Derby Moor Community Sports College

Derby Moor Community Sports College Moorway Lane, Littleover, Derby, DE23 2FS

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Satisfactory 3 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.  Students achieve well. Attainment is steadily rising and students of all abilities make good progress.  The quality of teaching is typically good. Some is outstanding, and students say how much they value the extra help that teachers provide when they need it.  The sixth form is outstanding. Students make outstanding progress because of teaching that is consistently good or better, helpful support and guidance, and a range of courses that meets their needs increasingly well.  Students behave well in lessons and around the school. There is a strong focus on anti- bullying and students say that they feel safe.  The inspirational Principal, supported well by her senior team and the outstanding governing body, has established high standards and is uncompromising in her drive to improve the quality of teaching.  The range of subjects provided is outstanding. It is closely matched to students’ individual

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

interests and abilities, and this is leading to improved attendance and rising achievement.  The school promotes students’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development outstandingly well in a harmonious community, particularly by enabling students to work with students from the special school on the same site.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Students do not achieve as well in mathematics as they do English, due to variations in the quality of teaching.  In a small number of lessons teachers do not encourage students enough to contribute their ideas, and the activities are not exciting enough to involve them fully in their learning.  Sometimes tasks are not matched closely enough to students’ ability levels, and are either too easy or too difficult.  Although the quality of written marking is generally good, some inconsistency means that students do not always know how to improve their work to reach their targets.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 43 lessons, eight of which were seen together with senior leaders, and made a number of further short visits to lessons.  Meetings were held with students, governors, a representative of the local authority and staff, including subject leaders.  The inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at policies, self-evaluation and development planning, monitoring records, information about students’ progress, safeguarding documents, and samples of students’ work.  The views of four parents who responded to the online questionnaire (Parent View) were taken into account, along with 87 responses to the staff questionnaires.

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Inspection team

Mary Davis, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Roisin Chambers Additional Inspector John Taylor Additional Inspector Bob Roberts Additional Inspector Andrew Lagden Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is larger than the average-sized secondary school.  The proportion of disabled students and those who have special educational needs supported through school action is high, while the proportion supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is average.  The proportion of students from minority ethnic heritages is high, the largest group being of Pakistani heritage. The proportion of students who speak English as an additional language is also high.  The proportion of students known to be eligible for the pupil premium, which provides additional funding for students in local authority care, those known to be eligible for free school meals and students with a parent in the armed forces serving overseas, is above average.  The school is a Trust school and has set up the Derby Pride Free School in partnership with the National Health Service, Derby County Football Club, the University of Derby and Derby City

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Information about this school

