St Augustine's Federated Schools: CE High School

St Augustine’s C of E High School Oxford Road, Kilburn, London, NW6 5SN

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 This inspection: Outstanding 1 Achievement of pupils Outstanding 1 Quality of teaching Outstanding 1 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Leadership and management Outstanding 1

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is an outstanding school.  Students make excellent progress in English and mathematics from their starting points which are often well below average. They progress equally well across a range of subjects and reach above average standards.  Teachers know their subjects and students extremely well. Teaching is outstanding because staff are very effective in planning activities which interest and challenge all students. They give excellent feedback and make sure that students know how to improve their work.  Students from different groups, including disabled pupils and those with special educational needs and those who receive additional funding, make excellent progress because their needs are quickly understood and skilled support is put in place.  The school provides excellent opportunities to promote students’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Students develop as reflective, caring, thoughtful individuals.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Students are very keen to learn. Most have excellent attitudes to learning and behave very well.  The school’s leaders have kept a sharp and very successful focus on raising standards by improving the quality of teaching across the school. They make regular checks on students’ assessment information, so that they know what is needed to improve further.  The governors know the school extremely well and are highly effective in challenging the staff to raise standards even further.  The sixth form is good. Achievement is improving and students are making good progress. Some students do exceptionally well and university entry rates are high.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 41 lessons or parts of lessons, including additional support provided through intervention work. There were eight joint observations with the headteacher and deputy headteacher. Inspectors also visited an assembly and tutor time for different groups of students.  Meetings were held with various senior and middle leaders, and also with the Chair of the Governing Body plus five other governors. Telephone conversations were held with representatives from the diocesan board and the local authority.  Students’ views were sought throughout the inspection, during lessons and break times. Inspectors also met with three groups of students.  Staff views were noted during the inspection and 39 staff questionnaires were also analysed.  Inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at a number of documents. These included the school’s own data on students’ progress, policies, planning and monitoring information.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors paid close attention to school information on attendance, behaviour and all aspects of safeguarding.  Parents’ and carers’ views were taken into account through the 13 responses to the online Parent View questionnaire and the school’s own parent surveys.

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Inspection team

Aune Turkson-Jones, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Michael O’Sullivan Additional Inspector Pamela Rutherford Additional Inspector Samuel Ofori Kyereh Additional Inspector Cliff Mainey Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is smaller than the average-sized secondary school. It has a specialist unit for deaf students, which currently has five on its roll. The majority of the pupils are from minority ethnic groups and the proportion speaking English as an additional language is well above average.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported through school action is well above average, as is the proportion supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium, which is additional government funding provided for looked after children, those known to be entitled to free school meals and pupils with a parent in the armed forces, is well above average.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.

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Information about this school

 The school does not use any off site provision to cover alternative education for groups of students.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Make all lessons as successful as the very best by:  consistently providing challenging opportunities and developing students’ responsibility for their own learning  creating more roles for students as leaders so that they are more proactive in managing their own behaviour and that of others.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 When students join the school in Year 7 their standards are generally well below their peers nationally. The school quickly develops their skills in reading, writing and mathematics to enable them to learn very well in other subjects. Students are placed in specific groups where the extra help secures their rapid progress across a range of subjects and years.  The proportion of students achieving five or more GCSE passes at grades A* to C, including English and mathematics, has been rising continuously since the last inspection. In 2012 this figure was 68% and was significantly above the national level. In a wide range of subjects, above average proportions of students attain A or A* grades at GCSE.  Students achieve very well in the sixth form. This includes students who join the school in Year 12. Inspectors observed students acquiring knowledge and deepening their understanding quickly across a range of subjects. This is reflected in the school’s best ever A-level results in

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

2013, with more Years 12 and 13 students gaining A* to B grades than in the school’s history.  Excellent teaching throughout the school has meant that students’ achievements in English and mathematics have improved at all levels across the school. All groups of students make outstanding progress, including those from minority ethnic groups.  The school has an early entry policy for mathematics GCSE examinations in Year 10 and English during the autumn term of Year 11.. This has had a positive impact on results in these subjects and more students are achieving grade C by the end of the year. Some of the most able students have gone on to achieve A* grades in Year 11 and take up university courses in mathematics and English.  The school makes good use of pupil premium funding, including the appointment of a literacy specialist. As a result, students known to be eligible for free school meals achieve significantly

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

better than others nationally and are rapidly closing gaps in achievement within the school. In 2012 these students were attaining at a similar level to their peers in English and mathematics. Current school information shows that their progress is now comfortably ahead of others in the school for both subjects.  Disabled students and those who have special educational needs achieve in line with other students and make exceptional progress because the school creates a unique package of support for each individual student tailored to their particular needs. Students in the deaf student provision are fully integrated in the life of the school and also perform exceptionally well.  Students joining part way through the school year, or who speak English as an additional language, receive excellent support. The school has specialist staff and established partnerships to help students to improve their English and who also make sure that teachers’ training is up to

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

date. This helps students to catch up quickly and make excellent progress.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 School leaders have placed a strong focus on teaching and learning and this is one of the main reasons why the quality of teaching has improved and is now outstanding. Best practice in teaching is shared amongst staff, who are reflective about their teaching and readily engage in the constructive feedback offered by senior and middle leaders. Mutual respect is at the heart of the excellent relationships which pervade the school.  Teachers set high expectations and the pace of lessons is typically swift, with a good variety of challenging activities and opportunities for students to be involved throughout. Teachers plan lessons which ensure that all groups and abilities are provided for and they are adept at stimulating students’ interest about their subjects through the use of skilful questioning and varied activities. However, just occasionally, students miss the chance to take more responsibility

