Haydock High School

School report Haydock High School Clipsley Lane, Haydock, St Helens, Merseyside WA11 0JG

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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.  Leaders and governors are determined and successful in their ambitions for the school. They have brought about considerable improvements in students’ achievement and the quality of teaching since the previous inspection. At the same time, they make sure that all students, including those who face difficulties in their lives, receive high quality care and support so that they can be successful.  Most students make good progress from their starting points because teaching is good and some is outstanding. In 2012, students’ attainment was in line with national averages and the school’s results were the highest achieved since before the last inspection. Teachers expect a great deal of students. They encourage students to work things out and find things out for themselves and to discuss their work with each other.  The extra help provided for disabled students, those with special educational needs and those

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

who have fallen behind in their reading is exceptionally well organised so that these students make rapid progress and are catching up quickly.  Students behave well in lessons and they are considerate and orderly when moving around the school. They feel safe in school. Most students develop into mature and responsible young people who are eager to achieve well. They work very well together in lessons and willingly help each other out when tackling challenges in their learning.  Students take their responsibilities within the school seriously, for example, when they support younger students to enjoy reading. Students’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Not enough teaching is outstanding. There are some features of teaching that are not yet consistently good. As a result, the proportion of students making or exceeding expected progress, although it compares favourably, is not yet better than in most schools across the country.  Leaders have not refined the systems used to set students’ academic targets to ensure that they are ambitious enough for all students.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed parts of 35 lessons, two of which were observed jointly with senior leaders.  Meetings were held with staff, students from each year group, governors and a representative of the local authority.  Documents looked at included the school’s self-evaluation summary, the school improvement plan, information on students’ attainment and progress, records and polices relating to the safeguarding of students and staff.  Inspectors took account of parents’ views through the 40 responses to the on-line survey (Parent View) and a recent survey of views of 356 parents carried out by the school.

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Inspection team

Gillian Salter-Smith, Lead inspector Additional Inspector James McGrath Additional Inspector Michael McLachlan Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is smaller than the average sized secondary school.  The vast majority of students are from White British backgrounds.  The proportion of disabled students or those with special educational needs students supported at school action is above the national average. The proportion supported by school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is broadly average.  A higher proportion of students than is found across the country join or leave the school at times other than the usual start and finishing times in Year 7 and Year 11.  The proportion of students known to be eligible for pupil premium funding is above the national average.  The school provides a small number of students with educational opportunities that take place off the school site. These include courses offered by Building Futures, Mill Green Special School and the Pupil Referral Unit, Derbyshire Hill.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards which set the minimum expectations

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Information about this school

for students’ attainment and progress.  A new headteacher was appointed in September 2010.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the proportions of students making and exceeding the expected progress so that they are better than the national average by:  setting more ambitious academic targets for students from an earlier point in their time in school  putting rigorous systems in place in all subjects to help subject leaders check on whether class teachers have devised successful strategies to help accelerate the progress of those students who have fallen behind their target grades.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the amount of teaching that is outstanding and ensure it is all at least good, eliminating inconsistencies found in a few lessons by:  using astute questioning more often so that students give more extended responses and are encouraged to challenge and respond to each other’s opinions  carrying out more rigorous checks on how well students are learning when they are working in groups  giving students the opportunity to make the most of teachers' advice when they mark their work  giving students more opportunities to use and apply their mathematical skills in real-life scenarios and in subjects across the curriculum.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Students’ achievement has improved considerably since the previous inspection. Attainment has risen and is now broadly in line with the national average. This represents good progress from students’ starting points. The proportions of students making or exceeding expected progress in English and mathematics compare favourably with the national picture. However, there are not enough students exceeding those figures for achievement to be judged outstanding.  The achievement of students known to be eligible for free school meals at GCSE has improved at a faster rate than other students in the school. There is still a gap between those known to be known to be eligible for free school meals and those who are not, but the gap is closing. Pupil premium funding has been spent wisely on supporting these students. Additional staffing provides well targeted support that is helping students to catch up on their learning, cope and

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The achievement of pupils is good

understand their emotional and behavioural needs and attend more regularly. The funding is also used to ensure that students have full access to a broad range of curricular and extra- curricular experiences that support their learning.  Disabled students and those with special educational needs make similarly good progress to other students. Staff know the students’ needs very well and exceptional support is provided, including from external agencies. Most students who join the school mid key stage settle in quickly and most make the progress expected of them. Those students who attend courses away from the site achieve well in their courses and they gain the ambition and aspiration, alongside the basic skills they need, to enable them to move into continuing education, training or employment. The close attention that the school gives to the progress of every student, whatever their circumstances reflects a strong commitment to equality of opportunity.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Students are well prepared for the next stage of their education and have secure literacy, numeracy and information and communication technology (ICT) skills. Most students develop into confident communicators so that they are ready and willing to discuss their work with each other and explore ideas. Students write in a well-structured way and at length in many subjects. Reading is promoted exceptionally well for those students who have fallen behind in their reading skills. The policy of early entry for some students in GCSE mathematics does not hold them back from gaining the highest grades of which they are capable. Students gain secure mathematical skills but do not have extensive opportunities to use and apply their skills in real- life situations or in subjects across the curriculum.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Good teaching helps students to make good progress over time. Some teaching is outstanding.  Positive and supportive relationships between staff and students are well established so that most students develop into confident learners.  Teachers plan lessons very carefully. They know the students well and most often plan tasks that get the best out of every student, whatever their capabilities and previous learning. Teachers expect a great deal of students who are well prepared by teachers to work independently, find things out for themselves and share ideas and opinions. Students find the content and activities of most lessons interesting, fun and challenging and, as a result, they learn at a good pace. Lessons in humanities subjects are especially meaningful to students; students become more emotionally involved and are able to write about subjects in greater depth.  Teachers have a secure grasp of the subjects they teach so that they give clear explanations and

