Warblington School

Warblington School Southleigh Road, Havant, Hampshire, PO9 2RR

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Satisfactory 3 This inspection: Requires improvement 3 Achievement of pupils Requires improvement 3 Quality of teaching Requires improvement 3 Behaviour and safety of pupils Requires improvement 3 Leadership and management Requires improvement 3

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This is a school that requires improvement. It is not good because

 The proportion of good or better teaching is increasing but not consistently enough in any one subject to have a substantial impact on students’ achievment.  The progress students make is not enough to enable them to consistently gain results at the end of Year 11 that are at least in line with those seen nationally.  The behaviour of a few students in some lessons disrupts the learning of their peers because of the inconsistent management of behaviour by some teachers.  Although the headteacher and senior leaders provide clear direction and management, middle leaders’ skills in montoring the quality of teaching and students’ progress are underdeveloped.  There is no coherent approach to improving students’ literacy skills in other subjects, especially writing.  The governing body is beginning to provide challenge to the senior leaders with regard to achievement and the quality of teaching, but is still in the early stages of this development.

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The school has the following strengths

 An increasing proportion of good and better teaching.  The recently appointed headteacher has set a clear direction for the school’s improvement. This is secured by effective professional development for staff to develop their skills.  Attendance and punctuality have significantly improved over a short period of time.  The curriculum matches the needs of the students well, especially those in Key Stage 4.  Most students have positive attitudes towards learning and have the capability to become more involved in the school’s improvement.  The headteacher and senior leaders know the strengths and weakness of the school well and are clear about what needs to be done to make further improvements.

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Information about this inspection

 Thirty nine lessons were observed, including several jointly with senior staff. Inspectors jointly scrutinised the quality of marking with senior staff.  Meetings took place with students, staff, and representatives of the governing body and local authority.  Inspectors scrutinised a range of documents including the school’s self-evaluation, improvement plans, policies and safeguarding arrangements.  By the end of the inspection visit, 40 responses to Parent View were collected and analysed. The school’s analysis of its parental surveys was also taken into account.  Inspectors analysed 19 questionnaires that were returned by staff.

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Inspection team

John Seal, Lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector John Laver Additional inspector Stephanie Matthews Additional inspector Jacqueline Goodall Additional inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is smaller than the average-sized secondary school.  The proportions of disabled students and those who have special educational needs who are supported at school action, or at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs are above average.  The proportion of students known to be eligible for free school meals (for whom the school receives the pupil premium) is higher than that seen nationally.  Students are from predominantly White British backgrounds.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards which set minimim expectations for attainment and progress.  The school is part of a federation consisting of nine other seperately managed schools (a soft federation).  The current headteacher took up post on 1 January 2012.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 By April 2013, ensure that at least 90% of teaching is good or better and 20% is outstanding by:  ensuring teachers use assessment information and their knowledge of students’ prior attainment to set challenging and relevant activities which are adapted throughout the lesson to maintain challenge and interest  making sure that there is enough time during lessons for students to make as much progress as possible by reducing the time spent on whole-class introductions, explanations and questioning  involving all students in their understanding of where they are in their learning and what they specifically need to do to improve further  ensuring all lessons and learning activities include a focus on improving literacy skills, particularly writing  ensuring all staff implement effective management behaviour strategies consistently.  Improve the achievement of students at the end of Year 11 by:  raising teachers’ expectations of the progress all students can make

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 ensuring students in all year groups are aware of the amount of progress they are capable of  ensuring all lessons and learning activities focus on improving students’ skills in literacy, particularly writing.  Broaden and embed the effectiveness of leadership and management beyond the senior leadership team by :  rapidly securing all middle leaders’ involvement in improving students’ rates of progress and the quality of teaching through clear lines of accountability  undertaking a review of governance in order to secure the whole governing body’s capability to hold the school to account and maintain a clear view on the school’s direction over time.

