Savio Salesian College

Savio Salesian College Netherton Way, Bootle, Merseyside, L30 2NA

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Inadequate 4 This inspection: Requires improvement 3 Leadership and management Requires improvement 3 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Requires improvement 3 Achievement of pupils Requires improvement 3

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

 The attainment and progress of students in mathematics have been below national averages since 2011 and have not improved rapidly enough.  Actions taken by leaders, managers and governors to improve teaching have only recently begun to have an impact so students are only now beginning to make better progress in lessons.  Staff absences in mathematics have meant students have not been well taught in the past. They have much ground to make up before they can reach national standards.  Teaching over time has not been effective in ensuring all students make steady progress. More able students and disadvantaged students have not made the progress they are capable of in lessons.  Not enough teachers insist students respond to feedback on their work. Suggestions teachers make about how students can improve their written work are not always taken up by students and as a result they miss the opportunity to improve it.

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

 Teachers sometimes explain more complex ideas in too many or too few steps, and do not adjust their explanations to take account of more able students being able to understand more quickly, and less able students needing additional smaller steps. As a result some students lose interest or do not understand the ideas clearly enough.  Leaders and managers do not make sure students practise their mathematical skills in all subjects, so they can strengthen these skills and understand how mathematics can be used in a wide range of situations.

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The school has the following strengths

 Standards and progress in English for the majority of students has risen since 2012. In the last two years, students have attained standards similar to, and some above, national averages in English.  Actions taken by leaders and managers to improve teaching have recently begun to have some effect, including in mathematics, and students’ progress in lessons is beginning to improve.  Students behave well in lessons and around school. They say they feel safe in school. They feel secure and well supported because of the school’s caring and supportive ethos.  Students with additional personal needs are particularly well supported by the school.  Attendance has improved and is now in line with national averages.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors saw 29 teaching sessions or parts of sessions, involving 28 teachers. Six sessions were seen jointly by inspectors and senior leaders.  Inspectors met formally with groups of students and talked informally to students in lessons and around the school. They also discussed the school’s work with the headteacher, senior leaders and pastoral and subject leaders and the special needs co-ordinator. Inspectors also met with the Chair of Governors and a Diocesan governor, and a representative from the local authority. An inspector spoke on the telephone with the headteacher of the partner school, All Hallows Catholic College.  Inspectors also took into account the 15 responses to the online questionnaire, Parent View, and the school’s survey of the views of parents of Year 9 students and views of the students themselves.  Inspectors observed the work of the school, including the school’s breakfast club, students’ written work in

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Information about this inspection

their books, the school’s records of students’ progress and attainment, minutes of governing body meetings, reports from external consultants, the school’s evaluation of its work and the plans made to improve the school. Inspectors also looked closely at records in relation to safeguarding, child protection, attendance and behaviour.

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Inspection team

Nell Banfield, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Full report

In accordance with section 13 (5) of the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that the school no longer requires significant improvement.

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Information about this school

 Savio Salesian College is smaller than the average-sized secondary school. There are slightly more boys than girls.  The proportion of students supported by school action is slightly below that found nationally. The proportion supported by school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is slightly above that usually found.  The proportion of disadvantaged students supported by the pupil premium (additional funding for those pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals and those children that are looked after) is high, at nearly twice the national average.  Most students are White British and there are very few who speak English as an additional language.  The school is above the government’s current floor standard, which sets the minimum expectations for students’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics.  A small number of students from Years 10 and 11 attend a local authority centre to help them manage

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Information about this school

their behaviour better. A very small number of students follow courses in English, mathematics and vocational subjects away from the school site at Harmonize Academy.  The school continues to be a specialist college for business and enterprise and students have won national competitions in this area. The school holds the Merseyside Citizenship Award, the National Standard for Enterprise Education and International School status. The school has also been awarded The Merseyside Law Society Public Speaking Champions (Award) for 2014.  The school has recently appointed an additional senior leader for mathematics.  The school is working in close partnership with the headteacher of All Hallows Catholic College, who is a National Leader of Education.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve teaching to good so that pupils make faster progress by:  ensuring all teachers clearly explain challenging ideas in steps that do not move on too slowly or too rapidly, and are closely linked to the stages in students’ learning  making sure students respond to suggestions about how to improve their work.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve leadership and management by:  all subject leaders making sure students apply mathematical skills in different subjects  ensuring leaders for mathematics accelerate the recent improvements in teaching in the subject, so students reach higher standards and make faster progress.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Leadership requires improvement because, apart from an increase in standards achieved by students in English in 2013 and 2014, the standards achieved over time by the majority of students, and especially in mathematics, remain below national levels.  The leadership of teaching has not led rapidly enough to consistently good teaching. As a result, students’ progress, particularly the progress of the most able students and those supported by pupil premium funding, has been for some time below the rates of progress of similar students nationally. However, the progress of current students in lessons is beginning to improve, as the actions taken begin to have an impact on teaching. This improvement is being well supported by the partner school.  The school has taken its time to plan a coherent programme of training for teachers and aspects of this training are now being seen regularly in teaching. Teachers value the skills they are now beginning to use

