North Huddersfield Trust School

North Huddersfield Trust School Woodhouse Hall Road, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, HD2 1DJ

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Requires improvement 3 This inspection: Requires improvement 3 Leadership and management Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 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

 Standards in English and mathematics are below average.  Although improving, the quality of teaching has not been good enough over time to ensure students make good progress in the key subjects of English, mathematics and science.  Achievement in science lags behind that of English and mathematics.  Expectations of what students can do are sometimes too low.  Students’ work is sometimes not as well presented as it could be.  Students are not always given precise enough information and guidance on how they might improve their work.

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The school has the following strengths

 Strong leadership at all levels has led to improvements in teaching and rising achievement.  The work the school does to keep students safe is outstanding.  Achievement in a number of subjects has now reached the point where it is good or better.  Students behave well in and out of the classroom. They display good manners and are polite at all times.  Students of different backgrounds relate well to each other. Mutual respect between students is the norm and they understand and appreciate the principles of living in a modern, democratic Britain.  The high quality and innovative curriculum is enhanced well by the work of the Trust.  The significant skills of members of the governing body offer excellent support and challenge to school leaders.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed teaching in 24 part lessons, nine of which were undertaken jointly with senior leaders. In addition inspectors looked at students’ work to check on the progress students have been making over time.  The inspectors observed Year 10 students taking part in a personal, social and health education day on the second day of the inspection and visited several tutor periods.  Meetings were held with two groups of students, senior leaders, other staff, members of the governing body, local business members of the North Huddersfield Trust and a representative from the local authority. The lead inspector also spoke on the phone with the School Improvement Partner.  Additionally, inspectors analysed the 25 responses that had been submitted to the online questionnaire for parents (Parent View) as well as the school’s own commissioned surveys of parents’ views. Meetings were held with groups of parents. Questionnaires completed by staff were analysed.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors scrutinised a wide range of documents including school improvement plans, minutes of the governing body meetings, and records relating to behaviour, attendance and safeguarding.

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Inspection team

Robert Jones, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The North Huddersfield Trust School is smaller than the average-sized secondary school. The proportions of students entering the school are increasing year-on-year.  The school opened in September 2011 after the school which occupied the site was closed by the local authority.  The proportion of disadvantaged students, those eligible for the pupil premium, at almost two-thirds of the school population, is above the national average. The pupil premium is additional government funding to support students who are known to be eligible for free school meals and those students who are looked after by the local authority.  The proportion of students who speak English as an additional language is three times the national average. The majority of students are from Pakistani backgrounds, although an increasing proportion are of Eastern European heritage.  A greater proportion of students than average either leaves or joins the school other than at the normal

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Information about this school

times.  The proportion of disabled students and those who have special educational needs is above average.  There are 12 partner organisations which make up the Trust, led by Holmfirth High School, whose headteacher is also the executive headteacher of this school. Other trustees include various local business and education leaders including the local authority.  In 2014, the school did not meet the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for students’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics.  Several students in Key Stage 4 travel to Holmfirth High School to make use of their facilities depending on their curriculum choices at Key Stage 4. In addition, three students attend off-site courses at Kirklees College and Nexus, an independent work-related learning provider.  The headteacher took up post in September 2013. A deputy headteacher and an assistant headteacher

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality and consistency of teaching in order to raise students’ achievement to be at least good in all subjects, particularly in science, by:  ensuring work that is set for the most able challenges them sufficiently and that for the middle and lower ability the work is not too difficult  providing more opportunities for students to write longer pieces of work in Key Stage 3  ensuring in all lessons that students take a pride in their work and that teachers give students guidance on how to present their work legibly and neatly  improving the quality of advice and feedback given to students to help them learn better from their mistakes in order to improve their work.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher, supported by the executive headteacher, leads the school with energy, enthusiasm, passion and commitment. There is very much a sense of ‘team’ in the school and the staff support him unfailingly. Staff are justifiably proud of what they have achieved, with the school moving from strength to strength as the legacy of previous underachievement and inadequate teaching begins to fade. The wholly positive responses to the staff questionnaire show their overwhelming support for the leadership of the school.  Self-evaluation is accurate and reflective of what has gone well and what still needs to be done to ensure the quality of teaching becomes consistently good and that students achieve consistently well. Development plans are carefully checked at milestones throughout the year to see if actions are being successful.  The quality of teaching is very regularly checked by senior and middle leaders. Teachers are held closely

