Ark Carleton High School

School report Carleton Community High School A Specialist Science College Green Lane, Pontefract, West Yorkshire, WF8 3NW

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Not previously inspected as an academy This inspection: Requires improvement 3 Leadership and management Require improvement 3 Behaviour and safety of pupils Require improvement 3 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 proportion of students attaining five or more good GCSE grades, including English and mathematics, is not rising quickly enough. Consequently, at the end of Year 11, students’ overall average standards do not yet represent good achievement.  By the time they leave school, the progress made by a minority of students in English and mathematics, especially boys, disadvantaged students, and students with special educational needs, falls short of national expectations.  The quality of teaching, although improving, remains too variable. Academy leaders and managers have not yet secured consistently good teaching over time in most subjects.  A minority of teachers do not plan carefully enough to meet all students’ needs, and do not check sufficiently students’ progress in lessons.  Behaviour requires improvement because in a small proportion of lessons a minority of students do not show enough care, pride and commitment to their

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

learning.  Not all leaders and managers are suitably rigorous in checking the effectiveness of teaching on the quality of students’ learning and progress.  Judgements made about the effectiveness of the academy’s work are overgenerous. Not all key leaders and managers compare the academy’s outcomes closely enough with national expectations and standards.  Not all of the academy’s plans contain precise objectives and outcomes against which improvement can be measured.

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The school has the following strengths

 The headteacher, senior leaders and many middle managers have high aspirations. They have made large scale changes in a short period of time that are improving teaching and raising achievement in a number of subjects.  Governors are increasingly well informed about the academy’s work and visit the academy frequently to find out things for themselves.  Behaviour around the academy is calm and orderly. Students enjoy coming to the academy and are welcoming to visitors.  The academy’s work to keep students safe and secure is good. Students say how well they are supported and cared for and how little bullying takes place.  Links with families and the local community are good. The vast majority of parents would recommend the academy. Inspection report: Carleton Community High School A Specialist Science College, 14–15 January 2015 2 of 10

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed teaching and learning in 39 different lessons, of which three were joint observations with senior leaders. In addition, inspectors visited four tutor group sessions and one assembly during the school day.  Students’ work was sampled informally in lessons in a wide range of subjects.  Inspectors also reviewed a range of documents, including the academy’s own data on current students’ progress, planning and monitoring documentation, minutes of governing body meetings, records relating to behaviour and attendance and documents pertaining to safeguarding.  Meetings were held with students across Years 7 to 11, governors and academy staff, including those with management responsibilities. A discussion also took place with a representative from the Pontefract Academies Trust.  Inspectors evaluated the 75 responses of parents to the Ofsted on-line questionnaire (Parent View), as well as responses from parents to the academy’s own questionnaires. Inspectors also took account of the

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Information about this inspection

views of 40 members of the academy’s staff through the inspection questionnaires they returned.

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Inspection team

Andrew Swallow, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Inspection team

Julian Grant Additional Inspector Inspection report: Carleton Community High School A Specialist Science College, 14–15 January 2015 3 of 10

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Information about this school

 This is a smaller than average-sized secondary school. The school converted to academy status in April 2013.  Most students are of White British heritage.  The proportion of disadvantaged students who are eligible for support through the pupil premium funding is above the national average. The pupil premium is funding to support those students who are known to be eligible for free school meals and those in the care of the local authority.  The proportion of students who have special educational needs is above average.  The academy operates bespoke provision called ‘Pathways’. This provides additional support to students as needed, to help them meet the social, emotional and intellectual demands of school life.  A small minority of Year 10 and 11 students are educated off site for part of the school week. They follow vocational courses such as construction, hairdressing, rural studies and sport and active leisure in local

