Risedale School

Risedale Sports and Community College Hipswell, Catterick Garrison, North Yorkshire, DL9 4BD

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Overall effectiveness

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

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

 Achievement is not consistently good across the school. In English and the humanities subjects, students’ progress over time is not good.  Middle-ability students do not make good progress in mathematics and science.  Teaching is variable in quality across the school. Teachers sometimes do not allow students enough time to engage actively in learning. Work is not always matched to students’ different abilities with enough precision.  Some students are absent from school too often and this has a negative impact on their achievement.  Behaviour and safety require improvement because students are sometimes inactive in lessons and this leads to them chatting to each other or not paying attention.  Leaders and managers at all levels have not been able to secure consistently good teaching and achievement.  The targets set for individual teachers to manage and improve their performance sometimes lack the sharpness necessary for

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

them to raise achievement quickly.  Checks on the quality of teaching by senior and middle leaders vary in quality between subjects.

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The school has the following strengths

 Achievement in some subjects has risen over the last three years as a result of improved teaching and better tracking of progress.  The gaps in achievement between students supported by pupil premium funding and others are closing.  These improvements in teaching and achievement show the positive impact of leaders, managers and governors.  The governing body provides good challenge to school leaders and has a good understanding of the school’s strengths and areas that still need developing.  The school has a very close working relationship with the armed services which benefits students and their families.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed teaching in 24 part lessons taught by 24 teachers. Two of these lessons were jointly observed with senior leaders.  Inspectors spoke to members of the governing body, a representative from the local authority, staff and students from the school.  A range of documents was scrutinised, including information relating to teachers’ performance, minutes of governing body meetings, monitoring and evaluation records and the tracking of students’ progress.  Inspectors analysed the 21 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View).

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Inspection team

Robert Jones, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Peter William Harrison Additional Inspector Nigel Drew Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is smaller than the average-sized secondary school.  At the time of the inspection, 42% of students had one or both parents in the military services. However, this proportion changes on a weekly basis as a result of military postings in and out of the area. Consequently, the proportion of students who leave and enter the school other than at the normal times is above average.  An above average proportion of students are eligible for the pupil premium, which provides additional funding for students in local authority care and for those known to be eligible for free school meals and children from service families.  The proportion of students with special educational needs and supported at school action is below average.  The proportion of students with special educational needs and supported either through school action plus or a statement of special educational needs is below average.  Most students are from White British backgrounds, although occasionally there is an influx of

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Information about this school

students of Nepalese origin.  In 2012, the school met the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for students’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics.  The school is part of the Northallerton and Catterick Federation consisting of Northallerton College and Allertonshire School. All three schools share the same executive headteacher and governing body.  The school works in collaboration with Darlington College for off-site Key Stage 4 curriculum.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve teaching to be consistently good or better to ensure that achievement in English and humanities for all students and for middle-ability students in mathematics and science improves by ensuring that:  teachers use assessment information sharply in all lessons to make sure that students of different abilities receive work that challenges sufficiently  students speak in full sentences and use more complex vocabulary frequently in lessons so that their speaking skills improve  students are given the time to be active in lessons to dispel their somewhat passive approach to learning.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve leadership and management at all levels so it becomes at least good by:  ensuring that the quality of teaching is thoroughly and consistently checked by middle and senior leaders in all subjects  sharpening teachers’ performance targets so they are very clear of how they will secure good and outstanding progress with their classes.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve attendance and reduce persistent absence by working closely with parents to minimise the impact of non-attendance on pupils’ achievement.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Achievement requires improvement because it is not consistently good across the school. There is too much variation in achievement between subjects and between groups of students. While there have been improvements over the past three years, inspectors found that these improvements have not been fully sustained in students’ most recent performance.  Students enter the school with standards in English and mathematics that are consistently well below average. The rate of progress they make across Years 7 to 11 is inconsistent. For example, school data show that students make slow progress in Key Stage 3 in English. Students leave Year 11 with below average standards.  Achievement varies too much between subjects and between groups of students within subjects. In English, the most recent GCSE results show a downturn from the previous year. While this is partly the result of a number of students entering the school midway through Key Stage 4,