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The leadership and management requires improvement

regularly in lessons. The leader for teaching has developed support programmes and further training to help teachers improve their teaching more rapidly.  Leaders have recently appointed an additional leader for mathematics to accelerate improvement, and have reports from external consultants for mathematics so leaders can be clear about what needs to change in the subject so standards rise and students’ progress increases more rapidly.  Pupil premium funding has been used to provide additional teaching time so students supported by this funding can catch up on lost ground and many students supported in this way have improved their progress. The additional teaching in mathematics, however, was less effective than anticipated partly because the regular teaching in mathematics was not consistently strong and students continued to lose ground. Use of this funding, and of the Year 7 catch up funding, is effective in improving reading skills, is

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The leadership and management requires improvement

carefully monitored, and steps are now taken to inform governors about its use and the impact it has had.  All students gain experience of working in a workplace environment and parents say they value this experience for their son or daughter. It is used well to prepare students for the future. As a result of the school’s business and enterprise specialism, students have additional and effective opportunities to find out about businesses and the workplace. All students have interviews to discuss their course choices after Year 11 and students supported by the pupil premium funding have additional support and interviews. As a result, the numbers of students not in education, training or employment after Year 11 are very low.  The school’s curriculum matches the needs of students and enables them to progress on to college and sixth form when they leave. The school is effective in developing individual courses for students with

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The leadership and management requires improvement

specific needs and this is evidence of the school’s commitment to students’ equal opportunities to achieve and succeed. The curriculum is used well to reinforce the school’s clear message, through its faith and regard for others, of respect for oneself and others in all they do. As a result, there are very few instances of name calling or derogatory language used in and around school.  The school’s arrangements for safeguarding students and staff are effective and meet statutory requirements. The local authority has provided effective support for the English department who have raised standards in the subject so they are now in line with, and in some cases above, national levels.  The governance of the school:  Governors have been on a rapid improvement journey and have benefited significantly from training so they are clear about their responsibilities and have the skills to carry them out. They now challenge not

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The leadership and management requires improvement

only the headteacher and senior leaders about the impact of their actions to improve, but also middle and subject leaders on the same issues. They know why some students have not benefited from the additional teaching funded by pupil premium funding and are seeking more information about how well Year 7 students are improving as a result of support funded by Year 7 catch up money. They have effectively supported the school in implementing accountability for leaders, including managing the performance of teachers. Only teachers who effectively promote students’ progress gain pay awards.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Students move around the school in an orderly way, open doors for visitors and work well together in the classroom. Most students listen in lessons and promptly follow instructions given to them by staff. A very small minority occasionally talk when the teacher is teaching or interrupt but this occurs mostly when teaching is not clear or they do not fully understand what they have to do. Students say there are few occasions when behaviour of a small minority disturbs their learning and they are clear what will happen if they misbehave.  Students take care of their school and are proud of their work. Most written work is clearly presented and students are keen to do their best. They wait patiently in the dining room and thrive on the responsibilities given, for example, to coach other students in physical education lessons.  Students and parents agree that bullying is rare and students say they would trust a member of staff to

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Behaviour

help them if they were upset or worried.  The actions taken by leaders of attendance have resulted in attendance levels rising to almost national averages. The number of students excluded from school has reduced because of actions taken by leaders to establish a dedicated room for students in school, who at one time would have been excluded. Here, they reflect on their behaviour, catch up with their work and return to lessons after an agreed period.  Most students say they feel part of the Salesian community and as a result, students feel valued and well supported. They develop a strong spiritual, social, moral and cultural understanding, particularly through religious education lessons and the school’s ethos. Students were helped to explore different family structures and customs by referring to the previous night’s television programme which featured a Muslim family. In a piece of writing in history, they described how events can lead to stereotyping of different

