Manningtree High School

Manningtree High School Colchester Road, Lawford, Manningtree, CO11 2BW

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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

 Since the previous inspection, leaders, managers and the governing body have successfully improved the quality of teaching and students’ achievement.  The achievement of students has risen particularly well in English, sharply contributing to the good level of achievement across the school.  Much of the teaching is good. Teachers use questioning skilfully to develop students’ knowledge and understanding of what they are studying.  Students are strong advocates of the school. Students take up many leadership opportunities and make significant contributions within the school. They are very active in raising money for charities.  Students’ behaviour in and around the school is good. They feel safe. Students are very polite and courteous to one another and toward staff and visitors.  The curriculum is wide in scope in a manner that enriches the lives of the students and strengthens their spiritual, moral, social and cultural

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 The quality of marking and written feedback given to students is inconsistent across the school. Students do not always act on the feedback provided.  There is not enough outstanding teaching, as some activities do not sufficiently challenge the most-able students.  The monitoring of teaching does not consistently focus on the achievement of different groups of learners over time.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspection team visited 37 lessons, observing 35 teachers. Eight lessons were observed jointly with members of the senior leadership team. Inspectors also conducted a series of further brief observations of students’ learning, behaviour and achievement.  Inspectors looked at students’ work and observed the supervision of the students at different points during the school day.  Meetings were held with groups of students, governors, the senior leadership team and staff.  Inspectors took account of the 232 responses available on the online Parent View questionnaire, and considered the school’s own survey of the views of parents and carers. In addition, they took account of the responses to the staff survey.  Inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at its improvement plans, records and analyses of students’ behaviour, the tracking of students’ progress and a range of students’ work. They scrutinised

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Information about this inspection

attendance figures, documentation and evidence of safeguarding arrangements, as well as information for parents available on the school website.  During the inspection, students and staff were participating in ‘Charities Week’, raising money for a number of different organisations.

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Inspection team

Raymond Lau, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is a smaller-than-average secondary school.  Most students are White British.  One fifth of the students are known to be eligible for the pupil premium (additional funding provided to the school for students known to be eligible for free school meals). This proportion is below the national average.  At just over one tenth, the proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is below average.  The school uses no alternative provision for its students.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for achievement and progress at the end of Year 11.  The school is a founder member of the North East Essex Education Partnership (NEEEP) and works closely with other local academies within the partnership. One member of staff supports the coaching of newly appointed middle managers and developing support teams within the partnership.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve teaching and students’ achievement to outstanding by making sure that:  marking and written teacher feedback are of the highest quality throughout the school, and that students act upon the advice in order to accelerate their progress  activities are consistently engaging and challenging for the most-able students  leaders, including subject leaders, use a wide range of evidence when monitoring teaching and focus clearly on the achievements of different groups of students over time.

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The leadership and management are good

 Ably assisted by the senior leadership team, the headteacher has provided strong and decisive leadership since the last inspection in tackling previous areas of weakness, particularly the achievement of students in English.

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The leadership and management are good

 More robust systems of monitoring and evaluation of how well students achieve have improved students’ achievement and the quality of teaching, both of which are now good. Behaviour and safety remain good, and are strongly improving. The school has successfully addressed differences in students’ achievements in the past and it fosters good relations.

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The leadership and management are good

 Subject and other leaders are effective at leading their departments. Their records show a consistent approach to monitoring across the school. Where achievement is weaker in some subjects – for example, in physical education and drama – the school has made appointments to strengthen the leadership in these areas. Subject and other leaders are focusing on raising the quality of teaching and this is beginning to improve students’ achievement.

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The leadership and management are good

 The pupil premium is used appropriately on additional staffing, resources and partially funded trips. The work of academic mentors has contributed to the rise in the achievement of disadvantaged students in both English and mathematics.

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The leadership and management are good

 Systems of performance management are effective. The information from performance management is used to plan appropriate professional development for staff. A group of dedicated staff is responsible for improving teaching. Through a combination of mentoring and supervision, they have successfully raised the quality of teaching across the school.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school generally tackles discrimination by monitoring the performance of different groups of learners at a whole-school level, with suitable arrangements made to improve students’ achievements. However, there are some inconsistencies, where more-able pupils are not helped to make consistently good progress.

