Haslingden High School and Sixth Form

Haslingden High School Broadway, Haslingden, Rossendale, Lancashire, BB4 4EY

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Outstanding 1 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.  Overall, students make good progress. The standards they attain in English, mathematics and a range of other subjects are above the national averages.  The sixth form is good. Students make good progress by the end of Year 13 and an increasing number of them attain the higher grades at A level.  Teaching is good and sometimes outstanding. Lessons are mostly well planned so that students are engaged in their learning and make good progress.  Students’ behaviour in lessons and around school is good. Students’ have very positive attitudes to learning which contributes well to their good achievement.  Students feel very safe and the school’s promotion of spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding. This school is a harmonious community with strong relationships between students and staff.  Pupil premium funding is used effectively to support the achievement of students who are

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

entitled to it. As a result, in this school, the standards reached by these students are high.  The headteacher, supported by senior leaders, has a clear plan for success and the sense of purpose is shared across the school.  Governors provide a regular and visible presence in the school and have a thorough knowledge of their role and the school’s priorities.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Not enough teaching is consistently first rate and there is still a small proportion that requires improvement. In these lessons, there is insufficient challenge for some students, including the most-able.  Teachers’ marking, assessment and feedback to students in their books are not consistently good across all subjects.  Not all subject and middle leaders ensure the school’s policies for improvement, including improvements to the quality of teaching, are applied consistently across all year groups and subjects.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors saw 47 part lessons, taught by 46 teachers, of which three were observed jointly with senior leaders.  Meetings were held with senior and middle leaders, governors, groups of students and a representative from the local authority.  Inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at a number of documents, including the school’s own information on students’ progress across all year groups and in all subjects, planning and monitoring documentation, records relating to behaviour and attendance and documents relating to safeguarding.  Inspectors looked at samples of students’ work across different age and ability groups.  Inspectors took account of the views of parents, including 147 responses to the online questionnaire(Parent View).  Eighty three members of staff expressed their views through a staff questionnaire.

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Inspection team

Gary Kelly, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Linda Magrath Additional Inspector Tudor Griffiths Additional Inspector David Woodhouse Additional Inspector Derek Davies Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Haslingden High School is a larger than average sized secondary school with a sixth form.  Most students are of White British heritage. The proportions of students who are from minority ethnic backgrounds and the proportion who speak English as an additional language are both average.  The proportion of students eligible for the pupil premium is also average, when compared nationally. The pupil premium is additional government funding provided to support students known to be eligible for free school meals, those in local authority care or from service families.  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 below average.  The school receives a small amount of additional Year 7 catch-up funding.  The school currently uses a range of local training provider for a very small number of Key Stage

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Information about this school

4 students to support their personal development and achievement.  The headteacher is a National Leader in Education. The school also works with other schools in its capacity as a National Support School and a Pupil Premium Support School.  Haslingden High 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?

 Further improve the quality of teaching so that all teaching is at least good and more is outstanding, by ensuring that:  teachers always plan activities which challenge students of all abilities, including the most able  teachers' marking and feedback are sufficiently detailed so students are clear about how well they are doing and what they need to do to improve  students are always encouraged to take account of, and respond to, teachers’ comments in their books.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve leadership and management further by:  continuing to develop the skills of all subject and middle leaders so they can take a lead role in monitoring and improving the quality of teaching and learning and raising achievement in the school  ensuring the school’s policies to improve the quality of teaching and learning and further raise achievement are consistently applied by all middle and subject leaders and teachers.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Students enter the school with skills and abilities in literacy and numeracy which are just above those typical for their age. Students make good progress and standards of attainment in most of their GCSE and equivalent qualifications are well above average, representing good achievement from their starting points.  In 2012 and 2013 in English and mathematics, in both Key Stages 3 and 4, the proportion of students making and exceeding expected levels of progress from their different starting points was higher than their peers nationally. This is because of the good and improving quality of teaching they receive.  However, occasionally when work is not sufficiently demanding, a small number of most-able students do not make as much progress as they should in some GCSE subjects.  Leaders have improved the way in which they check on students’ achievement and measure the performance of teachers to boost students’ progress. As a result, unconfirmed results for 2013

