The Stanway School

The Stanway School Winstree Road, Stanway, Colchester, CO3 0QA

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Not previously inspected 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.  Students achieve well in comparison to schools nationally in English and overall, and do particularly well in mathematics.  Teaching is consistently strong and is continuing to improve rapidly.  Behaviour is good. Students feel safe, behave responsibly and show positive attitudes to learning because of the high expectations the school has of them.  Systems for monitoring and improving learning are highly effective.  Leaders, managers and governors have worked effectively to improve the progress of students by ensuring that those who have fallen behind are given the help they need to get back on track.  Good training opportunities have been provided which have improved teaching and ensured teachers perform at a consistently good standard.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Students do not achieve as highly in science as they do in other subjects.  Too few lessons in science are good or outstanding because teachers do not consistently check that students have understood what they are being taught in the lesson.  Teachers do not always check that the guidance they provide in marking is acted upon by students.  Leaders do not always identify areas for improvement clearly enough in improvement plans.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors visited 52 lessons. Three lessons were jointly observed with senior leaders.  The inspectors examined pupils’ workbooks, records and logs about pupils’ safety, attendance and behaviour, and information about the performance of pupils in national tests.  The minutes of governors’ meetings, reports made by external advisors and the school’s improvement plans were considered.  The inspectors listened to the views of pupils and staff.  The views of the 89 parents who responded to the online questionnaire (Parent View) were considered, along with the views of those who spoke to the inspectors during the inspection, or from whom they received correspondence.  The inspectors held discussions with the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Governing Body, a representative of the academy trust, school leaders and support staff.

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Inspection team

James McAtear, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Angela Skinner Additional Inspector Paul Bartlett Additional Inspector Heather Housden Additional Inspector Jackie Easter Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The Stanway School is larger than the average sized secondary school.  Students are taught in five year groups and are placed in ability groups in most subjects.  The vast majority of students are White British. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium, which provides funding for children in the care of the local authority and for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals, is well below average.  The proportion of pupils supported at school action is below average, the proportion receiving support at school action plus and those who have a statement of special educational needs, is broadly average.  The headteacher operates as the executive headteacher of the Stanway Federation Trust in addition to serving as the headteacher of Stanway School.  There are a small number of students who receive alternative provision at The Colchester Institute.  The Stanway School became an academy school on 1 st March 2012. When the predecessor

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Information about this school

school, The Stanway School, was last inspected by Ofsted it was judged to be good.  The school meets the current government floor standards, which set the minimum level expected for pupils’ attainment and progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve achievement and teaching in science by:  ensuring that students have a secure grasp of the concepts being taught in each lesson, with teachers adapting the lesson plan as necessary so that students fully understand the key points.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve teaching in other subjects so that more is consistently good or outstanding by ensuring all teachers regularly check that:  the key ideas they are teaching have been fully understood by all students  students make good use of the guidance they are given when their work is marked

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Strengthen leadership by:  ensuring that leaders identify areas for improvement more precisely in school improvement plans and address these rapidly.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Students enter the school at levels that are broadly in line with national averages. They make rapid progress during Key Stage 3. By the time they reach the end of their final year at the school the proportions of students making expected progress in mathematics is well above that found nationally.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 In English, rates of progress have not been as high but have been improving rapidly and are now broadly in line with national expectations. Students make consistently strong progress in most others subjects and achieve well over time. However, achievement is not as strong in science as it is overall,

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The school makes limited use of early entry in examinations for some students. Where it does so this does not inhibit the performance of students, including those who are more able.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 A small number of students attend additional provision at Colchester Institute. The school tracks their progress carefully and works well in partnership with the Institute; as a result these students make good progress.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 In 2012, the attainment in both English and mathematics of students for whom the school receives pupil premium funding was a little over a grade less than that made by other students at the school. Since 2012, this gap has narrowed so that the attainment of this group of students is now just under one quarter of a grade below their classmates in English and at a similar level to their classmates in mathematics. Students’ current rates of progress are rapidly improving. This is because the school has used the funding it receives to allocate additional staff time to help the individuals and small groups of students who have fallen on behind to catch up. These students make good progress as a result of the additional tuition they receive.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Students for who the school receives Year 7 catch up funding, which is provided to assist those who did not achieve level 4 by the end of Year 6, make rapid progress with both reading and numeracy. This is because the school provides highly effective support on a one-to-one basis for these students.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The vast majority of disabled students and those with special educational needs make good progress at the school. Those supported at school action level make particularly good progress.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The school makes a significant impact on the reading ability of its students, who read widely and often as a result of the support provided by the school. This is because the school identifies those who have fallen behind in reading and provides individual support to help them get back on track.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The overwhelming majority of parents and students believe that students make good progress at the school, a view endorsed by inspection evidence.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching is good because teachers plan lessons that are interesting and engaging and which, with a few exceptions, particularly in science, make sure students grasp the key learning points securely.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The quality of teaching is accurately checked by leaders and the school has an accurate understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of its own teaching. As a result of this the training provided to teachers is effective in developing their skills.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers use questions very effectively to help students reflect at a deeper level on the things they are learning. For example, in one Year 7 history lesson students were asked about a local castle they had visited on a school trip, ‘What are its limitations from a historian’s point of view?” was the challenging question put to them by the teacher. The quality of discussion, in this lesson, as in almost all classes, was high because the questions students were asked to consider were challenging and encouraged them to be thoughtful in their responses.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers use resources skilfully to engage the attention of students. For example, in one religious education lesson, arresting images of homelessness abroad captured the imagination of students. Students said, ‘It was really stimulating and made us think.’

