Warblington School

Southleigh Road, Havant, Hampshire, PO9 2RR

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Overall effectiveness

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

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The leadership and management of the school are good. The headteacher and the deputy headteacher have driven the changes that the school needed for sustained improvement.  The governing body and senior leaders have established an ethos of high expectations in all aspects of the school’s work. This is leading to rapid improvements in teaching and achievement.  Governors have an excellent understanding of the school and provide highly effective support and challenge to ensure it continues to improve.  Standards are now rising sharply. Students achieve well across all year groups and in most subjects.  Students feel safe and behave well. They have risen to the new challenges presented to them, and their positive attitude is contributing to their learning and progress.  Students are very proud of their school. They enjoy coming to school, want to learn and work hard in lessons.  Teaching in most subjects is good, with some that

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 As a result of weaker progress in the past not enough students gain the highest grades in their GCSE examinations.  The achievement of all groups of students is not consistently good or better in all subjects.  Not every middle leader challenges their team equally well to ensure there is consistency of practice, for example in the marking and assessment of students' work.

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Information about this inspection

 Thirty four lessons were observed, including several jointly with senior staff.  Meetings took place with students, staff, and representatives of the governing body and local authority.  Inspectors scrutinised a range of documents including the school’s self-evaluation, improvement plans, and policies and safeguarding arrangements.  By the end of the inspection visit, 44 responses to Parent View were collected and analysed.  Inspectors analysed 61 questionnaires that were returned by staff.

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Inspection team

Moazam Parvez, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Warblington School is smaller than most secondary schools.  The proportion of disabled students and those with special educational needs is above average.  There is a high proportion of students who are known to be eligible for free school meals and for whom the school receives additional funding known as the pupil premium.  Most students are from White British backgrounds and the proportion of students who speak English as an additional language is well below average.  The school is part of a soft federation consisting of seven separately managed schools and Woodlands Education Centre (PRU).  The school meets the government’s current floor standards. These set the minimum expectations for students’ attainment and progress.  A small number of students attend vocational courses at other schools in the federation and at South Downs College.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Strengthen the role played by leaders at all levels to bring about further improvement by:  ensuring that all subject leaders further improve the quality and consistency of marking and feedback in their subjects to ensure that this has a positive impact on learning  ensuring that the strategies used to raise achievement are fully evaluated to establish their impact and improve the outcomes for students, particularly for the more able  ensuring current strategies to improve literacy and numeracy are used consistently by all teachers and across all subjects.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching to outstanding in order to accelerate students’ progress and raise attainment by:  sharing more widely the best practice that exists in the school  ensuring all teachers make good use of information about the progress made by students to plan the next stages in their learning  ensuring all students are challenged more in their learning so that they make better progress and can reach high standards.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher has been in post since January 2012. Since then, supported by the governors, the local authority, senior leaders and staff, she has changed the systems and structures that were preventing students from making good progress in the past. This has put the school in a position for these strategies to now make a significant impact on students’ achievement.  The headteacher and deputy headteacher have been relentless in their drive to improve the school since its last inspection two years ago. Their success is evident in the improved achievement of students, particularly in the previously weaker areas of mathematics and modern languages.  Staff are proud to work at the school, as exemplified by one comment which simply said, ‘I love working here’. They believe the school has improved considerably in the recent past due to the effective leadership of the headteacher. Middle leaders speak positively of the headteacher. They know that students'

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The leadership and management are good

attainment and progress must improve further.  Leaders have created a climate within the school where there is a strong desire among teachers to improve their practice and so the achievement of the students. However, not all subject leaders have been consistent in the way they make checks on the quality of work in their departments, including marking and assessment. This has been partly a result of some instability in staffing, which is now resolved. School leaders recognise that effective leadership at all levels is important in order to drive improvement further.  Although better teaching has not yet secured higher standards across all subjects, there is clear evidence that the significant improvements shown in progress in 2014 will lead to a marked increase in the 2015 GCSE results.  Leaders work well with external partners to improve outcomes for students. The school is part of the ‘Havant federation’, a soft federation of seven schools and Woodlands Education Centre (PRU),part of

