Chichester High School

School report Chichester High School for Girls

p.1

Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Not previously inspected as an academy This inspection: Outstanding 1 Leadership and management Outstanding 1 Behaviour and safety of pupils Outstanding 1 Quality of teaching Outstanding 1 Achievement of pupils Outstanding 1 Sixth form provision Outstanding 1

p.1

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The headteacher’s drive, determination and passion for the school permeate every aspect of its work. Her outstanding leadership, together with that of other leaders and governors, has significantly contributed to the high quality of teaching and students’ outstanding achievement.  The junior leadership team, which represents the views of students, is fully integrated into the process of school improvement.  The school’s culture of high aspirations is reflected in teachers’ high expectations of students and in students’ enthusiasm for learning.  Very robust systems for assessing and tracking students’ progress mean that highly effective support is quickly implemented for any student who needs it.  The promotion of students’ spiritual, moral, cultural and social development is outstanding and is embedded in all aspects of the school’s work. Students are exceptionally well prepared for life in modern Britain.

p.1

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Teaching is outstanding. Teachers make very good use of information about students to plan interesting, challenging and enjoyable lessons.  Teachers’ marking provides effective feedback to students, helping them to identify their errors and see what they need to do to improve.  All groups of students make very good progress. Disadvantaged students make very rapid progress in English and mathematics and gaps in attainment between this group and others are closing rapidly.  Disabled students and those with special educational needs make excellent progress because they receive highly personalised and effective support.  The curriculum comprises a broad range of subjects which meet students’ needs, aspirations and talents very well. Additional enrichment activities extend students’ love of learning beyond the classroom.  Students’ behaviour in class and around the school is exemplary. They are proud of their school and

p.1

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

know that they are respected by staff.  Safeguarding is a high priority for the school. Students reported that they feel very safe at school and parents agreed with this view.  In the sixth form, students achieve very well and act as outstanding role models for younger students.

p.1

Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 29 lessons, 22 of which were jointly observed with members of the school’s leadership team. Inspectors also conducted a number of shorter visits to classrooms to observe the work of teaching assistants.  A separate work scrutiny was conducted to review the quality of students’ work in their books and the impact of teachers’ marking on students’ progress.  Inspectors held meetings with the headteacher, senior and middle leaders, teachers, groups of students from each year group, a representative of the school’s sponsor and governors, including the Chair of the Governing Body and vice chair.  Inspectors scrutinised a range of documentation. This included the school’s self-evaluation and development plans, records of students’ achievement, behaviour and attendance records and the school’s policies for child protection and safeguarding.  Meetings were held to evaluate the effectiveness of the school’s safeguarding procedures.

p.2

Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed students’ behaviour when moving between lessons and during social times.  Inspectors took account of the 61 responses to the online questionnaire, Parent View, the school’s own survey of the views of parents and two emails from parents which were received during the inspection.  Inspectors also took account of the 69 responses to the Ofsted questionnaire for members of staff.

p.2

Inspection team

Caroline Dearden, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

p.2

Information about this school

 Chichester High School for Girls is larger than the average-sized secondary school.  The sixth form is a consortium of Chichester High School for Girls and Chichester High School for Boys where students are taught in mixed gender groups. Outcomes for girls and boys are evaluated separately by the Department for Education.  The school became a sponsored academy in September 2013. TKAT (The Kemnal Academies Trust) is the sponsor. When the predecessor school, also known as Chichester High School for Girls, was last inspected by Ofsted in February 2012, its overall effectiveness was judged to be satisfactory.  The present headteacher took up her post in 2013.  After public consultation, the school will be merged with Chichester High School for Boys from September 2016. Students in Year 7 and Key Stage 4 option groups will be taught in mixed-gender classes. In preparation for this, the senior leadership team was reconstituted in July 2015 to form a single leadership

p.3

Information about this school

team for the boys’ and girls’ school and the joint sixth form. The headteacher is now the executive headteacher for both schools and for the sixth form. Each school has a separate head of school.  The majority of students are of White British heritage.  The proportion of disabled students and those with special educational needs is above average.  The proportion of students supported by the pupil premium is below average. The pupil premium is additional government funding for students who are known to be eligible for free school meals or who are in the care of the local authority.  A small number of students attend alternative education off site at Chichester College and Alternative Provision Centre.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards which set the minimum expectations for students’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics by the end of Year 11.

p.3

What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Extend the opportunities for students to talk to teachers about their learning and allocate time for them to reflect on their teachers’ feedback so that they can improve and develop their work.