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Inspection judgements

The achievement of pupils requires improvement  Students’ attainment by the end of Key Stage 4 has steadily risen over the last three years. In 2011, all but one of the key examination outcomes were broadly in line or higher than that seen nationally. The proportion of students who gained five or more GCSEs at grade C or better, including English and mathematics, increased, but was below the national average. The attainment of students by the end of Year 11 in 2012 did not continue to rise, but was broadly similar to 2011 outcomes, except for the results in the core subjects of English and mathematics which dipped to below the previous year’s results. These results indicate that the school adds value to the students’ below average starting points. However, their standard of achievement requires improvement.  The progress students make is not consistently good in any one subject because of the variability in the quality of teaching. An increasing number of students are making better

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Inspection judgements

progress, but the lack of consistency across different lessons and subjects hinders students’ overall achievement from being consistently in line with or above the national average. As one of the students observed to an inspector, ‘It depends on who your teacher is.’  Those students who are eligible for the pupil premium funding are receiving effective support because of the school’s better identification of students who require additional support and judicious deployment of staff. As a result, over the last year, the gaps between the attainment of these groups and their peers are reducing steadily.  Disabled students and those who have special educational needs are suitably supported and cared for. In work seen and the school’s analysis of students’ achievement, their progress is at least similar to that of their peers and increasing to narrow the gaps in attainment overall.  Most students, but especially those in the lower attaining groups are not making as much

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Inspection judgements

progress in their literacy skills as they could. This is because there are too few opportunities for students to practise and improve these skills in most subjects. This is particularly the case with regard to writing.

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Inspection judgements

The quality of teaching requires improvement  There are many lessons that are good and a few that are outstanding. Very few lessons are inadequate.  In lessons that require improvement, teachers’ subject knowledge is usually sound and lessons have clear overall learning objectives. However, assessment information is not used to match activities to students’ needs and abilities closely enough. Consequently, students take part in the same learning activity regardless of their ability and need; this leads to them finding the work either too hard or too easy and hinders them from making enough progress. For example, in a technology lesson, following an interesting practical session, the teacher provided the students of differing abilities with the same worksheet and questions. This hindered their ability to gain a deeper knowledge and understanding.  Other examples of where teaching is not good include lessons where explanations and

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Inspection judgements

instructions take too long. This leaves students with too little time to complete activities thoroughly, slowing down their progress.  Where teaching is good or better, students are creatively engaged by the teachers through challenging questioning, relevant practical activities and topical subjects for discussion. This was seen to good effect in an English lesson for Year 8 students. The teacher effectively used film, accompanying music and other media resources to motivate students in their discussions about the ‘9/11’ event. As a result, students were fully engaged and made good gains in their learning.  There are some good examples of marking of students’ work. Constructive comments and suggestions for next steps allied to GCSE grades or National Curriculum levels are used well, but this practice is not consistent with all teachers.  The teaching of literacy skills in different subjects is not widespread. There are too few

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Inspection judgements

examples of teachers providing students with structure, advice and feedback on spelling, handwriting and opportunities for speaking and listening about their work.  An increasing amount of teaching contributes positively to students’ social, moral, spiritual and cultural development. Students have a range of opportunities to take part in visits that support their learning. A good example of this was the group of students who visited the Paralympics at the start of the school year. However, the opportunities for students to develop an understanding and awareness to live life in multicultural Britain are underdeveloped.  The majority of the small sample of parents and carers who contributed to Parent View indicated they felt teaching is good and a small but significant minority had concerns. Evidence collected during the inspection supports the view that although the proportion of good lessons is increasing, teaching overall is not yet good enough to rapidly and

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Inspection judgements

consistently improve students’ overall achievement.

