Hounsdown School

Hounsdown School Jacobs Gutter Lane, Southampton, SO40 9FT

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Not previously inspected This inspection: Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.  The attainment of most students is above average in nearly all subjects. Achievement in science is outstanding.  Progress in subjects where there have been weaknesses in the recent past, including English, is improving. This is the result of good planning by senior leaders and recently established key subject leaders  Much of teaching is at least good. There is some outstanding, innovative teaching. Teachers know their subjects well and design tasks that, in the main, are suitably challenging for each student. Resources such as information and communication technology (ICT) are used well to help students’ learning.  Students are confident learners. They enjoy attending school and experiencing the wide range of activities that go on during and after the school day, particularly those that extend their skills in leadership. They have a good awareness of the wider world and of the positive role they can play in society.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Leaders and governors know the school well and have been successful in bringing about improvements. Strategies to help students to be successful and prepare them for the next stage of education, training or employment are good.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 The progress of a small number of the students who attract extra funding or with special educational needs requires improvement.  Not all teachers ensure that students improve their skills in literacy in other subjects or use marking well so that students understand what they have to do to improve their work.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 47 lessons, six jointly with members of the senior leadership team. Observations of other aspects of the school’s work were also made, including a visit to an assembly.  Inspectors held three meetings with different groups of students. They also talked with students moving about the school between lessons and during lunch and break times.  Inspectors held meetings with members of the senior leadership team and other staff. They scrutinised documents such as those concerning child protection, the curriculum, and the quality of teaching.  The lead inspector met with the Chair of the Governing Body and another governor, and with an external adviser to the school, employed by the local authority.  The inspectors took account of the responses of 119 parents to the on-line Parent View survey, three other communications by parents and the 11 questionnaires completed by school staff.

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Inspection team

Venetia Mayman, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Stephanie Matthews Additional Inspector Colin Money Additional Inspector Paul Sadler Additional Inspector Glenn Mayoh Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Hounsdown School is a larger-than-average-sized secondary school for students aged 11 to 16.  The proportion of students supported through school action is average. The proportion supported through school action plus or with statements of special educational needs is much lower than average. Most of these students have moderate learning or behavioural difficulties.  The number of students eligible for the pupil premium (the extra money provided by the government to support children in care, those who get free school meals and service children) is well below average.  The school converted to become an academy school on 1 September 2011. When its predecessor school, Hounsdown Secondary School, was last inspected by Ofsted, it was judged to be outstanding overall.  The school has specialist science and leadership status. In partnership with another local secondary school, it is one of 110 schools in England with teaching school status, providing initial

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Information about this school

teacher training and continuing professional development for teachers.  A small number of students use alternative providers. These include courses at local colleges or the local authority pupil referral unit.  The school meets current government floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for students’ attainment and progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the rate of progress of the few students with special education needs or who are eligible for the pupil premium who are failing to make good progress.  Fully embed the strategies introduced over the past year to reduce further persistent absence and fixed term exclusions; increase the proportion of outstanding teaching and so further raise achievement, by: – providing consistent, and specific, advice to individual students about how to improve their work – ensuring that lesson planning is informed by a consistent approach to teaching literacy.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 All students make at least expected progress, with many achieving above expected progress. Progress in mathematics is good. The attainment and progress of students in all science subjects are well above average. These very high expectations are reflected in other subjects, such as graphics and geography.  The proportion of pupils making expected progress in English is lower than that found nationally, but it is improving over a sustained period of time. This is evident in the progress of current students who are making better progress than those who left in 2011 and 2012.  The vast majority of students, including those known to be eligible for pupil premium funding and disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs, make similar progress to other groups of students. Effective use has been made of the pupil premium funding to provide additional support so that more students benefit from individual help. For many this

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The achievement of pupils is good

has had significant impact and the gap in their progress is narrowing.  However, for a small number of these students, eligible for pupil premium funding and disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs, progress is not good enough. This is because they do not attend school regularly enough. Variations in progress between subjects, seen in the recent past, particularly in English, art, history, modern languages and physical education (PE), are now less marked.  Teaching, guidance and other opportunities such as leadership programmes give students a good level of preparation for the next stage of their life. Above average proportions of students move directly into employment, education or training. Included in this group is the small number who attends alternative provision. The school monitors this provision very effectively.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching in all subjects is usually at least good, with some that is outstanding. Where teaching is outstanding it is highly aspirational and reaches students at all levels of ability using innovative and creative strategies. One history lesson about the industrial revolution included a television simulation by students of the television programme Dragons’ Den to reflect the new innovations from that time.  Students want to do as well as they can. They gain confidence from the challenge and opportunities provided in many subjects. This was demonstrated in an outstanding art lesson when a student with special educational needs said, ‘I’m not good at art but I can’t believe how well I am doing in this work.’  Mathematics teaching is good and students make particularly good progress where there are opportunities to apply what they have learned to real-life situations, such as when designing and analysing questionnaires. English teaching has improved and now mirrors the good