p.3

The leadership and management are outstanding

 Since her appointment, the headteacher has used her drive, determination and passion for the school to raise standards and to inspire outstanding leadership at all levels. She is very well supported by the governors and the academy sponsor, not least when difficult staffing decisions have had to be made. The school is now a place in which students and staff are well respected and highly valued.  Rigorous systems for checking students’ progress enable leaders to hold teachers to account for students’ achievement. External expertise has been used very well to ensure that teachers’ assessments of students’ work are accurate. Checks by senior leaders are rigorous and meticulously carried out.  The leadership of teaching is outstanding. Senior and middle leaders regularly monitor the quality of teaching. Training is expertly matched to every member of staff’s development needs and teachers benefit

p.4

The leadership and management are outstanding

from the expertise of 40 teacher coaches who provide high-quality support and mentoring. There are excellent systems in place to enable teachers to share good practice.  Middle leaders are now highly skilled. They are confident of making improvements in their areas of responsibility and work very well as a team to ensure rapid progress towards the school’s identified areas for development.  The recently appointed coordinator for the pupil premium has made sure that the needs of disadvantaged students are well known by all staff. The support these students receive is highly personalised, ensuring that they have equal opportunity to succeed. As a result, the attainment and progress gaps between disadvantaged students and their peers are closing rapidly.  Students undergo initial assessments when they join the school in Year 7. Leaders use the outcomes of these tests to identify where students need additional help to reach the challenging targets set for their

p.4

The leadership and management are outstanding

achievement. Consequently, it is difficult for students to fall behind because, where underachievement is identified, effective, personalised support is quickly provided.  The curriculum underpins the work of the school to promote equality of opportunity. The range of subjects on offer meets the needs, aspirations and talents of students very well and consequently the number of students not in education, employment or training when they leave school is very small. Additional enrichment activities give students the chance to expand their interests and understanding beyond the classroom. Exemplary, individual careers advice is provided so that all students can make appropriate academic or vocational choices.  The strong relationships and frequent communication between the school and alternative education providers enables leaders to ensure that the progress, behaviour and attendance of students attending

p.4

The leadership and management are outstanding

part of their education off-site are at least as good as others in the school.  Students benefit from weekly lessons dedicated to the promotion of their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. The programme is exceptionally well coordinated and provides a rich variety of opportunities for students to learn about democracy, the rule of law, equality and diversity. As a result, students are very well prepared for life in modern Britain.  Safeguarding is a high priority for the school and all safeguarding requirements are met. All staff receive frequent safeguarding training.  The junior leadership team regularly meets with senior leaders and governors to represent the views of students and is fully integrated into the leadership of the school. For example, as a result of their deliberations, from September 2015, the school’s marking and feedback policy will include greater opportunity for verbal feedback and conversations between teachers and students about what they are

p.4

The leadership and management are outstanding

learning.  The governance of the school:  Governance is outstanding. The governing body, recently reconstituted, comprises a united group of 10 skilled and professionally experienced governors who robustly monitor the work of the school and hold leaders to account.  A small, sub-group of governors meets annually to review teachers’ performance. It scrutinises the evidence provided by the headteacher in relation to pay recommendations and ensures that salary increases are only awarded when the quality of teaching is strong enough to secure good outcomes for students.  From their careful scrutiny of data, governors have an expert understanding of how well students are doing and how well the school’s performance compares with that of other schools. They know how the pupil premium is spent and its impact on the achievement of disadvantaged students.  Governors and are fully involved in the strategic development of the school. They review leaders’

p.4

The leadership and management are outstanding

evaluations of standards 10 times each year and follow these up with frequent visits to the school to meet with staff, leaders and students and to observe learning in the classroom.  A separate sub-group of governors oversees financial resources. Helped by the academy sponsor, it has formulated budget plans for the forthcoming merger. This group is also responsible for ensuring the safety of the school’s site.  Governors ensure that arrangements for safeguarding students meet statutory requirements.

p.4

Behaviour

 The behaviour of students is outstanding. The ethos of the school is characterised by highly positive relationships based on mutual respect, tolerance and the celebration of difference.  Students demonstrate exemplary behaviour in lessons. They arrive punctually and settle down quickly. They enjoy their lessons and have the confidence to ask questions of their teachers and of each other. Students swiftly offer their support to others who may find the work challenging. These qualities exemplify students’ highly positive attitudes towards their learning.  Students are very welcoming towards visitors and keen to talk about their pride in their school. During the inspection, the school site was observed to be free of graffiti and litter, including during sports day when the whole school congregated on the field and when picnics were held at lunchtime.  Around the school, in lessons and at social times, students mix in socially and culturally diverse groups.

p.5

Behaviour

They are exceptionally polite and courteous towards each other and towards staff.  Bullying is extremely rare and none of the students spoken to had experienced bullying or knew anyone who had been bullied. However, they were all confident that any bullying would be dealt with quickly and effectively by school staff.  Systems for tracking and monitoring students’ absence are robust. As a result, students’ attendance, including that of those in off-site centres, is higher than average. Exclusions are very rare.

p.5

Safety

 The school’s work to keep students safe and secure is outstanding.  Students feel very safe in school a view endorsed by almost all parents and staff. Regular inspections of the school site help to ensure that it is a safe place in which to work and learn.  Students at risk of falling behind receive expert care from senior and pastoral leaders, including the school nurse. Support from external agencies is swiftly commissioned when students need it.  Leaders have received specialist training to enable them to identify the signs of child sexual exploitation, female genital mutilation, extremism and radicalisation. As a result, students at potential risk of harm are quickly identified and safeguarded.  All staff receive regular and detailed child protection training. Students appreciate the involvement of a local police community support officer in the life of their school; she monitors social media to protect

p.5

Safety

students against cyber bullying.  Students attending part of their education off site are kept very safe because school leaders are in regular contact with providers. Risk assessments for all trips, visits and off-site provision are detailed and meticulously implemented.

