Sedgehill School

Sedgehill School Sedgehill Road, London SE6 3QW

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Inspection dates 10 and 24–25 February 2016

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Overall effectiveness Inadequate

Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

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Overall effectiveness Inadequate

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

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Overall effectiveness Inadequate

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Inadequate

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Overall effectiveness Inadequate

Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement

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This is an inadequate school

 Safeguarding is not effective. Pupils’ personal development, behaviour and welfare are inadequate. Throughout the inspection, inspectors saw incidents of poor behaviour. This confirmed reports made by a significant number of pupils, and some staff and parents. Some pupils said that regular fights take place on-site. Inspectors witnessed two fights during the inspection.  Pupils’ attendance is below average. Registration procedures are not routinely followed and punctuality is poor. The number of exclusions is high.  Not all staff are able to demonstrate awareness of current statutory guidance for safeguarding.  Leaders are overgenerous in their evaluation of the school, including in their assessment of the quality of teaching.  Pupils’ outcomes are inadequate because in key stage 3 they make insufficient progress. Work does not challenge pupils and teachers’ expectations are too low. Too many learners in

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This is an inadequate school

the sixth form fail to continue their studies from Year 12 to Year 13, and progress in academic subjects is inadequate.  The 2015 GCSE results showed improvement on the previous year. The proportion of pupils obtaining five or more good GCSE grades, including English and mathematics, was in line with the national average. Nevertheless, some groups and subjects continued to underachieve.

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The school has the following strengths

 Since its appointment, the interim executive board has taken decisive action over the leadership of the school. It has appointed a new chief executive officer and head of school who have introduced changes aimed at improving the school.  Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development across subjects provides effective opportunities to prepare pupils for life in modern Britain.

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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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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the effectiveness of leadership and management by ensuring that: all staff have clear knowledge and understanding of statutory safeguarding guidance immediate steps are taken to ensure that all pupils feel safe in and around school staff are well supported to follow and implement new policies, procedures and expectations set by the chief executive officer and her leadership team all leaders are accurate in checking the quality of teaching, learning and assessment, and provide challenge and support where it is inadequate.  Improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment by ensuring that: teachers have higher expectations for learning and set more challenging work so all pupils, including the most able, make good progress learners in the sixth form achieve well in academic and vocational subjects those who have special educational needs or disability, and other underperforming groups, make good

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

and sustained progress.  Improve the personal development, behaviour and welfare of pupils by: eradicating poor and wilfully disruptive behaviour in lessons and around school improving the attendance of all pupils, including learners in the sixth form significantly reducing the number of exclusions.  Improve the outcomes of pupils by ensuring that: pupils’ achievement in mathematics and other underperforming subjects improves rapidly all pupils make good or better progress throughout key stage 3 learners’ achievement in the sixth form improves for academic subjects more learners in the sixth form continue their studies from Year 12 to Year 13.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is inadequate

 Leaders and managers have not ensured that arrangements for safeguarding are effective.  Procedures for pupils arriving late or leaving school are not stringently followed. Inspectors observed pupils leaving and arriving without signing in or signing out. Consequently, staff cannot be certain who is on or off the school site. Pupils told inspectors they were aware of peers leaving class without any challenge by teachers.  Staff report that pupils’ safety is not guaranteed because of truancy and fighting in school. The fights seen during the inspection support this view.  Leaders informed inspectors that all pupils who attended alternative provision were at registered providers. However, inspectors were aware of concerns with some of the provision being used.  While inspectors were satisfied that safeguarding incidents are appropriately referred by the school to the local authority designated officer, not all staff were aware of current statutory guidance on safeguarding.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is inadequate

