Harmood School

Chalcot School Harmood Street, Camden, London, NW1 8DP

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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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This is a good school because

 The majority of students make good or outstanding progress in English, mathematics, science and information and communication technology. They also make good progress in a range of other curriculum areas.  Teaching is good and on some occasions outstanding. Teachers have high expectations of their students and ensure lessons are well adapted to the students’ learning needs.  The students enjoy coming to school, as do those on individual programmes off site. Their behaviour is good and has shown remarkable improvement since they joined the school. Attendance, except for a small minority, is above average. The students feel safe and secure at the school and they are well cared for.  The senior management team has developed a clear understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for development. The pace of improvement has accelerated rapidly since the previous inspection and leaders have been effective in ensuring that good teaching and

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This is a good school because

achievement are being sustained.  The governing body is well informed about the school’s provision and areas for continuing development. Governors provide a good level of challenge and support to the school’s leadership.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 On some occasions, teachers do not provide students with clear enough feedback on the standard of their work or how to improve it. This can slow down the pace of learning.  The attendance of a small minority of students is poor and this has a negative effect on the quality of their learning.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed six lessons and parts of lessons, all of which were joint observations with the headteacher or deputy headteacher. In addition, the inspector visited a sample of the provision for off-site work for students on individual programmes.  Meetings were held with the headteacher and deputy headteacher as well as with teachers, a representative of the governing body and officers from the local authority.  Account was taken of school questionnaires for parents and students as well as 10 returned staff questionnaires. There were no responses in the online questionnaire (Parent View).  The inspector observed the school’s work and looked at a range of documentation, including development planning and the school’s review of its progress. The inspector also looked at records of students’ performance, their behaviour and progress in personal development as well as attendance and exclusion figures. Safeguarding procedures were scrutinised. The minutes of

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Information about this inspection

governing body meetings and evaluative reports by the local authority were also looked at.

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Inspection team

Melvyn Blackband Lead inspector Additional inspector

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Information about this school

 All the students are boys and have a statement of special educational needs related to their behavioural, emotional and social difficulties.  A high proportion of students are eligible for the pupil premium. The pupil premium is extra money given to schools by the government to support, amongst others, pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals.  The students come from a range of ethnic backgrounds, reflecting the make-up of the borough. About half of the students are of White British heritage and most other students are from Black Caribbean or African heritages. None is at the early stages of English language acquisition.  A minority of students are educated off-site by a variety of providers and are on individual programmes.  The present headteacher has been in post since September 2011. The headteacher is also the director of the Camden Centre for Learning where three of the local authority’s specialist

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Information about this school

providers for pupils with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties are to be brought together as one service.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure the oral and written feedback to students on the quality of their work always gives them the information necessary to understand fully how to improve their work further.  Improve the attendance of those students with high rates of absence by:  monitoring their attendance closely  providing support for the student and their families.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Many students had low levels of attainment on entry to the school, accompanied by extremely negative attitudes to schools and education. While the attainment of students, by the time they leave in Year 11, is still below national averages, the gap has narrowed considerably.  The majority of students, including those educated off site, are making good or better progress, particularly in basic skills but also in the full range of curriculum subjects. There are negligible differences in the performance of different ethnic groups, and those who benefit from the pupil premium are making progress at the same rate as the rest of the students. This is because the school has funded extra support for these students in basic skills and enhancements to the curriculum such as drama and music work at the Roundhouse venue. The school has taken effective steps towards ensuring equality of opportunity for all students and in combating any

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The achievement of pupils is good

discrimination.  As a result of the school’s drive to raise standards in literacy, the students have improved their reading and writing skills. This has had a positive effect on their good progress in English.  Older students have made good progress in raising their GCSE grades over the last three years. The majority gain GCSE in English, mathematics and science and other students are successful in gaining qualifications suited to their ability. Almost all students and particularly those educated off site in individual programmes are able to access accreditation in a developing range of vocational qualifications such as BTEC and Functional Skills.  The students are working to meet challenging targets in all subjects. In most cases they are well aware of what they aiming for and how to improve their work. This gives them motivation to succeed and has a positive impact on their progress.  The students make good progress in personal development. Their negative attitudes to

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The achievement of pupils is good

education improve significantly over time, and by the time they leave almost every student is well prepared to go on to further education or training.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The quality of teaching over time and since the previous inspection has improved considerably. Almost all teaching is now good, with some lessons which are outstanding.  The senior team monitors teaching regularly and robustly. An improvement in standards of teaching has resulted in students’ accelerated progress over the last year.  Teachers plan their lessons effectively and use resources well, such as interactive whiteboards. They adapt learning activities successfully to take account of the wide range of ability found in most classes. Activities are well planned to build on what the students already know and understand. This gives the students confidence to try and succeed in learning new things.  In all the classes, the students benefit from a very high level of individual support and tuition from the teacher and the competent teaching assistants. As a result, students with previously negative attitudes to learning gain confidence in their ability and the motivation to make

