Stepney All Saints Church of England Secondary School

School report Sir John Cass’s Foundation and Red Coat Church of England Secondary School

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Outstanding 1 This inspection: Inadequate 4 Leadership and management Inadequate 4 Behaviour and safety of pupils Inadequate 4 Quality of teaching Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Sixth form provision Inadequate 4

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a school that requires special measures.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Senior leaders are not doing enough to ensure that students are kept safe.  Evaluations of safeguarding arrangements are not thorough. Important records of the checks made on staff and other adults working with students are incomplete.  The school has not put in place steps to ensure that students, staff and governors understand the risks posed by extremism.  The sixth form is inadequate. This is because students have not been given sufficient guidance on the dangers associated with using the internet, particularly in relation to extremist views.  Leaders’ roles and accountabilities are not sufficiently clear. Communication between school leaders about important safeguarding practices has been poor. Communication between school leaders and governors about these issues has also been poor.  Arrangements for vetting visiting speakers and monitoring the activities of student groups are not robust enough to ensure that students are kept

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

safe.  The school’s approach to the use of playgrounds and common rooms has resulted in the separation of boys and girls when they are out of lessons. Consequently, students of different genders do not always mix together socially.  The governing body is not demonstrating sufficient capacity to bring about improvements. Governors are too dependent on the headteacher and senior leaders for information. They do not provide sufficient challenge about all aspects of the school’s work.  The governing body is failing to ensure that all statutory safeguarding requirements are met.

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The school has the following strengths

 Teaching is good. Teachers have good subject knowledge. They plan lessons which offer students appropriate levels of challenge. As a result, students make good progress, particularly in Key Stages 3 and 4.  Students’ achievements at the end of Key Stage 4 have been consistently above national averages. Students make outstanding progress in English and mathematics.  Disadvantaged students, disabled students and those with special educational needs achieve well.  The school’s ethos promotes spiritual aspects of education well. In the formal curriculum and in assemblies, students benefit from opportunities to pray together and to learn about different faiths.  Students’ behaviour is good. Students have positive attitudes to their learning and they are keen to achieve well. Attendance figures are above the national average.  Students in the sixth form make particularly good progress on vocational courses of study.

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Information about this inspection

 This inspection was conducted without notice under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. The focus was on safeguarding. It was subsequently deemed an inspection under section 5 of the Act, due to the extent of concerns related to safeguarding, and leadership and management.  Inspectors observed 28 lessons, some jointly with senior leaders. Inspectors also made three shorter visits to lessons to look at students’ work and progress.  Inspectors held meetings with the headteacher, other senior leaders, subject and pastoral leaders, the special educational needs coordinator, the Chair of the Governing Body and two other representatives. The lead inspector had a telephone discussion with a representative from the local authority.  Inspectors scrutinised the single central record of checks carried out on staff and other adults who work with students at the school, other documents relating to safeguarding and child protection, and the

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Information about this inspection

school’s records of behaviour and attendance. They looked at the school’s development plans, documents relating to performance management and records of students’ achievements. Inspectors conducted an internet search; as part of this, they found web pages and videos which had been uploaded by a sixth form society.  Inspectors spoke to groups of students in meetings and more informally around the school site.  Inspectors considered the views of 103 staff who returned the staff questionnaire. They considered the views of parents gathered by the school. There were too few responses on Parent View, the online questionnaire for parents, for inspectors to evaluate.

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Inspection team

Russell Bennett, Lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Alan Taylor-Bennett Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Gill Walley Additional Inspector October 2014 3 of 10

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Full report

In accordance with the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that this school requires special measures because it is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the persons responsible for leading, managing or governing the school are not demonstrating the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school.

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Information about this school

 Sir John Cass’s Redcoat Foundation and Church of England School is a larger-than -average secondary school. It has a large sixth form. A significant proportion of students join the sixth form from other local state-funded and independent schools.  Almost all students are from minority ethnic backgrounds and many speak English as an additional language. The largest ethnic group is of Bangladeshi heritage.  The proportion of students with special educational needs supported at school action is below the national average. The proportion of students who are supported at school action plus or with statement of special educational needs is below average.  The proportion of students eligible for additional government funding through the pupil premium is well above the national average. This additional funding is for students who are eligible for free school meals or those who are looked after by the local authority.