p.5

The quality of teaching is outstanding

 Teachers have excellent knowledge of the skills, talents and abilities of the students they teach. They are able to use information about students’ progress to plan lessons and set work that meets students’ different needs very well and appropriately supports and challenges them.  Teachers have very strong subject knowledge which they use skilfully to challenge students to think deeply, to make links between different aspects of the subject and to resolve any misunderstandings. At the same time, teachers use questioning extremely well to help students to express their opinions and to articulate their ideas with confidence.  Teaching assistants make a valuable contribution to lessons because they have the academic and professional skills necessary to support students with additional needs. They skilfully encourage students to take responsibility for their learning and to work things out for themselves.

p.5

The quality of teaching is outstanding

 Teachers have high expectations of students’ work, attitudes and presentation. Students appreciate the way in which teachers push them to work hard and achieve well. They also know that teachers will help them when they find tasks challenging.  Students are expected to read widely across the full range of subjects. Initiatives such as the visit of an author stimulate students to appreciate the joy of reading for pleasure.  The teaching of literacy, reading and mathematics across the school is well developed. Students write at length and in detail and are able to use subject-specific vocabulary accurately and with confidence. They are also able to use statistical information to validate their ideas.  Teachers give feedback to students about how to improve their work. Teachers’ marking indicates where students have made errors and, on the whole, shows them what they need to do next. Although students

p.5

The quality of teaching is outstanding

regularly respond to their teachers’ comments, some of their responses are cursory and fail to show how errors have been corrected or work improved.

p.6

is outstanding

 Students join the school in Year 7 with levels of attainment that are broadly average. In 2013 and 2014, the proportion attaining five or more GCSE grades at A* to C including English and mathematics was significantly above the national average. The proportion attaining grade C or above in English was above average and the proportion attaining grade C or above in mathematics was average. In 2014, the proportion of students who subsequently made more than the expected progress was above the national level in both English and mathematics. Overall, this represents outstanding progress.  The most able students achieve very well. In 2014, almost all made more than the expected progress in English and mathematics and the proportion achieving GCSE grades A* to C in all subjects was higher than the national average for able students. Students currently on roll are achieving similarly well.  Disabled students and those with special educational needs make excellent progress from their starting

p.6

is outstanding

points. This is because they benefit from exceptionally well-planned and sharply focused support.  In 2014, disadvantaged students eligible for the pupil premium did not make as much progress or achieve as well at GCSE as others in the school. On average, they were a grade and a half behind in English and mathematics. Compared to other students nationally, students in this group were just over a grade behind in English and a grade and a half behind in mathematics. This year, carefully targeted support from the school’s highly effective pupil premium coordinator improved attendance and the removal of barriers to learning are tangibly closing these gaps.  The Year 7 catch-up funding is used very well to enable students joining the school with low levels of literacy and numeracy to make rapid progress. Almost all these students are working securely at Level 4 in English and mathematics by the end of Year 7.

p.6

is outstanding

 Those students who experience part of their education off site make good progress because their courses are very well matched to their needs and talents.  In 2014, a small number of students were entered early for their GCSE examinations in English and mathematics. This did not limit the potential of the most able, as all achieved grades A* or A in both subjects.

p.6

The sixth form provision is outstanding

 The leadership of the sixth form is highly effective. Leaders constantly evaluate the provision and continue to develop the range of subjects on offer to meet the needs and aspirations of students. Consequently, retention from Year 11 into the sixth form and from Year 12 into Year 13 is very high.  Students’ progress is rigorously tracked and individual support quickly provided for anyone who needs it. As a result students are making outstanding progress.  In 2013 and 2014, A-level results were above average in most subjects. AS-level results were not quite so good, however, and leaders took effective action. Provisional figures and the work seen by inspectors suggest that outcomes for both qualifications will be good in 2015.  Teaching in the sixth form is very good and improving. Teachers have very strong subject knowledge which they use to stretch and challenge students and to help them to make the leap from GCSE to A level

p.6

The sixth form provision is outstanding

with confidence. In the words of one parent, ‘Students benefit from first class teaching and the knowledge that teachers care enough to encourage them and to push them when necessary.’  The information, advice and guidance provided for students are of very high quality. Students are guided to make appropriate choices whether they are for academic higher education, for the development of vocational skills or for employment.  Sixth form students enjoy school. Their attendance is very high and all feel exceptionally safe and well cared for.  Sixth form students are excellent role models for younger students because of their exemplary behaviour and the way in which they are integrated into school events and house competitions. They also act as mentors for students in the main school who are identified as underachieving.

p.6

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 140105 Local authority West Sussex Inspection number 450329

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 Girls Gender of pupils in the sixth form Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 1,014 Of which, number on roll in sixth form 274 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Peter Waters Headteacher Yasmin Maskatiya Date of previous school inspection Not previously inspected as an academy Telephone number 01243 787014 Fax number 01243 832670 Email address office@chsg-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