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The leadership and management are good

to account for the progress their pupils make and accountability is rigorous at middle and senior leader levels. The school has taken decisive action when needed to eliminate any inadequate teaching.  Since the last inspection, managers have improved the skills of middle leaders who have in turn ensured students who fall behind are given more precise support. Middle leaders organise the well-attended ‘evening school’ for students to revise work and are now able to analyse data better, extracting strengths and weaknesses from it so they can take prompt action if needed. There is some inconsistency, however, in how students are pushed to make better than expected progress rather than just making expected progress.  Staff are keen to learn new skills and perfect others. Teachers have an ‘open door’ policy so that they can learn from each other and the quality of professional development is strong. Trust partners from local

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The leadership and management are good

business have supported the professional development of teachers well, for example by allowing them to experience modern apprenticeship training at first hand.  The curriculum offers exciting, challenging and varied experiences for students. It is enhanced greatly by opportunities provided by the Trust, including providing business mentors, giving students advice and guidance on careers and aspirations and one-to-one support with basic reading. Specialist courses at Holmfirth High School are made available to students, such as hairdressing and other vocational courses.  The nurture curriculum which is in place for the school’s most vulnerable pupils is first rate and provides pupils with the confidence and personal skills to thrive once they leave. Fundamental British values, such as the rule of law, appreciation of other faiths and cultures and the importance of democracy are promoted well through the new personal, social, health and citizenship education (PSHCE) curriculum and

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The leadership and management are good

in assemblies. Equal opportunities are promoted well. Leaders at all levels tackle discrimination decisively and good relations are fostered at every opportunity within the curriculum.  The pupil premium funding for disadvantaged pupils is used well to provide additional staff in English and mathematics, special courses for helping students to read well and counselling for students if it is needed. It is now closing the gap effectively between these students’ attainment and that of others, particularly in Key Stage 3.  The highly effective arrangements for safeguarding fully meet requirements, ensuring students are and feel very safe.  Leaders rigorously quality assure any off-site provision to ensure students attend regularly, behave appropriately and that they make as much progress as others. While outside providers make their own checks to ensure safeguarding meets requirements, the school makes its own rigorous checks.

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The leadership and management are good

 The local authority provides a high level of challenge through its membership of the Trust and also in holding the school to account for students’ achievement. It has given good quality support to the school by ensuring that its predictions of assessments are as accurate as possible and has assisted with provision in science.  The governance of the school:  The large governing body uses its range of skills to support and challenge the school well. Governors have a full and accurate understanding of what is working well in the school and what needs further development.  Governors have a very good understanding of achievement data. For example, they are well aware that progress is accelerating as students move through the school and the legacy of inadequate teaching and underachievement is left behind.  Governors are well aware that teaching in some areas of the school, such as in science, has not been as

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The leadership and management are good

good as in other areas. They have actively supported the headteacher to eradicate inadequate teaching. The management of teachers’ performance is overseen with rigour and the link between teachers’ pay and the quality of teaching is robustly monitored by governors.  Governors are aware of the wide range of uses of the pupil premium funding and confidently speak of the small gaps in achievement between disadvantaged students and others, particularly in Key Stage 3 and in Year 10. Moreover, they keenly point to the social and emotional impact of courses such as the nurture programme and improved attendance which are a result of wise spending of the pupil premium funding.  The governing body has supported the school well in the development of its personal, social, health and citizenship education. Its members understand that the promotion of fundamental British values are part of this new programme but have yet to examine in depth how this is developed across the school.