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Information about this school

 A very small number of students have transferred to the Tower Hamlets Pupil Referral Unit in order to meet their individual needs.  The school meets the government’s current floor standard, which sets the minimum expectations for students’ attainment and progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve systems for safeguarding students so that statutory requirements are met and all relevant guidance is fully adhered to, by:  making use of strategies, such as ‘Prevent’ , to train staff and to raise the awareness of all students about the risks associated with extremism, particularly those in the sixth form  strengthening the monitoring of the activities of student groups, and vetting visiting speakers more thoroughly  making clear when and how the school’s safeguarding and child protection policies will be revised, and ensuring that this schedule is adhered to  ensuring that plans for a more secure system to monitor whether sixth form students are on or off site during the school day are implemented quickly.  Ensure that leadership and management are effective by:  making sure that the different roles and accountabilities of individual leaders and governors are clarified  strengthening improvement plans, so that there are more precise measures in place to monitor different

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

aspects of the school’s work during the year  ensuring that governors hold leaders fully to account for all aspects of the school’s work, including regularly checking that all statutory safeguarding requirements are met  setting out clear arrangements for the monitoring and evaluation of all school policies  evaluating the current arrangements for boys’ and girls’ access to facilities around the site at social times, so that opportunities for social interaction and equality of opportunity are promoted fully.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

An external review of governance should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved. The school should not seek to appoint appoint newly qualified teachers. October 2014 4 of 10

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 Leaders and managers have not ensured that statutory safeguarding requirements are met. Although a new member of staff has been appointed recently to administer these checks, the allocation of roles and accountabilities in relation to such record keeping has not been sufficiently clear. This has resulted in gaps in recording essential information. The school states that checks are conducted on visiting speakers, but inspectors were not provided with sufficient evidence of these checks being conducted or recorded in a systematic or thorough manner.  Some staff are unaware of the statutory guidance around keeping children safe in education. Training in child protection has taken place, which includes reference to recognising the risks of forced marriage and female genital mutilation. However, training has not been provided to reflect fully the particular safeguarding context of this school. For example, neither staff nor governors have received any training in

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The leadership and management are inadequate

how to identify or respond to the early signs of extremism and/or radicalisation.  The school’s leadership has not responded with sufficient urgency or decisiveness to concerns brought to their attention by the police in 2013/2014. This concern related to social media sites bearing the name of a school sixth form society and containing links to individuals associated with extremist activity. Senior staff and governors failed to inform students or parents of this serious concern. Neither was any information, education or training provided for students, staff, governors or parents. Leaders have not adapted the curriculum in the sixth form to ensure that everyone is aware of such dangers. This is particularly concerning in view of the numbers of students who join the sixth form from other state-funded or independent schools.  Leaders have not updated safeguarding and child protection policies as required by statutory guidance.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 Leaders have organised separate boys’ and girls’ entrances and exits to the school. Although there are mixed dining and study areas, segregated boys’ and girls’ outdoor and indoor spaces are provided at breaktimes and lunchtimes. As a consequence, boys and girls do not have equal access to the school’s facilities. For example, girls cannot use the football cages provided in the boys’ playground. In the sixth form, girls say that they do not go into the mixed common room, resulting in boys and girls segregating into two separate areas. Little understanding is shown by students or staff as to the reasons for this separation. The consequence is the limiting of opportunities for boys and girls to interact socially and develop skills for life in modern Britain. This approach does not promote equal opportunities for all.  Senior leaders monitor the quality of teaching through regular observations, drop-ins and reviews of

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The leadership and management are inadequate

achievement information. Middle leaders have been provided with effective support and challenge so that they can diagnose what needs to improve in teaching. There are regular reviews of the work of departments. This information is used to evaluate the quality of teaching and to target training for teachers effectively. This approach has ensured that the quality of teaching has continued to improve, enabling students to make consistently good progress. However, this approach has had less impact on the quality of teaching in the sixth form, where students’ progress over time is less rapid than in Key Stages 3 and 4.  Clear and effective procedures are in place for the management of teachers’ performance. The headteacher scrutinises information in relation to individual teachers’ performance, so that decisions about pay progression are based securely on evidence of the impact of teaching on students’ achievements.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 Leaders provide effective support for newly qualified teachers. Training and induction are well suited to individual teachers’ needs.  The curriculum is broad and balanced at Key Stages 3 and 4, providing appropriate depth of study across subjects. The focus on developing literacy and mathematical skills has contributed to the strong progress students make in English and mathematics. Students learn about democracy in personal, social and health education and through the election of the student council. The curriculum has not been adapted effectively to develop sixth form students’ understanding of risks to their well-being, particularly for the significant proportion who join the school in Year 12.  Leaders have used pupil premium funding to provide additional support for eligible students. As a result, these students achieve very well, and the gaps between their achievement and that of their peers has

