Bradley Stoke Community School

Bradley Stoke Community School Fiddlers Wood Lane, Bradley Stoke, South Gloucestershire, BS32 9BS

p.1

Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Not previously inspected NA This inspection: Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Outstanding 1 Leadership and management Outstanding 1

p.1

This is a good school

 Students achieve well in all years. The number of students gaining five or more A* to G grades is increasing over time and is significantly above the national average.  The sixth form is good.  Teaching is typically good and is sometimes outstanding. Staff training and professional development are highly effective.  Students’ behaviour is outstanding and they feel very safe. They have an excellent understanding of the school’s high expectations of behaviour and students’ attitudes to others are first rate.  Leadership and management are outstanding. Leaders and governors are driving improvement extremely well. They are taking effective action to bring about good improvements to the quality of teaching to raise standards and accelerate students’ progress. Through excellent use of data the school knows its strengths and areas to improve very well.  The restructured governance and partnership with Olympus Academy Trust are effectively

p.1

This is a good school

supporting the school’s capacity to improve still further.  Provision for students’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding and ensures that students develop into highly informed and reflective young people.

p.1

It is not yet an outstanding school because

 There is not yet enough outstanding teaching to ensure all students achieve extremely well. There are occasions when activities are not closely matched to the learning needs of individual students.  Lessons do not consistently provide opportunities to engage students in discussion about their learning and teachers do not always provide high-quality written feedback about what must be improved. 2 of 9

p.1

Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 40 lessons, including eleven jointly with senior leaders.  Meetings were held with students, the executive and associate headteacher, other senior and middle leaders, the school’s improvement advisor, other staff and members of the governing body.  The inspection team scrutinised school documents, including the school’s own evaluation of how well it is performing, the school development plan, school policies and statistical information about students’ achievement, attendance and exclusions.  Inspectors considered views from 75 completed staff questionnaires and 37 responses to the online parent questionnaire (Parent View), along with the school’s own analysis of parents’ and carers’ views.

p.2

Inspection team

Chris King, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Justine Hocking Additional Inspector Dave King Additional Inspector Robert Ridout Additional Inspector Anne Barrett Additional Inspector 3 of 9

p.2

Information about this school

 Bradley Stoke Community School converted to become an academy on 1 January 2012. When its predecessor school was last inspected by Ofsted, it was judged to be outstanding.  The school is larger than the average-sized secondary school.  Most students are White British and few students speak English as an additional language.  A below average proportion of students are eligible for support through the pupil premium (additional government funding for those known to be eligible for free school meals or are looked after).  The proportion of disabled students and those with special educational needs supported through school action is above average. The proportion supported through school action plus, or with a statement of special educational needs, is below average.  The school works with South Gloucestershire College, Stroud College, Abbeywood Community School and Patchway Community School within the Concorde partnership to provide courses for

p.3

Information about this school

students in Key Stage 4 and at post-16 level.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for students’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics.

p.3

What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the proportion of outstanding teaching by:  continuing to share and build on the best practice of the very best teachers in the school  ensuring that activities closely match the learning needs of individual students  developing consistent ways to engage students in discussion and providing high-quality written feedback about how to improve their learning. 4 of 9

p.3

The achievement of pupils is good

 The majority of students join the school with average attainment. Data show that attainment for current students at the end of Year 11 is above average as has been the case over time. Students’ achievement is good given their starting points on entry.  The number of students gaining five A* to G GCSE grades is significantly above the national average as is the proportion of students that gained the English Baccalaureate in 2012.  A small number of students enter examinations early, for example those taking a short GCSE course in citizenship; where they do, it does not limit their achievement.  Levels of progress in English are strong and as a result, students attain grades above what might normally be expected. Progress in mathematics is good. It has been less strong in recent years but rapid progress was noted in the school’s internal data, external module results and in observations of mathematics lessons.

