Heath Park

Heath Park Prestwood Road, Wolverhampton, WV11 1RD

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Not previously inspected This inspection: Outstanding 1 Achievement of pupils Outstanding 1 Quality of teaching Outstanding 1 Behaviour and safety of pupils Outstanding 1 Leadership and management Outstanding 1

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is an outstanding school.  Students achieve exceptionally well in this school, and make outstanding progress in English and in mathematics.  Students’ exceptional achievement is greatly enhanced by the highly creative way in which students’ literacy, and other, skills are developed through the Key Stage 3 curriculum.  The sixth form is outstanding. Students’ attainment and progress in work-related courses is a particular strength.  Teaching is consistently at least good and much is outstanding. Together with the exceptional quality of care that students receive, this ensures that all students are very well supported.  The behaviour and safety of students are outstanding. Students are proud to attend the school and are highly motivated to achieve their very best.  Students’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is outstanding and this is encompassed in the school’s vision statement: ‘Every Pupil: Always in Focus’.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The headteacher brings about an improvement in the life chances of the young people in the local community, and beyond through other schools in the Trust.  Exceptionally strong leadership is shown by the headteacher, senior leaders and the trustees. Through this, the school is in a strong position to continue to improve, whilst at the same time supporting other schools to become outstanding.  School leaders rigorously check the quality of teaching and use this information to reward outstanding teachers, or to provide support to improve teaching where this is needed. This has maintained the outstanding teaching and achievement in school.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 39 lessons, including seven that were observed jointly with senior leaders. They also observed an assembly, form times, breaks and lunchtimes and visited the Key Stage 3 band and a Year 9 group-mentor project.  An inspector was shown around the school by two students from Year 8 and looked specifically at behaviour and safety around the school site and in lessons visited.  Inspectors held meetings with the headteacher, deputy headteachers and other senior and subject leaders. The lead inspector spoke with two representatives from the Trust Board: the Chief Executive Officer and the Chair of the Board; and the headteacher from the partner secondary school, Moseley Park. Separate meetings were held with the school improvement officer from the local authority and the Chair of the Governing Body and two other members.  An inspector walked around the school with a senior leader to look at how students’ spiritual,

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Information about this inspection

moral, social and cultural development is promoted around the school.  Inspectors spoke with five groups of students in meetings, as well as at other times in lessons and around the school at breaks and lunchtimes.  Too few responses were recorded on Parent View, the online questionnaire, for inspectors to consider these. A report written during the recent Leading Parent Partnership Award accreditation process was considered.  A variety of information was analysed about examination results, students’ progress, their attendance and behaviour and other aspects of students’ personal development and achievement. The inspection team also considered a range of documents including the school’s self-evaluation and its records relating to safeguarding of students.

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Inspection team

Denah Jones, Lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Gillian Martin Additional Inspector David King Additional Inspector Richard Masterton Additional Inspector David Martin Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Heath Park converted to an academy in December 2011. The predecessor school, Heath Park Business and Enterprise College, was judged to be outstanding at its previous inspection. The school formed a multi-academy trust, known as the Central Learning Partnership Trust. In this role, the school became the sponsor for Moseley Park, a neighbouring secondary school. Three primary schools have since joined the Trust. One is a local school in Wolverhampton, with the other two being schools in Rotherham.  The school has its own headteacher, in addition to the executive headteacher who works across other schools in the Trust. Both are National Leaders of Education and the school is a National Support School and part of a Teaching School Alliance.  Strategic oversight of the school is led by trustees of the board formed through the multi- academy trust. The school also has a group of governors, but their role is limited to oversight of

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Information about this school

the school at an operational level.  Heath Park is a larger-than-average secondary school and has a large sixth form.  The post-16 centre is shared with Moseley Park and operates as a consortium with four other schools.  There are currently five students who attend alternative or off-site provision, all on a full-time basis. Three students attend the Orchard Centre (Home and Hospital Pupil Referral Unit), one student attends The Braybrook Centre (Key Stage 3 Pupil Referral Unit) and another student attends The Midpoint Centre (Key Stage 4 Pupil Referral Unit). One additional student attends a work placement on a part-time basis in addition to other school support programmes.  Just over half of the school population are from minority ethnic backgrounds. The largest ethnic group is Indian, followed by Caribbean and White and Black Caribbean, which together make up about a third of the school population. Almost a quarter of students in the school speak English