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

inspection evidence indicates it is also because the quality of teaching has not been of a sufficiently good standard over time to secure good progress. Most-able students did not make good progress in English.  In mathematics, students of middle ability did not make as much progress as others. However, low-ability and most-able students did well overall as a result of the improvements made in mathematics teaching and closely targeted support for students’ needs when they begin to fall behind.  Less-effective teaching in humanities subjects resulted in students of all abilities not doing well in these subjects.  Low- and middle-ability students did not make sufficient progress in science. However, the most able made good progress in their studies of the separate sciences; biology, chemistry and physics.  Disabled students and those who have special educational needs made similar progress to their

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

peers. Those students from service families make similar or sometimes better progress than other students.  The pupil premium is used to support the growing issue of weak literacy skills in Key Stage 3. The school has measured the effectiveness of this support well, which shows that pupils make rapid progress when following these specific courses.  Differences in attainment between those students known to be eligible for the pupil premium and others are narrowing in both key stages, demonstrating the school’s commitment to promoting equality of opportunity. The very latest school data show a much smaller difference in Key Stage 3 particularly. In Key Stage 4, the difference in attainment in English was equivalent to one GCSE grade and two thirds of a grade in mathematics.  The Year 7 catch-up premium is used to develop pupils’ reading skills. The school’s tracking system shows that pupils currently in Year 8 who had the benefit of this support made well over

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

one year’s progress during Year 7.  Those students who access courses through Darlington College achieve as well as others in the school.  Students make good and often outstanding progress in physical education.  While the proportion of students who speak English as an additional language is small, the school has some Nepalese students with parents in the Ghurkha regiments. These students make rapid progress, with some gaining a high number of top grades at GCSE.  Students are entered early for GCSE examinations in mathematics. There is no evidence to suggest they do less well as a result of this policy.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 While improving over time, the quality of teaching is still too variable and has therefore not yet reached the point where it can be considered good. Inspectors observed examples of good and some outstanding teaching but too much that was requiring improvement. The combined effect of high numbers of students entering and leaving the school and weaker teaching in some departments has resulted in students not making as much progress as they should.  Teaching in mathematics, for example, varies in quality between outstanding and requiring improvement. In the stronger lessons, students explore a variety of different methods for solving problems and have ample opportunities to discuss among themselves which methods they prefer. In weaker lessons, work is not matched to students’ abilities well enough or teachers place too much emphasis on getting answers right rather than exploring how students arrived at

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

the right answer.  In humanities, work is not always matched well to students’ abilities. Sometimes, students’ weak literacy skills mean that they have difficulty reading the material that teachers give them in lessons.  Teachers assess students’ work regularly and accurately, but this information is not then used with sufficient precision to make sure work is matched to students’ different abilities. Consequently, some find the work too easy and some, too difficult.  Teachers do not always build successfully on those interventions funded by the pupil premium and Year 7 catch-up funding which improve students’ reading and writing skills. In lessons, there are insufficient opportunities for students to speak in full sentences and develop their vocabulary systematically.  The quality of marking and feedback to students is improving as a result of a concerted approach by school leaders to improve its quality. Students say that this has resulted in their

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

being more informed about what they need to do to improve their work.  There are a few examples of outstanding teaching. For example, in one English lesson, students worked highly independently transferring a poem into a narrative. The teacher enabled students to achieve outstandingly well by asking questions rather than giving long instructions. Students then confidently presented their work to each other, commenting on each other’s strengths and weaknesses which, in turn, helped them to improve their original work.  The school has drawn on expertise from the federation of schools. Teachers are now more able to share ideas and improve their practice, particularly in subjects where there may be only one or two teachers in the school. However, this has not yet led to consistently good teaching.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

