Rednock School

Rednock School Rednock Drive, Dursley, Gloucestershire, GL11 4BY

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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 Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2

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

 Achievement requires improvement. Despite improvements, too many students still do not make good enough progress from their starting points in Year 7.  Weaknesses remain in the quality of teaching. The least effective teaching has now been eradicated, but the overall quality of teaching over time has not been strong enough to drive students’ learning and progress at a fast enough pace.  Teachers do not always use the information on students’ achievement to plan activities that meet their needs. When this happens, students are not stretched and as a result progress is not rapid enough.  Teachers sometimes do not use questioning to extend students’ learning. There are not always enough opportunities in lessons for students to develop their skills and confidence as learners.  The sixth form requires improvement. On some courses, students do not do well enough. The school is aware of this and is in the process of

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

adapting the range of courses offered to better suit students’ needs.

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The school has the following strengths

 Leadership and management are good. The headteacher has a clear and accurate view of the strengths and weaknesses of the school. He is supported effectively by governors and is resolute about bringing about improvements, particularly in the quality of teaching.  Senior leaders and those in charge of subjects use data on students’ achievement well. This is now enabling the school to take effective action to improve.  There are good systems and processes in place to check on the quality of the school’s work over time. There is a good range of training opportunities in place to help the school improve the quality of teaching and other aspects of its work.  Pupils’ behaviour is good. The number of exclusions has reduced greatly and there have been good improvements in students’ attendance.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed teaching in 49 lessons, observing eight jointly with members of the senior leadership team.  Meetings were held with the headteacher and other senior leaders, teachers with subject responsibility, groups of students, members of the governing body, a representative from the local authority and other members of staff.  Inspectors looked at students’ work in lessons and discussed it with groups of students of different ages.  A number of shorter visits to lessons took place, focusing on both literacy and numeracy.  Inspectors took account of 179 responses from parents and carers who completed the online Parent View questionnaire, letters and emails from parents and carers and responses from 29 staff who completed an inspection questionnaire.  Inspectors looked at a range of documentation, including the school’s self-evaluation and development plans and minutes of meetings of the governing body.

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Inspection team

Chris King, Lead inspector Additional inspector Raye Alison-Smith Additional inspector Phil Taylor Additional inspector Babrul Matin Additional inspector Marion Hobbs Lesley Voaders Additional inspector Additional inspector

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Information about this school

 This is a larger than average sized secondary school.  A lower than average number of students are eligible for the pupil premium, which provides additional funding for those students in local authority care, pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and children from service families.  The school works with a local college to provide courses for a small group of students.  The proportion of disabled students and those with special educational needs supported through school action or school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is below average.  The majority of students are of White British heritage and there is a small number with English as an additional language.  In 2011 the school met the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for students’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics.  A local college, pupil referral service and other work related placements are provided away from

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Information about this school

the school site for a small number of students. There have been significant changes to staffing and leadership since the previous inspection.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the proportions of good and outstanding teaching, therefore raising achievement by:  making better use of assessment data and information gained during lessons to support the planning of activities that meet students’ needs so they are fully stretched and make more rapid progress.  increasing the variety of tasks to provide more opportunities for students to develop their own skills, confidence and understanding of how they learn.  developing questioning so that it challenges and develops students’ progress further.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve achievement in the sixth form, so that it is at least good, by:  ensuring that students’ progress in all subjects matches that of the best by making sure all students are matched to the right courses.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Achievement requires improvement because rates of progress from when students join the school, while improving, are not consistently rapid enough. Unevenness of performance still exists in some areas and there is too much variation between those subjects in which students are performing well and those in which they are not. Performance in religious education, history and design and technology is lower than in other subjects. School leaders are aware of this and have started to tackle the issue.  In the sixth form, the gap has narrowed between girls and boys with increasing numbers of students gaining or exceeding their target grades. However, achievement in the sixth form is not yet good. There is too wide a gap between the best performing subjects, for example media and computing, and those such as sociology and chemistry where performance is weaker. This is often as a result of students following courses that are not always best suited to their needs,

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

and this issue is now being addressed by the school.  Students enter the school with broadly average attainment and standards by the end of Year 11 are in line with national averages. The proportion of students gaining five or more GCSE passes at grades A* to C, including English and mathematics, was also in line with the national average in 2012.  Rates of progress for both English and mathematics are in line with national expectations with English demonstrating stronger performance over time. Previous underperformance in mathematics has now been addressed.  Those students eligible for additional support through pupil premium funding are supported by a range of additional provision such as one-to-one support in literacy and numeracy, homework support clubs, summer school and a range of enrichment activities. As a result, their achievement is at least in line with that of their peers as shown by the average points scores for