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The leadership and management are good

whose work is to improve curriculum opportunities for the students. The impact of this initiative is seen, for example, in the access to vocational courses at Horndean Technology College and South Down College.  The local authority has been proactive in supporting the school in its improvement work over the last two years and this partnership has proved to be effective in raising achievement.  The school’s use of the pupil premium, for example, for holiday revision courses in Key Stage 4 and the nurture group in Key Stage 3, is helping to reduce the gaps between eligible students and their peers.  Year 7 catch-up funding is used well to provide reading and a range of intervention programmes for these students. School leaders' checks show that this has had a positive impact on students’ reading ages.  The school follows Unicef's ‘Rights Respecting’ programme to provide opportunities to learn about other

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The leadership and management are good

cultures and faiths. In addition, the school is supporting the building of a school in Zambia to enhance students' understanding of the lives of students in that country. Year 11 students, through ‘Faith in Football’ have raised funds and visited an orphanage in Goa to help build facilities, including enclosures for animals. Since then the school has supported the work of Mustard Seeds Ministries.  Students’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is well developed through the school’s assembly programme and a range of curriculum opportunities including enrichment days, as well as through the school's ‘Personal Development Learning’ programme. The curriculum is effectively matched to the differing needs of the students and prepares them well for the next stage of their education or training.  The school's view about its own performance is accurate and clearly identifies areas it needs to focus on in

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The leadership and management are good

order to secure sustained improvements for the students.  Teachers’ performance is assessed rigorously and teachers only progress up the pay scale if they prove to be effective in raising students’ achievement. This process is clearly beginning to have an impact on students’ progress.  The school’s arrangements for safeguarding meet statutory requirements. All required policies and procedures are in place and staff and governors receive regular appropriate training.  The governance of the school:  The governors have an accurate view of the school’s strengths and areas for development. They support and challenge school leaders to bring about improvement and hold the headteacher and senior staff to account for their actions. They ensure the efficient use of the financial resources to secure maximum impact on students’ progress. Governors understand how the pupil premium and the Year 7 catch-up premium are spent and the impact these are having on students’ achievement.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governing body has a very good understanding of teachers’ performance and of how this is used to determine pay. Governors make sure that performance management of staff, including the headteacher, is rigorous and they are fully involved in the decisions to award pay rises. They have a good understanding of the strengths and areas for development in teaching. They fully meet their statutory responsibilities, such as keeping students safe.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The behaviour of students is good. Behaviour around the school and in lessons is good and is managed effectively by staff using well-established policies and procedures which are known and understood by staff and students. Students are extremely courteous to each other, to their teachers and to other adults.  In the majority of lessons students are cooperative and respond well to teachers' questioning which in many lessons leads to active engagement.  The majority of students enjoy learning and they display positive attitudes and perseverance.  As a result of specific actions attendance has improved significantly since 2013 and is now in line with the national average. This has also been supported by the effective use of pupil premium funding. Procedures for making checks and following up absence have also been effective in reducing levels of persistent absence.  The school’s work to keep students safe and secure is good. Safeguarding is given a high priority and is

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

overseen rigorously by senior leaders and governors.  Students have a good understanding of how to keep themselves safe in a wide range of contexts including when they are online.  Students show good awareness of different types of bullying. They report that bullying is rare, and that when it does occur, teachers and leaders act swiftly and effectively to resolve it.  A shift in focus from negative behaviour points to positive ‘pride points’, which are rewarded by postcards sent home, has been greatly welcomed by students. Consequently, this has contributed to improved behaviour around the school.  The students show a great pride in their own appearance and that of the school.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Raised achievement over time shows that in most subject areas, including English and mathematics, teaching has improved significantly and is now good.  Training for staff is of a high quality and is now a strength of the school. Although student achievement is not yet outstanding, especially at GCSE level, the school is equipping teachers to raise standards further.  Since the last inspection the school has implemented a range of strategies to improve the quality of teaching including ‘stranger, danger’ that encourages observation of teachers by their peers. This has enabled staff to become more confident in being observed. There is a missed opportunity to share more widely the outstanding teaching that exists in the school.  There is a major focus on improving literacy skills in all subjects. Higher expectations of writing have particularly raised standards. The development of numeracy skills is not as advanced but an improved

