Cranbourne

Cranbourne Business and Enterprise College Wessex Close, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 3NP

p.1

Overall effectiveness Inadequate

Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

p.1

Overall effectiveness Inadequate

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

p.1

Overall effectiveness Inadequate

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Inadequate

p.1

Overall effectiveness Inadequate

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

p.1

Overall effectiveness Inadequate

Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Good

p.1

This is an inadequate school

 Safeguarding is inadequate. Leaders and governors have not ensured that procedures to keep pupils safe are robust.  Records and information about safeguarding are not logged and recorded systematically.  Leaders have not established a staff team fully committed to equal opportunities for all where high expectations are the norm and where discrimination of any kind is not tolerated.  Some pupils use unacceptable language to others, for example homophobic language. This type of behaviour sometimes goes unchecked.  Leaders have an over-generous view of how effectively they have led school improvements because they do not evaluate the impact of actions according to whether they boost pupils’ progress.  There is too much variability in pupils’ progress. The most-able pupils, disabled pupils and those with special educational needs do not make rapid enough progress. Leaders have not secured rapid enough improvements in achievement.

p.1

This is an inadequate school

 The quality of teaching is too variable. In some lessons pupils make little progress.  Teachers’ assessment of pupils’ work is unclear, inconsistent and not accurate.

p.1

The school has the following strengths

 Pupils are well mannered and polite to adults.  Feedback given by some teachers to pupils about their work is helping them make better progress.  The school’s business and enterprise focus makes a useful contribution to pupils’ preparedness for the next steps of their education.  Governors have recently benefited from training and external support to improve their work.  Pastoral teams provide effective support and care for pupils and their parents.  The school’s extended curriculum is well thought out and provides pupils with valuable opportunities for personal development.

p.1

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.

p.2

What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Urgently ensure that the school keeps all pupils safe and secure by: – diligently and systematically recording all relevant information about pupils needing extra help and about work with external agencies to support them – securing strong leadership for safeguarding and work on pupils’ welfare – recording that all staff are familiar with and have read the Department for Education’s statutory guidance ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’ – communicating well with all groups of parents – developing a culture which challenges intolerance and tackles a lack of acceptance of others among some pupils.

p.2

What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise academic achievement and progress by: – improving the clarity and accuracy of information about pupils’ achievement – ensuring that more-able pupils are suitably challenged and that disadvantaged pupils catch up rapidly – ensuring that teachers use information about pupils’ progress to plan effective learning for all pupils, and especially for disabled pupils and those with special educational needs.

p.2

What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Rapidly improve leadership and management such that: – leaders evaluate their work accurately based on the impact that they make on all groups of pupils – the pace and urgency of leaders’ work brings about rapid improvements in safeguarding procedures – middle leaders are given clear guidance about how to make improvements and evaluate the impact of their work – all staff set high expectations for how the school will promote equality of opportunity and diversity so that staff and pupils are clear about what is and is not acceptable – all members of the school community work together to tackle prejudice and eliminate discrimination against those protected under the Equalities Act of 2010.

p.2

What does the school need to do to improve further?

External reviews of governance and of the school’s use of pupil premium should be undertaken in order to assess how these aspects of leadership and management may be improved.

p.2

What does the school need to do to improve further?

The school should not appoint newly qualified teachers.

p.2

Effectiveness of leadership and management is inadequate

 Leadership of safeguarding is inadequate and the school’s approach is piecemeal, with insufficiently clear systems or lines of accountability for leaders in this area of the school’s work.  Leaders and governors have not ensured that there are effective risk assessments and plans to keep vulnerable pupils safe and secure. Procedures to keep pupils safe are not understood well enough by all staff. Leadership responsibility for pupils whose circumstances make them vulnerable is not clear enough. Staff involved in keeping these pupils safe typically take the right actions, but these are not carefully planned or properly recorded.  A culture of what is and is not acceptable behaviour from pupils has not been promoted by leaders. A small number of pupils express discriminatory views and these are not consistently challenged by staff.  Leaders assess the impact of their work over-generously. They tend to react to circumstances rather than

p.3

Effectiveness of leadership and management is inadequate

plan astutely for improvement, based on systematic analysis of how well the school is doing and what needs tackling next.  Middle leaders exercise a high degree of autonomy. This is a mixed blessing. Where leaders are strong they have taken appropriate actions to secure improvements. However, this approach has also led to inconsistencies because senior leaders have not effectively monitored the impact of middle leaders’ work.  The school has taken steps to improve teaching through guidance and training. Teachers are encouraged by leaders to try new approaches and are supported to improve their practice. However, leaders do not fully evaluate the impact of this work based on the difference made to improving the outcomes for pupils, including different groups of pupils. As a result, they are not clear what is and is not working.  Leaders have used extra government funding for a scheme to improve the reading of a group of

