Henley In Arden School

Henley-in-Arden School Stratford Road, , Henley-in-Arden, B95 6AF

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Satisfactory 3 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.  The proportion of students who achieve five or more good GCSE grades at A* to C, including English and mathematics, has been above average since the academy opened in 2011.  Students make good progress in a wide range of subjects, including English and mathematics. Many students make excellent progress in English.  Students who are supported by the pupil premium as well as disabled students and those who have special educational needs also make good progress.  Teaching is good because most teachers have high expectations of what students are capable of achieving and they plan interesting lessons which motivate students to work hard.  Teaching assistants make an effective contribution to the students’ good achievement because they have a detailed understanding of the needs of individuals.  The overwhelming majority of students have good attitudes to learning. They are well behaved, polite and courteous, feel safe at the

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

academy and attend regularly.  Leaders and managers, including subject leaders, have successfully made sure that teaching and achievement are good. They have an accurate understanding of the academy’s performance.  Governors know the academy’s strengths and areas for improvement. Consequently, they provide an effective level of challenge and support.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 A very small proportion of teaching is not always as good as it should be.  Although good, the progress that some of the most-able students make is not always as rapid as it should be.  Leaders and managers, including governors, do not always check the progress that all groups of students make in Key Stage 3 in as much detail as they do in Key Stage 4.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 36 lessons, six of which were jointly observed with senior leaders. The inspection team also made several short visits to other lessons to check on the progress and behaviour of different groups of students.  Meetings were held with three groups of students from Key Stages 3 and 4. Other meetings were held with governors, senior leaders and staff, including those responsible for leading subjects.  Inspectors analysed 88 responses to the online parent questionnaire, Parent View.  Inspectors observed the work of the academy and looked at a number of documents, including those relating to the monitoring of teaching and the targets set for teachers to improve their work. They also looked at records relating to attendance, behaviour, bullying and safeguarding, the academy’s improvement plan and data on students’ progress.

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Inspection team

Richard Sutton, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Eddie Orija Additional Inspector Dorothy Bond Additional Inspector Wendy Davies Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The academy is smaller than the average-sized secondary school. It had already converted to an academy at the time of the previous inspection.  The proportion of disabled students and those who have special educational needs supported through school action is average. The proportion supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is slightly below average.  The proportion of students who are from minority ethnic heritages is much lower than average, as is the proportion who speak English as an additional language.  The proportion of students supported through the pupil premium, which is additional funding given to schools for certain groups such as students in local authority care, those known to be eligible for free school meals and those from service families, is much lower than average.  A very small number of students in Key Stage 4 study part-time courses in a range of work-

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Information about this school

related subjects at Stratford College.  The academy 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?

 Raise achievement and move teaching to outstanding by making sure that:  marking and feedback are always effective in helping students to improve their work  work is always well matched to the different skills and abilities of all students, particularly the most-able students  students are not entered early for GCSE if it is going to hold them back  teachers regularly check during lessons that all students have fully understood the work so that they can make progress at their own level.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the impact of leadership and management, including governance, by:  consistently checking the progress of all groups of students in all year groups, especially in Key Stage 3  making sure that the best teaching is systematically shared with all teachers.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Students join the academy with average attainment. Most students make good progress. Consequently, the proportion of students who achieve five good GCSE grades at A* to C, including English and mathematics, has been above average for the past three years.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Students make good progress in all year groups and across many subjects. The proportion of students who make and exceed the progress that is expected of them in English and mathematics is good. Many students make outstanding progress in English.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The most-able students make good progress. However, when teaching is not as well matched to the needs of these students as it should be they do not always make the accelerated progress that they are capable of making.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Students who speak English as an additional language, those from ethnic minority heritages and disabled students and those who have special educational needs all make good progress. This is because teachers and teaching assistants have a good understanding of the students’ levels of attainment and plan work and support which is well matched to their needs.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Students are entered for GCSE mathematics earlier than at the end of Year 11. This is not an effective strategy for the most-able students because many do not achieve the high grades that they are capable of achieving and have to take the examination again.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 A small number of students are supported through additional Year 7 catch-up funding, which helps students who join the academy with attainment below the expected levels in English and mathematics. The academy uses this funding effectively to provide additional staff who teach these students extra lessons in English and mathematics. This is an effective strategy because eligible students are making good progress and catching up well.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The academy spends the pupil premium in a wide variety of ways including, for example, on additional staff who provide academic and individual support for students. Students of all abilities who are supported through the pupil premium are making good progress. Examination results at the end of Year 11 show that the academy is successfully closing gaps between the achievement of these students and other students. This year, eligible students in Year 11 achieved, on average, one third of a grade lower than other students in English and two thirds of a grade lower in mathematics.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The small number of students who attend Stratford College make good progress and they all passed their courses in 2013.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Students benefit from teaching which is usually good and sometimes outstanding. This is the main reason why they achieve well.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Good teaching is typically characterised by lessons which are well matched to the skills and abilities of students and which progress at a good pace so that students can learn quickly. Teachers have very good relationships with students and this makes a significant contribution to their good learning. For example, in a Year 11 French lesson, the teacher had high expectations of all students and set work which was appropriately challenging. Students responded very well to the challenge and achieved good standards.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers have good subject knowledge and a detailed understanding of examination requirements. This means that students are well supported in working towards achieving higher grades.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The teaching of disabled students and those who have special educational needs is good. The specific support students receive from teachers and teaching assistants is often precisely matched to their individual skills and abilities.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The quality of marking and feedback to students is effective in helping students to improve their work. However, some teachers do not always clearly identify what students should do to improve and so marking and feedback do not always have as much impact on achievement as they should have.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Occasionally, some teachers do not always accurately match work to the skills and abilities of the most-able students. This means that these students are sometimes not challenged sufficiently and so they do not achieve their full potential.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers use questions effectively to help students develop their thinking and understanding. However, sometimes lessons move on without teachers checking that all students have fully understood the work. This means that progress slows for some students.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The vast majority of students have good attitudes to learning. As a result of being set interesting and appropriately challenging work, most students work hard, try their best and show a good determination to succeed.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Students behave well in lessons and at break times. Most are polite and courteous and students work very well with each other. Relationships between students are positive and most students show good levels of mutual respect both for their classmates and their teachers. This makes a significant contribution to their good achievement.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 At times some students become distracted when the work is not challenging enough, and this is why behaviour is not outstanding.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Bullying is rare in the academy. Students are confident that on the occasions when bullying does occur that teachers deal with issues quickly and effectively. Consequently, the overwhelming majority of students feel safe at the academy. Students understand the various types of bullying, including cyber-bullying. They know that discrimination of any kind is not tolerated.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The academy effectively makes sure that students have an appropriate understanding of safety issues. Students of different ages have a good awareness of potentially unsafe situations and have appropriate strategies to minimise risk in such situations. They are knowledgeable about e- safety and understand how to keep safe when using the internet.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Students attend the academy regularly and arrive on time. The academy has successfully improved attendance in recent years and it is now above average.