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The leadership and management are inadequate

been closing steadily to the point where it is now small.  The school has a varied programme of spiritual, moral and cultural development in Key Stages 3 and 4. Students visit local churches, as well as Buddhist and Sikh places of worship. Staff promote healthy discussions of a range of issues, and students’ understanding of different faiths and cultural viewpoints is October 2014 5 of 10

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The leadership and management are inadequate

developed well. The school prayer, assembly and tutorial programme provide good opportunities for students to deepen their understanding and to reflect on spiritual teachings. Several students told inspectors how much they appreciate the morning prayer, in particular.  There is insufficient evidence that challenge and support provided to the school by the local authority are having an impact. The local authority has considered the school to require only ‘light touch’ support. Although leaders comment on good links with local police, these links have not been used to raise awareness of risks such as those associated with extremism, amongst students, parents, staff or governors.  The governance of the school:  Governance is inadequate. The governing body has failed to ensure that statutory safeguarding duties have been met. For example, governors have not checked that the school’s safeguarding policy has

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The leadership and management are inadequate

been updated annually. They have not ensured that the school’s single central register of checks on staff has been properly maintained. Governors were not aware that in 2013/2014 there had been contact with police, and serious concerns raised with the school, in relation to postings on social media sites.  Governors have not provided robust scrutiny and challenge to leaders about all aspects of the school’s work. They do not routinely ask questions about key aspects of behaviour and safety, such as patterns of internal exclusions.  The governing body monitors the achievement of students in Key Stages 3 and 4 and provides challenge to leaders about the achievement of different groups. This includes the achievement of students eligible for additional funding. However, governors do not check the progress that students are making in the sixth form closely enough.  Governors scrutinise information in relation to teachers’ pay progression, so that they are able to reward

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The leadership and management are inadequate

good teaching and tackle underachievement.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Most conduct themselves very well around the site and show high levels of courtesy to staff and visitors. The school is an orderly place, and students observe the rules, such as ‘keep to the right’ in corridors. The school is a tidy environment. Students wear their uniform smartly and arrive at lessons punctually and ready to learn.  Most students are highly attentive in lessons and are keen to do well. They enjoy challenge and show resilience in tackling different tasks. Occasionally, a few students lose concentration and become distracted, or engage in low-level disruption.  At breaktimes, girls and boys are separated by gender in different playgrounds. In the sixth form, there are separate common rooms. As the school is mixed-sex, this approach inhibits opportunities to mix more freely and to share ideas and opinions in a social setting.  Students’ attendance in Key Stages 3 and 4 is well above average. Procedures for following-up on student

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Behaviour

absence are swift and effective.  Rates of exclusion are very low and well below the national average. The school’s monitoring records show that the use of the learning support centre is effective in reducing internal exclusions and helping students to improve their behaviour over time.  The great majority of parents and staff say that the school manages behaviour well.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is inadequate. The school has not taken sufficient steps to ensure that students are safe, particularly students in the sixth form.  The school has not responded effectively to concerns brought to its attention by the police in 2013/14, relating to social media postings and web pages that bear the school’s name. These sites include links to individuals associated with extremist views and actions. They also include messages to discourage students from attending school events, such as a fundraising karaoke evening, because the activities do not adhere to a particular religious viewpoint. One posting states that any sixth form students who attended a ‘leavers’ party’ and engaged in ‘free-mixing’ or ‘listening to music’ would face ‘severe consequences later’. A further uploaded video included a speaker who mocked perceived ‘feminine’ behaviour in men. Although the school was made aware of this serious risk to the safety of its students, it

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Safety

has not made use of the government’s ‘Prevent’ strategy to identify and counter extremism. Neither were October 2014 6 of 10

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Safety

parents informed; nor did leaders take action to inform or educate students about the dangers posed by this internet activity, apart from speaking once to a very small number of students.  Students do not feel that bullying is a concern. The school has systems in place to tackle bullying when it occurs and the school’s records show that these are effective. In Years 7 to 11, students learn about different types of relationships, internet safety and bullying. The school has ‘Stonewall Champion’ status and there are high visibility posters around the school to challenge homophobia. A small number of students told inspectors that they were not sure of the significance of this award.  Leaders and governors have not checked that policies relating to safeguarding and child protection have been updated annually. They have not ensured that all staff are aware of the statutory guidance issued to all schools by the Department for Education in April 2014. Neither the leadership team member