p.4

The achievement of pupils is good

 Points scores based on students’ best results in GCSEs and equivalent courses are above the national average and continue to increase for all groups of students.  Students from minority ethnic groups achieve well and their progress is at least as good as that of other students in the school.  Teachers provide very good, well-targeted support to disabled students and those who have special educational needs. By the end of Year 11, the progress of these students is similar to their classmates’.  Real strengths exist in the performance of subjects such as English, drama and history. For example, in 2012 students in drama and history performed well above national expectations in the percentage gaining A/A* grades. However, some small variability still exists between subjects, with less secure performance seen in German and music. The school is aware of this and improvement plans are working well to close any gaps in attainment.

p.4

The achievement of pupils is good

 Those students that received alternative off-site provision in local colleges achieve well and in line with others in their year group.  The school monitors performance rigorously. Effective use is made of pupil premium funding, particularly for those known to be eligible for free school meals. The English and mathematics points scores for these students in Year 11 in 2012 were below those for all other students in the school but gaps in attainment in both subjects are narrowing rapidly.  Sixth form students now make good progress in lessons and attainment is rising.  Typically students are confident readers but those with weaker skills in reading are supported effectively and they gain the skills they need quickly. The school’s catch up programme in Year 7 allows those students entering the school with low reading ages to make rapid gains in their reading ability. A number of subjects make a good contribution towards developing students’

p.4

The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching is good and some lessons are outstanding, a picture that confirms the school’s own view of teaching over time. There is an excellent range of support and training for teachers within the school and good teaching is found across all subjects observed.  Students are motivated by enthusiastic teachers who have strong subject knowledge and use a variety of teaching methods and resources to help the students to learn and achieve well.  In the best lessons, teachers use assessment information very well to plan lessons which meet the needs of all the students in the class. They know how well each student is doing and provide additional challenge when they think students could do better. In a few lessons, work is not well matched to the learning needs of all students in the class.  Teachers’ questioning in most lessons checks understanding and develops individuals’ thinking well. In a physical education lesson, for example, well-timed and challenging questions and

p.4

The quality of teaching is good

prompts forced students to unpick their performance as individuals and as a team when developing their changeover technique in a relay race. As a result, students’ capacity to reflect and further develop themselves as learners was considerably enhanced. In a few lessons, teachers do not use questioning enough to develop thinking in this way.  The very best lessons seen were when teachers used their skills to fully personalise the lesson through a variety of strategies. In those lessons that were less strong, activities were not always closely matched to the learning needs of individual students. The school is aware of this and is continuing to make good use of its best teachers through its professional development programmes to share and develop teaching practices.  Students have a number of good opportunities to develop their reading and writing skills in a range of subjects. The school is making sure that the literacy policy is being used consistently

p.5

The quality of teaching is good

across the school.  Teaching in the sixth form is good. The teaching fosters good relationships in lessons and teachers support individual students effectively.  The school is aware that feedback to students in lessons is less strong and inconsistent. In some cases marking is not regular enough, and students do not have a formal record in their books of what they are doing well and what they need to do to improve. In the best lessons students know what their targets are and what they must do to achieve them and can point towards both written and oral occasions when individual feedback has been explicit. This dialogue was a key element in the most successful lessons.

p.5

The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Students enjoy school and have very positive attitudes to learning. They are enthusiastic in lessons and work very well with their classmates, showing respect to each other and to adults. Attendance is above the national average and students arrive at school and at lessons on time.  Behaviour is outstanding, both in lessons and at break times with students themselves reporting that high levels of conduct were both expected and normal over time.  No time in lessons is wasted in managing behaviour. Teachers plan lessons to ensure that students who have difficulty in managing their own behaviour can engage in learning; these students are given additional support to motivate and encourage them to learn.  There is very little exclusion from school and the numbers of permanent and fixed term exclusions are well below national averages.  Movement around the building is very well managed so that it is orderly and purposeful.

