Cleeve Park School

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 Sixth form provision Requires improvement 3

p.1

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Leadership of the headteacher and the senior team is good. They have set high expectations for staff and students, and successfully developed a strong focus on high-quality teaching.  Achievement has risen and the school’s capacity to improve further is strong.  Middle leaders lead their teams very effectively. They are passionate about ensuring that every child achieves their best.  Governors know the school very well. They are a strong, unified group and have played a key role in improving the school.  Behaviour and safety are good. Students behave well in lessons and around the school. They show very positive attitudes to learning. They feel safe in school  Teaching is good. Teachers set high expectations for their students and skilfully plan a blend of activities to enable all students to participate and deepen their understanding.  Achievement is good as a result of improved teaching. All groups of students make good

p.1

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

progress from their starting points and achieve well across a broad range of subjects.  Achievement in English is outstanding. The progress made by students places the school in the top 5% of schools nationally.  The whole-school focus on literacy is having a marked impact on students’ reading, writing and communication skills and their overall achievement. All subject teachers take responsibility for this and challenge students’ spoken and written English.  Sixth form students greatly value the inclusive ethos of the sixth form and the focus on their individual needs and aspirations. They understand the expectations placed on them at ‘the heart of the school’ and are very good role models for younger students.

p.1

It is not yet an outstanding school because

 The sixth form requires improvement. Students do not always make enough progress and do not always achieve as well as they should. This is because the target-setting process lacks clarity and students’ targets are not always driving their motivation to succeed.  There are a few inconsistencies in teaching. The level of challenge in a few lessons is not always as high as it should be.  The marking policy is not always applied consistently by teachers in a few subjects.

p.1

Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed parts of 35 lessons, of which six were joint observations with senior leaders.  Inspectors made a series of shorter visits to lessons, many with school leaders. These were to evaluate the impact of initiatives to improve teaching, the achievement of students with special educational needs and students’ achievement in technology.  Meetings were held with senior and middle leaders, newly qualified teachers and representatives of the governing body and the Kemnal Academies Trust.  Five groups of students talked to inspectors about their views of the school and the inspection team spoke informally with students.  Inspectors took account of the 33 responses to the online parent survey and the information from the school’s own parental survey. Parents attending a school event also spoke to inspectors about their views of the school.  Inspectors scrutinised a range of documentation, including students’ work, achievement information,

p.2

Information about this inspection

school self-evaluation and development plans, minutes of governing body meetings and records of safeguarding, behaviour and attendance.  The inspection team observed the work of the school at break and lunchtime and at the end of the school day. Inspectors visited tutor time, a teaching and learning briefing and the sixth form information evening.

p.2

Inspection team

Janet Hallett, Lead inspector Additional inspector

p.2

Information about this school

 Cleeve Park School is a smaller-than-average-sized non-selective academy in an area where about one in four students attend selective schools. The school is sponsored by The Kemnal Academies Trust.  There are many more boys than girls. Less than 40% of students are girls.  The school is the local authority’s specialist resourced school for students with physical disabilities. There are 10 students currently on roll.  The proportion of students with special educational needs is just above that found in most schools. The proportion is about a tenth of the students in the school.  The proportion of students for whom the school receives the pupil premium funding (additional government funding for students known to be eligible for free school meals and looked after children) is just above the national average. The proportion is about a third of the students in the school. The school has just a few looked after children.

p.3

Information about this school

 The school makes use of alternative provision for a few children to provide additional curriculum opportunities and to support students’ behaviour. These centres are: Bexley College, The Link Medical & Alternative Provision and The Pathways Short Stay School.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set out the minimum expectations for students’ attainment and progress.  The school has received support from and developed strong professional links with other schools in the trust and with local grammar schools.

p.3

What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise achievement in the sixth form by ensuring that targets are always aspirational and that students are fully involved in the target-setting process.  Improve teaching and so raise achievement by ensuring that:  students are always given challenging enough work so that they always make the progress that they are capable of  teachers apply the marking policy consistently so that students are clear about what they need to do to improve.

p.3

The leadership and management are good

 The leadership of the headteacher and senior team is good. They have developed a strong, whole-school focus on high-quality teaching and have taken decisive action to improve teaching and extend teachers’ skills. As a result, student achievement has risen. Leadership and management are not yet outstanding because some inconsistencies remain in teaching, and achievement in the sixth form requires improvement. There is good capacity to improve.  The leadership of teaching is a strength of the school and is having a strong impact on students’ achievement. Sharing of professional practice is a key theme. The exemplary practice in English is being shared across other subjects, and effective support is available from other schools in the Trust and other local grammar and outstanding schools. In a staff teaching and learning briefing a strategy was shown to the whole staff. There was a very good response and it provided a motivating ‘buzz’ at the start of the

p.4

The leadership and management are good

day.  Middle leaders are a highly motivated group. They are determined that all students will achieve their best and they lead their teams very effectively to ensure good outcomes for students. They set high expectations for their staff and implement rigorous and robust checking systems for teaching, achievement and behaviour within their departments. They compare students’ work with examples from other schools. This is now ensuring accuracy in assessing how well students are learning.  Newly qualified teachers speak very highly of the school and the support they receive. They are committed to improving and developing their own teaching.  The school has experienced some staff shortages in certain subjects. However, senior and middle leaders have clear procedures for supporting and inducting new staff and making expectations clear. If staff performance does not meet the standards required, then swift and robust action is taken.

