Barnwood Park School

Barnwood Park Arts College St Lawrence Road, Gloucester, GL4 3QU

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Satisfactory 3 This inspection: Inadequate 4 Achievement of pupils Inadequate 4 Quality of teaching Inadequate 4 Behaviour and safety of pupils Requires improvement 3 Leadership and management Requires improvement 3

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This is a school that has serious weaknesses

 Given their starting points, the proportion of students who achieve five or more GCSEs at grade C or higher including English and mathematics is significantly lower than it should be.  Achievement in mathematics is inadequate. GCSE results are not high enough. Inadequate teaching in the past has meant that students have not made enough progress in mathematics.  Gaps in achievement between different groups of students are too wide.  Teaching is inadequate overall because the different needs of students are not being met in too many lessons.  Not all subject leaders are having a positive impact on the quality of teaching or students’ achievement.  Governors are not fully effective in challenging the school’s leaders to bring about improvements or in holding staff and leaders to account.  Although behaviour is getting better it still requires improvement. Incidents of disruptive behaviour in lessons are decreasing. However,

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This is a school that has serious weaknesses

teachers do not always manage the undesirable behaviour of some students sufficiently well.

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The school has the following strengths

 The relatively new headteacher is providing strong, determined leadership. She has taken swift action to address weaknesses and this is beginning to have an impact on teaching and students’ achievement.  Students achieve very well in science. They reach high standards and make good progress.  Some teaching is good or outstanding. This practice is beginning to be shared more widely across the school.  Students feel safe and well cared for.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 30 lessons taught by 27 teachers. Five of these observations were made jointly with a member of the school’s leadership group. Inspectors looked at students’ work and the quality of teachers’ marking.  Inspectors met with groups of students and talked to students around the school and in lessons.  Inspectors held meetings with a range of people including governors, middle and senior leaders, teachers and representatives from the nearby Gloscol College and representatives of the local authority.  Fifty-eight responses to the staff survey were reviewed.  Inspectors analysed 52 responses by parents to the online questionnaire (Parent View).  The inspection team considered a range of documentary evidence provided by the school, including information about students’ learning and progress, records of observations of lessons, minutes of governing body meetings, the school’s self-evaluation document and improvement

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Information about this inspection

plan, information about the school’s budget, attendance records, logs of behavioural incidents, and information about the curriculum. Safeguarding procedures were checked.

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Inspection team

Matthew Haynes, Lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Sarah Conway Additional inspector Colin Money Additional inspector Annette Rhodes Additional inspector

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Full report

In accordance with the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that this school requires significant improvement, because it is performing significantly less well than it might in all the circumstances reasonably be expected to perform.

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Information about this school

 The school is a smaller than average-sized secondary school for girls aged 11 to 16.  A small number of Year 11 students are educated full time at Gloscol, a nearby college of further education.  The proportion of students supported through school action is lower than average. The proportion supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is lower than in most schools.  The proportion of students eligible for support through additional government funding (the pupil premium) is above that found nationally. This includes students who are eligible for free school meals and those in the care of the local authority.  The majority of students are White British.  The school meets the government’s current floor standard, which sets the minimum expectations for students’ attainment and progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the proportion of good or better teaching and ensure that it meets the needs of all students by insisting that:  teachers use information about students’ abilities to plan lessons that meet all their needs  all teachers regularly check the progress students are making, giving extra help or more challenge when necessary  teachers give students high-quality feedback about how well they are doing and what specific things they need to do to improve  staff manage behaviour consistently well in all lessons so that there are no disruptions to learning  teachers make sure that all students in every lesson know what they are learning and what they need to do to be successful  teachers in all subjects develop students’ skills in reading, writing and mathematics more effectively  opportunities to develop students’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding within lessons are maximised.  Significantly raise the proportion of students achieving five or more GCSEs at grades A* to C,

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

including English and mathematics, by:  accelerating the progress that all students make in mathematics  making sure that the achievement of disabled students, those with special educational needs and those eligible for the pupil premium improves quickly  increasing the proportion of A and A* grades that students achieve by challenging the more-able students effectively.  Make sure that all subject leaders are equally effective in improving the quality of teaching and raising standards of achievement.  Improve the effectiveness of the governing body in order to increase its capacity to challenge the school and hold it to account. An external review of governance should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved.

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

 The proportion of students achieving five or more GCSEs at grade C or above, including English and mathematics, is too low. Students enter the school with attainment that is lower than the national average but they do not make enough progress overall.  Students do not make enough progress in mathematics or reach the standards of which they are capable. Test results in 2012 show that students’ attainment fell compared with previous years. The achievement of students currently at the school does not show that their progress is improving consistently well in mathematics.  Students make limited progress in English; although this is improving slowly as the standards reached by younger students are better than previously.  Disabled students and those with special educational needs achieve less well than other students. This is because their progress is poor. Identification processes have recently been

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

improved which means the school is now more aware of individuals’ needs.  The achievement of students for whom the school receives the pupil premium is inadequate. They make less progress than other students and their average point scores in English and mathematics are much lower. This gap has got wider in recent years. However, the school has most recently spent the funding on a range of things to support students’ learning, including one-to-one support, additional members of staff and small-group teaching. This has led to some very recent improvements in their achievement, indicating that the gap is beginning to close.  Not all students have an equal opportunity to achieve because there is too much teaching that requires improvement or is inadequate.  Achievement varies too much between subjects. Students make good progress and achieve high standards in science, and they achieve well in languages and art. However, standards are too

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

low in history and geography.  A small number of Year 11 students are educated at Gloscol, a local college. They are not achieving their potential since the courses they are following are not sufficiently challenging. The school has no plans to offer this option to students in the future.  All Year 11 students were entered early for GCSE mathematics. This was not linked to the specific needs of individuals or groups of students and was a one-off situation aimed at improving their achievement but it has proved to be ineffective. As a result, the school does not intend to enter all students early for examinations in the future.

