Wigston College

Guthlaxton College Wigston Station Road, Wigston, LE18 2DS

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Requires improvement 3 This inspection: Inadequate 4 Leadership and management Inadequate 4 Behaviour and safety of pupils Inadequate 4 Quality of teaching Inadequate 4 Achievement of pupils Inadequate 4 Sixth form provision Requires improvement 3

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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

 Leaders have not tackled the areas for improvement identified in the previous inspection quickly enough.  Many senior leaders are very newly appointed and have not been in post long enough to demonstrate their capacity to make improvements.  Students attained well below average results in 2014 and make insufficient progress, especially in English and mathematics.  Disadvantaged students make poor progress compared to their peers nationally and those within the college.  Teachers’ expectations of what students are able to achieve have been too low. Assessment has been inaccurate and teachers do not insist that students act on the feedback they give.  Students are not developing strong enough skills in literacy and numeracy. This means they are not prepared well enough for the next stage of their education.  Too many students do not complete courses in the sixth form or leave at the end of Year 12.  Too many students, especially some boys, lack

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

enthusiasm. Some students are late to lessons, slow to get started or do not take pride in their uniform.  Leaders’ judgements on the quality of teaching have been too positive. Leaders have not been aware enough of the impact some poor teaching has had on students’ achievement.  Governors have been over reliant on information from the Principal. They have not been successful in holding leaders to account for the college’s performance.  The arrangements to ensure the safety of students are inadequate because the checks on those taking alternative provision off site have not been rigorous enough.  Attendance is below average, some disadvantaged students and some with special educational needs have very low attendance.

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The school has the following strengths

 Students benefit from a wide range of extra- curricular activities.  Achievement in a few subjects has improved. Students in science are now making good progress and many achieve well.  Achievement in the sixth form, although not yet good, is better than in the main school. Behaviour, attendance and students’ attitudes to learning in the sixth form are also better.  Staff feel positive about recent changes in leadership.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed students’ learning in 30 lessons. Three of these observations were conducted jointly with senior leaders.  Meetings were held with the Principal, executive headteacher, senior and middle leaders, members of the governing body and various groups of students. A phone call was made to an external consultant who has been supporting the college.  A visit was made to the off-site alternative provision to review activities and hold discussions.  Inspectors scrutinised a wide range of documentation, including information on students’ achievement, the college’s self-evaluation and improvement plan, minutes of meetings, and records relating to the monitoring of teaching, behaviour and safety.  Inspectors took account of 58 responses to the online Parent View survey and 56 staff questionnaire returns.

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Inspection team

David Bray, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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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

 Guthlaxton College is a smaller-than-average-sized secondary school. The number of students in the college has fallen sharply in the last few years. The College converted to become an academy on 1 November 2012 and was first inspected the following year. On 1 April 2015, Guthlaxton College joined the newly formed Wigston Academies Trust, a multi academy trust.  A new Principal was appointed in December 2014. All other senior leaders are newly appointed and have been in post since March 2015. All of these staff were previously working at the college.  Between 1 September 2014 and 31 March 2015, Guthlaxton College received support from a National Leader of Education who became the executive headteacher of Guthlaxton College on 1 April 2015.  Most students are of White British heritage.  The proportion of disadvantaged students supported by the pupil premium funding is slightly below average. The pupil premium is additional government funding to support students known to be eligible for

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Information about this school

free school meals and those in local authority care.  The proportion of disabled students and those who have special educational needs supported is below average.  The college did not meet the government’s 2014 floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for students’ attainment and progress.  A very small number of students access their education at the South Leicestershire Behaviour Partnership full time. A significant number access part-time education at Trans4m, Educ8, Future Bikes and New Parks Boxing.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching, especially in Years 10 and 11, so that it is at least good by ensuring that all teachers:  plan lessons with sufficient challenge for different groups of students, particularly those with special educational needs, and those who are disadvantaged  ensure that expectations for behaviour are clear, codes of conduct are used and activities engage students in their learning  assess work accurately and use this information effectively to plan the next steps that students need to take in their learning  insist on high standards of presentation, that students take sufficient care over their work and regularly do their best  ensure that students act upon the feedback they receive so they develop their skills and understanding.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise achievement across the college, particularly in English and mathematics, by:  ensuring all teachers have the highest expectation for what different groups of students are able to achieve  developing a more consistent approach across all subjects to improving students’ literacy and numeracy skills  improving the rate of completion and retention for sixth form courses  improving the identification of the individual needs of disadvantaged students and those with special educational needs in order to ensure they receive more effective support, including from teaching assistants.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of leadership and management by ensuring that:  fewer students fall behind and require extra tuition in order to catch up  strategies for use of extra government funding to support disadvantaged students are effective in that these pupils are helped to make at least good progress  governors are more active in monitoring the school, in checking that agreed actions have the intended impact and providing effective challenge and support for school leaders  the arrangements made to educate some students off site for all, or part of the week, are checked regularly to ensure students are safe.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the management of behaviour and safety by ensuring that:  all staff regularly insist on high standards of behaviour, especially for those who find it difficult to comply, by making effective use of the college’s behaviour code in lessons and around the site  lateness to lessons is consistently and effectively challenged  strategies to improve attendance focus on those with low attendance and that codes for recording absence are used accurately  students accessing alternative provision are attending regularly.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