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The leadership and management are good

Through their work and training, governors are developing awareness across the school of the government’s ‘Prevent’ strategy, which is designed to combat terrorism and extremist philosophies.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of students is good.  In lessons, students apply themselves very well to their work. Even when ‘stuck’, inspectors saw how students were eager to help each other to solve problems independently. Only very occasionally was bad behaviour seen by the inspection team in lessons.  Inspectors were impressed by students’ manners and their courtesy to adults. Students are quick to do as they are told by teachers and dinnertime supervisors alike. Relationships between adults and students are harmonious as they are between students when socialising during dinnertimes and breaks.  The site is litter-free and very few students flout the strict uniform rules. Only occasionally did inspectors see students chewing gum in classrooms.  When interviewed, students were at pains to say how much behaviour had improved over time. They said they now enjoy coming to school knowing that there is, ‘virtually no chance of getting bullied or being

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Behaviour

harassed’.  The behaviour and attendance of students attending alternative provision is monitored closely and is good.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is excellent. Assemblies and the effective new personal, social, health and citizenship (PSHCE) curriculum promote mutual understanding of different faiths and cultures along with a sound understanding of the nature of modern British society.  Attendance is rising and is now average. Persistent absence is average.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep students safe and secure is outstanding.  Students’ awareness of how to keep safe when using the internet and electronic devices is highly impressive. Students regularly give presentations in the partner school on e-safety. A dedicated member of staff working between the two schools has overall responsibility for e-safety and ensures that staff and students have the very latest information on this topic, which is constantly evolving in sophistication.  Students say that different types of prejudice-based bullying, such as homophobic bullying ‘just doesn’t happen’. They were keen to emphasise to inspectors how respect is very important, irrespective of different beliefs, cultures or sexual orientation. All students have signed an anti-bullying pledge. This ethos is very much in evidence around the school as students of different backgrounds mix well and appreciate each other’s differences as well as similarities.

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Safety

 Procedures to keep students safe when on work placements are robust and regularly updated.  Parents that inspectors spoke to were magnanimous in their praise of how well the school looked after their children, many of whom had additional needs and had deliberately moved to the school as a result of its caring, nurturing ethos. All parents said that the school had undergone a complete transformation for the better since it opened.  Documentation relating to keeping students safe is exemplary.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teaching over time has not been of a consistently good enough quality to enable students to achieve well across the curriculum. Although it is clear the impact of some good teaching over time has resulted in some good achievement, there has also been teaching that has not been as effective and correspondingly, students’ progress has not been so swift.  Mathematics teaching is improving but due to its inconsistent quality is not yet good. Teachers have good subject knowledge and instil an enthusiasm and love for mathematics, which is a popular subject among students. Many told inspectors that they ‘love maths’ and it was their favourite subject. However, some teachers can be slow to act when students begin to struggle in class and so this affects students’ progress. Where students present their work poorly in mathematics, it can lead them to making simple calculation errors owing to their digits not being aligned correctly.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Similarly, English teaching is improving but is not yet at the point where students are making as much progress as they could. Feedback to students does not always help them to improve as well as they might and so they sometimes make repeated errors. However, some teachers give very high quality advice which then is acted on by the students and moves them on at a swift pace. Students’ presentation varies, sometimes work is immaculately presented but at other times is not so positive.  Some teaching does not take enough account of students’ abilities and so the work is too easy. The learning objectives are sometimes fairly simple for the most able students and so the work does not stretch them sufficiently. However, on occasions it is the lower and middle ability who flounder because the work is too demanding. Sometimes, students’ answers in their books are too short and teachers do not give them the opportunity to be stretched and challenged through writing extended pieces of work.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teachers’ marking and feedback varies in quality. Where it is good, students know exactly how well they have done and what they need to do to improve. However, some feedback is vague and not as helpful to students.  The work in students’ books in some subjects indicates that good quality teaching over time is promoting their good achievement. For example, in Spanish, students have covered a lot of ground in Year 7 and are able to read, write and communicate well. In drama, students’ skills have been systematically developed across different topics over time. This was clear in the inspection when students had to apply these skills to write their own high quality monologue.  Teaching assistants give high quality support to students to help them become confident, independent learners. Support for students at the early stages of speaking English and who have recently arrived in the country is high quality. This enables them to settle in well and before long communicate well in English.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Students enter the school with attainment that is well-below national averages in all subjects. In 2014, the proportion of students who left the school with five A* to C grades, including English and mathematics, was below average. The picture of achievement over time, however, is complex due to:  the high numbers of students that join or leave the school other than at the normal times  the high proportion of students with disabilities and special educational needs  a legacy of underachievement from the predecessor school which continues to work its way through the school.  These factors resulted in the school not meeting the floor standards in 2014. However, achievement is rising quickly. Predictions for 2015 are that achievement will be above floor standards and that students will make good progress from their low starting points. School tracking information shows that for Year 10, achievement is set to rise further. These improving standards were verified in the inspection by the