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The quality of teaching is good

progress.  The teachers, many of whom are specialists, make good use of questions to challenge the students. Lessons proceed at a brisk pace and in most cases, teachers carefully observe and question students through the lesson to ensure each student has understood the work and feels confident to move on. Students encounter activities which involve reading and writing in almost every lesson and they are well supported to develop their literacy skills across a range of experiences.  The students respond well to the interesting and challenging lessons. Their behaviour and attitudes to learning are usually good and this promotes their progress. On a few occasions, teachers do not fully explain to students how to make their work better, either in marking or through verbal comments and instructions. This can be confusing for the students, who may in a few cases react negatively, slowing down the pace of learning.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The students’ work and progress are assessed in detail at regular intervals and their progress noted. Where students appear to be falling behind, teachers provide an effective range of extra support and interventions to ensure all the students make progress at the best rate that they can.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The students’ attitudes to the school and to their studies are usually positive. They report that they are interested in lessons and enjoy learning. This is in most cases a significant improvement from when they joined the school and has a very positive effect on their learning.  Behaviour is usually good in lessons. When a student’s conduct sometimes becomes challenging to the teachers, this is dealt with positively. Students in Years 7 and 8, where appropriate, receive extra ‘nurture’ lessons to help them to understand their feelings and the consequences on others. The school has extremely effective procedures to manage the students’ behaviour. By means of an escalating system of warnings, behaviour agreements with the full support of parents and, where necessary, segregation for a short period, the students are given space and time to reflect on their behaviour and to make amends. As a result, the students gain good

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

moral and spiritual understanding and develop a good sense of social understanding through examining how they have affected others.  The students have a clear understanding of how the behaviour systems work and they feel secure in knowing what behaviour is expected from them. They try hard to gain points leading to merit awards for their efforts. As a result, rates of exclusion have dropped dramatically since the previous inspection.  Instances of bullying have been substantially reduced through consistent application of the restitution system, as demonstrated in the exemplary records of bullying and racially motivated incidents. The school is aware that these could be reduced further and deals quickly and effectively with problems. Through regular counselling, discussion and in personal, social and health education students are made aware of how to recognise and deal with all forms of bullying.  The students feel safe both at school and at alternative placements. Pastoral tutor teams ensure

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

that each student receives a high level of care and the school’s nominated Pastoral Support Manager effectively manages this.  Attendance has improved consistently since the previous inspection and is now above average. Leaders are aware that some of the vocational opportunities for students could be extended further to help in ‘tailoring’ learning programmes even more specifically for the few students whose attendance is poor.  Care arrangements are very secure. Safeguarding procedures, including the vetting of staff and child protection procedures, are of high quality. Staff are well trained in working to de-escalate challenging behaviour and in the use of positive restraint procedures. Parents and carers have confidence in the school’s care arrangements.

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The leadership and management are good

 The experience and expertise of the senior team have enabled the headteacher and deputy headteacher to drive improvement at a consistently increasing pace. The improvements are based on regular and detailed monitoring of each aspect of the school. Record keeping on the students’ performance, behaviour and well-being is excellent and this provides a very good basis to maintain a close and accurate overview of provision. Self-evaluation of the school’s success and areas for development is of a high standard.  Teaching standards are monitored very closely and the senior team is relentless in seeking improvement. Points for improvement in teachers’ work are linked effectively to training opportunities and to performance management arrangements. Teachers’ performance is tied closely to national benchmarks of acceptable standards. The procedures are transparent and fully communicated to staff. Because of this, morale is high and the school is characterised by

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The leadership and management are good

enthusiasm and cheerful attitudes.  The curriculum for all students, including those on individual programmes, is broad and balanced and well monitored for its effectiveness in meeting students’ needs. Middle leaders are effective in monitoring their subjects and the teaching and assessment of progress. Older students have a developing range of work-related and vocational learning leading to accreditation. The school works in close partnerships with parents. The half-termly review meetings on each student are well attended and parents and carers are fully involved where necessary in monitoring and helping improve their sons’ behaviour.  Teaching standards and the rate of students’ performance have been rising since the previous inspection. The quality of monitoring and planning is good and the school continues to receive a good level of support and challenge both from the governors and the local authority, which has

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The leadership and management are good

effectively allocated extra resources to help accelerate the school’s progress. As a result, there is a good capacity to improve further.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school is effective Governors have a clear grasp of teaching standards through involvement in the performance management arrangements for the headteacher and staff. They are fully aware of how teaching standards affect pay. Due to excellent data and informative headteacher’s reports, the governors have a good grasp of the rates of students’ progress and where improvements can still be made. The governing body is fully informed on the use and effectiveness of the pupil premium to provide extra support for those students involved. The governing body is enthusiastic and committed to training for its own members. Members are well informed and knowledgeable about the school and offer successful challenge and support to the school’s leaders.

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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 100092 Local authority Camden Inspection number 404710

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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 Special School category Community special Age range of pupils 11–16 Gender of pupils Boys Number of pupils on the school roll 27 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Anthony Burgess Headteacher Jeanette Lowe Date of previous school inspection 11–12 May 2011 Telephone number 020 7485 2147 Fax number 020 7485 9297 Email address head@chalcot.camden.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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