Council. Some of the school staff provide tuition in the Free School.  The Ivy House Special School, catering for children with profound and multiple disabilities, shares the same site and is part of the Trust along with seven other primary phase schools.  The sixth form, housed in the Millennium Centre, is currently provided in partnership with Littleover Community School.  Four students in Key Stages 3 and 4 follow alternative courses supporting their social and emotional needs. These courses offer short-term support at Key Stage 3 and part-time placements at Key Stage 4, and include work-related courses in sport and extra support for English, mathematics and science.  The school has undergone two years of disruption as a result of rebuilding. Some lessons are currently taught in over 30 temporary classrooms.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise achievement in mathematics by:  sharing the existing outstanding practice in teaching so that all teaching in mathematics is at least good, to overcome students’ low-level skills on entry to the school  giving students regular opportunities to develop their numeracy skills across different subjects.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure that all teaching is consistently good or outstanding, by:  always planning exciting, active tasks that engage the interest of all students and involve them fully in their learning  making sure that work is at the right level of difficulty to match students’ individual abilities  fully promoting students’ independent learning by giving them regular opportunities to contribute their ideas  consistently providing clear written feedback on students’ work to enable them to take responsibility for their own progress, and to reach or exceed their targets.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Students enter the school with well-below-average levels in the basic skills of reading, writing, communication and mathematics. They make good progress across the school and attainment has steadily risen over the past three years. In 2012 the proportion of students gaining five good GCSE passes including English and mathematics was broadly average.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Achievement in most subjects has been steadily rising. This is particularly so in science, where progress by the end of Year 11 was below national levels in 2011 but rose rapidly to above average in 2012. This is a result of leaders taking firm action to raise achievement in this subject and thoroughly checking on the quality of teaching.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Achievement in mathematics has also risen, but not at a fast enough pace and attainment remains below average. To address this, senior leaders have appointed an additional leader of the department and have been uncompromising in seeking to eradicate inadequate teaching. However, some inconsistencies remain and the teaching of mathematics, including the elements of numeracy covered in different subjects, is not yet good enough to ensure that students who start with very limited skills make enough progress to reach the standards expected nationally.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The school enables students to gain confidence by entering them early for GCSE mathematics in Year 10. This has resulted in students being able to improve on their results in Year 11, and an increasing proportion achieving the highest grades.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 In the sixth form, rates of progress have been consistently high and attainment at A level consistently above the national average. During the inspection, good teaching led to good and sometimes outstanding progress in the large majority of lessons observed.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Disabled students and those who have special educational needs, together with those at an early stage of learning English, receive help and guidance that are tailored to their individual needs. The ‘nurture group’ is particularly effective in establishing good learning skills. This support results in students making good progress and showing more confidence when reading, writing and speaking.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The school has taken effective action to improve achievement in reading. There is a strong focus on promoting literacy across all subjects. Every classroom has a ‘drop everything and read’ box to encourage the enjoyment of reading. The library is popular and well used. The large majority of students gain a qualification in reading by the end of Year 11.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The school provides very well for students who are known to be eligible for the pupil premium. The additional funding is spent on schemes to provide extra support for literacy and numeracy, alternative courses, and the nurture group in Year 7. In 2012 this group made better progress than similar students nationally in both English and mathematics, and all who left moved into further education, employment or training.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Students are keen to do well. In the best lessons they develop independence and take responsibility for their own progress. In an English lesson that was taught outstandingly well, students carried out a writing task with a clear understanding of the features they needed to include to produce a high-quality answer. In such cases, students not only develop understanding of a subject, but also how to apply their skills to new situations.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Leaders’ regular checks and the lessons observed during the inspection show that although most teaching is good and a substantial proportion is outstanding, a small amount requires improvement. The best teachers plan tasks that closely match students’ individual abilities, providing good support for the least able students and extra challenge for the most able. However, some teachers provide the same task for all ability groups, so some find work too easy and some too difficult.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching in the sixth form is consistently good or outstanding. Teachers have good subject knowledge and use a wide range of teaching methods to ensure that students develop independence and are able to learn by active experience. For example, students studying King Lear in English gained a deeper understanding of the text by acting out a short scene in pairs and then comparing their interpretations.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Where teaching is good or better, teachers have good subject knowledge and insist on a good work rate and high standards. They plan activities that motivate students and encourage them to think for themselves. They ask probing and challenging questions. In lessons where progress is not good enough, teachers do not require students to think deeply or to justify their answers.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The current school rebuilding programme sometimes limits opportunities for group work. However, even allowing for this some teachers miss opportunities to enable students to collaborate, to contribute their ideas or to undertake active and exciting, tasks so students are too passive.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Most teachers provide detailed guidance when they mark students’ work so that they have a clear understanding of how to improve their work. However, some mark books infrequently and fail to provide targets for improvement, particularly in mathematics.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Students told inspectors how much they value the extra help that teachers provide after school or at lunch times, and the patience they show. One student commented that ‘teachers go the extra mile to help us’.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Inspectors were very impressed by the exemplary behaviour of all students around the school during the inspection. In freezing conditions, they walked uncomplaining and in an orderly manner from one end of the vast school site to the other. They show a high level of responsibility and are courteous and polite to adults and to each other.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Behaviour in lessons is good and sometimes outstanding, particularly when the quality of teaching is at its best. Where teaching requires improvement and students are not actively involved in their learning, they can become restless.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The school closely checks on behaviour and records any incidents carefully. These records show an improving picture. Initiatives such as ‘restorative justice’, where students are encouraged to take greater responsibility for their actions, and the use of alternative provision have had a good impact. Exclusions are decreasing. The students and the large majority of staff support the view that behaviour is good and is well managed.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Anti-bullying has a high profile at the school. In addition to outstanding support provided by adults, student anti-bullying ambassadors take an active role in supporting younger ones and the head girl sits on a national committee for anti-bullying. Students have a good understanding of the different types of bullying, and say it is rare in any form. They say that they feel safe and well cared for.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The school ensures that students are well supported when they enter the school, and well prepared for their next steps when they leave. Attendance rates are now above average.

