The Hamble School

Hamble Community Sports College Satchell Lane, Hamble-le-Rice, Southampton, SO31 4NE

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Requires improvement 3 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:

 While there have been improvements since the previous inspection, students’ achievement in English, mathematics and science is not yet good and overall improvement has been too slow.  Gaps in the achievement of disadvantaged students when compared with others are not closing with sufficient speed.  Teaching in English, mathematics and science, although improved on the previous inspection, is not planned with enough emphasis on meeting the needs of disadvantaged students.  Teachers’ written and oral feedback to students in order to improve their work are not consistently strong.  Leaders and managers do not use assessment data with sufficient precision to ensure that all groups of students are making good progress. They have not ensured that teaching is good.

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The school has the following strengths:

 Students’ behaviour is good and much improved since the previous inspection. They get on with their work and are respectful to adults.  The college is a safe and orderly community. Bullying is rare and is tackled effectively.  Students achieve well in some subjects including French, design and technology, physical education, history and geography.  Many aspects of leadership and management have improved since the previous inspection. Advice and guidance to students are strengths. Governors have good skills in monitoring the college’s work and in challenging leaders to make improvements.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed learning in 28 lessons. About one-quarter of these observations were carried out jointly with senior leaders.  Inspectors scrutinised the written and other work of groups of students in several subjects in order to determine their progress over a period of time.  Inspectors reviewed documents, including those about students’ attainment and progress, behaviour and safeguarding.  Meetings were held with staff, groups of students, members of the governing body and a representative of the local authority.  The views of 121 parents and carers who submitted them on the Ofsted online Parent View survey, and of 56 staff who completed a questionnaire, were analysed and taken into account.

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Inspection team

Paul Sadler, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The college is an average-sized secondary school. It serves part of the residential area to the east of Southampton.  The proportion of students who are disabled or have special educational needs is average. Most of these students have moderate learning or behavioural difficulties.  The proportion of disadvantaged students known to be eligible for the pupil premium, at 26%, is average. The pupil premium provides additional funding for looked after children and students known to be eligible for free school meals.  The college meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for students’ attainment and progress.  The college uses alternative provision at a commercial training centre that offers courses in hair and beauty, attended by a group of students in Years 10 and 11. A few students attend one of two pupil referral units, while a small number also undertake work experience with a range of employers.

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Information about this school

 During the inspection, Year 11 students were undertaking practice GCSE examinations and their usual lessons were not taking place.  Since the previous inspection there have been a number of changes to senior and middle leadership. The Principal has tendered her resignation with effect from 31 December 2014. The local authority has arranged for a local secondary headteacher to act as interim headteacher, on a part-time basis, for the first part of 2015. The governors are part-way through the process of appointing a new permanent Principal.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching in order to raise students’ achievement in English, mathematics and science by:  ensuring that work is planned to meet the needs of all groups of students, especially those who are disadvantaged  ensuring that the oral and written feedback given to students, so they know how to improve their work, is of consistently high quality  making sure that in all subjects, teachers take opportunities to improve students’ skills in reading, writing and mathematics, especially in Years 10 and 11.  Improve the analysis of the college’s performance in order to sharpen the identification of weaker aspects of students’ achievement and take action to improve them.  Improve the quality of senior and middle leadership in order to close the gaps in the performance of disadvantaged students and others by:  making more effective use of a more precise analysis of their attainment and progress so that their

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

achievement can be accurately identified  using the information from checks and assessments to establish actions so that these students are enabled to make maximum progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

An external review of the college’s use of the pupil premium should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved.

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The leadership and management require improvement

 While college leaders have assembled a comprehensive set of data relating to the college’s performance, this is not used well enough to identify areas of weakness with sufficient precision. In particular, the analysis of the achievement of disadvantaged students is not precise enough to form the basis for action. For example, it is not clear how the performance of those such students who left Year 11 in 2014 compares with that of other students nationally.  Gaps in the performance of disadvantaged students when compared with others are not closing with sufficient speed. Reading is promoted well in Years 7 to 9, but less so in Years 10 and 11. Work to promote the application of mathematics in a range of subjects is less well developed.  Leadership and management do, however, have notable strengths. The behaviour of students has improved considerably since the previous inspection because of the consistent application of rigorous