 Since the last inspection, successive leaders have not done enough to improve teaching, learning and assessment. Since taking up their posts, the chief executive officer and the head of school have introduced changes aimed at improving the school. This includes a new system to monitor the quality of teaching, learning and assessment. However, systems of pupils’ assessment are not embedded and monitoring lacks thorough evaluation, particularly in the sixth form.  Leaders’ self-evaluation and improvement planning are inaccurate and ill-defined. Some actions recorded as completed were deemed by inspectors to be incomplete. These included the impact of the Year 7 catch-up funding.  Leaders have usefully reviewed the use of pupil premium funding and monitor the progress of disadvantaged pupils. Performance gaps are reducing between disadvantaged pupils and their peers.  Leaders have recently drafted a new curriculum structure. However, this will not be implemented until

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is inadequate

September 2016. Many positive opportunities exist for pupils in extra-curricular activities and aspects of the school’s specialism in performing arts. Enrichment activities such as horticulture, origami, dance, sport and nationally recognised choirs support the cultural and social development of pupils.  Middle leaders participate keenly in newly implemented, appropriate professional training. A system of coaching enables stronger middle leaders to support colleagues. However, middle leaders have only very recently been involved in evaluating teachers’ performance in their subject areas.  Leaders manage the deaf education centre effectively. Pupils are supported well when they are in the centre. Staff nurture their social development and communication skills effectively, using techniques that include sign language and audio equipment.  The school provides a broad range of opportunities to develop pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is inadequate

skills and these generally have a positive impact. Pupils participate in fundraising, citizenship, the pupil parliament and regular assemblies. All pupils learn to play a musical instrument in Years 7 and 8.  Pupils speak positively about the programme of careers advice and guidance. Pupils in key Stage 4 are informed of career and progression opportunities. They undertake work experience and visits to careers events. A good range of trips promote careers advice.  A small number of parents who responded to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, were positive about the information they received. However, only a minority considered the school to be well led and managed. Only half the parents indicated that they would recommend the school. Less than half the staff who completed the online questionnaire were of the opinion the school is well led or managed.  The governance of the school The interim executive board (IEB) has a strategic understanding of the school. However, despite a

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is inadequate

review of safeguarding procedures and policies, it has not ensured that day-to-day procedures such as signing in and signing out are followed stringently enough. Safeguarding is not as effective as the board believes it to be. The IEB provides challenge to the school’s leaders. Its members are not complacent. They recognise that while leaders now provide them with information about pupils’ progress and achievement, this is not done in a timely manner. Members of the IEB understand their statutory duties. The IEB has significantly addressed the budget deficit and a staff restructure has taken place. As a result, the school’s staffing has begun to stabilise. The IEB reviews pay progression requests and sets targets for leaders to meet. Members understand that the school needs to improve and the IEB has engaged well with local authority support.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is inadequate

 Inspectors observed teachers’ low expectations of pupils in many lessons. When this was the case, pupils rapidly lost interest and made little progress. Pupils said this is typical of lessons and that a number of pupils are often disruptive. Teachers’ responses to the staff questionnaire indicate that teaching is often interrupted by poor behaviour. When pupils from the deaf education centre are integrated into lessons, their learning is often hindered because of disruptive behaviour and ineffective teaching.  Inspectors found many pupils arriving to lessons without their exercise books. Too many exercise books do not display pride or positive attitudes towards work. Inspectors saw countless scruffy books with scribbles or graffiti.  Leaders told inspectors that teaching in key stage 4 is stronger than in key stage 3. Inspectors agree. Teachers commented on the poor behaviour of pupils in Year 8 and its impact on teaching. Inspectors

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is inadequate

found that pupils in Year 8 are making less progress than others across key stage 3.  In key stage 3, mathematical work does not always challenge pupils’ learning. Writing skills are often ineffectively taught because teachers leave grammatical mistakes uncorrected in pupils’ work.  Teachers’ assessment of pupils’ learning is not good enough. Inspectors found that teachers often failed to ensure that pupils understand how to improve their work.  Inspectors saw insufficient examples of completed homework, often due to the high number of missing exercise books.  Of the small number of parents who responded to Parent View, some had a more positive view of teaching across the school. Inspectors do not share this view because they observed regular disruption to learning throughout the inspection.  In the minority of instances, planning was targeted more appropriately at the needs of pupils, teaching

