Dronfield Henry Fanshawe School

Dronfield Henry Fanshawe School Green Lane, Dronfield, Derbyshire, S18 2FZ

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 This inspection: Requires improvement 3 Achievement of pupils Requires improvement 3 Quality of teaching Requires improvement 3 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2

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This is a school that requires improvement. It is not good because

 Too many students do not make the rapid progress in English that they should.  Boys do not always achieve the standards that they should. Their achievement is lower than that of girls.  Subject leadership varies too much in quality.  While generally good teaching was observed by inspectors, this has not yet had time to address the legacy of underachievement especially in English and in the sixth form.  The sixth form requires improvement because students, especially the most able, do not achieve expected outcomes across a range of subjects.

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The school has the following strengths

 Achievement in mathematics is consistently strong.  Leadership from the headteacher is strong, effective and ambitious; she has made considerable gains in raising standards and expectations across the school.  There is universally strong and committed support from students, parents, staff, governors and the local authority.  Students’ behaviour is good; their attitude and conduct towards each other and adults, both in and out of lessons, are respectful and courteous.  The school’s promotion of the spiritual, moral, social and cultural aspects of learning is well developed.  Effective support systems are in place; students at risk of not doing as well as they should are supported to help them make better progress.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 41 lessons and five parts of lessons, including two observations shared with school staff. Two tutor sessions and two assemblies were also observed.  Meetings were held with senior and other leaders, local authority representatives and a telephone call made to the Chair of the Governing Body.  Inspectors reviewed school documentation, data on students’ performance, records relating to behaviour and attendance, and samples of students’ work. The school’s central record of safeguarding checks on staff was also scrutinised.  Inspectors took into account the responses of 199 parents to the online questionnaire (Parent View). They also considered the views of staff, including those expressed in 129 responses to the staff questionnaire.

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Inspection team

Zarina Connolly, Lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Wendy Davies Additional Inspector Jean Samuel Additional Inspector Andrew Sierant Additional Inspector Anne McAvan Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Dronfield Henry Fanshawe School is larger than the average-sized secondary school.  Nearly all students are of White British heritage. Very few students are of minority ethnic heritage and very few speak English as an additional language.  The proportion of students supported through the pupil premium (which provides additional funding for children in care of the local authority, students known to be eligible for free school meals and others) is below the national average.  The proportion of disabled students and those who have special educational needs supported through school action, school action plus or a statement of special educational need is smaller than national averages.  A small number of students attend off-site provision delivered by Chesterfield and Bolsover Learning Community.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for students’ attainment and progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Rapidly improve the proportion of students making good progress in English by:  ensuring that teaching consistently provides opportunities for all students to be challenged to achieve their best  assessing progress accurately and frequently to address any underachievement by individual students or groups.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Secure consistently good or better teaching to raise the achievement of boys and all most-able students across all subjects by:  raising expectations by providing learning opportunities which motivate and challenge all students  setting and checking targets for students to achieve which are clearly understood and sufficiently challenging.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve overall achievement in the sixth form, especially for the most able, by:  ensuring that the teaching across all subject areas is of a high quality  developing the range and type of courses on offer which will motivate, challenge and provide opportunities for further progression.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve leadership and management further by ensuring that subject leaders undertake monitoring activities which are suitably rigorous and lead to the identified areas for development being fully addressed in the main school and in the sixth form.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 The standards students achieve when they join the school are significantly above national averages; they start secondary school at least six months ahead of their peers nationally.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 After they complete their studies in most subjects at GCSE, students generally achieve standards that are above average. In mathematics, standards are well-above average, while in English they are above average.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Generally, students do not make the progress that could be reasonably expected of them, including in English. Not enough students exceed this rate of progress and their work is not always closely and accurately assessed.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Over time, progress and attainment in science have been a cause for concern. Progress, however, seen in lessons and students’ workbooks, suggests that rapid improvements are being made, but it is too early to see the impact on examination results.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 The proportion of higher grades achieved across all subjects, including the sixth form, is not enough and this is because teaching does not always effectively enable most-able students to do their very best.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 The gap between the achievement of boys and girls at GCSE is wide; reliable, current school data indicate that this gap is closing.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Students known to be eligible for the pupil premium do not make as much progress in English and mathematics as other students. In 2012, the gap in attainment between these students and others in mathematics was equivalent to approximately one third of a grade at GCSE; in English this gap is equivalent to one half of a grade at GCSE. These gaps are smaller than those seen nationally because the pupil premium funds are used wisely and effectively; the school’s data suggest that the range of strategies and interventions is now closing the gap in overall performance between eligible students and others.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Students eligible for the catch-up premium in Year 7, improve their reading ability and progress in English and mathematics rapidly. This is because these students are provided with specific guidance and strategies to support their learning.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Attainment and progress for disabled students and those who have special educational needs are now just above national averages in most subjects. Some well-targeted support and guidance are improving this picture.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 The school has an early entry policy for GCSE mathematics. The proportion of those achieving higher grades is higher than that seen nationally because those chosen to take their exams early are ready to take them.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Some students in Years 10 and 11 pursue courses delivered by off-site provision. The quality of this provision is checked regularly and these students make good progress.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Targets are set for all students. However, sometimes these targets are not properly understood or are not sufficiently challenging to ensure that all students make the progress that is expected of them.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Achievement in the sixth form, since the last inspection, is not improving fast enough. Too many students of high ability do not achieve the grades expected of them and performance of different subjects is too variable. New strong leadership in the sixth form is addressing these issues urgently.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Much of the teaching observed during the inspection was good or better, but this does not reflect the quality of teaching over time, which has led to a legacy of underachievement in some subjects in both the main school and the sixth form. This is, in part, due to the high staff turnover seen in previous years. Sixth form teaching is not of a consistently high quality.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 In many cases, higher-ability students, often boys, are not always pushed sufficiently to tackle more difficult activities. Students spoken to during the inspection agree that they are not always sufficiently challenged in their learning in lessons.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 As a result of effective staff training, teachers use a range of good-quality questions to improve understanding and address misconceptions. For example, outstanding teaching in a food technology lesson about fats and their role in diet enabled students to be engaged and eager to learn by expert teacher knowledge and skilful questioning.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Students are becoming skilled at assessing their own work and the work of others in lessons to improve their learning, using assessment checklists. Green pens are issued for this purpose in all subject areas and students carry out this exercise maturely and fairly. However, progress towards the targets set by staff is not always assessed closely enough.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 In less successful lessons, teachers delivered uninspiring learning tasks or did not allow students to think for themselves sufficiently, thereby limiting progress, especially of the most able.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Literacy skills are encouraged across subjects; inspectors saw good-quality writing in lessons and in students’ workbooks and teachers regularly reminded students about their spelling, punctuation and grammar. A literacy focus each week reinforces developments in reading and writing.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Lessons are characterised by positive and supportive relationships between staff and students. Teachers promote a calm and purposeful learning environment and students respond well to these expectations. Where teaching assistants are present in lessons, they mostly offer effective and well-targeted support.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Students’ conduct in lessons and around the school site is polite and courteous. They display good attitudes and come to school prepared for learning. Students report, however, that unless the teacher insists, they will not always complete extension or additional learning tasks; there is a small way to go for a culture of love for learning and a thirst for knowledge to be found universally across the school.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 There has been a marked improvement in attendance and punctuality during the last academic year. This has, in part, been due to improved leadership, which includes a governors’ attendance panel and frequent celebration and rewards for good conduct.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Students, parents and staff report that bullying is not frequent in the school; but that when they do occur, incidents are dealt with swiftly and effectively. Students also understand how to use the internet safely and responsibly; this is effectively taught through information and communication technology lessons and tutor time. Assemblies and tutor time raise awareness of all forms of bullying, including homophobic and racist bullying, and how to deal with them effectively.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The rates of exclusions have declined recently. Fixed term exclusions are low compared with national figures. The leadership by house support managers has been improved. This supports students causing concern through mentoring and regular contact with parents and is helpful to them.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 There are very few incidents of low-level disruption in the classroom. This is because teachers set high expectations for good behaviour and use praise and encouragement well.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher leads the school well; she ensures that strong values and a culture of continuous improvement are communicated clearly. This clear vision has raised expectations for higher achievement among staff and students, despite some considerable staffing turnover in recent years.