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

for their learning, waiting for direction from the class teacher.  Teachers regularly check students’ understanding during lessons and provide support where needed. They refer to prior learning and use homework to extend students’ thinking beyond the lesson.  Teaching assistants make a strong contribution to students’ excellent learning and progress. They know their students well and are sensitive to their needs, providing the right balance of support at the right time. As a result, they help to ensure that all students make the very best progress that they can.  Teachers are very effective in linking activities with students’ individual targets so that the students understand exactly what is expected of them and how they can achieve greater success. There are excellent examples of written marking, for example in English, and students speak fluently about how they can improve their work so that they will readily achieve their

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

targets across the school.  The high quality of teaching observed in the main school is also found in the sixth form and has contributed to the rise in standards.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Almost all students are polite and well behaved around the school. They respond well to the good quality teaching they receive and show their positive attitudes to learning. Students cooperate well with staff and each other and work well as a team and in groups.  In the very small proportion of lessons where teaching is less engaging, students occasionally lose their focus and become restless, but generally respond to teachers’ reminders about their behaviour. The school manages behaviour well and staff are consistent in their use of the school behaviour policy. Students appreciate this and say that behaviour has improved over recent years.  The small number of parents and carers who responded to Parent View and staff who completed the staff questionnaire agree that behaviour in lessons and around school has improved. The school’s own parent surveys and parent voice film clips show the high level of praise which

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

parents and carers express for the way in which the school has successfully created a truly harmonious, safe community. Staff make doubly sure that students move around the site without incident. Students say that they feel very safe in school.  Without exception, students express great pride in their school community and several former students who have moved on to university return to coach and mentor others. Students treat each other with mutual respect and are tolerant of each other’s differences. There are few racist incidents and discrimination is not tolerated.  Bullying is rare and dealt with effectively when it occurs. Students understand risk and know about different types of bullying and how to keep themselves safe, especially on the internet. This is because the school raises their awareness through assemblies and teaching in different subjects. There is also a community police officer on site who students value and hold in high

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

regard.  Attendance is above average and has improved since the last inspection and exclusions have reduced. The school has been active in promoting attendance and continues to tackle persistent absence through its close working partnerships with families who struggle in this area.  Behaviour and safety are not yet outstanding because the behaviour of a small minority of students must still be managed by staff. The school recognises the need to further develop the roles of students, creating more positions of responsibility so that they can be more proactive in managing their own behaviour and that of others.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 School leaders have been highly successful in continuing to improve the school. The mission to become an outstanding school through outstanding teaching has been at the heart of their vision. They give clear direction and their high expectations are reflected throughout the school.  School leaders have worked closely with the local authority and external consultants to develop accurate quality assurance systems and regularly check that improvement is taking place across the main school and in the sixth form.  The school reviews all aspects of its work thoroughly and acts quickly to address any gaps so that the pace of improvements is not slowed. School development plans are realistic and sharply focused. Plans to raise standards are linked to close checks on the quality of teaching, learning and progress, and these are shared by all leaders at all levels in the school. Excellent staff training and the highly effective retention of talented teaching staff in recent years have led to

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The leadership and management are outstanding

marked improvements across the school.  Leaders make sure that teachers’ pay and performance link directly to whole-school priorities and students’ progress. This has helped to improve the quality of teaching so that it is now outstanding overall and never less than consistently good.  Equal opportunities are rigorously promoted and the school makes sure that every student has an equal chance of success. No pupil is denied access to anything the school has to offer and pupil premium funding has been very well used to promote literacy across the school and establish a Saturday school for additional mathematics support.  The range of subjects, courses and extra-curricular activities meets the needs of students very well. In addition, the varied assemblies promoting common values complement the strong, multi-faith dimension of the school. Few opportunities are missed to promote students’ spiritual,

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The leadership and management are outstanding

moral, social and cultural development, which is a key strength of the school.  The local authority and the diocese have supported the school very well. In recognition of the school’s improvements, the support has been at a light touch level.  The governance of the school:  The governing body has an excellent understanding of the school’s strengths and aspects for further development and improvement. Governors are highly skilled and their work with school leaders has been essential in the drive to become an outstanding school. They have an excellent understanding of information on students’ progress, and use the very latest available to make comparisons with other schools. Governors are committed to raising the quality of teaching and know where the very best teaching and learning exists in the school and the structures in place for improving teaching. They make regular visits to check directly on key

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The leadership and management are outstanding

areas of the school’s work and also ensure that financial resources are efficiently managed, including pupil premium funding and how this impacts on students’ achievement. Governors see that targets to improve the performance of staff are reviewed carefully and that teachers’ pay is linked to how well students are achieving. They check that the provision for deaf students is well run and that safeguarding consistently meets requirements.

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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 101154 Local authority Westminster Inspection number 427384

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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 Comprehensive School category Voluntary aided Age range of pupils 11–19 Gender of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils in the sixth form Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 870 Of which, number on roll in sixth form 170 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair John Rigg Headteacher Eugene Moriarty Date of previous school inspection 9 December 2009 Telephone number 020 73283434 Fax number 020 73283435 Email address emoriarty@staugustineshigh.org 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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