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is inadequate

was more challenging and pupils made better progress in their learning.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is inadequate. Some staff said younger pupils have indicated that they feel unsafe in the school. Inspectors observed an incident of a pupil being chased around the classroom and threatened. This required significant staff intervention.  Pupils told inspectors they understand how to keep safe, but commented on a lack of mutual respect between pupils. Some are frustrated by behaviour in lessons, and are aware of fights continuing off-site. Others said they need more information to help them keep safe from gang violence.  Pupils receive regular information through assemblies on e-safety and topical issues concerning bullying, including racism, homophobia and preventing radicalisation. However, while key stage 4 pupils consider sexist incidents to be very low, some homophobic name-calling occurs.  Pupils say that they enjoy regular trips and activities. The performing arts specialism promotes the self-

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is inadequate. Punctuality is poor and the procedures for signing in and signing out of school are poorly observed. Staff are not diligent when pupils arrive late, often allowing them to pass into school unchallenged.  Staff report that fights between pupils are a regular occurrence and the environment is not a safe one. A number of staff say the behaviour support system does not work and that some vulnerable pupils are not given the help they require.  A number of pupils regularly disturb the learning of others. Inspectors observed pupils wilfully calling out in class, and often showing a lack of respect to others. Far too much learning is adversely affected by this disruption. Dealing with poor behaviour occupies a disproportionate amount of teachers’ time. Many staff who completed the staff questionnaire agree that behaviour has declined since the last inspection.  Behaviour around the school is unacceptable. Pupils are often late for lessons and staff fail to challenge

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Behaviour

the use of foul language during lesson changeovers. Some pupils push others and shout loudly in stairwells. Inspectors observed pupils who were reluctant to go to lessons.  Pupils’ attendance is poor and has declined over time. The proportion of pupils who are persistently absent is above average.  Permanent exclusions remain too high and above average. Leaders have introduced behaviour intervention systems. Some staff report the behaviour policy to be ineffective. Almost half the parents who completed Parent View feel that behaviour is an issue at the school. Inspectors agree that this is the case.

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Outcomes for pupils are inadequate

 Progress in key stage 3 is inadequate. Expectations of pupils are too low. Not enough pupils are making sufficient progress in Years 7 to 9. This was shown by the school’s own assessment information, through the work seen in class and in the books of pupils scrutinised during the inspection. Poor behaviour in class is one reason why pupils’ progress is limited.  In 2015, published GCSE examination results showed improvement on 2014. The proportion of pupils obtaining five or more good GCSE grades, including English and mathematics, was in line with the national average. Despite this, some underachievement remains. Pupils from White British backgrounds did not achieve as well as they should, and the performance in individual subjects varied significantly.  Inadequate teaching, learning and assessment significantly hinder the progress of pupils who have special educational needs or disability. In many cases, the needs of these pupils are not met. Inspectors

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Outcomes for pupils are inadequate

saw that they were often distracted in their learning by the poor behaviour of their peers.  Pupils from the deaf resource centre make insufficient progress when integrated into main lessons because of the distraction to learning they experience. However, their progress is supported well within the deaf resource centre.  Pupils’ achievement in English for Year 11 was above average in 2015. However, despite improvement in mathematics, pupils’ progress in this subject remained below average. The school has provided interventions to support the progress of disadvantaged pupils in these core subjects and the gaps are closing. However, in 2015, the most-able pupils underachieved in mathematics.  The small number of pupils in alternative provision make progress similar to their peers in the main school.  Sixth-form outcomes are inadequate because learners do not make enough progress from their starting

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16 to 19 study programmes are inadequate