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Behaviour

beliefs such as 9/11 could lead to stereotyping of Islam.  Students who follow courses away from the school site are monitored closely and they improve their attendance and behaviour because the smaller setting meets their needs well.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Students and parents agree they are safe in school and the site is well managed so students are well supervised at break and lunchtimes.  Students with additional needs are very well supported by staff who understand their needs and provide a range of facilities to ensure they feel secure in school, and able to make progress in their learning.  Students know how to keep themselves safe using mobile phones and social networking sites. They know people using these technologies are not always who they pretend to be and know not to give personal information to others on the sites.  The safety of students who follow courses away from the school site is monitored and supported closely including supporting them travelling to and from the setting independently. Regular contact is made through visits, telephone calls and emails.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teaching requires improvement because, although better teaching is beginning to lead to students making better progress, this has not happened over time. Teaching in mathematics, partly because of staff absence, has meant students have had temporary teachers and students’ knowledge and understanding has not been well developed. As a result, the progress of more able students and those supported by pupil premium funding, has lagged behind the main body of students in the school. Students know this and say their progress in mathematics has not been as good as in other subjects where teaching has improved more rapidly, such as English.  Teachers do not always plan explanations and descriptions to match the stages in the learning of students in the class. Sometimes, explanations are too detailed or cover too much ground so students of lower ability do not understand the topic enough to complete the work and move on. In other lessons,

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

explanations do not give enough detail or are too general for more able students, so they do not have the chance to think about, explore or discuss more complex issues.  Students do not have opportunities to improve their understanding of mathematics across different subjects. There is no agreed way of drawing graphs across all subjects so when, for example, a graph is part of science work, students do not strengthen their understanding of how mathematics can be used productively in a range of situations.  Although teachers have set targets for students to reach in their learning, the expectations of the improvement each student needs to make, have not been consistent across subjects or for all teachers. Senior leaders have now improved the accuracy of assessment and have established a target setting process across the school, so there is now a minimum expectation for the progress each student needs to

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

make. These are now shared regularly with students, and teachers are beginning to plan teaching consistently so all students, including the most able and students supported by pupil premium funding, can achieve their targets.  Teachers regularly mark students’ written work and suggest a task to help the students practise what they need to do to improve. Although many students respond to this, a number do not and they lose the opportunity to improve their work. Students spoken to said practising an answer or skill they had not quite understood as a result of the teacher suggesting a way they could do this, was helpful in making them more confident in their work in the next few lessons.  Training for teachers is helping them to ask searching questions of students, so students have to explain what they are thinking and describe what they know. This helps students gain strong understanding in the subject. Students say they enjoy the group work and describe how they learn from other students’ ideas

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

and understanding. In a Year 9 history lesson on the origin of the NHS, the teacher effectively supported students discussing in groups where the money comes from to pay for the NHS, and how the service could be managed differently whilst still providing good quality health care.  The steps taken to improve students’ reading skills and their writing, funded by Year 7 catch up funding, have been successful and students in Year 9 were able to write at length, using paragraphs and extended sentences about a key twentieth century event of their choice, showing their ability to explain, describe, analyse and evaluate its impact on society at the time.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Students enter the school working at standards close to students nationally. However, not all are achieving these standards in English and mathematics by the time they the leave school. Not enough students achieve as well as they can.  In the last three years, students in the school, including the most able and those supported by pupil premium funding, have made slower progress from their starting points than students nationally.  Disadvantaged students have made slower progress than the main group of students in the school in English and mathematics since 2011. In 2014, disadvantaged students made progress very close to the rates of progress of non-disadvantaged students in these subjects.  On average, in 2013, disadvantaged students attained almost a full grade lower in English and in mathematics, than other students in the school. They gained higher standards in English compared with non-disadvantaged students nationally, but lower standards in mathematics than non-disadvantaged

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

students nationally.  Disabled students and those with special educational needs as a result of good support are achieving well from their starting points in English and mathematics. Teaching assistants help students in lessons to understand what is being taught and adapt the written work to ensure they gain the confidence and understanding to achieve alongside their peers.  The most able students are narrowing the gap between their attainment and the attainment of similar students nationally, but the gap is not yet closed. As a result of teaching which is now planned more carefully to match their stages in learning, the most able students, especially those in Year 7 in mathematics, are beginning to make better progress.  Standards attained in some other subjects in the school are improving and more students reached the higher A*-A GCSE grades in 2014, such as in religious education. Students achieve very well in business

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

subjects, as a result of close links with businesses through the school’s business and enterprise specialism. Students’ attainment in science and art and design in 2014 was close to national averages.  Students are no longer entered early for examinations and follow the course through to the summer of Year 11 before taking GCSE and other examinations.  The progress of students who follow courses away from the school site is monitored closely and they make better progress than previously because the courses are more suited to their interests and talents.

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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 104959 Local authority Sefton Inspection number 447706

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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 Voluntary aided 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 518 Of which, number on roll in sixth form 0 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair John Toye Headteacher Father G Briody Date of previous school inspection 22 May 2013 Telephone number 0151 521 3088 Fax number 0151 525 8435 Email address admin@saviosalesiancollege.com 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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