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The leadership and management are good

 The Principal has made raising the quality of teaching a key priority. Leaders check on the quality of teaching thoroughly and provide excellent support and training to improve it. Their strategies to raise achievement in science have been highly successful, and their efforts to strengthen leadership in mathematics are now beginning to result in better progress in this subject.

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The leadership and management are good

 The teachers whose practice is not yet good are closely supported and given appropriate training. Pay rises and promotion are used effectively to reward good performance. Newly qualified teachers are very well supported, including being mentored by an experienced teacher.

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The leadership and management are good

 The range of courses that students follow has further improved since the last inspection. Whole days for sports, creative subjects and humanities are linked to lunch-time activities and are popular with the students. The off-site work-related subjects, including construction and motor vehicle studies, are well supervised and regularly checked on by the school. Modern foreign languages such as Punjabi and Urdu enable students from minority ethnic backgrounds to gain a qualification in their home language. The nurture group in Year 7 boosts students’ literacy, numeracy and social skills.

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The leadership and management are good

 The promotion of students’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding. All students take a qualification in citizenship and have the opportunity to work at the special school, including being trained in how to care for the disabled. This, together with the wide range of activities involving taking responsible roles within the community, results in students having a clear understanding of their role as citizens. Students told inspectors that those from different ethnic backgrounds get on well together and show respect for each other’s beliefs.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school fosters good relationships with parents, and encourages them to contribute through the Parents’ Forum. The pastoral staff have no teaching role, and this enables them to respond quickly to parents’ concerns and to provide close support for students and their families facing challenging circumstances. Leaders ensure that all students are treated equally and that discrimination in any form is not tolerated.

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The leadership and management are good

 Leaders have a strong vision for the sixth form. The choice of courses is continually being extended to offer a wider range of work-related subjects. The school is planning to develop a separate sixth form so that more students can access these courses. Strong care and guidance means that all students are able to move on to higher or further education or employment.

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The leadership and management are good

 The local authority has provided effective support for the school’s leaders in the use of assessment data to check on the quality of teaching and to raise achievement in science. They have also provided support and training for governors.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  Governors are very well informed, and support the school’s leaders very effectively while holding them fully to account. They have well-established, thorough systems for evaluating and checking their own work and proficiency, and ensure that they receive the professional training they need to develop further. They check on teachers’ performance closely and all recommendations for salary progression are considered in the light of this evidence. Governors take an active role in the school and have, for example, been closely involved with the strategies to raise achievement in science. Governors have been instrumental in setting up the school’s Trust status and the free school for the benefit of the school’s students and others in the city. They are aware of the performance of different groups of students in relation to similar schools. They know how pupil premium funding is allocated, and check that it is having

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The leadership and management are good

the desired impact on achievement for eligible students. They ensure that all safeguarding procedures meet national requirements, and give the safety of all staff and students a priority.

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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 112952 Local authority Derby Inspection number 405441

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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 Comprehensive School category Community 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 1427 Of which, number on roll in sixth form 146 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Will Ingleby Principal Wendy Whelan Date of previous school inspection 10 February 2011 Telephone number 01332 772706 Fax number 01332 777939 Email address info@derbymoor.derby.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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