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The quality of teaching is good

 Other adults who assist the school’s teachers make a highly effective contribution to the students’ learning. This is because they are never passive during lessons as their work is carefully planned for by the teachers. As a result they work well in partnership with teaching staff.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The vast majority of parents and students say they agree with the statement, ‘Teaching is good at the school.’

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The quality of teaching is good

 Marking in books is regular and positive and usually gives sufficient guidance to students on how to improve their work. Teachers do not always check that students have applied this advice, however.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching in science is too variable in quality. This is because teachers do not consistently check that students have securely grasped the key scientific ideas being taught before moving on with the lesson, or adapt it in the event that they haven’t.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Behaviour in lessons is good. This is because there is a positive atmosphere in lessons where students are able to learn. Students enjoy their lessons and are engaged by the methods their teachers use to get points across to them.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Behaviour is also good as students move around the school and during social times. This is because they are well supervised by school staff and also because the high expectations teachers and other adults have of them are clear to them.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Almost all staff, parents and students whose views have been shared during the inspection agree that behaviour is good at the school.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Students say they feel safe at the school and their parents agree. They say that teachers care for them and have confidence that incidences of bullying, though rare, are dealt with effectively by their teachers and other adults who support them. They are well taught about a range of dangers associated with fire, water and the Internet.  Students mix well together. They help one another in lessons and are very willing to participate actively in the activities set up for them. They treat their teachers with respect and are well cared for by their teachers.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Exclusions are uncommon at the school. Over time, the school has been notably successfully in improving the behaviour of those whose conduct needed to be better. It works well in partnership with other schools in the academy trust it is part of to achieve this.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Levels of attendance are above the national average and improving. Students are usually punctual in arriving to school and to lessons.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school’s improvement plans focus clearly on those areas of school that require further development. For example, the school recognises the need to improve the results achieved in science and sometimes in English to the very high levels achieved in mathematics and other subjects throughout the school, and is implementing these plans effectively.

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The leadership and management are good

 School leaders and managers are effective in ensuring that school policies and procedures are consistently applied throughout the school so that students know what their teachers in all year groups and subjects expect of them, both in their behaviour and in the quality of their work.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school’s arrangement for safeguarding at the time of the inspection met regulatory requirements.

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The leadership and management are good

 Teaching programmes provided by the school allow for a balanced choice between vocational and academic subjects. In doing this the school meets both the needs and the aspirations of its students. It is highly effective in developing the spiritual, moral, social and cultural education of the students. For example, one religious education lesson saw students linking biblical texts to modern ideas of equality through the use of lively topical material to which they responded with great enthusiasm.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school has clear systems to get the best from teachers and other staff. These work well and ensure that the performance of staff is consistently improved over time. The training provided for staff is also effective in developing their ability to do their jobs well. In particular the school is highly effective in using its links with local partner schools in the Academy Trust to make sure teachers have good opportunities to learn from one another.

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The leadership and management are good

 Very high proportions of those parents, staff and students who shared their views with inspectors agree that the school is well led and managed.

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The leadership and management are good

 Leaders do not always ensure that they identify areas for improvement clearly enough in improvement plans and so do not always set time limits within which those areas will be improved.

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The leadership and management are good

 The Academy Trust is effective in ensuring that the school uses the resources allocated to it to improve standards of teaching and rates of progress so that, for example, the Trust has supported the school in reaching high levels of achievement in mathematics. It has also provided suitable alternatives to the use of fixed-term exclusions and has helped the school deal more effectively with instances of poor behaviour.  The governance of the school:  Governance at the school is good. Governors know the school well. They have a clear understanding of the use and the impact of pupil premium and are able to use data about the school’s performance in examinations to make comparisons with other schools nationally. They understand the strengths in teaching in the school and are able to identify areas where teaching could be improved. They understand and provide strong support for school leaders and managers in implementing a robust system for managing the performance of teachers.

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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 137927 Local authority Essex Inspection number 413448

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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 11–16 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 1120 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Brain Palmer Headteacher Jonathan Tippett Date of previous school inspection 30 June 2010 Telephone number 01206 575488 Fax number 01206 564164 Email address admin@stanway.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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