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Information about this school

training establishments and Wakefield College.  The academy meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for students’ attainment and progress.  The academy receives support from the Pontefract Academies Trust.  Since the academy’s inception, there have been significant staffing changes, including those of senior and middle leaders, and governors.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve teaching so that it is consistently at least good across Years 7 to 11, by:  ensuring that all teachers plan carefully to meet the needs of all students, especially those of boys, disadvantaged and students with special educational needs  ensuring that all teachers systematically check students’ understanding in lessons and adapt work accordingly to provide additional challenge or further support, where appropriate  ensuring that all teachers regularly mark students’ work and provide helpful feedback that contributes to improved learning and progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise students’ achievement in English and mathematics by the end of Year 11 by:  using the recently enhanced procedures for tracking the progress of all students to pinpoint underachievement sooner  checking more rigorously the quality of students’ daily work and the impact of teachers’ marking and feedback  ensuring that more boys and disadvantaged students write extensively, informally and formally, for different purposes  ensuring that more students, especially the disadvantaged, are challenged to apply common formulae and mathematical expressions to find solutions to ‘real-life’ scenarios.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Enhance the accuracy of judgements made about the academy’s work by key leaders and managers by:  determining the quality of teaching by the impact that it has on students’ achievement over time  comparing the academy’s outcomes more rigorously with relevant national standards  ensuring that all plans have precise objectives and outcomes, against which improvements can be measured. Inspection report: Carleton Community High School A Specialist Science College, 14–15 January 2015 4 of 10

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Since the inception of the academy, there have been significant changes in staffing, including some new senior and middle leaders. Many new processes and policies have been introduced, including an enhanced system to check students’ progress across Years 7 to 11, and arrangements to check the quality of teaching. Although there is evidence of improvements in teaching and in students’ achievement, these changes have not yet had sufficient time to impact fully on students’ outcomes by the time they leave Year 11.  Some middle leaders do not check carefully enough the quality of students’ daily work, and the impact of teachers’ marking and feedback, over time.  Although much professional development for all staff takes place regularly, not all senior and middle leaders check rigorously the impact of this work on students’ learning and achievement. As a consequence, teaching remains too variable to ensure that a minority of boys, and a minority of

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The leadership and management requires improvement

disadvantaged and students with special educational needs make enough progress, over time.  Some of the processes leading to judgements about the academy’s work do not involve sufficient comparisons with appropriate national expectations and standards. As a result, academy leaders and managers at all levels tend to have an overgenerous view of the school’s overall effectiveness.  Some subject and whole-school plans to improve the quality of teaching and learning and to raise overall achievement do not contain precise enough objectives and outcomes against which improvements can be accurately measured.  The headteacher is ambitious for success. She has high aspirations on behalf of all students. She has tackled rigorously many shortcomings in the academy’s work since its inception. At the same time, she has managed effectively a large number of changes in staff, in senior and subject leadership, and changes in

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The leadership and management requires improvement

the membership of the governing body. In addition, she has overseen successful strategies to improve students’ attendance and, as of late, reduce the numbers of students excluded from the academy.  Arrangements to check on the performance of all staff are appropriate. The headteacher collects a secure range of information to make the correct decisions about any teachers’ movement up the salary scale.  Newly appointed senior leaders are fully supportive of the headteacher and are totally committed to moving the academy forward rapidly. Subject leaders are increasingly involved in reviewing the academy’s work. Progress leaders and those staff working in the bespoke special educational needs provision and in ‘Pathways,’ know students well. They increasingly remove barriers to learning. As a result, most students have an equal opportunity to succeed, although the achievement of a minority of boys, and a minority of

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The leadership and management requires improvement

disadvantaged students and those with special educational needs in general lessons, is not as strong as that of other groups.  The curriculum meets most students’ needs adequately. Arrangements to support the move from primary to secondary school, especially for those whose literacy and numeracy skills are not well developed, are increasingly effective. The small minority of students who study vocational courses such as construction, hairdressing, rural studies and sport and active leisure in local training establishments and Wakefield College, attend and achieve well.  Assemblies, tutor groups, citizenship lessons and general personal, social, health education experiences, prepare students appropriately for life in modern Britain. They promote the importance of freedom for all individuals, and the significance of mutual respect, particularly for those from different faiths and cultures.  Careers education and advice is influential in ensuring that almost all students continue in education,

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The leadership and management requires improvement

employment or training when they leave school at the end of Year 11.  Students have access to a wide array of sporting, musical and performing events, and extra-curricular activities. Sporting fixtures, young apprentice competitions, planned fund-raising events, ‘bush tucker’ trials, and trips to local and national places of interest, all aptly enrich students’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural awareness. They help to promote their understanding of the importance of equality of opportunity, and of the lifestyles and beliefs of people from different countries, cultures and backgrounds.  The academy makes generally effective use of much of the pupil premium funding. The appointment of additional teachers and mentors, and opportunities for more one-to-one and small-group learning, have reduced margins in performance between disadvantaged students and non-disadvantaged students over time, although they still remain variable across the academy.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