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The leadership and management are good

 Leaders and managers have been successful in improving teaching and achievement in recent years because they have an accurate and detailed understanding of the academy’s strengths and weaknesses. Consequently, they have the capacity to maintain the improvements.

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The leadership and management are good

 Effective systems for checking the work of the academy help leaders to make sure that the academy’s improvement plan is well focused on the most important priorities for improvement.

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The leadership and management are good

 The effective team of subject leaders has high expectations of their staff and students. Each has an accurate understanding of the strengths and weaknesses in their area as a result of effective and appropriately frequent checks. In this way, equality of opportunity for all students is promoted well.

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The leadership and management are good

 Leaders and managers have made sure that students receive very good impartial advice and guidance about their future careers. As a result, all students leave the academy at the end of Year 11 well prepared for the next stage in their education, employment or training.

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The leadership and management are good

 The curriculum provides students with a wide range of opportunities both in lessons and in extra-curricular activities. For example, students are able to develop their spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding through a variety of visits to religious sites and involvement in the performing arts which help them to explore cultural differences.

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The leadership and management are good

 All teachers are set targets to improve their teaching and guide decisions about pay increases. This process has a good impact on the quality of teaching and achievement.

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The leadership and management are good

 Although leaders have an effective strategy for sharing the best teaching in the academy, it is not always as focused as it should be so that more teaching is outstanding.

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The leadership and management are good

 The academy has not received external support from the local authority or other sources in recent times .

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The leadership and management are good

 Leaders monitor and check the progress of all groups of students regularly. However, this is not always as detailed in Key Stage 3 as it is in Key Stage 4 and so it can sometimes be less effective in tackling any underachievement quickly enough.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  The governing body has an accurate and appropriately detailed understanding of the academy’s strengths and weaknesses, including the quality of teaching, and it understands how to interpret data about students’ achievement well. Consequently, it is able to provide a good level of challenge and support.  Relevant governors monitor the impact that the pupil premium and Year 7 catch-up funding have on students’ achievement. They are aware that eligible students are making good progress though they have not always made sure that they receive consistently detailed information about these groups of students in Key Stage 3.  Governors know how targets are set for teachers and monitor how these targets are linked to pay increases. They know what the school is doing to tackle any underperformance. They make sure that the academy fulfils its responsibilities regarding safeguarding; all staff have

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The leadership and management are good

been checked as required and are trained appropriately to keep students safe and free from harm.

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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 136991 Local authority Warwickshire Inspection number 427050

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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 Academy converter Age range of pupils 11–16 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 625 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Gordon Cutler Headteacher Paul Wright Date of previous school inspection 11 January 2012 Telephone number 01564 792364 Fax number 01564 792411 Email address admin@henleyschool.com 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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