 In lessons, pupils behave compliantly and sometimes with much patience even when teaching is repetitive and mundane. However, the long periods of time they sometimes spend not being actively involved with their learning means that some daydream and others chat quietly to their friends.  Inspectors heard some bad language being used in corridors, when students thought they could not be heard by adults.  On the whole, students comply with teachers’ requests to behave but not always. During the inspection, for example, students were playing football in a corridor but continued to play after being asked to stop by a teacher.  In the dinner hall, students behave reasonably well and show good table manners. Some shout across the hall but respond well when challenged by supervising staff.  Attendance over time has improved, although it remains below average.  Fixed-term exclusions for disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs have

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

been significantly reduced. Improved reading skills and better engagement of these pupils have resulted in them not responding with challenging behaviour so often.  Students say that bullying is rare and were able to talk to inspectors knowledgeably about how to stay safe when using the internet or mobile devices.  The school is acutely aware of the need to look after the emotional needs of students who may have a parent in an armed conflict zone. Staff provide specialist support and mentoring where it is needed.  While behaviour and safety are not yet good, school records indicate that behaviour in classrooms has improved considerably since the previous inspection, with far fewer students needing to be removed from class for disruptive behaviour.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Leadership and management require improvement because, although leaders and managers have made some improvements to teaching and achievement, these have not yet resulted in teaching being consistently good across all subjects. Consequently, achievement is not yet good across the school. Some of the improvements made in achievement have not been sustained in students’ most recent examination results or in students’ current performance seen during the inspection.  The systems used to track progress and check on the quality of teaching are well-thought-out. However, the quality of middle and senior leaders’ checks to ensure students make good progress, to hold teachers to account and ensure teaching is good vary in quality. This inconsistency has led to variability between subjects.  The management of teachers’ performance focuses firmly on improving teaching and raising achievement. However, teachers’ targets on how they must secure good progress are sometimes

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The leadership and management requires improvement

not specific enough.  There has been some positive impact of leadership and management. Inspectors saw some high quality marking and feedback, evidence of improving literacy skills in Year 7 and data that show improving achievement in some subjects, such as the separate sciences and physical education.  School leaders are well aware of the declining attainment on entry and weaker standards of literacy of pupils entering into Year 7. They are making sure that there is enough expert support in place to address these issues early so that any problems that arise when the students are older can be avoided.  School leaders cope well with the considerable challenges faced by a transient military population. As students arrive, they are quickly assessed and placed on suitable courses.  The curriculum is customised to meet students’ needs. Subject expertise from the federation is used to ensure students have a good menu of subjects to opt for at Key Stage 4.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 All current safeguarding requirements are met.  Students’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural needs are well met, for example through a variety of sporting and arts activities which take place alongside other schools in the federation.  The local authority has given a good level of support to the school through its team of subject specialist staff. For example, the science department received support recently on how to improve literacy through science.  The governance of the school:  The governing body offers a high level of challenge to the school. Discussions that the lead inspector had with its members and scrutiny of minutes from meetings show that they have an impressive understanding of not only what the pupil premium funding is but also the impact of its spending. During the inspection, for example, members of the governing body were able to say precisely how much progress the current Year 8 had made as a result of

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The leadership and management requires improvement

targeted support for reading. The governing body is well aware of the downturn in achievement in 2013 which particularly affected English and is investigating the reasons for the decline. The governing body scrutinises the performance of teachers and has taken steps to ensure teachers’ performance is linked to their progression along the pay scale. Senior military representation on the governing body ensures that the school is kept well advised on matters relating to the particular challenges the school faces.

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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 121663 Local authority North Yorkshire Inspection number 425895

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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 11–16 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 426 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Rob Barker Headteacher John Kelly Date of previous school inspection 5 March 2012 Telephone number 01748 833501 Fax number 01748 836149 Email address enquiries@risedale.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 .

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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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