Setting

Mrs Sarah Bone Headteacher Headlands School and Community Science College Sewerby Road Bridlington YO16 6UR

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and Community Science College, East Riding of Yorkshire

Following my visit to your school on 9 February 2015, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to report the inspection findings. Thank you for the help you gave me and for the time you made available to discuss the actions you are taking to improve the school since the most recent section 5 inspection.

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and Community Science College, East Riding of Yorkshire

The visit was the second monitoring inspection since the school was judged to require improvement following the section 5 inspection in November 2013. It was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005.

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and Community Science College, East Riding of Yorkshire

Senior leaders and governors are taking effective action to tackle the areas requiring improvement identified at the recent section 5 inspection. The school should take further action to:

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and Community Science College, East Riding of Yorkshire

 ensure that the rigorous analysis of key groups, evident for Year 11 students, is extended fully to students in Years 7 to 10

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and Community Science College, East Riding of Yorkshire

 further develop the monitoring role of middle leaders across all subject areas.

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Evidence

During the inspection, meetings were held with the headteacher, senior and middle leaders, governors, including the Chair and vice-chair of the Governing Body and a representative (the school improvement partner) from the local authority. The inspector and the headteacher jointly observed a small number of lessons in CfBT Inspection Services Suite 22 West Lancs Investment Centre Maple View Skelmersdale WN8 9TG T 0300 123 1231 Text Phone: 0161 6188524 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk Direct T 01695 566863 Direct F 01695 729320 Direct email :jbennett@cfbt.com mathematics. A number of documents, including information on monitoring, students’ achievement and attendance data were scrutinised.

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Context

Since the previous monitoring inspection in March 2014, the school has appointed a significant number of new teachers, including at senior and middle leader level, following a full restructure of staffing.

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Main findings

Following the staff restructure, the headteacher has continued to skilfully introduce further key changes in teaching, assessment and leadership, with a focus on ensuring consistent practice and a sharper analysis of students’ achievement.

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Main findings

In analysing the school’s disappointing results from 2014, senior leaders have taken swift action to ensure that teachers’ assessments of the standard of students’ work are accurate. There is now common assessment practice across all subjects in Year 11, with regular close scrutiny of students’ ongoing progress and attainment, and targeted intervention for any student at risk of underachieving. This is particularly the case for boys, lower and higher ability students and those in receipt of pupil premium funding. As a result, improvement in achievement for these groups is now evident, although the progress of disadvantaged students and less able students, particularly in mathematics, needs to accelerate further over the next term.

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Main findings

Leaders are continuing to take a full range of evidence into account, including lesson observations, workbook scrutiny and assessment data, to more securely evaluate teaching and achievement. Consequently, there is now a greater level of accountability for individual teachers with for example, frequent one to one meetings (the ‘class teacher health check’) between teachers and leaders to discuss the ongoing progress of individual students.

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Main findings

Middle leaders in English, mathematics and science, working with senior leaders, have also been swift to implement changes in staffing and the curriculum to bring about improvement for 2015. For example, there has been a full review of the number of Year 11 students entered early for GCSE examinations, changes in examination courses in English and science and a review of staff expertise, particularly in relation to teaching in science.

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Main findings

To now ensure consistency across the school, leaders of other subjects should further develop and sharpen their monitoring role. Equally, the rigorous analysis of assessment data for different groups of students in Year 11 should be fully extended for similar groups in Years 7 to 10, across all subject areas. Attendance remains similar to that in 2014, with the overall three year trend of improvement maintained. The current proportion of persistent absentees has declined and is now lower than 2014, but this figure remains above national.

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Main findings

There have been a number of changes in governance since September 2014, including a new Chair and vice-chair. Governors, however, are acutely aware of the key issues and are closely monitoring the school’s actions through the revised committee structure and the developing links to key strategic priorities.

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Main findings

Ofsted may carry out further visits and, where necessary, provide further support and challenge to the school until its next section 5 inspection.

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External support

Since the previous inspection, the school improvement partner has continued to review the work of the school through termly visits. More recently, the local authority has brokered links, through the ‘school to school support’ strategy, with Fulford School, York. However, as this work is at a very early stage, any impact remains to be seen.

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External support

The school has worked with a range of external consultants and school leaders on key issues including leadership, teaching and behaviour. This has resulted in improvements in the school’s assessment practice, intervention work and the monitoring of achievement. For example, following the introduction of a more detailed grade system, leaders’ analysis of achievement is now much sharper. The school’s intervention work, particularly for Year 11 students is also better tailored to need, with evidence of a positive impact on students’ progress and attainment.

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External support

I am copying this letter to the Chair of the Governing Body, the Director of Children’s Services for East Riding of Yorkshire.

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