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The quality of teaching is good

focus on this area is already having a positive impact.  The school regards literacy development as very important in raising standards. It provides additional literacy support in Year 7 to prepare students. In addition, very effective catch-up activities are provided for students with special educational needs and those who are underachieving.  Leaders have established a clear policy for marking and this is now being applied more consistently. The best practice enables students to get a clear understanding of how to improve their work. In most classes students regularly respond to marking. A good example was seen in science where after a review of work there was a marked improvement in students’ levels.  However, not all teachers provide clear enough advice for students about how to further improve their work. Some teachers do not always make sure that students follow up this advice by applying it and

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The quality of teaching is good

showing their teachers that they have understood.  In many lessons teachers used questioning very effectively to promote students’ understanding of work; students are allowed thinking time before answering and are encouraged to extend their answers.  Teachers show a good knowledge and understanding of their subjects and at its best teaching enthuses and inspires students of all abilities. An outstanding example of this was in a Year 7 music lesson where students were inspired to perform a song as a group, to a very professional level, after just one lesson.  The school assesses all students on entry to the school in Year 7 and these baseline assessments are used well to set challenging targets as well as identifying ways to support students' learning.  Information about students’ progress is being more widely used to plan effective lessons in most subjects; however, this practice is still not yet fully applied across the school.

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The achievement of pupils

 As a consequence of strategies used by the school in the past, including one-year GCSE courses, the progress students made was too slow. However, since 2013progress has been increasing and continues to improve.  Progress has improved significantly in 2014 and is now good. The examination analysis presented by the school provides clear evidence to show that all groups of students now make better progress across all year groups.  Despite some improvement in 2014, standards at Key Stage 4 remain below national figures. However, as a result of strategies introduced in 2013, predictions for 2015, based on rigorous assessments and results already obtained, far exceed the results achieved this year at GCSE.  In the past the school has entered students early for English, mathematics and science. As a legacy of this strategy, 60% of students in the current Year 11 already have a GCSE in science and this figure is set

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The achievement of pupils

to increase further so enabling science results to be above national averages in 2015. This action is overturning the current underachievement in science.  The proportion of pupils making at least expected progress in English is in line with the national average. Achievement in mathematics is less strong than in English but is improving rapidly. The school's internal data provide firm evidence that both subjects will continue to improve significantly for 2015.  In recent years, students who are eligible for extra funding have often achieved less well than others. In 2013, on average, they achieved just over one GCSE grade lower than others in both English and mathematics, which is above the national average. Gaps in achievement have been significantly reduced in 2014 to less than one grade in both English and mathematics. Current students eligible for extra funding are now making much better progress.

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The achievement of pupils

 The whole-school focus on raising literacy levels has been successful in raising, in particular, the quality of students’ writing skills. Through the ‘Everyone Reading in Class’ (ERIC) programme, students are encouraged to read a more extensive range of books and reading materials.  Evidence from the work in students’ books shows students’ writing skills develop well, especially in the use of subject-specific or technical vocabulary and terminology.  The school makes effective use of alternative provision to support the engagement of a small number of students and ensure that they achieve well.  The achievement of disabled students and those with special educational needs is good. They make good progress from their individual starting points, similar to or faster than students nationally because of effective and appropriate interventions across all year groups.  The progress the most able students made in 2013 was above national averages in English and in

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The achievement of pupils

mathematics it was in line with national averages. The school's own analysis of results for 2014 suggests that this has improved still further. The school's tracking data show that students in Year 11 have already made significant improvement in their progress and are on track to achieve at levels well above national averages in 2015.  The proportion of students achieving the highest grades in some subjects is well below national levels; however, the school has identified this as an issue that needs to be addressed in the school development plan.  Students attending vocational courses at Horndean Technology College and South Down College are doing well.

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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 failing

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Grade Judgement Description

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 116475 Local authority Hampshire Inspection number 442457

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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 679 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Campbell Murray Headteacher Julia Vincent Date of previous school inspection 26–27 September 2012 Telephone number 023 92475480 Fax number 023 92486127 Email address admin@warblington.hants.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 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

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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