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Safety

responsible for e-safety, nor the Chair of the Governing Body was aware that the school had received notification by the police of the concerns relating to the social media and internet postings. Communication between senior leaders and governors to ensure that students are safe, particularly those in the sixth form, has been ineffective.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The quality of teaching over time is good. In Key Stages 3 and 4 it is sometimes outstanding. As a result, all groups of students make very good progress in many subjects, including in English and mathematics. Teaching in the sixth form is good, but has not been as consistently strong over time.  Most teachers have high expectations of what students can achieve, setting tasks which challenge and engage students, including the most able. When teaching is most effective, teachers use challenging questions to stretch students’ thinking, so that their progress is rapid and secure.  Teachers have good subject knowledge and use this effectively to deepen students’ knowledge and understanding. They ensure that boys and girls contribute to lessons equally.  Teachers plan lessons which enable all students to make progress. Students receive clear advice about what they need to do to improve and most teachers check that they have done this. Teachers provide

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The quality of teaching is good

more detailed feedback at key assessment points, which students find useful. In a small number of cases, teachers’ marking is less thorough and the impact on students’ progress is not as good.  There is a clear focus by teachers on developing students’ literacy skills. This is effective in supporting those students who have low levels of literacy or who speak English as an additional language. These students achieve well as a consequence.  Working relationships between teachers and students are positive. Students find staff approachable and feel that they can ask for help when they need it. Teachers readily provide extra support and additional challenge and students value this.

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is good

 Students make good progress. In some cases, progress is outstanding. The proportion of students gaining five or more A* to C, including English and mathematics, has been well above national averages for the last three years.  Disadvantaged students achieve very well. In 2013, students eligible for the pupil premium funding achieved better than all students nationally in English and mathematics. In 2013, the gap between disadvantaged students and others was just over half a grade below other students at the school in English and mathematics. The school’s analysis of 2014 GCSE results indicates that the gap has narrowed further and is now very small in English.  Disabled students and those with special educational needs make good progress from their individual starting points, as a result of the good teaching and effective additional support they receive.  The progress made by middle and low ability students is exceptional by the end of Key Stage 4. The

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is good

progress made by most able students, although not as rapid, is strong over time.  The school has ceased using early entry to GCSE examinations. Previously, the use of early entry to examinations did not inhibit students’ achievement, including most able students.  Students receive effective support and extra help when they need it, to develop their reading, writing and communication skills. As a result of this effective help, the gap between these students and others narrows quickly. The school’s ‘Drop Everything and Read’ programme encourages students to read widely. October 2014 7 of 10

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is good

The school provides useful advice and guidance to parents about how to support their child’s reading.  A scrutiny of students’ work and progress in lessons indicates that students continue to achieve well across many subjects.

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The sixth form provision is inadequate

 The school’s work to assure that sixth form students’ safety is inadequate. Students have not been given sufficient guidance about how to keep themselves safe from extremism, particularly those who join the school in the sixth form.  The school’s current system to register students is not effective, as it is not clear when some students are on or off site. The school has plans in place to introduce a ‘swipe card’ system to tackle this. However, there is currently no means of being certain about where students are at all times of the day. This puts students’ safety at risk.  Students in the sixth form receive effective support and guidance about academic and personal issues. Leaders recognised that in the past not all students were on the most appropriate study programmes for their needs. They have taken action to address this to ensure that students are well prepared for the next stage in their education, training or employment.

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The sixth form provision is inadequate

 Most students who join the sixth form do so with a grade C or above in English and mathematics. The school provides effective provision for students who need to secure grades C or above in these subjects.  The proportion of students who proceed to higher education is above national averages. The proportion of students who leave the sixth form but do not enter education, employment or training is below national rates.  Although students’ attainment in academic subjects has been below national averages in 2013 and before, this is improving. Attainment at AS level rose in 2013 and the school’s analysis of achievement in 2014 indicates that this trend of improvement has continued. The significant proportion of students who take vocational courses continue to achieve well above national averages. Achievement meets the current interim Key Stage 5 minimum standards.  Retention rates have improved in 2014. A higher proportion of students continued from Year 12 to Year

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The sixth form provision is inadequate

13. In 2013, less than two thirds of students in Year 12 went into Year 13. This is associated with the improvement in AS-level outcomes, compared with previous years, for the current Year 13. October 2014 8 of 10

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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. October 2014 9 of 10

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School details

Unique reference number 100977 Local authority Tower Hamlets Inspection number 453071

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School details

This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. The inspection was also deemed a section 5 inspection under the same Act.

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School details

Type of school Secondary School category Maintained 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 1,598 Of which, number on roll in sixth form 623 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair David Pascall CBE Headteacher Haydn Evans CBE Date of previous school inspection 21 May 2008 Telephone number 020 7790 6712 Fax number 020 7790 6712 Email address info@sjcr.net guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234 , or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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School details

You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when and as part of the inspection.

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School details

You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk, or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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School details

achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please

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School details

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School details

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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