Inspection report: Carleton Community High School A Specialist Science College, 14–15 January 2015 5 of 10

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Parents are very supportive of the academy. The vast majority indicate they would recommend the academy to other families.  The academy receives appropriately-targeted external support from the Pontefract Academies Trust. The Trust has confidence that the current academy’s leadership is driving the academy in the right direction.  The governance of the school:  Governors have audited the skills required for their responsibilities and have introduced a large-scale training programme relevant to their needs. As a result, governors are increasingly confident in asking questions about the academy’s performance and are regular visitors.  Governors recognise that they have not provided enough challenge to date in ensuring that all academy leaders and managers make robust comparisons with national expectations and standards when making judgements about the effectiveness of the academy’s work.  Governors are also aware of the need to raise overall achievement more quickly and have put in place

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The leadership and management requires improvement

plans to drive this work forward more rapidly.  As a result of the regular reports they receive, governors have an increasingly clear view of the quality of teaching, where it is the most variable, and where it needs to improve further.  Governors are robust in managing the performance of the headteacher. They ensure that challenging objectives are set annually to drive the academy forward. They receive appropriate information about the salaries of all staff and decisions about teachers’ applications for promotion.  The academy’s work to keep students safe meets statutory requirements and is kept appropriately under review by a designated governor.  Governors check regularly how the academy uses the pupil premium and Year 7 ‘catch-up’ funding to raise achievement. For example, they have authorised bespoke mentoring arrangements and additional time for adults to improve students’ reading and numeracy skills.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of students requires improvement. In a small proportion of lessons, a minority of students do not take enough care and pride in their work nor show enough commitment and determination to give of their best, over time. This is particularly the case where some teachers’ expectations are not high enough and they do not mark students’ work with sufficient regularity or insist that students respond fully to written and verbal feedback, where necessary.  Around the academy, at breaks and lunchtimes, in the dining and cloakroom areas, and when moving between lessons, the vast majority of students relate positively towards one another. The overall academy atmosphere is calm and orderly.  Students say how much behaviour has changed for the better as of late. The very high numbers of exclusions have fallen significantly in recent times and students affirm that there is little bullying. They talk

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Behaviour

positively about the support they receive and provide for one other.  The endeavours of staff are paying off in promoting students’ higher expectations of themselves. As a result, attendance across Years 7 to 11 is rising and is now average.

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Safety

 The academy’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Students are positive about the support they receive from all the adults, especially those students with an autistic spectrum diagnosis and those who attend bespoke provision in ‘Pathways.’  Students increasingly promote a harmonious academy community through the caring and helpful relationships they enjoy with each other.  The academy’s motto ‘excellence through teamwork,’ is embodied in the encouraging daily tutor group experiences, well-planned assemblies, citizenship, and personal, social and health education experiences. All contribute to students’ good awareness of the different types of risks and extremist behaviours, including homophobic and cyber-bullying, Internet safety, mobile phone crime, and how generally to keep safe, in and out of the academy. Inspection report: Carleton Community High School A Specialist Science College, 14–15 January 2015 6 of 10

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Overall the quality of teaching is improving. Inadequate practice has been tackled robustly and eradicated. This has resulted in changes to staff. In some subjects, some teaching has not yet been able to make sufficient impact on tackling historical weaknesses in students’ knowledge and skills. As a result of this, and because not enough students yet make expected, and better than expected progress, by the end of Year 11, teaching still requires improvement.  Not all teaching yet provides all groups of students with work that gets the best out of them. On occasions, teaching in some lessons does not challenge some boys to think deeply enough about what they are learning and if they can do even better. Often, disadvantaged students, and those with special educational needs, are moved on too quickly, without having had sufficient time to absorb what they have learnt.  Some teachers do not check on students’ learning carefully enough in lessons and do not adapt activities

