The Stonehenge School

The Stonehenge School Antrobus Road, Salisbury, SP4 7ND

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 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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This is a good school

 Students achieve well. They make good progress in almost all subjects including mathematics and especially English and literacy. They attain broadly average GCSE results from very low starting points.  Teaching is mostly good and sometimes outstanding. Good provision is made for teachers to continue to improve their skills.  Students behave well because expectations of them are clear and they receive good care and support. Exclusions have reduced in recent years and attendance has improved.  Students feel very safe and the school’s promotion of spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is highly effective. This school is a harmonious community with strong relationships between students and staff.  The headteacher and senior leaders provide very effective leadership that has contributed substantially to improvements. They have a clear plan for success and the sense of purpose is shared across the school.

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This is a good school

 Governors provide a regular presence in the school and have a good 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 of consistently high quality to enable students to make rapid progress.  In some lessons there is insufficient challenge for some students to extend their knowledge and apply their skills.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 32 lessons including eight jointly observed with members of the senior leadership team.  During the inspection meetings were held with members of the governing body, staff, students and a telephone call was made to the school’s improvement adviser.  Several shorter visits to lessons were made focusing on specific aspects of the school’s work such as literacy and personal, social and health education (PSHE). Inspectors spoke to many students in meetings, during breaks and lunchtimes and during lessons.  The inspection team studied a wide range of documentation including information on students’ achievement, records of behaviour and attendance, a selection of school policies, the school’s self-evaluation of its work and plans for improvement. .  Inspectors took account of the 54 responses to Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire and 54 questionnaires completed by staff.

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Inspection team

Chris King, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Carol Worthington Additional Inspector Teresa Hill Additional Inspector Trevor Woods Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is a smaller than average-sized secondary school.  A larger than average proportion of students are eligible for the pupil premium, which provides additional funding for students in local authority care, those known to be eligible for free school meals and children from armed service families.  The proportion of disabled students and those with special educational needs supported through school action is above average. The proportion of students supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is also above average.  A smaller number of students speak English as an additional language, or are from minority ethnic groups, when compared to national comparisons.  The school meets the government’s floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for students’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics.  The school works with River Bourne Community Farm, Alert Training, Include, Wiltshire College

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Information about this school

and Greatwood Riding Stable to provide vocational courses for a small number of students in Years 10 and 11.  The school has a large proportion of children belonging to service families.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Further improve teaching, by:  ensuring that teachers take account of students’ prior learning when planning lessons, so that activities allow students with different abilities to maximise their progress  expecting teachers to provide more challenging and creative opportunities for students to develop their knowledge and skills.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Students enter the school with skills and abilities in literacy and numeracy which are significantly below those typical for their age. Students make good progress and leave in Year 11 with standards of attainment broadly in line with national averages. In some measures, such as the percentage of students gaining five or more A* to G qualifications, standards are above national averages and continuing to improve.  The proportion of students attaining at least five GCSEs at grade A* to C including English and mathematics has improved over time. Evidence from current students’ work and the school’s tracking of their progress shows they are on course to attain even better standards in the future.  In English and the development of literacy skills, students make very good progress so that in 2013 the proportion of students making expected progress was above the national average. Evidence from their work and the school’s tracking of their progress shows that current students

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The achievement of pupils is good

will continue to make further improvements.  Students’ progress in mathematics and the use of numeracy in other subjects are improving. For the Year 11 leavers in 2013 the proportion of them making more than the expected progress was above the national average, an improvement on previous years. As with English, there is good evidence that current students’ achievement in mathematics is improving still further.  Senior school 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, results for 2013 improved after a dip in 2012.  Students who are disabled or who have special educational needs achieve well. In lessons they are well supported and benefit from the individual provision put in place and are achieving at least in line with their peers and often better. Those that have reading and other learning

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The achievement of pupils is good

difficulties make very good progress because of the high quality of the teaching they receive.  Some small inconsistencies exist in the achievement of students across subjects. While students achieve particularly well in languages, further improvements are needed in science.  School records for students currently eligible for the pupil premium show that the gap in achievement between these and other pupils is closing in both English and mathematics. In 2013, eligible pupils achieved an average of about two thirds of a grade below their classmates at GCSE English and three quarters of a grade in mathematics. This gap is closing because of the very good support they receive from subject teachers and the various intervention programmes provided by the school. This demonstrates the success of the school’s commitment to ensure equality of opportunity.  Those students belonging to armed service families achieve well when compared to their peers.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The small proportion of students studying part-time courses such as agriculture at local providers achieve well. The school’s senior staff monitor their progress at a variety of providers carefully; these students are well supported and attend regularly.  The school has made use of early entry to GCSE examinations. Where it has done so, such as in English, the achievement of students has increased, and those more able students are not disadvantaged by this.  Students from minority ethnic groups and who speak English as an additional language make similar progress to other pupils.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching across the school and over time is typically good and the good quality of learning is underpinned by strong relationships between teachers and students. The majority of teaching observed during this inspection was good, and some outstanding. However, there are a small number of lessons where teaching still requires improvement.  Teachers have strong subject knowledge, which ensures students make good progress in most subject areas and key stages.  Teaching has been a focus for improvement and the results are clear to see in the majority of lessons. The great majority of students clearly enjoy their lessons and make good progress.  Students rightly admire their teachers. They say that they ‘go the extra mile’ for them. They are aware that teachers give their own time for activities outside school hours, such as sports events and enrichment visits. The enthusiasm of many staff for their work, and for helping the students