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The leadership and management are good

 Staff, students, parents, governors and the local authority support the leadership of the school strongly. Consequently, it is a popular school and is over-subscribed.

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The leadership and management are good

 Teaching is led well by senior managers, although subject and house leaders are not checking students’ progress as accurately or as frequently as they should to spot the early signs of underachievement.

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The leadership and management are good

 Teachers report that the quality and quantity of continuous professional development opportunities provided in the school has been ‘transformational’ because they have improved the quality of teaching considerably. This is matched by the good and better teaching observed during the inspection.

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The leadership and management are good

 Pupil premium funding has been thoughtfully and effectively used to raise achievement for those students at risk of not doing as well as others. The headteacher has developed good plans to advance these students’ achievement by seeking out and sharing good practice with other schools.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher and governors are strict about the criteria used to reward teachers with pay increases through the performance management process. When teachers do not reach required standards they are not automatically promoted to the next level of pay.

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The leadership and management are good

 There is a range of courses leading to qualifications; these are mainly GCSE or AS and A-level subjects, although there is a good proportion of work-related accredited courses and other types of qualifications available to students who undertake off-site provision. Sixth form learning opportunities are limited. Students’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is a strength of the school. There is a full and varied calendar of activities and experiences, such as themed weeks, international trips, and a student exchange programme. The school has strong links with schools in Germany and Russia. More-able students meet, in a ‘United Nations’ style convention, to discuss and make decisions about local and current issues.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school’s arrangements for safeguarding students meet statutory requirements.

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The leadership and management are good

 The local authority provides strong support for the school, especially through its regular school reviews. It brokers effective partnerships with other schools and this has helped to develop many new management systems in the school, such as the ‘pupil premium funding strategy’.   The governance of the school: - Governors are experienced and as a result of good training from the local authority, ask searching questions; they are well informed about the performance of the school and have a good understanding of its strengths and areas requiring improvement. They regularly visit the school and use different ways to check the information they are given by the headteacher, including carrying out joint walks through the school with senior leaders and attending school council meetings. Performance management processes are carried out robustly to ensure that the headteacher meets challenging targets set. Governors

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The leadership and management are good

understand the quality of teaching across the school and make sure that teachers are only rewarded financially for the effectiveness of their teaching as measured by how well students achieve. The finances of the school are managed well, despite a year-on-year decline in central funding. The business manager and governors meet regularly to monitor this. The Chair of the Governing Body and others are increasingly confident in interpreting external reports about the school, especially about examination results.

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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 112969 Local authority Derbyshire Inspection number 427362

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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 11–18 Gender of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils in the sixth form Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 1827 Of which, number on roll in sixth form 328 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Martin Brader Headteacher Teresa Roche Date of previous school inspection 22 June 2011 Telephone number 01246 412372 Fax number 01246 412885 Email address admin@dronfield.derbyshire.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

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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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