An external review of governance and of the college’s use of the pupil premium funding should be undertaken in order to assess how these aspect of leadership and management may be improved.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 Leaders have not been effective enough in bringing about the necessary changes to ensure the college improves. The areas for development in the previous inspection report have not been addressed sufficiently because leaders did not act quickly enough. Not enough attention has been given until very recently to improving teaching or behaviour.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 There have been recent and radical changes in leadership. These include a new Principal and recently appointed senior leaders. During the inspection many staff expressed a feeling of optimism and hope for the future. The new Principal has widespread support and she is well respected. However, new leaders have not had sufficient time in their roles to show whether they have the capacity to improve the college.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 The evaluations of the effectiveness of the college made by leaders have been too generous. This was a significant factor in the slow response to improving areas identified in the previous inspection. Current leaders have put in place additional training, monitored teaching and used external consultants to support the college. These changes are very recent and have not yet had sufficient effect.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 The checks made by leaders on how well the college is doing have given an overly positive view of the quality of teaching because not enough account has been taken of the impact poor teaching has had on students’ learning over time.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 The quality of teaching has not improved since the last inspection. Recent changes and extra training implemented by new leaders have not yet had sufficient impact. However, new leaders are very aware of the urgent need for improvement.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 Inspectors strongly recommend that the college should not seek to appoint newly qualified teachers.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 The leadership of subjects has not been effective. As a result, the progress made by students in English and mathematics has been poor and has declined over time. Few subject areas do well enough. The leadership of science has, however, ensured that students make better progress because expectations are higher.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 Leaders have not been in post long enough to ensure that the targets set for teachers are rigorous enough or reviewed effectively. The previous round of targets set for the teachers and a review of their performance was not completed satisfactorily.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 Leaders have not ensured that the spending of the pupil premium funding is effective. This funding has had very little impact on raising the achievement of disadvantaged students. They underachieve significantly. As a result, they are not prepared well for the next stage of their education or life beyond school. Newly appointed leaders accept fully that the funding has not been used well.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 The college provides a broad and balanced range of subjects in Key Stage 4 and in the sixth form. These are supported by extensive extra-curricular activities, including sports and performing arts. Students have good opportunities to discuss democracy, the rule of law and other aspects of being responsible citizens. These activities prepare them well for life in modern Britain.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 Students say they receive helpful careers advice. The programme is comprehensive and ensures they have the chance to attend an individual interview to support them in their subject choices. Advice is impartial and independent. This is helpful to students as they make the transition from Year 9 into the college. Although older students appreciate the advice they receive, too many do not complete courses.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 The college provides a series of assemblies, invites outside speakers and promotes strongly a culture of respect. Many students understand and respond well to this. Even though some do not behave as well as they should, students spoken to said that bullying is rare.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 There are good opportunities for students to develop their understanding of spiritual, moral, social and cultural ideas and themes. Students appreciate, and many access, a wide range of extra-curricular activities including sporting, drama, art and dance activities. The college promotes performing arts as a strong curriculum area.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 Recent leadership has brokered support from external consultants. This has not had sufficient time to make an impact, although it has helped leaders to be aware of the areas that need to improve.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 Leaders have ensured that strong values of respect are promoted throughout the college. Relationships between many students and staff are often positive. Leaders have not ensured equality of opportunity because some students, especially those who are disadvantaged or who are disabled and those who have special educational needs, have not achieved well enough.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 Leaders have not ensured that the attendance, behaviour and progress of students accessing off-site education have been checked sufficiently.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 The college’s safeguarding procedures do not meet statutory requirements. The checks on staff employed at the college are carried out effectively and arrangements to check the suitability of visitors are secure. Leaders ensure that procedures to maintain the site, evacuation drills and equipment testing are carried out regularly. Arrangements for the disclosure of information about abuse or neglect are also checked and reviewed. However, college leaders were not able to demonstrate that students accessing alternative education were sufficiently safe.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 The college has very recently become part of a multi-academy trust. This change has not had sufficient time to have any impact on how well the college is performing. The college has been supported since September 2014 by a National Leader of Education, who has been working as a consultant headteacher at the school. Very recently this role has been changed to one of executive headteacher. This work has not had sufficient time to make an impact on the school.