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The leadership and management require improvement

policies for behaviour. This is recognised by students and staff, although to a lesser extent by parents and carers. In part at least, these improvements have arisen due to effective appointments to the senior leadership team. Governance is more effective.  Good quality plans are in place to improve students’ achievement. These are adapted as a result of checks on how well the plans are working.  The achievement of disabled students and those with special educational needs has improved since the previous inspection. This aspect of the college’s work is well managed and is an example of effective middle leadership.  Middle leadership is improving and is now stronger. Teaching is undoubtedly improving, although it is not yet good in some subjects. New subject leaders are beginning to have an impact, for example in mathematics and science. The performance management of staff is thorough and accurate and good

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The leadership and management require improvement

performance is rewarded appropriately.  The curriculum is designed to meet most students’ needs. Work to introduce changes to the National Curriculum is progressing well. The college is rightly working with other schools to develop new arrangements for checking students’ progress.  The curriculum supports students’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well, for example through work on remembrance, and through the college council which develops students’ understanding of the democratic process. This, together with improved behaviour and greater tolerance and respect shown by students than at the previous inspection, shows that they are well prepared for life in modern Britain.  Leaders make suitable checks on the attendance and behaviour of students who attend the different off- site provisions: the course at a training centre, the pupil referral units and the work experience placements. College staff check that adults working with these students are suitable and also ensure that

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The leadership and management require improvement

students are making good progress. They visit frequently and have close links with these establishments. The new interim headteacher is a member of the management committee of the most-used pupil referral unit.  Students receive good advice and guidance on their options for the future. During the inspection, a group of the most able attended a seminar on entry to the universities of Oxford and Cambridge. College leaders are particularly careful in checking that former students remain in education, employment or training. The college generally promotes equality of opportunity well, although the slow rate of closure of gaps in the performance of disadvantaged students is a weakness.  Safeguarding arrangements meet requirements. They are of good quality and are rightly prioritised highly by college leaders.  Through their responses to the online survey, a minority of parents and carers expressed limited

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The leadership and management require improvement

confidence in the college. However, none made specific complaints to inspectors and those spoken to cited uncertainties over the future leadership of the college as their reason. While inspection evidence supported concerns over some aspects of students’ achievement and teaching, no evidence was found to support concerns about behaviour or bullying.  Since the previous inspection, the college has received much good quality support from the local authority and from independent consultants. These have contributed to improvements in teaching, behaviour and governance. The local authority has assisted in arranging interim leadership when the Principal leaves shortly. For these understandable reasons, the level of support remains quite high at this time.  The governance of the school:  Following the previous inspection, the governors commissioned a review of their performance from the local authority. They have correctly used the findings to sharpen their procedures for checking the

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The leadership and management require improvement

college’s performance and to identify their own training needs. However, they have yet to analyse the impact of the college’s use of additional funding with sufficient precision as they are not provided with information to enable them to do so.  Governors successfully challenge college leaders to areas to improve, for example, students’ behaviour. They understand the college’s performance compared with schools nationally and when compared with similar schools. They are provided with the necessary level of information on teachers’ performance and of how this is used to determine their pay. Governors are effective in ensuring that students are safe in college; they make sure all necessary checks are carried out and are well trained in safe recruitment practice.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. It is much improved since the previous inspection. In lessons, students typically work hard and listen to the teacher carefully. They respond well to questions and instructions. Low-level disruption of lessons, a feature identified at the last inspection, was not observed during this inspection and students told inspectors that it now rarely occurs.  Around the college, students are orderly and are polite to adults, such as when opening doors. The site is relatively free of litter. Students look smart in their college uniform.  Policies for behaviour are understood well by students. They are aware of rewards and sanctions and believe they are applied fairly by staff. Parents and carers are kept informed about their children’s behaviour, especially when they are at risk of exclusion. Fixed-term exclusions have increased as a result of more rigorous application of policies and college leaders rightly monitor these to ensure that the

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Behaviour

increase is temporary.  All students, including those spoken to at random by inspectors, say that bullying is rare and that it is dealt with effectively. Students have a good understanding of the causes of bullying, including racist, homophobic and transgender bullying, and rightly do not tolerate these. This demonstrates the college’s success in promoting harmonious relationships and tackling discrimination.  The college’s detailed logs of behavioural and related incidents were analysed. These confirm that behaviour has been improving steadily over time. The records include minor incidents that might show a developing pattern of behaviour. Extremely isolated serious incidents have been handled and recorded in a very effective way.  Students are also aware of the dangers of misuse of electronic media. They are not allowed to use personal devices in college. College leaders are aware that problems arise with the use of social media

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Behaviour

outside college and take steps to tackle this issue. Students are aware that the internet may be misused by others, for example to encourage inappropriate behaviour or to promote extremism, and of how to take steps to avoid these users.  Behaviour is not outstanding because in a small number of lessons a few pupils arrive late and the lesson is slow to start.

