The Market Weighton School

The Market Weighton School Spring Road, Market Weighton, YO43 3JF

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Satisfactory 3 This inspection: Requires improvement 3 Achievement of pupils Requires improvement 3 Quality of teaching Requires improvement 3 Behaviour and safety of pupils Requires improvement 3 Leadership and management Good 2

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

 Although the proportions of students making expected progress in English and mathematics are close to the national average, not enough students make good progress.  In particular, not enough students that enter the school with lower levels of attainment go on to make good progress.  Some teachers’ expectations of students are not high enough. They set work that is too easy and do not do enough to challenge poor presentation. Marking does not always provide useful feedback or require students to make corrections and improve their work.  Some teachers do not act quickly enough to deal with low-level chatter that disrupts the flow of lessons.  Some checks on the quality of teaching have been overgenerous. Consequently, some teachers have not had an accurate picture of the quality of their teaching.

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The school has the following strengths

 The current Year 11 is on track for higher levels of achievement at GCSE.  Improved teaching and the effective use of progress data to hold teachers accountable are leading to better progress.  Attendance is good and is continuing to improve.  The school’s arrangements for keeping students safe are good.  The school’s revised leadership structure introduced in September 2013 has become established and leaders at all levels are driving improvement effectively.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 39 part lessons and sampled a range of students’ work during lessons. A selection of mathematics books was scrutinised. Eight lessons were observed jointly with senior leaders.  Inspectors met with the headteacher and other senior leaders, a group of middle leaders and a group of teachers. They also met with the Chair of the Governing Body and a local authority representative.  Discussions were held with groups of students, and inspectors spoke with students in lessons and around the school.  A range of documentation was examined, including the school’s self-evaluation and development planning, monitoring records, safeguarding documentation and attendance and behaviour records. Performance management information and records from governing body meetings were also taken into account by the inspection team.  Inspectors took account of the 18 responses to Parent View (the Ofsted online questionnaire)

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Information about this inspection

and responses to the school’s own parental questionnaire. The inspection team also took account of 21 staff questionnaires.

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Inspection team

Chris Smith, Lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Susan Hayter Additional Inspector Judith Gooding Additional Inspector Debbie Clinton Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The Market Weighton School is a smaller-than-average secondary school.  There are very few students from minority ethnic backgrounds or who speak English as an additional language.  The proportion of students eligible for the pupil premium is below the national average. The pupil premium is additional government funding provided for students known to be eligible for free school meals and for children who are looked after by the local authority.  The proportion of students who are disabled or have special educational needs and are supported at school action is below the national average.  The proportion of students supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is below average.  A very small number of students attend off-site provision at two pupil referral units. One student is currently attending Bishop Burton College.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum

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Information about this school

expectations for students’ attainment and progress by the end of Key Stage 4.  Sixth-form provision came to an end at the school in 2012 following consultation by the local authority.  Since the last inspection, a new headteacher has been appointed. There has been a complete restructure of leadership arrangements, with Directors of Learning introduced at middle leadership level.  At the time of the inspection, Year 11 students were not present in school, as they were on examination leave.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching and learning by:  improving the consistency of marking and ensuring students are routinely given time in lessons to respond to feedback, make corrections and improve their work  setting high expectations for the presentation of work  managing all instances of low-level disruption in lessons more promptly and firmly, and rewarding positive attitudes to learning more explicitly.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Increase the proportion of students making good progress, especially for those students entering the school with lower levels of attainment, by:  checking the quality of teaching provided for lower sets more closely, to ensure that all work provided is suitably challenging and engaging  increasing the level of challenge for the most able students across all subjects.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve behaviour by:  ensuring teachers apply the school’s renewed behaviour policy firmly and consistently, so that low-level disruption in lessons is eradicated  ensuring that issues surrounding homophobic language are routinely and systematically covered as part of the school’s equality duty within the personal, health and social education (PHSE) curriculum.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve leadership and management by strengthening the skills of Directors of Learning, so they can accurately evaluate the quality of teaching and achievement, and take swift action to tackle any remaining areas of underperformance.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Over the last three years, the proportion of students making expected progress in English and mathematics has been similar to the national average. However, the proportion of students making good progress has remained stubbornly below national figures. This has particularly been the case for students that enter the school with lower levels of attainment.  The school has effective assessment systems in place and tracking data provide reliable predictions for achievement at GCSE. The school expects there to be improved standards of achievement for the current Year 11. The year group has made better progress and is on track to attain higher grades in most subjects.  Rates of progress are improving across all year groups. The school has effective systems to track the progress of different groups of students in Key Stages 3 and 4 and intervenes to provide additional support for students where necessary. Consequently, gaps in achievement between