p.5

The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

Students mix well together when they are not in lessons and enjoy the company of friends from many different backgrounds and of varying abilities. They are polite and helpful to visitors.  Students say that they feel very safe in school. They talked to inspectors about calm and peaceful places where they are able to go to meet and to talk about their work. There is very little bullying. One student reported, ‘We treat each other well.’ Any bullying that is reported is dealt with quickly. Students have a very good understanding of how to keep themselves safe, for example, when using the internet.  The school’s openness and the strategies used to tackle harassment and educating students in the different forms of bullying are outstanding. One recent strategy involved all staff members wearing T-shirts highlighting homophobic bullying. The ‘Good as You’ shirts were highly effective in raising students’ awareness of this form of bullying.

p.5

The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 All staff, students and nearly all parents and carers agreed that behaviour is excellent in the school, that it is well managed and that any problems are dealt with very effectively.  The behaviour of students attending off-site provision is in line with their peers and of the same high standard.

p.5

The leadership and management is outstanding

 Leadership and management are highly successful in driving improvement. For example, senior leaders have taken swift action to improve students’ performance in mathematics so that students are now on track to gain levels of attainment above national averages. Changes in staffing and leadership have now secured considerable improvement in teaching and learning resulting in rising standards in all years. The school has an excellent capacity to improve further.  The culture and ethos of the school are very strong and leaders and governors are highly ambitious for the students and lead by example. Students, parents, carers and staff show considerable confidence in the school’s leadership and are fully supportive of its further and continued development.  The school’s partnership working and development of its staff are excellent. Through the strong leadership of the executive and associate headteachers and wider senior leadership team, the

p.6

The leadership and management is outstanding

school has developed and leads significant partnerships, such as the recent work with the Olympus Academy Trust and the Concorde groups of providers. As a result students’ provision is significantly increased and increased opportunities are provided for teachers to develop and improve their practice.  The school’s work in engaging parents and carers is highly effective, including with those that are hard to reach. As a result, more students are fully engaged and attendance is above average resulting in better school outcomes. For example, the school’s investment in support workers for those students in receipt of the pupil premium is already having an impact in accelerating their progress in English and mathematics and rapidly narrowing the attainment gap, in both subjects, with all other students in the school.  The school’s external improvement advisor has provided good support which has contributed to

p.6

The leadership and management is outstanding

the school’s excellent understanding of its strengths and weaknesses. Overall, the school’s self- evaluation is a strong feature underpinned by excellent use of performance data to measure impact and outcomes for students.  Government safeguarding requirements are fully met.  Provision for students’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding and a real strength of the school. The curriculum provides good quality learning experiences that contribute very well to students’ academic and personal development.  The promotion of equality of opportunity, fostering of good relationships and tackling of discrimination are strong. All students are treated equally and where some students are not making as much progress, gaps are rapidly closing.  The governance of the school: The governing body structure has recently undergone review and change as a result of the school’s partnerships within the Olympus Academy Trust. As a result of this work and associated

p.6

The leadership and management is outstanding

training and development of governors, governance is now a strong and very effective feature of the school. Governors understand the school’s strengths and areas to improve very well and provide effective support and challenge to the school’s leadership. They use a range of data to compare the school’s performance against national benchmarks and understand the school’s effectiveness and the strategies required to have an impact on the performance of those students in receipt of the pupil premium. Performance management procedures are rigorous and senior leaders and governors ensure that all staff are held to account for the progress that students make. Governors know what is done to reward good teachers and to tackle any underperformance. 7 of 9

p.6

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

p.7

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. 8 of 9

p.7

School details

Unique reference number 137753 Local authority South Gloucestershire Inspection number 413307

p.8

School details

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

p.8

School details

Type of school Secondary 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 1,120 Of which, number on roll in sixth form 221 Appropriate authority The Olympus Academy Trust Chair Alison Delyth Executive Headteacher Dave Baker Associate Headteacher Jenny Sutton-Kirby Date of previous school inspection Not previously inspected Telephone number 01454 868840 Fax number 01454 868841 Email address admin@bradleystokecs.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 .

p.8

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.

p.9

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

p.9

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

p.9

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’.

p.9

School details

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

p.9