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Safety

 The college’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. All required checks on adults are carried out. Staff are well trained in child protection procedures and those responsible keep good records.  College staff make good use of effective external agencies to support students’ safety. For example, good relationships exist with the Local Safeguarding Children Board and with responsible officers at the local authority.  College leaders carefully check that all the off-site settings are safe. They also regularly check that students are behaving well by visiting and by speaking to the staff, managers and students involved.  The many sporting activities and excursions are also checked carefully for risk. These include for example, a trip to France to visit battlefield graves, and for canoeing.  The great majority of parents and carers agree that their children are safe at the college. This is one of

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Safety

the most positive aspects of their view of the college.  Attendance has improved steadily since the previous inspection and is now broadly average. The proportion of students who are persistently absent has decreased to below average. College leaders are now rightly focusing on improving students’ punctuality.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 The teaching of English, mathematics and science is not yet good because disadvantaged students do not catch up with others quickly enough. This is because work is not always planned with sufficient precision to enable them to do so.  Written and oral feedback to students to enable them to improve their work is variable in quality. In some subjects such as design and technology it is highly effective; in others such as science it is less so.  There are too few opportunities for students to apply their mathematical knowledge in a range of subjects. There are more opportunities for them to read and write, with reading being taught well in Years 7 to 9.  There is evidence from students’ work and other sources that shows that teaching has improved considerably since September 2014. However, since the previous inspection the impact of improved teaching on raising standards of achievement has been too slow.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 The teaching of disabled students and those with special educational needs has improved and is now good. Planning to meet these students’ needs and the checking of their progress are both of good quality.  Teaching over a period of time has been successful in bringing about good achievement in some subjects, notably in design and technology, physical education, French, geography and history. This is due to teachers having high expectations of what students can achieve. Students say that they prefer those subjects where there is an element of choice about whether to follow the course, rather than those they are required to study.  Homework is used well in most subjects to enhance students’ progress.

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requires improvement

 GCSE examination results in 2012 and 2013 were generally below national averages, and preliminary analysis of results in 2014 show improvement in English and some other subjects. Results in mathematics and science appear to be similar to those attained in 2013.  Little progress has been made in closing the gaps in performance that exist between disadvantaged students and others. In 2013, the attainment of these students in GCSE mathematics and English was on average about one grade lower than that of other students in the college, and was slightly more than this when compared with students nationally.  Preliminary data for 2014 suggest little improvement in the achievement of disadvantaged students. Of particular concern is the fact that only 20% of these students attained five A* to C passes in GCSE including English and mathematics, compared with 61% among the rest of the college’s students. There

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requires improvement

has been some improvement in the proportion of disadvantaged students making the progress expected. The college’s data on the attainment of current eligible students also predict little improvement in 2015.  Disabled students and those with special educational needs achieve well. Their performance relative to other students is improving year-on-year. An important factor in this improvement is the good development of their reading skills, especially in Years 7 to 9. For example, more than three quarters of these students leaving in 2014 had made good progress in English, which is above the national average.  Other students are competent readers, although the range of reading undertaken in Years 10 and 11 by some is limited. Students’ confidence in applying their mathematical skills is more patchy, especially in Years 7 to 9.  The most able students achieve well, notably in physics, chemistry, biology, aspects of design and

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requires improvement

technology and in art and design. These students rightly feel the college has served them well and that they have a good range of options for the future.  The college’s sports specialism is used well to enable students to achieve highly in this area. They understand the need for exercise and succeed in a wide range of sports and related activities, some at regional or national level.  Students’ work shows that they have an increasingly good understanding of spiritual, moral, social and cultural matters. Many spoke eloquently of the college’s remembrance events. The Royal British Legion came with its standards and ‘The Last Post’ was played. The occasion clearly had a profound effect on many students. Their understanding of British values was also enhanced.  Students attending alternative provision achieve well. Most succeed at the hair and beauty course and many of those attending pupil referral units return to mainstream education. Students attending work

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requires improvement

experience use the skills gained when applying for college courses or employment.  Early entry for GCSE has been used until recently in English. It does not appear to have limited achievement.

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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 116413 Local authority Hampshire Inspection number 449002

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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 928 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Gary Camfield Principal Geraldine Halley-Gordon Date of previous school inspection 5–6 December 2012 Telephone number 023 804 52105 Fax number 023 804 57439 Email address general@hamblecollege.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

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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