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

to meet learners’ changing needs.  While many teachers provide regular and detailed comments on students’ work, marking is not of a regular and consistently high quality across all subjects. Not all teachers have high enough expectations of students’ responses to the comments made about their work. As a result, some students, particularly boys, do not always challenge themselves enough to improve.  Relationships between adults and students in all years and subjects are positive, and promote students’ social and personal development well. This is especially so in the academy’s bespoke specialist provision for students with autism and special educational needs, and in ‘Pathways.’  Many teachers in many subjects enthuse students to want to do well and plan enjoyable experiences. For example, Year 7 students studying castles in a history lesson were keen to justify the locations where many castles were built, and to show their understanding of the impact that castles had in the short and

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

medium terms. Similarly, in a Year 11 dance lesson, almost all students were stimulated by a Kandinsky picture to think deeply about the importance of space, dynamics, structure and relationships between dancers, in preparation for their end of course theory examination.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 From students’ below average starting points on entry to Year 7, they make no better than expected progress overall. By the end of Year 11, the proportion of students attaining five or more good GCSEs is below average, and is not rising rapidly enough over time.  The proportions of students making expected and more than expected progress, in English and mathematics are below average. This is particularly the case for a minority of boys, and a minority of disadvantaged students and those with special educational needs.  Achievement in English requires further improvement because not enough boys, or disadvantaged students, yet write extensively, informally and formally, for different purposes. There are shortfalls in some books in students’ use of paragraphs to sequence ideas and the development of complex sentences with a variety of punctuation for effect. Some students do not respond sufficiently to teachers’ comments

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

that challenge them to write in more detail and with a wider range of effective vocabulary and linguistic techniques.  Achievement also requires further improvement in mathematics. A minority of disadvantaged students are not yet confident in applying all four number operations to solve simple mathematical problems. In general, students are not sufficiently challenged to apply common formulae and mathematical expressions to find solutions to ‘real-life’ scenarios.  In a number of subjects, a large majority of students make good progress and attain average and above average standards by the end of Key Stage 4. This is especially so in French, biology, chemistry, physics and health and social care.  Across the academy, a minority of students with special educational needs do not achieve in line with their peers. This is because in some lessons, their work is insufficiently matched to their needs and they have

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

insufficient time to complete what they are asked to do. Students with an autistic spectrum diagnosis and those who attend the academy’s bespoke out of class provision, achieve well. This is because specialist practitioners understand precisely students’ specific skills and competencies that require further Inspection report: Carleton Community High School A Specialist Science College, 14–15 January 2015 7 of 10

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

development and ensure that they have the time and resources to succeed.  In ‘Pathways,’ students with social and emotional needs achieve well. The careful assessment of individuals’ learning difficulties is matched by sensitive teaching that enhances students’ self-confidence and raises their self-esteem.  The majority of the most-able students achieve as expected, although a small minority do not reach the highest grades of which they are capable by the time they leave school. There is scope in some lessons to encourage some of the most-able students to think and challenge themselves more fully, in order to make better than expected progress.  Overall achievement margins between disadvantaged students and non-disadvantaged students in English and mathematics are closing, but not consistently or quickly enough. By the end of Year 11, disadvantaged students’ attainment is just under one and a half GCSE grades behind non-disadvantaged

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

students nationally in English, and just over one GCSE grade behind their peers in school. In mathematics, the attainment of disadvantaged students is one and a half GCSE grades behind non-disadvantaged students nationally, and just over one GCSE grade behind their peers in school. Students’ work indicates that the achievement of disadvantaged students still requires improvement in English and mathematics in some year groups.  Appropriate support is made available for students at risk of falling behind. For example, Year 7 catch-up funding has been used to provide specialist teaching. The academy’s information on the impact of these measures shows good gains to date, especially in reading and basic numeracy skills, for a large majority of students. Inspection report: Carleton Community High School A Specialist Science College, 14–15 January 2015 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. Inspection report: Carleton Community High School A Specialist Science College, 14–15 January 2015 9 of 10

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School details

Unique reference number 139501 Local authority Wakefield Inspection number 453465

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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 Academy School category Academy converter Age range of pupils 11–16 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 758 Appropriate authority Pontefract Academies Trust Chair Kebir Berry MBE Headteacher Hellen Bolton Date of previous school inspection Not previously inspected as an academy Telephone number 01977 781555 Fax number 01977 781556 Email address headteacher@carleton.wakefield.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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