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Information about this school

as an additional language.  Just over half of the students in the school are supported by pupil premium funding, which provides additional government funding for students in local authority care and those known to be eligible for free school meals.  There is an average proportion of disabled students and those who have special educational needs who are supported at school action. The proportion supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is also average.  The academy meets the government’s current floor standard, which sets the minimum expectations for students’ attainment and progress by the end of Key Stage 4.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Extend the sharing of outstanding practice in teaching across the school, so that more teaching becomes outstanding, in particular by: -making sure that all marking helps students to make their work even better.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Build on the success already seen in raising the achievement of students who are eligible for support through pupil premium funding, to narrow the gap within school further, and ensure it is closed even more quickly.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 Achievement is outstanding because students make rapid and sustained progress across subjects and achieve exceptionally well, particularly in English and in mathematics, from broadly average starting points when they join the school.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 In 2013, Year 11 students gained results that were much higher than would be expected, given their starting points. Eighty five per cent of students attained grade C or above in five or more GCSEs including English and mathematics. This was a further rise from the already exceptional results of 2012.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 Achievement in English has been exceptionally high, with almost all students making the progress that was expected of them from their starting points and almost two-thirds of students making exceptional progress.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 Achievement in mathematics is also strong, although not quite as high as in English. The proportion of students making the progress that was expected of them was well above national figures, and above the national average for the proportion making exceptional progress.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 Students usually take their GCSE qualifications in English and in mathematics before the end of Year 11. Students start their two-year GCSE course in Year 9, and have therefore completed the course by the end of Year 10. Very few are re-entered during Year 11. The majority of students continue their studies in English to a study of English literature, and in mathematics they continue to statistics, with the most-able progressing to AS level study. Students are not disadvantaged by this as it provides a high level of challenge for all students while increasing depth to their studies of English and mathematics. The school will therefore continue to use ‘early entry’ for GCSE.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 More-able students make better progress than similar students nationally in English and in mathematics and attain well across all of their subjects. In English, these students attain exceptionally well with a much higher proportion of students attaining the highest grades than is seen nationally.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 The pupil premium funding has been used very effectively to make a considerable difference to these students’ achievement. For example, additional teachers have been funded to reduce class sizes and to fund a raising attainment team to support individual students and groups. Financial help is also provided for those wanting to learn to play a musical instrument. This support is improving the achievement of students entitled to this funding, and their progress in English and in mathematics far exceeds national figures for the progress made by other students who are not eligible for pupil premium funding. Nevertheless, there is still a gap within school in attainment. In English in 2013, students eligible for free school meals were about half a GCSE grade behind those not eligible. In mathematics, students who were eligible for free school meals were about a third of a grade behind those not eligible. Both of these figures have