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The leadership and management are good

 While the school converted to academy status prior to the last inspection, it continues to work in partnership with the local authority. The local authority provides good support to the school. This support has built up the capacity of leadership in English, which has resulted in a successful rise in student achievement.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school works well in local partnership within a consortium. For example, it is working with other schools to develop new arrangements for assessing students’ work following changes to assessment that are being introduced nationally.

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The leadership and management are good

 The curriculum is broad and balanced. While subject choice is primarily academically focused in Key Stage 4, the school has ensured that a small but suitable range of vocational subjects can be studied on-site. For example, some students study towards a Level 2 qualification in construction, which links to the local further education college. Teaching in lessons is well supported by a wide range of extra-curricular activities, noticeably in the areas of sport and music.

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The leadership and management are good

 The curriculum is enhanced by the Year 7 and Year 8 fortnightly ‘curriculum days’, where work is organised around a particular theme, and the personal, social, health and educational days that strongly promote students’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Religious education and assemblies provide a strong contribution to students’ preparation for living in modern multi-cultural Britain. The activities week in summer is highly popular with students. The range of trips and activities help to strengthen students’ social and cultural development. The information, advice and guidance offered by the school prepare students well for their subject choices at Key Stage 4 and post-16.

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The leadership and management are good

 The senior, subject and other leaders frequently monitor teaching and sample students’ work. However, some monitoring lacks rigour. This is because it focuses too much on what the teacher does during lessons, and not sufficiently on what and how the different groups of learners are making progress. Leaders’ judgements on the quality of teaching do not always take into consideration the full range of evidence available. Consequently, the school’s view of teaching over time is too generous.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school  The governing body is effective at providing good levels of support and at challenging senior leaders to raise students’ achievement, improve the quality of teaching and manage students’ behaviour. Governors make regular visits to the school, including targeted ‘governors weeks’ across the academic year. They also frequently talk to students about their learning.  Governors are aware of the performance of different groups of students, including disadvantaged students. They understand how well the school performs against other schools, both locally and nationally. Governors are aware of the quality of teaching and ensure that the processes for performance management are fully in place. Along with the headteacher, they ensure that recommendations for raises in teachers' pay are not automatic. They are aware of how the school addresses issues related to staff underperformance.

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The leadership and management are good

 Governors ensure that the school meets the statutory requirements for safeguarding, including regular effective checking of the single central record. Governors have ensured that the systems and procedures for the school are financially secure.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. The school has taken very successful actions to ensure that the students are proud to be part of the school. One student stated, ‘The school cares about you.’ Students’ conduct around the school is good. Despite the limitations in space at break times and lunchtimes, students behave very well. They wear their uniform proudly and are supportive of each other.

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Behaviour

 Since the previous inspection, attendance has risen to above average. The number of students deemed to be persistently absent from school has decreased. The number of students who have been excluded has also fallen significantly.

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Behaviour

 Students' attitudes to learning are good in most lessons and occasionally outstanding. Students have good levels of concentration and generally show a desire to learn. Students state that they particularly enjoy learning where it is more practical, or in cases where their learning links to the world of work. In a Year 7 drama lesson, students were studying ‘symbolism’, for which they used props. The teacher’s highly skilful approaches to what the students were learning enabled them to be fully engaged, and highly committed to their learning and contributing to the learning of others.

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Behaviour

 The proportion of students taking up responsibilities for making the school an even better community is impressive. Over 140 students have taken a role in this context, either, being a member of the school council, mentoring younger students or supporting learning in different subject areas. During the inspection, all students actively participated in the ‘Charities Week’ to raise money for their nominated charities. This opportunity galvanised students to develop their social and cultural skills. As a result, last year, students successfully raised £6500 for charities, showing an excellent contribution to the community.