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Inspection judgements

The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement  Behaviour is not good overall because of occasional low-level disruption by a few students which is not well managed by a small number of teachers. When this happens, some students are distracted from their learning. Policies and procedures for dealing with inappropriate behaviour are suitably clear. The majority of students are well behaved and respond well to those lessons that are interesting and motivating and where teachers employ behaviour management techniques effectively.  Other aspects of students’ behaviour are good. They are polite and courteous to visitors. Older students who attend work-based learning are reported to be generally well behaved and attentive by the providers. Many students relish the opportunity to take on responsibilities including prefects and peer mentors.  Attendance has improved since January 2012 and is now broadly average. Punctuality at

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Inspection judgements

the start of the school day has notably improved. During the school day, students are rarely late to lessons and usually promptly prepared for their lessons.  Recorded incidents of bullying are few and far between. Students told inspectors that they felt safe and the school deals with the very small number of cases well.  The majority of the parents and carers who completed Parent View were mainly positive about behaviour although the views of a significant minority of them reflected the inspection finding that behaviour requires improvement.

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Inspection judgements

The leadership and management requires improvement  The headteacher and her senior leadership team have set a clear and decisive direction of rapid improvement for the school. They have a clear and accurate understanding of what the school does well and where it needs to improve. Although it is still too early to see the full impact of the school’s improvement, notable achievements include:  an increasing proportion of good and better teaching  maintaining the previous year’s results during a period of challenge and change  building a sense of common purpose across the school with almost all of the staff and students aware of what the school needs to do to improve  the reduction of a significant financial deficit.  Leadership and management are not yet good because although the senior leadership team demonstrates clear commitment, dedication and effectiveness, middle leaders’ effectiveness in monitoring and evaluating the quality of teaching and students’ progress is

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Inspection judgements

underdeveloped. Consequently, the capacity for the school’s continued improvement is limited. Senior leaders and managers are addressing this issue robustly, and middle managers are positively engaging in programmes for training and professional development. These programmes are closely allied to performance management targets and procedures which are rigorously adhered to by senior leaders.  A good example of some of the strategies for improving performance can be seen in the development of a core group of exemplary teachers. They are providing support for their colleagues in the role of trained coaches. This is beginning to take effect although it is too early to see the full impact on students’ progress.  The curriculum, including vocational learning in Key Stage 4, fully meets the students’ needs. The school has productive links with local colleges which enable students to pursue relevant courses. This has led to the school having a good track record in ensuring nearly

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Inspection judgements

all students who leave at the end of Year 11 are successful in gaining further education, employment or training.  The school’s arrangements for ensuring the welfare, health and safety of students meet the current government requirements including those for child protection.  The local authority has provided and commissioned effective support for the teaching of mathematics which has consolidated the school’s performance in this subject during a period of change.  The governance of the school:  meets all statutory requirements including safeguarding arrangements, financial monitoring and working with the school to effectively tackle discrimination  is beginning to challenge and investigate more thoroughly how well the school is performing with regard to improving the quality of teaching and the achievement of students  works closely with senior leaders and managers and representatives of the local authority

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Inspection judgements

to ensure governors’ knowledge and understanding of effective governance is improved.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding An outstanding school is highly effective in delivering outcomes that provide exceptionally well for all its pupil’s needs. This ensures that pupils are very well equipped for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 2 Good A good school is effective in delivering outcomes that provide well for all its pupil’s needs. Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 3 Requires improvement A school that requires improvement is not yet a good school, but it is not inadequate. This school will receive a full inspection within 24 months from the date of this inspection. Grade 4 Inadequate A school that has serious weaknesses is inadequate overall and requires significant improvement but leadership and management are judged to be Grade 3 or better. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors. A school that requires special measures is one where the school

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Grade Judgement Description

is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the school’s leaders, managers or governors have not demonstrated that they have the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors.

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School details

Unique reference number 116475 Local authority Hampshire Inspection number 401599

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School details

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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School details

Type of school Secondary School category Community Age range of pupils 11–16 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 684 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Campbell McMurray Headteacher Julia Vincent Date of previous school inspection 25–26 May 2010 Telephone number 023 92475480 Fax number 023 92486127 Email address admin@warblington.hants.sch.uk guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', 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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School details

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 and as part of the inspection.

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School details

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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School details

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. 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,

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School details

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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School details

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

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