p.3

Effectiveness of leadership and management is inadequate

disadvantaged pupils. Nevertheless, leaders have not checked the progress of these pupils in sufficient detail and so are not in a position to know if their use of this funding has been effective.  Pupils benefit from an extended curriculum, which makes a strong contribution to their wider education. This work is designed to respond to the needs of each year group, which is a strength. However, leaders’ monitoring is not accurate enough to ensure that pupils have complete curriculum coverage over time.  Leaders have not established a clear process for gathering information on pupils’ progress. Staff and pupils are not clear about what targets pupils have and what they need to do to improve. Assessment procedures for the revised National Curriculum are not yet in place and this means that some staff are unclear how to plan pupils’ learning.  The information about the progress of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs is

p.3

Effectiveness of leadership and management is inadequate

inaccurate and, as a result, leaders cannot precisely track the achievement of these pupils.  Senior leaders have rightly identified that improving literacy is a key priority. However, they were not able to give a clear evaluation of whether the actions they have taken led to improvements.  Leaders’ monitoring of pupil premium, the extra funding provided by the government to support pupils, lacks rigour and, as a result, the performance of eligible pupils is not improving quickly enough.  A spirit of enterprise influences the wider curriculum. This gives pupils an insight into opportunities for education and employment beyond school. This is evident in the school’s work on careers and guidance as well as links with local businesses.  The governance of the school: As a result of working as part of a federation, governors are now better trained and are developing a clearer idea of how to hold leaders to account. For example, governors have now added additional

p.3

Effectiveness of leadership and management is inadequate

monitoring. However, this work is yet to bear fruit in terms of improving outcomes for pupils because previously work was not sufficiently well targeted. Leaders have not developed a culture of safety for all pupils, and governors have not challenged them robustly enough on this issue. The governors are well intentioned and want the best for pupils, but have not received clear and accurate information about pupil progress with which to sufficiently challenge leaders. The governors have not challenged the school’s evaluation of teaching strongly enough. Governors know how the pupil premium is spent but they have not ensured that leaders evaluate sharply enough the difference that this is making. The governors have been closely involved with work to improve attendance.  The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective. Governors have made checks but have not sufficiently challenged leaders over the rigour of the school’s risk assessment, record keeping and

p.3

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

 The quality of teaching is variable. Where teaching is stronger, lessons are planned to meet the needs of pupils well. However, in too many lessons, this is not the case because teachers do not have a clear understanding of what pupils need to do to improve.  Pupils typically make better progress in mathematics, art, textiles and physical education. This is because teaching is keenly focused on pupils’ progress. Teachers here have a clear understanding of how to help pupils learn.  In English, staff have implemented an ambitious new programme to deepen pupils’ thinking. As yet there is limited evidence as to the impact this has made.  There is a lack of challenge for the most able, who too often spend too much time completing work in lessons which is too easy for them. Overall, teachers do not expect enough of pupils.  The quality of teachers’ feedback to pupils is inconsistent. Where guidance is of good quality and pupils

p.4

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

act on it, they do well, and in some classes pupils can identify what to do to improve. However, even within the same department, this is not uniform and pupils do not benefit from high-quality guidance.  Not all teachers use questioning sufficiently well to deepen pupils’ knowledge and understanding. This means that pupils too often give verbal answers which lack enough depth or detail and so fall behind.  Better lessons feature teachers quickly adapting their lessons to move pupils on when they detect a slackening of pace or that pupils are ready for the next activity.  Teachers effectively tackle disruptions to learning in lessons when they occur.

p.4

Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is inadequate.  There are inadequate records regarding racist and homophobic bullying. This means that the school cannot adequately track and challenge perpetrators, nor support victims. Some pupils told inspectors that they were unhappy that some behaviours which they found unacceptable, such as the use of homophobic language, were not challenged by staff. In some cases, other pupils join in with targeting a pupil.  Pupils who spoke with inspectors were not clear about the meaning of the term prejudice. They were not clear that pupils who had been bullied or suffered name-calling had always received swift support .  Leaders do not analyse patterns of absences sharply enough because they lack detailed information about individual pupils, or specific groups. This means that they cannot target their work to improve attendance.

p.4

Personal development and welfare

 The pastoral teams provide caring and supportive pastoral guidance for pupils. They also provide a first port of call for parents. This is a strength and this team is rightly described as ‘invaluable’. However, communication with some groups of parents has not been pursued by leaders and is not as good as it should be.  Pupils engage in a wide range of learning during enrichment activities. This includes looking at issues such as cyber safety, mental health awareness and hate crime, as well as cultural development opportunities such as World Book Day and European Day of Languages.

