of the inspection, a new college was being built on site, which is due to open in October 2013. The college meets current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for attainment and progress expected by the government. 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 that has maintained its position since the last inspection. It is not yet outstanding because teaching across the school, while good overall, is not consistently strong enough to ensure that all students make exceptional progress in all subjects. The provision and outcomes in the hearing impaired unit are good.

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Key findings

 Attainment is broadly average and students make good progress in their work from low starting points. While a trend of improvement in many areas continues, the gap between the national average and the percentage of students gaining five GCSE results at grades A* to C including English and mathematics has not yet been closed.

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Key findings

 Generally, students’ literacy skills are underdeveloped when they join the college. A cross-curricular approach to tackling this issue is making an impact but is not yet fully embedded across the college.

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Key findings

 Teaching is good and, in some lessons, outstanding. In outstanding lessons, students are inspired by their teaching and know exactly how well they are doing and what they need to do to improve. Where teachers do not plan with enough precision to meet different learning needs, students do not make as much progress. In some lessons, students are not challenged sufficiently and their pace of learning slows. In some subjects, students are unclear about how they might improve their work and achieve their targets.

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Key findings

 Behaviour is good overall in lessons and around college and students demonstrate positive attitudes to their learning. Good attention is paid to keeping students safe. The high levels of tolerance and respect that students show each other and staff are an exemplary feature of the college.

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Key findings

 The Principal provides highly effectively leadership and the senior staff are extremely well focused and are clear about the college’s strengths and 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

weaknesses. They use performance management well to support teachers in developing their practice. Teaching is closely monitored and linked to outcomes for students to keep a strong focus on improving achievement.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Bring the percentage of students gaining five A* to C GCSEs including English and mathematics in line with the national average in 2013 by:  using the increasingly robust assessment data available to ensure that there is greater expectation and challenge in all lessons to meet the needs of all learners  providing sufficient opportunities for students to understand precisely what they need to do to reach their target levels  maintaining, expanding and monitoring the literacy development of students so that it impacts universally across the college.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the proportion of outstanding teaching by:  planning lessons that promote students’ confidence as independent learners  providing activities in lessons which inspire and engage students fully.

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Achievement of pupils

Students enter the college with levels of attainment that are low. Since the last inspection, results in national examinations at the end of Key Stage 4 show that overall standards have continued to rise and attainment is above average in many measures. However, the percentage of students gaining five or more A* to C grades including English and mathematics has remained below average. During this same period, overall progress levels have remained above average. Disabled students and those who have special educational needs make similarly good progress to that of their peers as do those students known to be eligible for free school meals. Current analyses of students’ academic performance show that results in both GCSE and vocational courses are expected to rise to slightly higher levels than seen in 2011 this coming summer. The college monitors progress carefully to check for any underachievement and has worked successfully to close any gaps in progress so that

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Achievement of pupils

all groups make better than expected progress.

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Achievement of pupils

Parents and carers are happy with the progress their children make in the college. Inspection evidence showed that students make the most progress in lessons that are fast paced and challenging where they work hard and actively participate. For example, in a dance lesson on choreography, a high level discussion developed a greater understanding of how to assess students’ own dance routines. In a science 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

lesson on the conduction of heat, the teacher challenged the students to extend their ideas further and then apply them to new contexts. Progress is slower where the pace of the lesson drops and there are limited opportunities for students to be active and involved in their learning.

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Achievement of pupils

The college provides good individual support for disabled students and those who have special educational needs. Students attached to the hearing impaired unit also make good progress. Staff work very hard to ensure that hearing impairment does not hamper educational achievement.

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Achievement of pupils

Students’ literacy development benefits from a whole college approach which includes dedicated time for reading intervention. The full impact of this approach is not yet fully realised as delivery across the college is inconsistent. At the time of the inspection the college’s plans to monitor its success and to plan the next steps had not yet been implemented.

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Quality of teaching

The quality of teaching is good overall and continues to improve. In the best lessons, detailed planning is well matched to the needs and interests of students so that they are actively involved in their lessons and make good and sometimes outstanding progress. There are a variety of activities and teaching inspires and takes into account how students learn. Probing questioning challenges students and further embeds their learning. Assessment is effective in checking their progress throughout the lesson. In these lessons, the use of grade criteria is a strong feature in raising students’ awareness and they are supported to measure their own progress and to work out how they can reach their target grades.

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Quality of teaching

These positive practices are not, however, embedded across all lessons in all subjects. While teachers are provided with student achievement data, not all use it effectively to inform their lesson planning. As a result, some students are not sufficiently challenged in their work and teaching has a reduced impact. In these lessons, students easily become disengaged and distracted from their work. At times, teachers over-direct students, reducing their opportunities to work on their own.

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Quality of teaching

Disabled students and those who have special educational needs are well supported by their teachers and teaching assistants who manage learning and nurture skilfully within the classroom setting. Students who are at the early stages of speaking English are given good support which enables them to succeed within the classroom. Students with hearing impairment are very well integrated into the main college and receive highly effective support both in lessons and in their individual sessions.

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Quality of teaching

The college is fully aware that a significant number of students arrive with low levels of literacy. Support for literacy across the college is most effective when teachers suggest techniques to help students remember key words and phrases but this is not consistently carried out in all lessons. The college is particularly effective in developing oracy as a precursor to reading and writing and good opportunities are 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

provided for students to explore their ideas orally. The college delivers specialist teaching to groups of weak readers, using a phonics (letters and the sounds they make) approach, which is in line with that used in local primary schools. The monitoring of reading ability and the evaluations of these strategies are not developed comprehensively so that interventions can be targeted as accurately as possible.

