Colne Community School and College

Colne Community School and College Church Road, Brightlingsea, Colchester, CO7 0QL

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Satisfactory 3 This inspection: Outstanding 1 Achievement of pupils Outstanding 1 Quality of teaching Outstanding 1 Behaviour and safety of pupils Outstanding 1 Leadership and management Outstanding 1

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is an outstanding school.  The executive principal, together with other leaders and governors, have created an exceptional culture for learning and strive for continuous improvement.  Since the previous inspection, students’ achievement has rapidly increased as a result of high quality teaching and learning.  Students make rapid and sustained progress throughout the school. By the time they leave, the proportion of students making or exceeding the progress expected of them in English and mathematics is extremely high.  Teaching is consistently good and very often progress in subjects across all key stages is outstanding.  Students feel extremely safe and have an excellent understanding of potential dangers. They are proud ambassadors of the school. This is shown in their exceptional contributions to the school and community.  Most students’ behaviour and attitudes to learning are exemplary. They make at least

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

good, and often excellent, contributions to their learning.  Learning meets the needs of all learners. Opportunities for students’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development are exceptional.  The sixth form is outstanding. The school’s unique specialisation is in the ‘Sports Academy’ and increasing work-related subjects mean students make outstanding progress. The achievement of students at AS and A-Level is good.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspection team visited 50 lessons, observing 46 teachers. Six lessons were observed jointly with members of the senior leadership team. Inspectors also conducted a series of further brief observations of learning and conducted a scrutiny of students’ work.  Members of the inspection team discussed with students their views about the school.  Meetings were held with groups of students, governors, and the school improvement partner, a representative from the local authority, the senior leadership team and staff.  Inspectors took account of the 43 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View) and the school’s analysis of its own questionnaire responses.  Inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at improvement plans, records and analyses of students’ behaviour, the tracking of pupils’ progress and examples of students’ work. They scrutinised the school’s attendance figures and monitoring information.