p.4

The leadership and management are good

 School leaders and governors have a strategic overview of the impact of pupil premium funding as well as how the funding is used.  The range of subjects is broad and balanced, meets the needs of all students and prepares them for life in modern Britain. The school has carefully considered the subjects available for students so that they can follow their interests as well as achieve academic qualifications.  The school is committed to promoting equality of opportunity and tackling discrimination. The curriculum, linked to high-quality teaching, has ensured that all groups of students achieve well. Well-thought-out seating plans and well-planned lessons ensure that all students can participate equally.  Students’ progress, behaviour and attendance at alternative provision are good and carefully monitored by the school leaders.  Students are given clear and unbiased guidance and careers information and they are well prepared for

p.4

The leadership and management are good

the next stage of their lives in education and employment.  Safeguarding procedures meet current requirements. Risk assessments for activities are rigorously followed up to ensure safe practice across the school.  Students’ spiritual moral, social and cultural development is effectively promoted through the school’s inclusive ethos. Students have a clear sense of right and wrong and there is a range of activities and school events to support students’ social and cultural development. There is an atmosphere of mutual respect and tolerance, and students cooperate very well together in lessons.

p.4

The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  Governors are ambitious for the school and articulate a vision of continuing improvement. They receive detailed reports on school performance from senior leaders and analyse it in forensic detail. As a result, they know the school very well and can accurately evaluate its rate of improvement, challenge senior leaders and hold them to account.  Governors are a small, unified group. Attendance at, and involvement in, governing body meetings is high, and they hold their own members rigorously to account for non-attendance. As a group they have had training on evaluating the school’s performance to raise their level of expertise, so that they can challenge each other.  Governors receive reports and presentations on the quality of teaching and strategies to improve it. They are linked to key subjects and aspects such as literacy, and visit the school regularly. They understand how the quality of teaching impacts on student performance and they are involved in

p.4

The leadership and management are good

determining salary progression from the outcomes of performance management. Members of staff who do not meet requirements do not progress along the pay scale.  The school is operating successfully within its financial limits.  The governing body ensures that the school meets statutory requirements for safeguarding.

p.4

Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Students are very clear about the standards of behaviour expected of them and meet these expectations in lessons and around the school. Behaviour is not outstanding because students do not yet show a strong enough thirst for and love of learning across the range of subjects.  Students behave well in lessons. They show very positive attitudes to learning and are fully engaged in the learning activities. They are curious and ask interesting questions so their behaviour has a strong impact on their achievement.  Students are punctual to lessons and bring the right equipment. They are well prepared for learning.  Students’ conduct around the school is good. They are respectful to each other and adults, and show self- awareness in narrow corridors and confined spaces, ensuring that movement around the school is calm and safe.  Students attending the school’s specialist provision for the physically disabled have good attendance and

p.5

Behaviour

behave well. They are very well supported by staff and emerge as confident young people, fully integrated with their peer group. The school ensures that any gaps in attendance resulting from their particular medical needs do not cause them to fall behind in their learning.  Students understand how important it is that they attend school regularly. There are clear expectations and reward systems in place and the school is increasingly successful in working with families to improve attendance. As a result, attendance has improved and is now in line with the national average. Persistent absence is declining.  The number of exclusions has declined as a result of improvements in behaviour. The school is continuing to work hard to drive down the number even further by setting clear expectations and using alternative provision where appropriate. The school works closely with families of students joining from other schools

p.5

Behaviour

after the start of Year 7 to ensure that their integration into school is successful.  Students’ behaviour and attendance at alternative provision are good, and the school confirms that they are safe.  Sixth form students behave very well indeed, providing excellent role models for younger students to aspire to. Their attendance rate is very high and they dress smartly and interact positively with younger students during lessons and around the school.

p.5

Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Students say they feel safe in school and are clear about what to do if they have concerns. They say that bullying and the use of derogatory language are rare, taken very seriously by the adults and effectively dealt with.  The school provides good-quality guidance for students about how to keep themselves safe, including when using the internet. Students are given this information through assemblies and personal and social education lessons.  A range of speakers are invited into school to talk to students. They are effectively vetted and monitored.  The school has developed policies on preventing radicalisation and extremism, and members of staff have had appropriate training.