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

different groups of students are reducing. For example, students supported by the pupil premium are increasingly making progress at the same rate as other students. Progress is slower in Year 10 than in other years.  The achievement of the most able students mirrors that of other students in the school. The proportion of the most able making expected progress in English and mathematics is close to the national average, but not enough make good progress. The school expects the proportion of students attaining top grades at GCSE in 2014 to rise. However, the proportion of students attaining the English Baccalaureate in 2013 was significantly below the national average, largely because a relatively small number of students opt to study a language at GCSE.  The school has a relatively small number of students supported by the pupil premium. The gap between their attainment and that of their peers has varied greatly over recent years. In 2012,

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

the gap in attainment was small, but the gap was wide in 2013, when those supported by the grant attained around one GCSE grade lower than other students. Better use of the funding is ensuring gaps in attainment lower down the school are narrowing.  Support for students with disabilities and those with special educational needs is good. The support they receive from key workers is well coordinated. They make good progress and achieve well.  Catch-up programmes in Year 7 for students that enter the school with lower levels of attainment are effective. Programmes start as soon as students join the school. Around three quarters of students that receive mathematics support make up gaps in their knowledge and understanding by February. Around half of students make similar gains in English by February.  The school has good links with two pupil referral units. The very small numbers of students that attend these facilities have improved their attendance, attitudes and achievement. Occasionally

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

the school arranges for students to access vocational courses at Bishop Burton College, where they achieve well.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 The quality of teaching is improving, but there has not been enough good teaching over time to ensure good achievement by students. Since the previous inspection, senior leaders have continued to tackle weaker teaching and inadequate teaching has been significantly reduced, but not eradicated.  Planning of lessons is often good with a well-designed sequence of activities that builds upon and extends knowledge and understanding. This is particularly evident in science and English lessons, where planning ensures that lessons challenge students to think deeply. However, some planning is weaker, resulting in lessons that fail to deepen students’ knowledge, skills and understanding. In these lessons, the most able students are not stretched sufficiently.  Some teachers do not challenge poor presentation and, consequently, the work in some books is untidy. Some students do not take enough pride in their work.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Although some teacher training has focused on improving the quality of marking, inspectors found a wide variation in its impact on learning. Some teachers are very diligent, provide detailed comments and require students to make corrections and improve their work. Where this happens, the effective dialogue between the teacher and student leads to rapid improvements. Other teachers only provide superficial ‘praise’ comments which do not lead to any gains in understanding.  Teaching assistants provide skilled support for students with special educational needs. There is good communication between teaching assistants and teachers so that roles and responsibilities within classrooms are well understood.  Additional literacy and numeracy programmes are delivered well, resulting in gaps in knowledge being closed. In addition, inspectors saw good opportunities for students to apply reading and writing skills across the curriculum. There is scope to further develop opportunities for extended

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

writing and to improve the marking of spelling, punctuation and grammar by all teachers.  Teachers speak enthusiastically about the quality and nature of the professional development they receive. Working in cross-subject groups is helping teachers to learn from good practice elsewhere in the school.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

 The behaviour of students requires improvement. This is because students’ attitudes in lessons decline when the work set for them is not pitched correctly or fails to engage them. Some teachers are too slow to deal with the chatter that develops and regular interruptions to learning result. This is not widespread, but inspectors saw a number of occasions when students in lower sets displayed poor attitudes.  Outside lessons, the vast majority of students are polite and courteous. They do not drop litter and the school site is clean and tidy. Punctuality to lessons is good. Most enter and exit from classrooms in an orderly manner, although some teachers have weaker routines in place to meet and greet students. Most students bring the right equipment to lessons.  Although the school and the local authority judge behaviour to be good, the headteacher has recognised the school needs to take a fresh look at expectations regarding behaviour, and a new