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The leadership and management are inadequate

 The governance of the school:  The governance of the college is not effective. Governors have been too ready to accept information on teaching and students’ progress presented to them by school leaders without sufficiently questioning this data or having a strong understanding of the school’s performance in relation to other schools nationally. As a result the sharp decline in 2014 outcomes was a surprise for them. Governors have not had an accurate view of the college’s performance, or the quality of teaching. Governors have recently sought to provide more challenge and strengthen their role. An outcome of this has been significant, recent, changes in leadership. They are aware that it is too soon to know how effective these changes are.  Governors are aware that targets should be set for teachers’ performance and that a link should be made to pay progression. However, the previous review cycle was not completed satisfactorily because

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The leadership and management are inadequate

the headteacher left prior to its completion and systems were not robust enough.  Governors know about extra government funding to support disadvantaged pupils but they have not ensured that it makes a difference to the attainment and progress of these pupils. Governors have not challenged the lack of progress of pupils with special educational needs.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of students is inadequate.

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Behaviour

 Too many students are slow to arrive at lessons and get down to work. A significant group are disruptive because they talk over the teacher, call out or ignore instructions. A large proportion of these are boys. Behaviour in lessons is better in the sixth form than in Years 10 and 11.

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Behaviour

 Work is often poorly presented. Students do not always take care over their handwriting, spelling, punctuation or grammar. Too many students are not positive enough about their learning and do not take pride in their uniform.

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Behaviour

 A significant group of students, mainly boys, do not conduct themselves well in and around the college. They show insufficient respect for staff, do not comply with instructions and use bad language.

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Behaviour

 Students say that low-level disruption is fairly frequent in some classes. Although staff say that behaviour is improving, poor behaviour was observed during the inspection. The college’s records of behaviour over time also show that behaviour is not good enough, although they also show that it has improved recently. One third of parents who responded to the Parent View survey feel that behaviour at the college is poor.

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Behaviour

 The number of students that have been excluded has been above average. Recorded exclusions have recently started to fall.

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Behaviour

 There are groups of students who behave very well. This is especially the case in the sixth form.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep students safe and secure is inadequate.

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Safety

 Students have a secure understanding of different types of bullying and those spoken to said it was rare. About one in ten parents who responded to the Parent View survey feel that bullying is a problem. College records indicate that over time it has not been a concern.

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Safety

 The college provides effective regular information for students about how to protect themselves when using the internet, using roads and keeping safe outside school.

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Safety

 Attendance levels have been below average. A higher than average proportion of students have been absent for long periods of time. The attendance of groups of students, such as those who are disadvantaged, is a particular concern. School records indicate that attendance has improved. Attendance in lessons seen was low. Checks on attendance made by inspectors showed that a significant proportion of the improved attendance figures were due to decisions to change the codes used to record absence.

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Safety

 The arrangements to check on the attendance, safety and well-being of students attending alternative off- site provision are inadequate. Leaders do not have rigorous processes in place to check where students are, respond quickly enough to any concerns and were not able to show inspectors that the safeguarding of these students was secure.

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The quality of teaching is inadequate

 Students have consistently underachieved at the college due to the inadequate teaching that they receive. As a result, many students, especially those who are disadvantaged or disabled and those who have special educational needs, have made poor progress from their different starting points. Boys do less well than girls.

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The quality of teaching is inadequate

 Teaching has not motivated or engaged students, especially some boys. Expectations for achievement are not high enough. As a result, work has not provided sufficient challenge for students in many subjects, but especially in English and mathematics. Some teachers have not managed the poor behaviour of some students well enough. As a result, these students have made insufficient progress and disrupted the learning of others in the class.

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The quality of teaching is inadequate

 The teaching of the most-able students has been more successful and they have made better progress. This is because teaching is more successful in motivating these students, who have built up a greater stamina for learning as a result of their past successes.

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The quality of teaching is inadequate

 Teachers have not assessed how well students are doing. Predictions for examination results in recent years have been significantly higher than actual outcomes. Current estimates are also higher than the work seen in books and lessons. As a result, some leaders have an overly positive view of the impact of recently introduced strategies to improve learning.

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The quality of teaching is inadequate

 Students are not regularly developing the key skills of literacy, reading and mathematics well enough across subjects. Teachers do not have high enough expectations for work and poor presentation is accepted too readily.  The teaching of writing is not effective enough across the college. Work is often poorly presented, incomplete, or with inaccurate punctuation or grammar. The teaching of reading is better because students have opportunities to read texts across a range of subjects. The teaching of numeracy skills has not been effective enough in mathematics lessons and students lack confidence in using their numeracy skills in other subjects.