 Leadership of the sixth form is ineffective and outcomes for learners are too low.  Staff cannot be certain which learners are present or away from the school site. Consequently, learners’ safety cannot be assured. Inspectors observed learners arriving at school and failing to sign in or sign out.  Assessment information used to track the progress of learners is often incomplete and evaluation of the progress made by learners is not sharp enough. The director of sixth form indicated that this is a concern.  The quality of teaching, learning and assessment in the sixth form is inadequate. The schools’ own evaluation states that the quality of teaching in the sixth form varies. Inspectors visited lessons to scrutinise the work of learners. They found teachers’ feedback often failed to challenge learners to deepen their knowledge and understanding.  Attendance in the sixth form is too low. Teachers told inspectors that some learners fail to attend lessons

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16 to 19 study programmes are inadequate

consistently. This was confirmed by observations during the inspection.  While the government’s minimum standards are met in the sixth form, attainment in A-level courses is below average. Vocational achievement is stronger than in academic subjects. However, progress made by learners from their starting points is not good enough. Additionally, some learners who enter the sixth form without good GCSEs in English and mathematics fail to achieve good passes in both subjects when they retake these examinations.  Learners told inspectors they receive appropriate individual careers advice and guidance. However, too many learners in the sixth form fail to continue their studies from Year 12 to Year 13. Leaders recognise that the curriculum offer in the sixth form does not currently prepare all learners to progress well on to their next stage of education or employment.

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School details

Unique reference number 100743 Local authority Lewisham Inspection number 10001981

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School details

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

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School details

Type of school Secondary School category Community Age range of pupils 11–18 Gender of pupils Mixed

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programmes

Number of pupils on the school roll 1,388

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programmes

Appropriate authority Interim executive board Chair Mrs Irene Cleaver Chief Executive Officer Mrs Julia Scannell Telephone number 020 8698 8911 Website www.sedgehill-lewisham.co.uk Email address info@sedgehillschool.co.uk Date of previous inspection 2–3 October 2013

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Information about this school

 Sedgehill School is a much larger than average-sized 11 to 18 mixed comprehensive school.  The school has a specialism in performing arts and has a deaf education centre.  There are fewer girls on roll in the school than boys.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium is well above average.  A higher than average proportion of pupils come from minority ethnic backgrounds.  The majority of the pupils are from minority ethnic groups and the proportion speaking English as an additional language is above average The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs or disability and those with a statement of special educational needs or an education, health and care plan is lower than average.  Alternative part-time education is currently provided for a very small number of pupils who follow courses at a number of other locations in the area.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors visited 49 part-lessons, many jointly with a member of the senior leadership team. Inspectors also attended a Year 10 assembly. They discussed lessons jointly visited with senior leaders.  Inspectors held meetings with the chief executive officer and head of school, senior and middle leaders, a range of staff, including newly qualified teachers, groups of pupils and learners in the sixth form. Discussions also took place with the chair and vice-chair of the interim executive board, the executive director for children and young people, and the school improvement partner from the local authority.  Inspectors scrutinised a wide range of documentation including the work of pupils and learners, records relating to pupils’ behaviour and attendance, minutes of meetings, information on the progress made by pupils and learners in the sixth form, the school’s self-evaluation, and records relating to the quality of

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Information about this inspection

teaching and the performance of teachers. Inspectors also reviewed safeguarding records, policies and procedures, including the single central record of checks made on staff.  Inspectors took into account 43 parents’ responses to Parent View, and questionnaires completed by 84 members of staff and 16 pupils.  The inspection started on 10 February 2016 but was suspended because of an unforeseen event during the school day. Inspectors returned to the school on 24 and 25 February 2016 to complete the inspection.

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Inspection team

John Lambern, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Mrs Claire Majumdar Ofsted Inspector Mr Jacques Szemalikowski Ofsted Inspector Mr Nicholas Heard Ofsted Inspector Mrs Rosemarie McCarthy Ofsted Inspector Ms Grace Marriott Ofsted Inspector Mr Charles Rice Ofsted Inspector Dame Joan McVittie 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 .

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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.

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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

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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,

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Inspection team

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

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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

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