p.5

The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching is good. Teachers plan for a high level of challenge in almost all lessons so students make good progress overall.  There are very good relationships between students and teachers, and students are fully engaged in the range of learning activities. For example, in a Year 10 English lesson, students extended their discussions on the theme of loss and innocence from Romeo and Juliet to consider other situations that young people might face. The level of trust between the teacher and students ensured high levels of participation, and students were confident to express great sensitivity and mature attitudes.  Teachers have good subject knowledge and this has a clear impact on students’ learning and achievement. For example, in a Year 10 science lesson, students were able to frame their own questions to the teacher using the scientific vocabulary they had learned to use in the early part of the lesson. This

p.5

The quality of teaching is good

enabled them to fully participate in the discussion that followed and pose their own questions about the effects of cholesterol on the arteries and its treatment.  Class seating plans are well considered, ensuring, for example, that where there are small numbers of girls in a class they are able to fully participate and learn well. Girls take an active role in group discussions, such as through leading peer teaching activities, where they present their own work to the class.  Teaching of mathematics is good, being clearly focused on deepening understanding and developing mathematical reasoning. For example, in a Year 8 mathematics lesson, students were developing their own definitions of shapes using ideas about angles, sides and symmetry. In sharing these with each other they were able to consolidate and develop mastery of these ideas.  Questioning is well structured. Students are able to answer in full sentences and respond to each other’s

p.6

The quality of teaching is good

questions as well as to the teacher.  Teaching of writing and communication skills is good. All students have well-developed writing skills and verbal responses. All teachers understand their responsibility to develop students’ literacy skills, and across the range of subjects were observed correcting their spoken English.  Reading has a high profile in the school. Students enjoy the opportunities available to them, such as in competitions and local reading events, and they are well supported by the librarian. An accelerated reader programme is available for students who fall behind.  Teaching assistants are a strength of the school. They are effectively deployed in lessons and support and challenge students to develop into independent, confident learners who achieve well.  Teaching is not yet outstanding because there are some inconsistencies in the level of challenge of activities, and in marking and feedback to students. Although students are often given clear guidance on

p.6

The quality of teaching is good

how to improve, and they follow the advice given, occasionally marking is more superficial and lacks clarity.

p.6

is good

 From their starting points, which are well below average, students make good progress overall and attain broadly in line with national expectations at the end of Year 11 across a broad range of subjects. All students are making much better progress and there are no significant differences between different groups of students. This is because of the impact of leadership on teaching, behaviour and attendance.  Girls make better progress than boys but boys’ achievement is increasing rapidly. In 2014, the overall progress of boys is better than boys’ progress nationally.  The achievement of disabled students, those with special educational needs in the specialist resource provision, and other students in the school with special educational needs has improved significantly. These students are now making better progress than nationally. This is as a result of good leadership and effective support for students’ learning by teaching assistants.

p.6

is good

 Disadvantaged students are now making better progress and the gap between their performance and that of other students nationally is closing. In 2014 the gap for attainment in English between disadvantaged students and their peers is just under one GCSE grade, and the national gap has closed. In mathematics the gap between disadvantaged students and their peers, both in school and by comparison nationally, is just over one GCSE grade.  The most able students benefit from consistently good teaching. Their progress is in line with the cohort’s but the school is continuing to develop opportunities to extend and deepen students’ understanding to ensure more A* and A grades at GCSE.  Achievement in English is outstanding. From low starting points, students’ progress and attainment are significantly above the national figures. Boys and girls make much better progress than nationally. This is as a result of strong leadership and high-quality teaching.

p.6

is good

 Achievement in mathematics is good. From low starting points, students’ progress and attainment are broadly in line with national figures. Mathematics results dipped slightly in 2014 but students’ achievement in lessons is good as a result of good teaching, as demonstrated by evidence from students’ work and progress information.  Students’ progress and achievement at the alternative provision are in line with those of the rest of the cohort and are carefully monitored by the school leaders.  The school uses early entry for Key Stage 4 courses where progress information shows that students are ready. It does not limit their potential grades.

p.6

The sixth form provision requires improvement

 The sixth form requires improvement because students do not make as much progress as they should and so they do not always achieve the highest grades of which they are capable. The target-setting process lacks clarity. Students are not always clear about their targets and they are not always given challenging enough targets to drive a strong motivation to succeed.  Leadership and management of the sixth form are good. Recruitment to the sixth form has improved and it has doubled in size since 2012. Applications to university for the coming year have trebled in one year. In 2014 all students who applied took up places at their first-choice university. There is an increasingly wide range of opportunities and experiences available for students, including practical links with local London universities, industry and business.  Behaviour and safety are good. The sixth form area is at the heart of the school and students provide

p.7

The sixth form provision requires improvement

very good role models for younger students. Students from the main school and those who join in Year 12 value the inclusive ethos, the many opportunities and the individual support they receive. One student said: ‘They did not just look at my grades; it was about building me up as a whole student, personally and my passions. They helped me pick out my strengths.’  Teaching in the sixth form is good but improvements in teaching have not yet had sufficient time to impact fully on students’ achievement.

p.7

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

p.8

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.

p.8

School details

Unique reference number 138686 Local authority Bexley Inspection number 453771

p.9

School details

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

p.9

School details

Type of school Secondary School category Academy sponsor-led 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 908 Of which, number on roll in sixth form 160 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Denise Prior Headteacher Jennifer Tyler-Maher Date of previous school inspection 21–22 March 2013 Telephone number 020 8302 6418 Fax number 020 8308 1571 Email address enquiries@cleevepark-tkat.org 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 .

p.9

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.

p.10

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

p.10

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

p.10

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’.

p.10

School details

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

p.10