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The quality of teaching is inadequate

 Teachers do not make sure that students use feedback they receive about their work effectively enough. As a result, students do not routinely expect to improve things they have not done well, do not correct mistakes or use the feedback they are given to ensure that their work is better next time.

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The quality of teaching is inadequate

 Learning support assistants often have good relationships with students but their work is not planned effectively enough. This contributes to the lack of progress made by some groups of students, including disabled students and those with special educational needs.

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

 Students make inadequate progress from their different starting points. Students made particularly poor progress in English and mathematics in 2014. Current school data show a significant improvement in achievement. However, work seen in lessons and books indicate that too many assessments are inaccurate and over optimistic.

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

 The proportion of students who leave Year 11 with five or more GCSE grades at A* to C including English and mathematics is below average. It has declined significantly over the last three years. The proportion making expected and better than expected progress in English and mathematics was low. The college did not predict that this would be the case. Actions for improvement have been too slow.

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

 Disadvantaged students and those entitled to the pupil premium funding make inadequate progress. The extra support they have received has had little impact. The gaps between the achievement of these students and their peers nationally and within the college are large and they show no sign of narrowing. In 2014, disadvantaged students in Year 11 were almost two grades behind their peers nationally in mathematics and one and half grades behind in English. They were a grade behind other students in the college. Only a very small minority of these disadvantaged students progress to the college’s sixth form.

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

 Disabled students and those who have special educational needs make poor progress in lessons because teachers do not plan for their learning sufficiently well. This includes the use of additional support from adults in lessons. As a result, they make inadequate progress in relation to other pupils nationally.

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

 Students often make better progress in science and the performing arts. This is because teachers have high enough expectations of what students are able to achieve and plan activities that motivate and engage students.

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

 The most-able students often make better progress than others in the school and their achievement is closer to average given their starting points. In 2014 some students in Key Stage 4 sat their GCSE mathematics examination early. This contributed to some of these students not attaining the higher grades of A* and A. The college no longer plans to enter students early for these examinations.

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The achievement of pupils is inadequate

 A small number of students access education at alternative providers for all or part of the week. School leaders are not aware enough of how well these students are doing, or if the courses they are taking will enable them to progress to next phase of their education, training or employment.

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The sixth form provision requires improvement

 In recent years, students have not achieved well enough across many different subjects. On average, they have attained lower results than other students have nationally. This is partly because they typically start courses with lower than average prior attainment. Few achieve the highest grades. Progress in several subjects has also not been consistently strong.

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The sixth form provision requires improvement

 Current school data predict a very significant increase in results for students in years 12 and 13 but is over optimistic. Work seen in lessons and through a scrutiny of work confirms that student’s progress does not match the college’s data on current attainment or progress in all subjects.

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The sixth form provision requires improvement

 The quality of teaching in the sixth form requires improvement. Students often do better in the sixth form because they have more positive attitudes to learning and their attendance is better. Students do not always make effective use of their untutored time. The progress of students who did not achieve a C grade in English and mathematics is variable and requires improvement.

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The sixth form provision requires improvement

 The quality and quantity of marking and feedback in some subjects is good. However, in some cases feedback from teachers is not precise enough to promote good learning.

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The sixth form provision requires improvement

 Although students receive advice and guidance, which they appreciate, an above average proportion does not complete courses. A significant group of students leave at the end of Year 12.

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The sixth form provision requires improvement

 Students behave well in lessons and take care of and appreciate the sixth form area. They are aware of how to keep themselves safe.

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The sixth form provision requires improvement

 There are some activities that help them to develop their personal, social and employment skills. This programme includes trips, visits and external speakers. Some sixth form students take positions of responsibility. Few students benefit from the opportunity to gain work experience. A reasonable number of Year 13 students progress to university.

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The sixth form provision requires improvement

 Leadership of the sixth form requires improvement because over time achievement has not been high enough. A new leader has been in post for a few weeks and has not had time to have sufficient impact. The leadership of teaching has not had sufficient impact on improving the quality of teaching across all subject areas. There are still too many areas where achievement has been too low and shown little sign of improvement. Evaluations on the quality of teaching do not take sufficient account of students’ achievement, or retention, in individual subjects.

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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 138894 Local authority Leicestershire Inspection number 462002

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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 Academy converter Age range of pupils 14–18 Gender of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils in the sixth form Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 838 Of which, number on roll in sixth form 267 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Colin Gore Principal Sally Cox Date of previous school inspection 24 April 2013 Telephone number 0116 2881611 Fax number 0116 2881432 Email address guth@guth.org.uk guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted . 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.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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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.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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