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 Indian, Caribbean and White and Black Caribbean students are very well supported and they achieve as well as other students in the school, including in English and in mathematics.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 In English and in mathematics in 2013, disabled students and those with special educational needs supported at school action plus or with a statement made exceptional progress given their starting points. Those supported at school action made much better progress than was expected from their starting points, with progress in English being much stronger than in mathematics.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 Literacy levels of students when they start in the school are low. Reading age tests for students in Years 7 and 8 show that about 40% of students had a reading age which was well below their actual age. Following intensive support using commercial packages to accelerate their reading, students improve considerably. Many of these students are supported by Year 7 catch-up funding which is government funding to support students who have fallen behind in reading and mathematics at Key Stage 2. This funding is being used effectively to improve progress in English and in literacy.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 Achievement in the sixth form is outstanding and students make excellent progress. Progress in work-related courses is particularly strong.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 Teaching is consistently good and there is an increasing proportion of outstanding teaching, especially in the sixth form. As a result, all students make rapid progress across most subjects, but particularly in English and mathematics.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 Students talk enthusiastically about the progress they have made in lessons and readily share the reasons for their love of the subject. One reason they enjoy lessons is because they trust their teachers to challenge them appropriately and greatly appreciate the help they are given to support them in achieving aspirational targets.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 Where teaching is consistently outstanding, students are exceptionally interested in, and engaged by, their work. Students often stay behind to finish off, or improve their work, outside usual lesson time. Most teachers are highly skilled in the way they challenge students to think more deeply about their work and to identify how it can be made better. Students sometimes work with a partner in doing this, and most students are accomplished in giving praise to others while supporting them to improve.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 Teachers are extremely well supported in their professional development and they reflect accurately on their strengths and identify areas they still need to improve. Outstanding teachers deliver coaching sessions twice each week, which staff attend to develop their teaching skills. This is highly effective and is leading to a gradual increase in the proportion of teaching judged by school leaders to be outstanding.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 In some lessons, teachers have the opportunity to share practice by working alongside a more experienced colleague. A positive contribution is made by all adults in lessons, including teaching assistants, who give effective support to those who need it.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 Students are particularly well supported in developing their literacy skills in Years 7 and 8 through the school’s Key Stage 3 curriculum, which combines English, history and geography in an integrated studies programme. Teachers work hard to develop students’ skills in reading, writing, planning, researching, solving problems, creating, presenting, analysing and evaluating. Students use these skills with increasing confidence across all their subjects as they progress through the school, and especially in the sixth form. School leaders rightly explain the ‘secret’ of students’ rapid improvement in progress to be the result of this focus on the development of skills.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 Students’ work is marked regularly and feedback is given which makes it clear to students how they should improve their work. There are a few pockets of inconsistent practice across the school, where marking is less effective. School leaders are aware of this and are taking steps to improve it.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 The behaviour of students is outstanding.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 The school vision statement is ‘Every Pupil: Always in Focus’ which sums up the importance placed on each individual student by all members of the school community. School leaders, teachers and support staff have high expectations of each student for achievement, well-being and behaviour which students respond to very positively.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Students have highly positive attitudes to their learning and they work well together in pairs or groups due to the respect they show for each other. This respect also extends to the school environment and their conduct around the site is exemplary.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 When working on their own, most students are able to concentrate for long periods of time. Students are proud of their school and of their work and most are ambitious and have high aspirations.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Teachers apply behaviour policies consistently and there are very few incidents of unacceptable behaviour in lessons or around the school site. Students told inspectors that, when there is someone misbehaving, the behaviour team is ‘like an ambulance’ in the way it responds quickly to sort it out. As a result, exclusions are rare and only used for the most serious incidents of poor behaviour.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Students currently have to cope with particularly challenging circumstances due to extensive building work, as the new school building starts to take shape. There are no on-site outdoor facilities for sport or physical education. Students are therefore transported to local sports or swimming facilities for their physical education lessons. Inspectors saw students lining up sensibly to join the coaches used for transport. One inspector accompanied students to the sports centre and was particularly impressed with the mature way in which they conducted themselves in the local community.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 The school’s work to ensure that students are safe and secure is outstanding and students know very well how to keep themselves safe.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 The school operates different timings for breaks and lunchtime for different groups of students. This is reducing overcrowding on corridors and in the dining room, contributing towards a safe and harmonious environment for everyone.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Attendance has improved from 2012 to 2013 and is above the national average. School leaders and the raising-attainment team rigorously monitor attendance as they know that students cannot improve their attainment without good attendance. Fewer students than seen nationally were frequently absent in 2013 and this figure has improved from 2012.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Students know about the different forms of bullying, including cyber-bullying and homophobic and other prejudice-based bullying. Incidents of bullying are very rare, but when they do occur are dealt with quickly once an adult has been informed, and the bullying stops. Students told inspectors that the peer mentors were particularly effective in this process.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The headteacher has not been complacent in her approach to leading an outstanding school. She has quickly responded to changes at a national and local level in education to ensure that all students in the school are extremely well prepared for the next stage in their education, employment or training. Self-evaluation is accurate and improvement plans effectively prioritise the key actions which will continue to move the school forwards and ensure more teaching is outstanding.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 Leaders at all levels, including subject leaders, are committed to the headteacher’s aims for the school and are passionate about ensuring that students are happy, offered a wide range of learning opportunities inside and outside the classroom, and achieve their full potential.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The rich and relevant curriculum is highly effective in meeting the needs and interests of students who have a wide choice of academic and vocational courses to meet their individual needs. The school has reduced Key Stage 3 to two years to allow students the opportunity to start Key Stage 4 in Year 9 and then to study additional subjects in Year 11 or progress from level 2 to level 3 courses. This prepares students very well for sixth form study.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 Strong leadership of the sixth form has led to a highly student-driven curriculum which includes the opportunity to improve in English and in mathematics. Courses are highly tailored to individual interests and the school works closely with a number of other partner sixth forms in the area to provide any course a student may be interested in studying.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 Students are provided with a wide range of sporting, spiritual, cultural and social activities which contribute exceptionally well to their strong personal development. Year 8 students responded well to an assembly with a very ambitious theme on ‘international co-operation and peace’. The school orchestra takes part in a bi-annual concert tour to Italy. There have also been other visits for groups of students organised to Berlin, the London Paralympics, France, Spain and Belgium. Year 7 students attend Towers Activity Centre in North Wales during their first half term, supporting the development of friendships. The school has close links with a local church and also organises a tea party for the elderly in the community. Inspectors enjoyed sharing the outcomes of the winning entry in the ‘Inter-Form Bake-Off’ competition.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 In forming the Trust, the headteacher took on a combination of new challenges and opportunities, all of which have been of great benefit to the young people in the local community and beyond. As the sponsor for Moseley Park, the school has supported the rapid improvement of another school by improving the quality of teaching through supporting teachers in developing their skills, raising achievement for students and developing leadership capacity. This has resulted in Moseley Park no longer requiring special measures.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The relationship with other schools in the Trust has also brought added benefits for Heath Park which have contributed to a rapid improvement in the progress made by students. Each year, many students join the school from a local primary school which is one of the schools in the Trust. By working closely with this school, curriculum leaders at Heath Park have been able to design a curriculum for students at Key Stage 3 which acknowledges what students can already do well, and builds on this during Year 7. This means no time is wasted when students start Year 7 and progress is accelerated rapidly.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 School leaders have been highly creative in the way in which outstanding teachers and leaders are developed and rewarded. Some teachers act as coaches for others who want to develop their teaching or leadership skills. This can be within the school or across other schools in the Trust and therefore involves teachers in system-wide improvement. Accredited leadership courses are very-well supported by staff who aspire to middle or senior leadership roles.  Teachers are encouraged to work on a school improvement project and are given a school-based allowance for this, for example, looking at ways to further raise achievement of students eligible for the pupil premium.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The school has chosen to maintain links with the local authority, even though it is now an academy. It has received excellent support from their school improvement officer from the local authority who has provided additional challenge and also has quality assured a number of school systems, including the monitoring of the quality of teaching.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The governance of the school:  The trustees are highly ambitious for the school and have a very clear understanding of all aspects of the school’s performance, including the financial management. The Chief Executive Officer of the board is a National Leader of Education and provides the necessary expertise to inform other trustees of the key challenges facing the school. As a result, the school constantly reviews its performance and shows an uncompromising and highly successful drive to improve already high levels of achievement and high quality personal development of students.  The trustees provide an effective level of challenge to the headteacher and carry out checks on her performance, and that of other teachers, using data on the achievement of students currently in the school, in addition to those who have completed Key Stages 4 and 5.  There is a clear focus on improving the quality of teachers and leaders in the school through