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

behaviour policy has been produced. This will be implemented from September.  In 2012 and 2013, exclusions were relatively high because a small number of students presented particularly challenging behaviour. The school has now developed better links with two pupil referral units and this partnership has helped to improve students’ attitudes and attendance. The approach has successfully reduced exclusions. Very few students are taken off the school roll as a result of their behaviour.  Attendance is above the national average and has improved further this year. The school tracks the attendance of different groups of students carefully. The attendance of students eligible for free school meals is better than that seen nationally.  The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Rigorous checks are made when members of staff are recruited and there are good procedures in place for the management of

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The behaviour and safety of pupils requires improvement

health and safety. Students spoke enthusiastically about the recent Personal Development day on e-safety. Very good guidance materials about how to stay safe online are provided on the school website and students spoke knowledgeably about how to manage risk.  On the rare occasions that bullying does occur, students have confidence that it will be dealt with effectively. The school has done some work on homophobic bullying, as part of its commitment to promote equal opportunities. However, students in Key Stages 3 and 4 were less aware about the negative impact of homophobic language.

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The leadership and management are good

 Despite the need to reduce staffing and restructure leadership arrangements, the headteacher has skilfully ensured standards of achievement have been consolidated and are set to rise further in 2014. His astute understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses means self- evaluation and planning for improvement are of a high order. He, together with members of the governing body, consistently models high expectations and ambition for the school.  From September 2013, a revised leadership structure was introduced. Leadership responsibilities are now widely distributed across the middle tier of Directors of Learning. The Directors play a crucial role in checking achievement and the quality of teaching within their areas of responsibility. They have readily accepted the task and are developing the necessary skills to undertake the role effectively. The school recognises they need to develop their skills further, so

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The leadership and management are good

that they can increasingly influence others and address remaining areas of underperformance.  Checks on the quality of teaching take place regularly, although some lesson observations in the past have been overgenerous. This has meant some teachers have not had an accurate picture of the quality of their teaching. The school has embedded good in-house systems for the professional development of teachers. Teachers work in groups to coach one another and some departments regularly plan lessons together. Teachers requiring support, work with colleagues in the local authority. These approaches are increasing the proportion of teaching that is good.  Senior leaders and governors manage the performance of staff robustly. Some teachers have had pay awards held back. Newly qualified teachers receive good support, both from colleagues in the school and from the local authority.  The headteacher takes responsibility for leading on curriculum design. The curriculum is

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The leadership and management are good

evolving, as the school recognises more needs to be done to secure good progress in literacy and numeracy. Aspects of the curriculum, such as visits to universities in the region and Personal Development days, promote high aspirations and support transition to the next stage of education.  The local authority has every confidence in the school’s leaders. It works in close partnership with the school and provides a high level of support. A strategic review group comprising of the headteacher, local authority colleagues and governors meets each term to review the school’s progress against key performance indicators. Other local authority colleagues provide tailored support for a number of teachers.  The governance of the school:  Members of the governing body have a clear vision for the school. Central to this is the need to sustain the school at the heart of the local community. Governors ensure safeguarding

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The leadership and management are good

arrangements meet statutory requirements.  The governors have taken difficult decisions to manage a falling roll and deficit budget. Against this background, they have maintained a focus on standards in the school and expect the current Year 11 to achieve highly.  Governors receive good information on the quality of teaching and are well informed about the impact of strategies used to improve teaching. They receive training on school performance data annually and provide well-focused challenge to senior leaders. For example, governors have not accepted lower GCSE performance in some subjects and have pushed for improvements.  Members of the governing body know how the pupil premium is used and check the impact it has on closing gaps in achievement. Their close scrutiny has helped to refine the use of the funding and gaps lower down the school have narrowed.

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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 118076 Local authority East Riding of Yorkshire Inspection number 425876

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School details

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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School details

Type of school Secondary School category Community Age range of pupils 11–16 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 450 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Debbie Lord Headteacher Gavin Chappell Date of previous school inspection 6 March 2012 Telephone number 01430 873450 Fax number 01430 871015 Email address office@tmws.co.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 and 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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