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The quality of teaching is good

teaching observed in mathematics.  Learning mentors, small group work and one-to-one teaching are helping to improve the learning of those students making less good progress in English and mathematics.  Teachers take full advantage of opportunities to provide helpful individual advice, support and intervention so that learners understand what they need to do to improve. Written advice to students is often constructive; however, as pointed out by younger students, marking does not always show them how to improve their work and its effectiveness is uneven across the school.  In the small number of lessons where teaching is not good, students are not clear about what they have to do and how they will make progress. On rare occasions, this leads to a small minority of students becoming restless.  Occasionally, opportunities are missed to improve students’ spelling and writing across subjects. However, information and communication technology (ICT) to improve

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The quality of teaching is good

communication skills and support subject learning is used well. Imaginative initiatives to promote reading are being introduced and this is starting to support students’ skills in other subjects.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The vast majority of students expect to learn in lessons. They cooperate well with each other and with teachers and work hard in almost all lessons. There are though a small number amongst the group of students receiving extra funding or on school action who have difficulties with behaviour; for them, fixed term exclusions are above average compared to schools nationally.  The school policy on behaviour is generally applied consistently by teachers. The school has introduced and is embedding new strategies to deal with the few examples of inappropriate behaviour. This is already having an impact. Senior leaders have identified reducing the number of exclusions as a priority.  Parents and students describe the management of behaviour as good. Students say that when poor attitudes interfere with learning it is because teaching is not good enough.  Students enjoy the many opportunities for taking responsibility that the school offers. The

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

school council is described by students as very effective and ‘a really important group’.  Planning to support citizenship, extra-curricular activities and good teaching of social issues contribute strongly to positive attitudes in the school. All students have a good awareness of bullying and report that the occasional occurrences are handled effectively by staff.  Attendance and punctuality are above average and improving compared to schools nationally. For many students attendance is well above average. However, there are too many persistent absentees among a small group of students eligible for pupil premium funding and those who have special educational needs whose circumstances might make them vulnerable.

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The leadership and management are good

 Senior leaders and the governing body communicate the high aspirations of the school motto, ‘Be the best you can be’. They have an accurate view of the strengths of the school and the priorities for development. They have taken effective action, for example in improving the opportunities for students with special educational needs and those with extra funding, to be included in all that goes on in school. However, the school is aware that some actions, such as the progress of vulnerable groups, whilst improving, are doing so with insufficient speed.  All students are entered for GCSE examinations at appropriate times, ensuring that they can attain the highest possible grades.  Following a period of difficulty in recruiting and retaining key subject leaders, the school has now made appointments which are already leading to improvement. There are good systems for checking the quality of teaching. The school has excellent data which most subject

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The leadership and management are good

leaders are beginning to use effectively to accelerate students’ progress. Performance management is used effectively to improve teaching.  The curriculum has recently been reviewed in a way that is already improving achievement, such as by providing courses more suited to each student’s personal needs and aspirations. The school has put in place strategies to promote literacy in all subjects, but it is very early days at this stage and is not yet being used consistently by all staff.  There is a particularly effective approach to the development of students’ social, moral, spiritual and cultural understanding, for example each student spends at least a day each term learning what it means to be a good citizen, such as by learning about the importance and role of charities.  The school works well with and listens to parents and has recently put additional resources into working with families of students who may struggle with school or who have poor

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The leadership and management are good

attendance.  In the great majority of cases, additional funding from the pupil premium is used effectively to support student progress; as a result, gaps in performance between these and other students are closing. However, a small minority of these students do not attend regularly enough and this prevents them from making better progress.  There are a range of strategies in place to ensure that the quality of education for those students attending college and the local authority pupil referral unit is effective.  The school became an academy in 2011, but has continued to purchase support from the local authority. This support is of good quality and has contributed to improvements in teaching.  The governance of the school:  The governing body is ambitious for the success of all students. Governors undergo training regularly and know the school’s strengths and which areas require development. They are in a

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The leadership and management are good

good position to know if the management and deployment of financial and other resources, including the pupil premium, are effective and are taking action to ensure that this is the case. They are well informed about the day-to-day management of the school and of any significant parental concerns. There are well-organised procedures to ensure governors know about the effectiveness of individual subjects, students’ achievement and the quality of teaching across the school, including how this is linked to teachers’ remuneration. As a result, senior leaders are held to account. The governing body ensures that all safeguarding and child protection requirements are fully met.

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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 137229 Inspection number 395543

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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 Academy converter School category Community Age range of pupils 11–16 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 1,213 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Adrienne Double Headteacher Julie Turvey Telephone number 02380 862981 Fax number 02380 663160 Email address admin@hounsdown.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, 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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