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The achievement of pupils is good

show that high standards have been maintained and the school’s own records from checks on students’ progress and inspection evidence show this trend is set to continue in 2014.  The achievement of students eligible for the pupil premium is good. In English and mathematics in 2013, Year 11 students who were eligible for the funding, including those known to be eligible for free school meals, attained between three-quarters and a full GCSE grade below their peers, maintaining the trend on the 2012 results. Although these students achieve less well than their peers in the school, they make better progress and attain higher standards than eligible students nationally. This is as a result of consistently strong tracking and monitoring of their performance and the high quality support they receive in class and effective ‘catch-up’ sessions.  The achievement of disabled students or those who have special educational needs, those who

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The achievement of pupils is good

speak English as an additional language and students from a range of minority ethnic groups is good, demonstrating the schools commitment to promoting equal opportunities for all and tackling discrimination.  Leaders judge carefully if individuals and groups of students are ready for early-entry to GCSE examinations. Where this is effective, students are then re-entered and most students attain highly in their GCSE examinations. However, a small number of students re-entered in 2013 did not attain the highest standards.  The small number of Key Stage 4 students who are supported by off-site provision as part of their personal development, continue to make good progress.  The achievement of students in the sixth form is good, and particularly by the time students reach Year 13. This is because the school has ensured improvements to the quality of teaching, and that the curriculum has been developed to meet the needs of all its students.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 There are no students who leave the school at the end of Year 11 and Year 13 who are not in education, employment or training.  In some subjects, where the school’s policies for continued improvement are not consistently applied, for example, where inconsistencies in the quality of marking and feedback and planning for individuals and groups exist, the progress students make is not as consistently strong. This was confirmed by lesson observations, scrutiny of work and analysis of data.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The quality of teaching over time is good. The majority of teaching observed during this inspection was good, and some was outstanding. However, in a small number of lessons teaching required improvement or was inadequate.  Teachers have strong subject knowledge, which ensures students make good progress in most subject areas and key stages.  Where learning is most effective, teachers take full account of what students already know and understand when they plan interesting and engaging activities. Students’ learning and progress is assessed throughout these lessons to ensure there is a continued level of challenge for all abilities, this ensures that all students make at least good progress.  In an outstanding Year 12 science lesson, students were encouraged to process information for themselves, carefully supported by the teacher, who used accurate science terminology and technical language throughout. All students were encouraged to work at a pace that suited their

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The quality of teaching is good

learning and activities were planned for individuals and small groups. In this lesson, students made outstanding progress because they were accurately challenged because of the teacher’s continuous assessment.  The development of literacy and numeracy skills is promoted well in many subjects. All students in Key Stage 3 have dedicated reading time and there is an insistence on students learning key words when approaching new concepts in a range of subjects. The majority of teachers also ensure that cross-curricular numeracy skills are developed whenever possible.  Teaching in the sixth form is consistently good, and sometimes outstanding. Where learning is outstanding, teachers’ excellent subject knowledge is used to plan challenging lessons, which capture students’ interest and enable them to make rapid progress. For example, in an outstanding Year 13 English lesson, students spoke in detail about the significant progress they

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The quality of teaching is good

had made over the last number of weeks, demonstrating outstanding teaching over time.  Teaching assistants and other adults in the school provide high-quality, effective support in classrooms and during intervention activities for the learning of students with additional needs. As a result, the achievement of these students is high.  In a small number of lessons, teachers’ planning is not accurate enough and there is little difference between activities for students of varying abilities and needs. Consequently, the work is too easy for some students and too hard for others. In these lessons, not enough students, including the most able, make the progress of which they are capable.  There is some very good marking where students are able to respond to detailed feedback and are clear about what they need to do next to improve. However, this good practice is not yet consistently applied across the school in all subjects by all teachers. Marking is sometimes too