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Behaviour

 Very occasionally, in lessons, students become distracted and drift off task.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. The school takes effective action to make sure that students are safe in and around the school site, as well as on trips, through robust risk assessments. Through the effective teaching of personal, social and health education using themed days throughout the academic year, students are able to show a good awareness of what constitutes safe and unsafe situations.

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Safety

 The school has taken effective action to tackle discriminatory and derogatory language. For example, some students act as youth health champions and have successfully raised the profile and awareness of challenging stereotypes of sexual identity.  Students have a good understanding of different types of bullying. They know about the dangers of social networking. They state that bullying occasionally occurs, but that this is swiftly dealt with. However, some parents who responded to Parent View expressed concerns regarding bullying. The school is actively responding with a range of effective actions, including younger students gaining an online e-safety qualification, to eliminate the dangers of cyber-bullying and to raise awareness of such behaviour.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers create a good atmosphere for learning. The relationships between teachers and students are strong. Generally, teachers have high expectations of their students. Teachers prepare and plan lessons by linking a series of activities that generally provide suitable work. Students commented on the increased amount of homework that is set and how this has aided their learning in class.

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The quality of teaching is good

 In most lessons, students work well and show good levels of concentration. In a Year 10 art lesson, students worked independently on their own personal projects. They were well focused and enjoyed their learning. The teacher provided a good level of feedback, which aided them in improving their work.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The school has successfully addressed previous weaknesses in students’ achievement in English. This includes strengthening the teaching of reading, promoting literacy across the school and increasing the consistently good quality of English teaching.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The school is now strengthening its provision for teaching numeracy. Students are benefiting from using visual symbols that represent different numeracy concepts.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Where teaching is less effective, the work provided to students does not sufficiently motivate or challenge learners to achieve more. On some occasions, the activities do not provide suitable challenge for developing the knowledge, skills and understanding of the most-able students within the class.

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The quality of teaching is good

 There is good assessment and marking in English and art. However, the quality of written feedback is inconsistent and does not always focus on what the student has learned, nor does it provide feedback regarding what they need to improve upon. Students do not always act upon comments to help them achieve faster progress. The quality of oral feedback is much stronger.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Students join the school with above-average attainment. By the time they leave the school, their attainment has accelerated further. Students make good progress.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 In 2014, there was a considerable increase on the previous year in the proportion of students gaining five good grades at GCSE, including English and mathematics. The proportion of students making expected and exceeding expected progress in English was above the national average. Concerted actions and efforts at improving the quality of teaching in English have also accelerated above-average attainment in reading. In mathematics, the proportion of students making or exceeding expected progress is slightly above the national picture. Students’ attainment in mathematics is above average.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 In 2014, boys' attainment increased greatly; the previous gap with girls has closed. Attainment in drama and physical education is weaker compared with English and mathematics. Tracking indicates that students are currently on target for achieving better than in 2014.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Students who benefit from the Year 7 ‘catch-up’ funding are making good progress in improving their literacy and numeracy skills. Disabled students and those who have special educational needs are making good progress in relation to their starting points. The support given to these students is good and, as a result, in 2014, the attainment of these students in GCSE rose considerably.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Disadvantaged students are making particularly good progress in English. In mathematics, students are generally making good progress. The gap in students’ attainment in both English and mathematics, when compared to other students within the school and nationally, is approximately one half of a grade. However, the gap in mathematics between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged students is slightly larger. Action taken by the school, including targeted support, has been effective in narrowing this gap. The achievement of disadvantaged students is good in Key Stage 3.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The most-able students achieve good grades. The proportion of students gaining higher grades at GCSE level has risen; notably in history, English and science. However, this is not consistently the case in all subjects. No students are entered early for GCSE examinations.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Progress across the school is good. It is generally stronger in English and mathematics than in other subjects. Some slight variations exist among different groups of learners; nevertheless, the good quality of teaching is having a positive impact on students’ 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 137945 Local authority Essex Inspection number 452846

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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 Academy converter Age range of pupils 11–16 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 770 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Emma Finney-Hewitson Headteacher Deborah Hollister Date of previous school inspection 4–5 June 2013 Telephone number 01206 392852 Fax number 01206 391512 Email address school@manningtree.essex.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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