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

work in students’ books.  Achievement of the most able students requires improvement. The most able make good progress in English with reasonable numbers reaching grade A at GCSE. In mathematics, the proportion making expected progress is comparable with other schools although relatively few exceed expected progress.  Students are not entered early for GCSE examinations.  School data show that boys of White British backgrounds make less progress than other groups in English and mathematics. However, many have complex special needs and receive support for their speech and language. Students who speak English as an additional language, including those from Pakistani and eastern European backgrounds, make better progress in English and mathematics than those whose first language is English.  In 2014, disadvantaged students in Year 11 in English were half a GCSE grade below others in the school and one grade below the national average for others. In mathematics, disadvantaged students were one

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

and three-quarter grades behind others in the school and just over one and a half grades behind the national average for others. School data show that gaps in attainment between the two groups are now narrowing as is the gap between disadvantaged students and others nationally. Disadvantaged students make less overall progress than non-disadvantaged students nationally, although over time the gap has narrowed.  Students in Year 7 who enter the school with the lowest standards and receive support from the Year 7 catch up funding are helped to make up for lost time by receiving additional support for reading and even entering poetry and reading competitions to promote their enjoyment of literature.  Pupils with disabilities and those who have special educational needs make better progress in English than they do in mathematics. The provision for students with special educational needs is high quality and is

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

led very well. This has led to programmes being highly tailored for students’ individual needs which is resulting in students now making faster rates of progress in Key Stage 3.  The school’s tracking shows that students’ progress is accelerating in mathematics and English as students move through the school. This is because the quality of teaching is improving and students’ basic calculation, reading and writing skills are developed better when they are in Key Stage 3. Achievement in science, however, is lagging behind and is a priority for development in the school.  Students’ achievement in many other subjects is improving strongly. Achievement is at least good in a number of subjects, including drama, performing arts, information and communication technology, health and social care and English literature and citizenship.  The achievement of those students who attend alternative provision is in line with their peers owing to the

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding An outstanding school is highly effective in delivering outcomes that provide exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. This ensures that pupils are very well equipped for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 2 Good A good school is effective in delivering outcomes that provide well for all its pupils’ needs. Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 3 Requires improvement A school that requires improvement is not yet a good school, but it is not inadequate. This school will receive a full inspection within 24 months from the date of this inspection. Grade 4 Inadequate A school that has serious weaknesses is inadequate overall and requires significant improvement but leadership and management are judged to be Grade 3 or better. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors. A school that requires special measures is one where the school is failing

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Grade Judgement Description

to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the school’s leaders, managers or governors have not demonstrated that they have the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors.

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School details

Unique reference number 136502 Local authority Kirklees Inspection number 453627

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School details

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

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School details

Type of school Secondary School category Foundation Age range of pupils 11–16 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 494 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Philip Weston Headteacher Lawrence Wilson Date of previous school inspection 26 March 2013 Telephone number 01484 223888 Fax number 01484 223889 Email address office@nhtschool.co.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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