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The quality of teaching is good

plan well-structured tasks that build up students’ good knowledge and understanding.  Lessons are purposeful and students know what they are trying to achieve in each lesson. They know what target grade or level they are aiming to achieve, although these are not set at a challenging enough level soon enough for some students. Students often check their own and each other’s work and through this process deepen their knowledge and understanding. In most lessons, teachers question students well to check on their learning, probe and develop their ideas and adjust the tasks accordingly.  Other adults in classrooms work very skilfully with students, helping them to maintain a good focus on their learning alongside improving their ability to work on their own.  In outstanding lessons, teachers’ expectations of all students and the challenges they pose are exceptionally high. In geography and English, students responded exceptionally well to the

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The quality of teaching is good

challenge to be critically analytical in their reviews of where to place a factory, in geography, and in English, in their analysis of a response to an examination question. Students show a very mature attitude to their work, taking initiative and control of tasks.  Inconsistencies in some features remain in a few lessons. Teachers do not always use questioning well so that opportunities to encourage students to give more extended responses and to challenge and respond to each other’s ideas are missed. In a few lessons, teachers are not checking closely enough on every student’s learning and progress whilst they work in groups. Occasionally, some students take a back seat in these situations and do not make as much progress as much as they should. Teachers mark work regularly and usually give useful advice. However, students are not always given the time and opportunity to make improvements to their work in response to the guidance.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The vast majority of students enjoy learning and work hard in lessons, applying themselves to tasks with enthusiasm. Behaviour in lessons is good and disruptions to learning are uncommon.  The school is calm and orderly. Most students enjoy coming to school and feel proud to belong to the school community. The system of rewards and sanctions is understood and respected by most students. Students’ behaviour is managed well and they are encouraged to take responsibility for their actions. There are very few exclusions. Students with particular behavioural difficulties are very well supported. The effectiveness of this support is evident in the improved interest and participation in education of the students identified in case studies.  Pupils know about many different types of bullying. On the rare occasions when they have concerns, students are confident that staff are there to help them to sort out their problems.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Students feel safe in school and they know how to keep themselves safe in many different situations, including when using the internet and modern technology.  Attendance has improved since the previous inspection and is broadly in line with the national average.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher’s ambition and relentless and successful drive for improvement in teaching and students’ achievement are well supported by other leaders, governors and staff. Sustained improvements in achievement, attendance and teaching demonstrate leaders’ capability to continue to make further improvements.  Senior and subject leaders have an accurate understanding of how well the school is performing based on rigorous checks on students’ progress and on the quality of teaching in classrooms.  Students’ academic targets are based on what is expected of most students across the country. As students make progress, targets are increased and made more challenging. However, the opportunity to further raise the aspirations of some students by setting even more challenging targets from an earlier point is missed.  Checks on students’ progress identify underperformance and plans are in place to help these

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The leadership and management are good

students to catch up. These systems are recently established for all subjects. Systems to enable all subject leaders to check on how well the actions taken by teachers are helping students to catch up are not yet fully established.  Staff are committed to improving teaching and learning. Training is well focused on the school’s priorities and meets individual staff needs. Increasingly training is led by staff from within the school. There is much sharing of good practice in teaching and learning within and between subjects. Staff performance is well managed so that strong performance is suitably rewarded and that underperformance is recognised and is supported effectively.  The curriculum meets students’ different needs well. Basic skills are taught effectively and students are well prepared for next stage of their education. Students who have weak literacy skills, disabled students and those with special educational needs are exceptionally well

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The leadership and management are good

supported. The curriculum supports students’ good personal development. Courses provided off the site and checked closely to ensure students are safe, attend regularly and make good progress.  Parents are very supportive of the school’s work. The school increasingly seeks the support of parents in boosting their children’s progress, especially where students are falling behind their targets.  The local authority has supported the school’s improvement well and kept a close watch on its progress since the previous inspection. Consultants have provided effective training and guidance, especially in English and mathematics.  The governance of the school:  Governors have strongly supported the drive for improvement. They bring a wide range of expertise and have taken advantage of training offered. They have a clear understanding of how well students are performing in relation to the national picture. This, alongside a resolute

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The leadership and management are good

determination to ensure that no individual or group of students is overlooked, means that they hold the headteacher and leaders closely to account for the effectiveness of the school’s work. Governors know how effective teaching is across the school. They check that strong performance is rewarded and that underperformance is supported and tackled. Governors know how pupil premium funding is spent and they check that it is making a difference for those students. They ensure that safeguarding arrangements securely meet requirements.

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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 104827 Local authority St Helens Inspection number 400741

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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 600 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Ann Scott Headteacher Andy Pollard Date of previous school inspection 3 December 2009 Telephone number 01744 678833 Fax number 01744 678832 Email address headteacher@haydockhigh.sthelens.org.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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