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

their GCSE results.  Following the last inspection, the school took action to raise the proportion of students gaining five or more GSCEs at grades A* to G. Consequently, this figure is now above national expectations.  There is little difference in the achievement of groups, with most recent data showing all groups performing broadly in line with expectations. This was also seen in lessons. In particular, disabled students and those with special educational needs are well supported to ensure that their achievement is at least in line with expectations for this group.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 The quality of teaching is improving. It still requires improvement because a small amount of inadequate teaching remains and not enough lessons are good or better. As a result, progress varies across subject areas and does not match the progress seen in the best performing subjects, such as English.  Students make the best progress in lessons where teachers have high expectations and plan work with suitable levels of challenge. Well-planned resources and confident teaching enable learners in the best lessons to make good progress because tasks are well matched to their ability levels. This good practice is not widespread enough. In too many lessons, information on students’ achievement is not used well enough to plan activities that meet their needs.  However, teaching is not as good in every case. In less successful lessons teachers do not always use questioning effectively and there are occasions when students’ concentration and

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

interest are lost because there are not enough opportunities for them to share the full extent of their knowledge and understanding.  In lessons that are less effective, teachers do not plan for opportunities to develop students’ confidence and independence as learners. In these lessons teachers spend too much time talking and do not include a variety of approaches to engage students.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Students typically behave well and students, staff and parents and carers say that behaviour is well managed. As a result of effective actions by leaders, rates of exclusion have significantly fallen over the last year and attendance rates have risen. The proportion of students that are regularly absent is reducing and as a result attendance overall is now above average.  Assemblies and the school’s personal, social and health education programme all contribute to students’ good spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Students have a clear understanding of right and wrong and are keen to talk about the caring and positive ethos of their school.  Students feel safe in school and say bullying is rare. They are aware of different types of bullying, including homophobic bullying. Students say they are confident that staff are there to support them and will sort out any problems that arise quickly.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Students are aware of how to keep themselves safe in many different circumstances, including when using modern technology.  The school has strong and effective systems to promote positive behaviour and attitudes. Support for those students whose circumstances make them more vulnerable is very effective. Case studies of individuals demonstrate the positive impact this support has had on helping students to settle into school life and to learn to manage their own behaviour.  The school has an established system for rewarding positive behaviour, and recent investment in information and communication technology (ICT) systems has enabled students to see their reward totals via the school’s virtual learning environment. Staff are quick to reward good behaviour and make use of praise to ensure that positives are reinforced. This, coupled with effective support for those students that need help with behaviour, has led to a strongly

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher has worked successfully in his drive to bring about improvement. The weakest teaching has been eliminated and there are strong signs of improvement in other aspects of the school’s work. There has been considerable staff change since the last inspection and newly appointed leaders and managers at all levels have brought talent and expertise to the school.  Teaching is carefully monitored. The performance of staff is well managed and linked to salary progression. Staff are given good quality training to improve their teaching where it is needed, including carefully targeted support and challenge. Consequently, the overall quality of teaching is improving quickly.  The school is well aware of its strengths and weaknesses. Systems and processes to monitor teaching and improvement are secure, rigorous and rooted in performance data. As a result, the school holds staff to account for improvement and performance.

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The leadership and management are good

 Safeguarding requirements are fully met. Staff are well trained and fully aware of the child protection and risk assessment issues.  Support for pupils who need additional help includes one-to-one mentoring, key skills groups and catch-up classes being used to ensure that students achieve the grades they are expected to gain. This includes effective use of pupil premium resources to provide specific support for students.  The school’s curriculum is broad and balanced and meets statutory expectations. Where school leaders have taken concerted action, such as ensuring students are on appropriate level courses, standards and rates of progress have risen. A good balance of academic and vocational courses meets the needs of students in Key Stage 4. Well-planned programmes of personal, social and health education support students’ good personal development. The development of literacy and numeracy is well planned and although programmes are in their initial stages, positive evidence

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The leadership and management are good

of their impact was noted.  The sixth form curriculum is in the process of being reviewed. The school is aware that it needs to ensure that all students are following courses better matched to their needs.  The local authority supports the school well. The general adviser works effectively with senior leaders to identify and provide support. Specific strategies put in place relatively recently have been effective at supporting the headteacher, governors and senior team in moving the school further forward.  The governance of the school:  Governors are knowledgeable about the school’s strengths and weaknesses. Governance is stronger now than at the previous inspection. Since the introduction of more rigorous self- evaluation and quality assurance processes, supported by accurate data, governors have been able to hold leaders to account effectively. Governors bring a good range of expertise to the

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The leadership and management are good

school and have been very effective in providing challenge. They are well informed of the performance of students through regular updates on students’ success in national examinations and the progress of students currently in the school compared with other schools. They hold the headteacher closely to account and are aware of the performance of staff and of salary progression and promotion issues through reports from senior staff. Governors are involved in self-evaluation and reviewing improvement plans and some have direct links to subject leaders and in holding them to account. Governors have, along with the headteacher, managed the budget successfully. They are fully involved in the spending and allocation of the pupil premium funding and are aware of its positive impact. They have benefited, along with the whole school, from external local authority support, and have received training to help them carry out their responsibilities.

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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 pupils’ 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 pupils’ 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 is

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Grade Judgement Description

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 115758 Local authority Gloucestershire Inspection number 405601

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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 Maintained Age range of pupils 11–18 Gender of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils in the sixth form Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 1,370 Of which, number on roll in sixth form 228 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Sally Winterbottom Headteacher David Alexander Date of previous school inspection 12–13 January 2011 Telephone number 01453 543618 Fax number 01453 545639 Email address admin@rednock.gloucs.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, please

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School details

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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