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Quality of teaching

Opportunities for students’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development are often well developed. For example, in a Year 11 tutor group, the ‘thought for the day’ on literature really inspired students prior to entering their GCSE English examination. A dance lesson introduced different styles of dance from different cultures, while in a science lesson students were challenged to wonder about the science, as well as to understand it.

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Quality of teaching

Overall, students, parents and carers agree that teaching is consistently good. Good relationships and students’ positive attitudes support this and result in a positive atmosphere for learning.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Students are very supportive and proud of their college. They greatly enjoy being members of this harmonious and friendly college. These strong elements of community cohesion are felt by the students and can be summed up by one who said: ‘We are from many different cultures but we all have the same values’.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Students’ safety is given a high priority. Students, including those whose circumstances may make them vulnerable, disabled students and those who have special educational needs, all agree that they feel safe and that any difficulties they may encounter are dealt with rigorously and quickly. Students have a good understanding of different types of bullying and reported, in particular, being free of inter-racial bullying. This view was supported by inspection evidence; students were very clear what was expected of them within the college and what was not acceptable. The majority of parents and carers are positive about behaviour and feel students are safe and well cared for. However, a minority of parents, carers and students responding to the questionnaires expressed concerns about behaviour in lessons. Inspectors found that, overall, students conduct themselves well around the college especially given that space is currently limited by the new building works.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

There is occasional disruption to learning in a small number of lessons linked directly to the level of challenge and engagement provided by the teaching.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

College systems are founded on routines carefully planned to foster and promote positive attitudes to learning. Expectations for all students are clear and the procedures are applied consistently by all staff across the school. Students from the hearing impaired unit are completely integrated into the college and well cared for by both students and staff alike. Attendance is rising and is above average across the range of groups enrolled at the college. 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

The college benefits from the highly effective leadership of the Principal and her strong senior team. She has a clear vision and an ambitious agenda for the future direction of the college. Leaders across the college are realistic about the challenges they face and are willing to confront them without question. Evidence of the college’s effectiveness comes from the responses from parents and carers, staff and students who unanimously reported in their questionnaires that they believe that the college is well led and managed. This is best summed up by one teacher who said, ‘The Principal is extremely dedicated and motivated to improve teaching and learning while remaining supportive and kind to individuals. I am proud to be part of her team. The students here can be challenging but the rewards of changing their lives, helping them fulfil their potential and succeed outweigh this completely.’ Students

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Leadership and management

value learning and are justly proud of their college.

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Leadership and management

Self-evaluation is highly accurate; it highlights strengths and weaknesses and identifies the key priorities for the college’s improvement. The performance management of teachers is closely linked to their professional development and this is having a good impact on improving the quality of teaching.

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Leadership and management

The governing body is very supportive and challenging of the college and its staff and works hard to secure its continued success particularly in relation to the new building programme. Members of the governing body undertake their statutory responsibilities well. Procedures for the safeguarding of students are secure and the college's approach meets statutory requirements. All staff work to ensure a firm commitment to equal opportunities and any form of discrimination, should it arise, is tackled promptly. The college is determined that all students will achieve their full potential and this drive, together with a past record of continuous improvement, maintains the college’s secure capacity for further improvement.

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Leadership and management

The curriculum provides a broad mix of academic and applied subjects which facilitates good achievement. Effective provision is made for the range of young people with particular needs through tailored and individual programmes. The college makes very good use of its sports specialism in promoting leadership values and making links with the wider and international community, which enhance students’ experience.

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Leadership and management

The college provides a rich range of educational experiences which promote students’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Lessons, assemblies, tutor-time and-extra curricular activities all contribute significantly to the sense of harmony and common purpose so evident in the college. A formal commitment to listening to students’ views and student representation plays a significant part in developing students’ confidence and sense of ownership of the college.

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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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Inspection of Crown Hills Community College, Leicester, LE5 5FT

Firstly, thank you for the warm 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 really like to be a student at your college. We were particularly pleased to see how you were managing to move around the college while the new building work is taking place.

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Inspection of Crown Hills Community College, Leicester, LE5 5FT

Inspectors judge that you go to a good school. You are making good progress in most of your lessons and in some lessons your progress is outstanding. Your teachers work hard to support you in your work and your good behaviour and attitudes in lessons reflect the college's drive to help you learn as much as possible. You enjoy college and this is one of the many reasons why we judge your college to be good. You show a positive approach to your work, you get on very well with your teachers and each other and your attendance is good.

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Inspection of Crown Hills Community College, Leicester, LE5 5FT

Your college is led well by your Principal and her team of leaders and managers, who are determined to ensure that it provides the best for every one of you. To take things forward, we want teaching and learning to be outstanding so you achieve more and get better results. In particular, we want all teaching to challenge you as a learner, and make learning interesting with scope for you to learn independently. We also want you to receive good advice to help you take your learning forward so you all reach your targets.

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Inspection of Crown Hills Community College, Leicester, LE5 5FT

You have a part to play and you can do this by following up the comments and suggestions that your teachers make to help you to improve your work.

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Inspection of Crown Hills Community College, Leicester, LE5 5FT

I wish you all success in the future and hope that you continue to enjoy your time at Crown Hills Community College.

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Inspection of Crown Hills Community College, Leicester, LE5 5FT

Trevor Riddiough 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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