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Inspection team

Raymond Lau, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Sally-Ann Harding Additional Inspector Heather Housden Additional Inspector Edwin Powell Additional Inspector Brenda Watson Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is a larger-than-average secondary school. Almost all students are from a White British background and speak English as their first language.  The proportion of girls in the school is below the national average.  The proportion of students known to be eligible for the pupil premium (additional funding provided to the school for students known to be eligible for free school meals), is below the national average. There are very few looked-after children and no students from service families.  The proportion of disabled students and those who have special educational needs supported through school action is average.  The proportion of students supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is also average. Most of these students have specific, moderate and learning difficulties.  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.  There are no students in the main school educated off-site.  The sixth form specialises in the ‘Sports Academy’ and work-related courses with approximately three quarters of students completing BTEC and other related courses. This is supplemented by academic A Level courses.  The school converted to academy status in August 2011. The overall effectiveness of the predecessor school, which had the same name, was judged to be satisfactory when it was last inspected in January 2011.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Make sure all students are sufficiently challenged on a consistent basis and given more opportunities to make rapid progress through finding things out for themselves as well as in collaboration with one another.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 Students enter Year 7 with average standards. Because of high quality teaching, students leave the school with well above-average attainment in many subjects, including English and mathematics. Boys’ attainment is above average, as is that of the girls. Students’ attainment in reading is above average. A range of sharply focused interventions help them to read difficult texts and develop their comprehension skills.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 Early entrance to GCSE examinations supports students’ achievements exceptionally well. The school has just received the current examination results with 88% of the Year 11 cohort attaining GCSE grades A* to C, with an increasing number achieving the highest grades possible. This is a considerable gain on the previous years.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 The proportion of students making or exceeding the progress expected of them in English and mathematics is very high. Girls achieve exceptionally well and boys are making rapid and sustained progress. For example, in a Year 10 mathematics lesson, students made exceptional progress completing exercises that challenged all learners.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 Disabled students, and those who have special educational needs make at least as good progress, with many making exceptional progress. This is due to very well-targeted support and intervention programmes, that help them to speed up their progress.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 Students known to be eligible for the pupil premium are making outstanding progress. From excellently targeted interventions, the students’ average points scores compare extremely favourably and their attainment is above the national average. There are no gaps between the performance of students known to be eligible for free school meals and other students. Those who are eligible for the Year 7 catch-up premium make similar progress to their peers.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 Many students in the college (sixth form) typically enter with below average attainment. This is because the school accepts a very large proportion of students from other schools and specialises in work-related courses, notably the ‘Sports Academy’. Students on these BTEC courses leave with above-average attainment, making outstanding progress. A range of academic AS and A-Level courses are offered and most make at least good progress.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 The quality of teaching continues to go from strength to strength. Many subjects, including English, mathematics, science, media, French, health and social care, have outstanding teaching. The teaching in art and dance is consistently outstanding. Much of this very high quality teaching runs across all key stages, and in particular within the sixth form college.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 The characteristics of the school’s outstanding teaching: – teachers’ very high expectations and investment in the preparation, planning and selection of resources that meet the needs of all learners – teachers promote learning through a highly collaborative approach, and a climate for learning that means both the students and the teacher can take risks in their learning – students are stretched, consistently challenged with very well-chosen inspirational activities that are tailored to the needs of the individuals exceptionally well – opportunities exist for students to be highly independent and resilient in their working – skilful use of questioning challenges the students to achieve more – behaviour and students’ attitudes to learning are consistently outstanding.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 Teachers use assessment highly effectively to support learning. Outstanding teaching was observed in a Year 11 dance lesson as students prepared for a ‘Bollywood’ style dance. Students observed their previous performance and set targets for themselves and others. They instantly applied the feedback from their peers and the teacher into their routine, demonstrating exceptional and rapid progress. There was excellent teamwork and this strengthened the students’ social and cultural development exceptionally well. Marking and feedback were mainly of high quality and aided students’ learning well.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 The school strategy of students using ‘confidence arrows’ help them to measure their own progress. In an exceptional Year 9 lesson, the teacher innovatively used this process to measure the smaller steps to success, challenging the students specifically to explore how success would look, sound and feel when doing this.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 However, where lessons are not as outstanding, this is because teachers do not consistently challenge students to explore what they could further achieve. On a very few occasions, teachers control the lesson and students work diligently under them, but without sufficient opportunities for them to work independently.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Students are very proud representatives of their school. They proudly display their achievements through different badges worn on their uniforms and the four-house system enables competitive and collaborative team development. Events and activities from the houses, and the school collectively, have recently raised over £6,500 for national charities. The sixth- form students make highly valued contributions to support the development of younger students.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 The safety of pupils is outstanding. Students feel very safe in the school. Parent View shows that almost all parents and carers support this view. Students have an excellent understanding of what constitutes safe and unsafe practices. They have a considerable knowledge of the different types of bullying and report this when it very occasionally occurs. Students say that there are highly effective procedures in place, and that bullying is swiftly dealt with.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 The school is active in educating students on the dangers of homophobia. For example, drama performances raise awareness of the importance of promoting equality amongst all students, irrespective of race, gender, or sexual orientation. Discrimination of any kind is not tolerated.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Students are very polite, courteous and friendly towards staff, visitors, and generally to each other. The school works tirelessly to see that all students are included. There are specific interventions that support and develop the positive behaviours of students, which have a striking impact. For example, in a Year 8 programme the ‘Sky Sports’ intervention expertly develops students’ motivation, confidence, behaviour and feelings, alongside their academic achievement, through science and physical education.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 In lessons, where behaviour is outstanding, students demonstrate their hunger for learning. Teachers have excellent relationships with the students and successfully create a purposeful learning environment. This is not always the case across all lessons as some teachers provide limited opportunities for joint work with other students, and this results in behaviour and attitudes to learning that are good, rather than outstanding.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Attendance is above average. The rate of exclusions has significantly declined as a result of effective and consistent behaviour management by all staff.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The executive principal provides inspirational leadership. He gives the school exemplary vision and foresight, with a continuous passion that strives for excellence. He is very well supported by a highly effective senior leadership team in driving achievement, the quality of teaching and standards of behaviour to a high standard. As a result, the school is extremely well placed to continue to improve further.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The systems for the tracking and checking of students’ achievements are exemplary. There is high rigour in the analysis of student performance by leaders at all levels. Staff are adept in using this information for planning teaching, and intervention strategies, so that all students achieve extremely well. Such outstanding systems provide an exceptional opportunity for equality of learning for all students.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The leadership team has successfully used pupil-premium funding to support a range of initiatives, including the deployment of additional staff and resources, to increase the achievement of students and raise attainment.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 Leaders of subjects and aspects of the school’s work are highly effective. They conduct their monitoring and activities with detail and precision. They are inclusive in reviewing all aspects of their work, build teams, trust, and support colleagues in their professional practice.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The training of staff is exemplary. Each individual member of staff has a ‘personal improvement plan’. An appointed mentor helps individuals. Frequent staff conferences offer specific training for staff.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 Learning opportunities are very well supported by enrichment activities which are notably strong in the sports specialism. The uptake of activities is extremely high. One Year 8 student recalled developing her debating skills. She stated, ‘It’s not just all about trips, we get a very big range of activities and these help me for the future’. Dance and cheerleading are very well-supported. For example, over 300 students are involved in a community dance event.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 Students’ spiritual, moral, social, and cultural understanding is very well developed. The annual ‘Activities Week’ offers greater social integration. There are very well-established exchange links to Thailand and the USA, which strengthen students’ cultural awareness. During the inspection, an inspirational assembly discussed the first-hand experiences of an individual that brought to life the struggles of a refugee in a different country. This developed students’ spirituality by encouraging them to consider how they belong to their community.  The governance of the school: – The governing body is highly active and demanding of the school. Collectively, governors have adept systems for checking the effectiveness of the school’s work. Through the various committees they know about the standards of teaching and make sure that they analyse performance information effectively so that any student achievement that is not acceptable

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The leadership and management are outstanding

can be checked. They know how well the school compares nationally. They have excellent knowledge of how leaders manage the performance of staff and tackle any underperformance. They support the school’s recruitment and retention of high quality teaching staff through reward programmes. The governing body is highly aware of how the school uses the pupil premium. Governors measure the impact of this spending on the performance of the students. They identify any training that might increase their own effectiveness as a governing body.

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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 137429 Inspection number 406673

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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 Non-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 1396 Of which, number on roll in sixth form 190 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Michael Hindley Executive Principal Nardeep Sharma Date of previous school inspection 19–20 January 2011 Telephone number 01206 303511 Fax number 01206 302258 Email address nsharma@colne.essex.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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