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The quality of teaching is good

brief to be helpful and students are not encouraged to respond to feedback.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Students’ behaviour is almost always very good. All students get on well together, showing respect and consideration for each other. They behave well in all areas of the school and older students provide good role models.  Behaviour and safety are not yet outstanding because in a small number of lessons, which do not engage all students, students are less enthusiastic about learning and tend not to participate fully in lessons. This slows their progress.  Students’ good behaviour in lessons helps their learning. Relationships between students and staff are always positive and based on mutual respect. Students demonstrate independence and resilience and disruptive behaviour is rare.  Discussions with students, responses to parent and staff questionnaires, and scrutiny of the school’s behavioural records indicate that the very good behaviour seen during the inspection is typical of that over time.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Incidences of bullying are very rare, but when they do occur, students feel that they are dealt with quickly and effectively. Students are fully aware of what constitutes bullying, including name calling, cyber bullying and racist and homophobic incidents. The school has taken a pro- active approach to highlight the different forms of bullying and students told inspectors they feel safe at school and know how to keep themselves and others safe.  The learning support team has been structured so that the school can respond quickly to concerns about learning and behaviour, including working with parents when needed. The proportion of students who are excluded from school is very low and students talk positively about this support and how it helps them to improve their learning and behaviour.  As a result of the effective measures the school has put in place to improve attendance over time, it is now consistently just above the national average.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Senior staff carefully monitor the attendance and progress of the small numbers of students who attend off-site provision, and the quality of the education they receive, ensuring that these students make the same good progress as other students.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher, supported by his senior leadership team have been concerted in their efforts to ensure that all students make rapid progress, based on outstanding teaching combined with a high level of care for individual students. They have a clear and ambitious views of how successful the school is and what needs to be done to ensure further success.  Leaders have improved systems to track and monitor students’ progress. This enables the school to accurately identify students in danger of falling behind and to put interventions in place to ensure they get quickly back on track.  The leadership of the sixth form is good. Students achieve well by the end of Year 13 due to consistently good teaching and a well-planned and developing curriculum which meets the needs of all students.  However, the skills of some subject and middle leaders require further development to enable them to take more responsibility for ensuring that the quality of teaching and learning in their

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The leadership and management are good

areas continues to improve and that all the school’s policies to raise achievement further are consistently applied.  Furthermore, there is still a small amount of teaching which still requires improvement and a small proportion of the most able students do not yet make the progress that they could in all subjects. Nonetheless, GCSE results, including English and mathematics, are high and the school’s capacity for further improvement is strong.  Leadership of the quality of teaching has improved. As a result, more outstanding teaching is emerging in the school. Where teaching has not been consistently strong enough, plans to tackle this have usually been implemented effectively. However, a small amount of inadequate teaching remains. Nevertheless, the improvements have led to continued high achievement for almost all groups of students in 2012 and 2013 and the school’s latest assessment information

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The leadership and management are good

and inspection evidence indicates this trend will continue in 2014.  The school offers an appropriate academic curriculum with access to a rich variety of enrichment opportunities that meet the needs of students, including disabled students, those with special educational needs and those students whose first language is not English. The school ensures that there is equality of opportunity for all.  There is a wide range of extra-curricular activities on offer for all students, including a rich menu of sporting opportunities, art, dance, drama and visits to many interesting places which students say they enjoy.  All students, including those in the sixth form, are given a wide range of experiences to promote their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, which is an outstanding aspect of the school’s work. There is a thorough programme of personal, social, and health education (PSHE) that helps to develop students’ personal skills well.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school provides support for other schools in its role as National Support School and Pupil Premium Support School, the headteacher also works more widely to support schools in his role as National Leader in Education.  Year 7 catch-up funding is used effectively to accelerate the literacy and numeracy development of a small number of students.  The school’s arrangements for safeguarding meet all statutory responsibilities and record keeping is thorough.  The local authority is aware of the school’s areas for development and provides support for the school when needed.  The governance of the school:  The governors are ambitious for the school and have a good range of skills and experience. They understand the strengths and weaknesses of the school and hold the headteacher to account. Governors have overseen the strong performance management procedures which are now in place and play an important role in making sure that any increases in salary are

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The leadership and management are good

reflective of students’ achievement. Governors are astute and rigorous in ensuring the school’s good financial management and that the budget is balanced. The allocation of the pupil premium funding is well thought out and managed, there is much evidence that the use of this funding is highly effective in the school.

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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 119767 Local authority Lancashire Inspection number 424603

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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 1,450 Of which, number on roll in sixth form 200 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair J Davey Headteacher Mark Jackson Date of previous school inspection 22 November 2007 Telephone number 01706 215726 Fax number 01706 219861 Email address school@haslingdenhigh.lancs.sch.uk guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234 , or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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School details

You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when and as part of the inspection.

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School details

You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk, or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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School details

achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work- based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please

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School details

telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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School details

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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