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The leadership and management are outstanding

the Trust. Trustees work hard to retain and develop the best teachers and leaders rather than risk them leaving to find opportunities elsewhere. As a result, the school has a very stable school staff. Teachers told inspectors they enjoy working at the school and greatly appreciate the opportunities that are available to them to develop their teaching or leadership skills.  The role of governors in the school has changed since the creation of the board of trustees and this role is still evolving. Governors are committed to the vision of the school and to providing the best education for all young people in the area. They ask searching questions which are recorded in governors’ minutes of meetings and are developing further their understanding of the use of assessment information to check the performance of teachers. They know the areas the trustees have prioritised for improvement but need further guidance

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The leadership and management are outstanding

in understanding the difference being made by pupil premium funding, for example. They were also not sure how much progress is being made across Key Stage 3.  Governors ensure that all requirements relating to safeguarding are met in full and regularly reviewed.

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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 137730 Local authority Wolverhampton Inspection number 440683

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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 Academy converter 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 1200 Of which, number on roll in sixth form 224 Appropriate authority Trustees of the Central Learning Partnership Trust Chair Robert Turton Headteacher Georgetta Holloway Date of previous school inspection Not previously inspected Telephone number 01902 556360 Fax number 01902 556361 Email address headteacher@heathpark.net 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

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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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