Brentside High School

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk

p.1

Mr Arwel Jones Headteacher Brentside High School Greenford Avenue Hanwell London W7 1JJ

p.1

Short inspection of Brentside High School

Following my visit to the school on 2 March 2016 with Nasim Butt, Ofsted Inspector, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to report the inspection findings. The visit was the first short inspection carried out since the school was judged to be good in June 2011.

p.1

Short inspection of Brentside High School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection.

p.1

Short inspection of Brentside High School

You and your highly competent senior leadership team have very high aspirations for Brentside High School and the young people in your care. You understand the strengths of your school and have a clear plan to realise further school improvements. You are rightfully proud of your school and the reflective, learning ethos you have established. You have created a popular and oversubscribed school that successfully serves the needs of your local community.

p.1

Short inspection of Brentside High School

You have addressed many of the issues identified during the previous inspection and, as a result, pupils make excellent progress across a range of subjects. You and your staff forensically analyse the progress made by individual pupils and groups of pupils across the school, and are quick to intervene should a pupil’s progress begin to slow. You carefully check the quality of teaching, learning and assessment to ensure that it is of the highest standard, and you have cultivated a supportive ethos where staff can share best practice and continue to develop new skills. New staff receive high-quality mentoring and professional development opportunities so that they quickly integrate into the school community.

p.1

Short inspection of Brentside High School

Pupils are extremely complimentary about their school and the staff who work with them. They want to do well, regularly attend and work hard. They respect and celebrate their differences in this diverse and harmonious learning community. Safeguarding is effective.

p.1

Short inspection of Brentside High School

You, your senior leaders and the governing body give very high priority to ensuring that pupils in the main school and learners in the sixth form are kept safe. Staff have received appropriate training in line with current guidelines, including keeping children safe in education, issues around female genital mutilation and the ‘Prevent’ duty. Those responsible for overseeing child protection arrangements are well trained, keep accurate and timely records of referrals, and work effectively with outside agencies. Staff are clear about their responsibilities and what they should do if they are concerned about a pupil’s welfare or safety. Attendance is carefully tracked and, overall, is above the national average.

p.2

Short inspection of Brentside High School

Pupils feel extremely safe at school. The large, modern site is secure, spacious and well supervised. Pupils were quick to explain whom they could talk to, should they have any concerns. Pupils hold the ‘SAFE’ (student and family education) workers in high esteem, one being described as ‘like a mother’ as she ‘always has time to listen to us’. Pupils are given a range of information on how to keep themselves safe in modern Britain and are given opportunities to discuss issues around, for instance, bullying, knife crime and becoming a good citizen. The majority of parents who responded to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, believe that their child is safe at the school.

p.2

Inspection findings

 You are an experienced and highly effective system leader of education and you use this knowledge to develop your leadership team. As a result, leaders at all levels are highly competent and aspirational for the continuing success of the school. You and your team have a realistic understanding of the strengths and detailed plans for further school improvement.

p.2

Inspection findings

 School leaders have strived relentlessly to ensure that new appointments are of the highest calibre and that there is high-quality support available for those new in post.

p.2

Inspection findings

 School leaders regularly check the quality of teaching, learning and assessment across the school. A new system of subject ‘reviews’ is being introduced so that a range of information can be used to check the quality of teaching and learning delivered by each department.

p.2

Inspection findings

 The governing body are experienced, stable and highly effective. They have an in-depth understanding of the progress information provided by school leaders and rigorously challenge where necessary.

p.2

Inspection findings

 The school is oversubscribed and expanding. Consequently, another phase of building work is underway to ensure that pupils have an appropriate learning environment.

p.2

Inspection findings

 Leadership of the provision for pupils who have special educational needs or disability is strong. Systems for tracking this group are robust and the school instigates a number of effective strategies to support them in their learning. Consequently, progress over time for this group is good.

p.2

Inspection findings

 Pupils enter Year 7 with attainment that is just below the national average. By the time they leave at the end of Year 11, many pupils make very good progress from their starting points, across a range of subjects.

p.3

Inspection findings

 However, in some subjects, the progress pupils make is not as strong. Information provided by the school on the progress current pupils are making indicates that there is still variation across year groups and subjects. School leaders know where this is the case and are working hard to minimise these inconsistencies.

p.3

Inspection findings

 Many disadvantaged pupils make better progress than this group nationally, particularly in English. However, there are still gaps between the progress this group makes and their peers in both English and mathematics. School leaders are aware of this situation and specifically target pupil premium funding at minimising these gaps. The governing body carefully monitors how this funding is being spent and the impact on individual pupils. As a result, these gaps are closing.

p.3

Inspection findings

 Leadership of the large and inclusive sixth form is strong. Transition arrangements into the sixth form are highly effective, including for those learners moving from other schools. A range of information, advice and guidance is given so that learners make appropriate choices about subjects, higher education, apprenticeships and employment. Extra-curricular opportunities are wide and charity work encouraged. Student leadership is highly regarded, particularly in their work mentoring younger pupils. Many learners make good progress and the majority achieve places at their chosen universities. However, the progress made in some subjects is still variable.

p.3

Next steps for the school

Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that:

p.3

Next steps for the school

 pupils and groups of pupils, make the same accelerated progress across all subjects and in all year groups

p.3

Next steps for the school

 teaching is of a consistently high standard across all subjects

p.3

Next steps for the school

 pupils consistently receive regular and helpful information on how they can improve their work, in line with the school’s feedback policy.

p.3

Next steps for the school

I am copying this letter to the Chair of the Governing Body, the Regional Schools Commissioner and the Director of Children’s Services for the London Borough of Ealing. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

p.3

Information about the inspection

Inspectors met with you, other senior leaders, middle leaders and those new to teaching. They met with the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Governing Body and two other governors. Inspectors scrutinised a range of documentation, including the school’s evaluation of its own performance, information on the progress of current pupils and the single central record of the checks made on the suitability of adults working with children. Inspectors interviewed two groups of pupils and spoke to other pupils informally at other times during the inspection. Inspectors visited lessons in mathematics to gather evidence on particular strands of teaching, learning and assessment. They observed an assembly and visited tutorial sessions. They took into account the views of staff, pupils and parents via online surveys.

p.4