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The quality of teaching is inadequate

 In too many lessons the different needs of students are not being met. This includes more-able students who often do not achieve what they should.  Although the information that teachers have about students’ abilities has recently improved greatly, teachers are not all yet planning and teaching lessons that build on this information effectively enough.  Teaching over time, therefore, has led to gaps in achievement between different groups of students that are too wide, especially for disabled students, those with special educational needs and those who are eligible for the pupil premium. These students do not make enough progress in lessons.  There is some good and outstanding teaching in the school. In these lessons, teachers use questions to challenge students of all abilities effectively and to find out what students have learnt. They provide high-quality feedback to students which helps them know what to do to

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The quality of teaching is inadequate

improve. This results in students who are highly engaged in their learning and who are very keen to achieve well.  All too often, however, teachers do not know how well students are learning in lessons. This means they cannot adapt their teaching in light of students’ progress.  The best teaching helps students learn at a brisk pace. These teachers have high expectations of what students can achieve and help them to succeed. In these lessons teaching assistants support students’ learning well. There are too many lessons, however, in which students are unclear about what they are learning and why. In these lessons teachers do not explain clearly to students what they need to do to be successful in their learning.  Opportunities to develop students’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding are not maximised and are too often very limited in lessons.  Students’ skills in reading, writing and mathematics are not sufficiently improved or applied in

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The quality of teaching is inadequate

lessons. This means that they do not make as much progress as they should.  Parents’, carers’ and students’ views of the quality of teaching are that it is improving, but there are still too many who, rightly, do not think that the teaching is good enough.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils require improvement

 The majority of students show positive attitudes to their learning, and behaviour around the school is generally very calm and orderly.  Learning is disrupted at times by the behaviour of a minority of students. There are also times when students stop working and are not focused on what they should be doing in lessons.  A new behaviour policy has recently been introduced and this is having a positive impact. It is not yet being applied consistently by all members of staff.  Parents and carers are of the view that their children are safe and well cared for. This is supported by the inspection findings.  Students are well informed about a range of anti-bullying strategies and they know about different types of bullying. Bullying is rare and students have confidence in leaders to deal with it effectively.  Students understand the differences between individuals and respect people from different cultures and backgrounds.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils require improvement

 Attendance is below average and is too low for a significant number of students. The school has identified these students and there is support in place to help them to attend more regularly. The impact of this support is that attendance is improving. Exclusions are low.

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The leadership and management require improvement

 The headteacher provides strong, determined leadership. Along with other senior leaders she has an accurate understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. She has acted quickly since she started in September 2012 to identify what needs to improve and how. She places the achievement of students at the centre of all that she does and has an ambitious but realistic vision for the improvement of the school.  Senior leaders are taking effective practical steps to improve the school. Despite being a relatively new team their actions have already begun to have a positive impact. For example, behaviour and attendance are improving. The school also tackles discrimination effectively.  Leaders and managers are developing the curriculum to better meet the needs and interests of students.  Staff are very positive about the future development of the school. They feel that the headteacher and other senior leaders are making the right improvements and leading the school

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The leadership and management require improvement

in the right direction.  The quality of teaching is beginning to improve. There is much better training for teachers and senior leaders are monitoring teaching regularly and thoroughly. Their feedback to teachers about areas for improvement is accurate and specific. Opportunities to share and learn from the best practice in the school are increasing.  The quality and amount of information that the school has about students’ learning and progress are now very good. This is a recent development led by senior leaders, and it means that they know precisely how well students are doing and who needs extra support. It also means that interventions for students, for example in English and mathematics, are now effectively targeted at those students who need support most.  The way in which performance of teachers has been checked on and then rewarded in the past has been ineffective. This means some teachers have been unduly rewarded. The new

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The leadership and management require improvement

headteacher has completely revised this process, however, and it is now much more rigorous.  Not all subject leaders have a positive impact on the quality of teaching or students’ achievement. The effectiveness of these leaders is too variable.  Links with parents and carers are improving. There are now more frequent communications with parents and carers, including from the headteacher, and they are responding positively to a number of other initiatives. For example, the Year 9 options evening was extremely successful. Parents’ and carers’ views about the work of the school are that it is improving.  The local authority correctly identified the school as a priority in 2011. Since then it has provided support and reviewed progress regularly. The ways in which progress has been measured have not been robust enough, and as a result, the view of teaching has been overly positive. The local authority has provided challenge and support for the governing body which have led to

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The leadership and management require improvement

improvements in governance during the last year.  The governance of the school:  Governance requires improvement. Governors have an accurate understanding about students’ achievement but their views about the quality of teaching are too positive. The ways in which governors challenge the school to get better have improved over the last year. For example, they are asking more challenging questions in meetings and they are beginning to evaluate the school’s performance through visits to observe and probe the school’s work. They know how the pupil premium funding is being spent but they do not fully evaluate its impact on students’ achievement. The budget is well managed. Governors do not have enough knowledge of how teachers’ performance is checked and how teachers are rewarded for good performance. They have set challenging and appropriate targets for the new headteacher. Governors make sure that safeguarding procedures are effective.

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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 115720 Local authority Gloucestershire Inspection number 401536

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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 Maintained Age range of pupils 11–16 Gender of pupils Girls Number of pupils on the school roll 731 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair P Rosewell Headteacher S Tufnell Date of previous school inspection 25–26 November 2009 Telephone number 01452 530389 Fax number 01452 530380 Email address admin@barnwood-park.gloucs.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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