p.4

Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils requires improvement, especially during break and lunchtimes, and during transitions between lessons.  There are some incidents of pupils using inappropriate language to each other, including swearing, indicating a lack of respect. Nevertheless, pupils are polite to visitors, hold open doors and greet adults appropriately.  Pupils do not always move swiftly to lessons and need to be encouraged by staff. This was particularly the case for older pupils.  The overall number of fixed-term exclusions has decreased this year, although these remain high for disadvantaged pupils. The attendance rate for these pupils has remained stubbornly low because leaders have not taken effective actions to improve it.  During lessons, pupils’ conduct is mostly appropriate, although this is not always the case when temporary teachers are taking lessons.  On occasions, pupils are slow to engage with their learning and rely on their teachers’ encouragement to

p.4

Behaviour

begin work.  Presentation in pupils’ books does not always reflect a pride in their work. Some work is scruffy and untidy.

p.5

Outcomes for pupils require improvement

 Pupils enter the school with attainment that is broadly average. In 2015, the proportion of Year 11 pupils gaining at least five A* to C grade GCSEs, including English and mathematics, was slightly below the national average. This indicates that leaders should do more to raise standards.  Pupils do not make consistently good progress across year groups or within subjects. The most able do not achieve as well as they should. In recent years, the progress that pupils make in English by the end of Year 11 has been too variable.  The gap between the attainment of disadvantaged pupils and others in the school is too wide. Pupils supported by the pupil premium funding are not making enough progress to close the gaps between them and their classmates .  The variability in pupils’ progress results from low expectations from some leaders and teachers about what pupils can achieve.  Leaders have not, until recently, scrutinised the information about pupils’ progress in all departments

p.5

Outcomes for pupils require improvement

closely enough and have not had a complete picture of pupils’ progress.  Senior leaders rightly identified improving pupils’ literacy as a key priority. However, because the impact of the actions taken to improve it are not evaluated based on their impact on pupils’ achievement, leaders have no clear idea if what they are doing is working.  Where the need for extra support has been accurately identified, pupils are making better progress. Pupils who are given one-to-one support to improve their reading or writing skills value this intervention. They could explain how it has boosted their confidence.  The school’s own information indicates that the progress of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs requires improvement, and is inconsistent between subjects and year groups. For example, progress in Years 8 and 9 is slow in English, but stronger in mathematics. Overall, this group of

p.5

Outcomes for pupils require improvement

pupils are not meeting the school’s own target for progress, although the school’s inaccurate assessment information makes it hard for the school to know how well these pupils are doing.

p.5

School details

Unique reference number 116432 Local authority Hampshire Inspection number 10003030 This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. The inspection was also deemed a section 5 inspection under the same Act.

p.6

School details

Type of school Secondary Comprehensive School category Maintained Age range of pupils 11–16 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 703 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Paul Clasper Headteacher Betty Elkins

p.6

Website

01256 868600 www.cranbourne.hants.sch.uk/ Email address gen.enquiries@cranbourne.hants.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 1–2 February 2012

p.6

Information about this school

 Cranbourne is a smaller than average secondary school for pupils aged 11–16.  Since the last inspection, the headteacher has become the Executive Headteacher of a federation with Fort Hill School. Her time is divided between the two schools.  The governing body was reformed in March 2015 as a joint federated governing body of the two schools.  The number of pupils eligible for support from the pupil premium (additional funding provided by the government) is just below the national average.  The majority of pupils are White British. The percentage of pupils from minority ethnic groups is about average. The proportion that speaks English as an additional language is below average.  A small number of pupils attend alternative provision at Basingstoke College of Technology, Ashwood Education Centre and Wessex Dance Academy.  The school met the government’s floor targets in 2015, which set the minimum expectation for pupils’

p.6

Information about this inspection

 Inspectors visited 18 lessons and observed learning with senior leaders. Other observations of learning were made, for example in a mathematics support group.  Meetings were held with groups of pupils both formally and informally. Meetings were also held with members of the governing body, leaders, including middle and senior leaders, and English department staff.  Inspectors looked at a range of documentation, including the school’s self-evaluation and development plans, its safeguarding procedures and minutes of the governing body.  Inspectors considered responses from parents on Parent View and staff surveys.

p.7

Inspection team

Helena Read, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Diana Choulerton Her Majesty’s Inspector Harry Kutty Ofsted Inspector Mark Roessler Ofsted Inspector James Rouse Ofsted Inspector guidance 'Raising concerns and making a complaint about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/publications/complaints-about-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 .

p.7

Inspection team

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.8

Inspection team

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

p.8

Inspection team

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, further education and skills, 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. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

p.8

Inspection team

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.8

Inspection team

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.8

Inspection team

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

p.8