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The quality of teaching is good

to achieve, is a notable feature of the school.  Scrutiny of work, the school’s records of progress and the opinions of students themselves combine to confirm that teaching has steadily improved and that students are making consistently good progress due to teaching that is routinely good.  In the strongest lessons seen, such as a Year 10 English lesson comparing the creation of evil in Frankenstein and Dracula, the creative planning of the lesson led to high levels of engagement and gave students the opportunity to extend their own skills and knowledge further. This is not the case in all lessons.  Teaching assistants and other adults in the school provide good quality, effective support in classrooms and during intervention activities for the learning of students with additional needs.  However, in a small number of lessons which are not planned accurately enough, there is little difference between activities for all students. Consequently, the work is too easy for some

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The quality of teaching is good

students. In these lessons, not enough students, including the most able, make the progress of which they are capable. In these cases planning did not allow students to acquire as much knowledge as they could.  The school provides well for students’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development in many ways, for example through assemblies, encouraging students to work together in lessons, and through teaching about the school’s values.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils is good

 The behaviour of students is 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.  Students are punctual, are quick to settle in their lessons and show very positive attitudes to learning. Students wear their uniforms smartly and keep the school environment clean, tidy and litter free.  Behaviour is not outstanding yet because attendance needs to be improved further and the numbers of exclusions further reduced.  Students’ good behaviour in lessons helps their learning. Relationships between students and staff are positive and based on mutual respect. Students demonstrate independence and resilience and disruptive behaviour is rare.  The school’s work to keep students safe and secure is good. Students have a good understanding of different forms of bullying. They say the school makes them very aware of the

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The behaviour and safety of pupils is good

hurtful nature of racist or homophobic language and strives hard to ensure all have equal opportunities to learn in a happy environment free from discrimination.  Students’ behaviour and safety when taught by other providers are monitored carefully, and give no cause for concern.  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 leadership and management is 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 effective teaching combined with a high level of care for individual students. They have a clear and ambitious view of success for the school and what needs to be done to ensure further success. As a result, a positive ethos exists committed to continuous improvement and high standards for teachers and students alike.  The school’s own checks on its strengths and weaknesses are accurate. Performance management is sufficiently rigorous and is linked closely to the quality of teaching. Plans for improvement are correctly focused on improving teaching, attendance and students’ achievement.  Teaching and learning is very well managed and teachers are provided with a good programme of professional development. School records and inspection evidence show teaching and learning

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The leadership and management is good

are improving as a result.  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.  There are key strengths in the middle leadership of some subjects with capacity from this resource to extend the skills of others where it is weaker. Greater consistency is required to ensure that all middle leaders take responsibility for ensuring that the teaching and learning is as strong as it should be.  The vast majority of staff and parents and carers, using the online questionnaire Parent View, say the school is well led and managed.  The school offers an appropriate academic curriculum along with a blend of appropriate vocational choices. The school is particularly effective in ensuring that the advice and guidance students receive secures their continued development and progress after Year 11. The school

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The leadership and management is good

ensures that there is equality of opportunity for all students.  There is a wide range of extra-curricular activities on offer for all students, including a rich menu of sporting opportunities, music and visits to many interesting places which students say they enjoy.  Year 7 catch-up funding is used effectively to accelerate the literacy and numeracy development for those students who need to benefit from it.  The school’s arrangements for safeguarding meet statutory responsibilities and record keeping is thorough.  The local authority has supported the school’s development well, in particular with a number of reviews of key areas. However, further support for the schools’ strategies to tackle persistent absence is required  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. They understand the

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The leadership and management is good

importance of national data and use this effectively to compare the school’s performance and hold senior leadership to account. Governors have a secure knowledge of the quality of teaching and have overseen the good performance management procedures which are now in place. This has played an important role in making sure that any increases in salary are linked to students’ achievement. Governors are rigorous in ensuring that the school’s finances are planned to be balanced. The allocation of the pupil premium funding is well thought out and managed.

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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 126458 Local authority Wiltshire Inspection number 440476

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School details

This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. The inspection was also deemed a section 5 inspection under the same Act.

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School details

Type of school Secondary School category Maintained Age range of pupils 11–16 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 625 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Michael Bayliss Headteacher Nigel Roper Date of previous school inspection 9–10 February 2011 Telephone number 01980623407 Fax number 01980625547 Email address admin@stonehenge.wilts.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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