Newsome High School

Newsome High School and Sports College Castle Avenue, Newsome, Huddersfield HD4 6JN

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement

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This is a school that requires improvement

 Too many pupils, especially boys, disadvantaged pupils, and those who have special educational needs or disability, do not make the progress they are capable of across a range of subjects, including mathematics, modern foreign languages and physical education.  The quality of teaching and assessment varies within and between departments. In many lessons, expectations of how much pupils can achieve are not high enough to secure good progress.  Teachers’ checks on learning are sometimes cursory and feedback is minimal for some pupils in Years 7, 8 and 9. Teachers do not follow the school’s marking and feedback policy consistently.  A small number of pupils do not have good enough attitudes to learning. Attendance is low for some groups of pupils.  Senior leaders’ self-evaluation is overgenerous.  Leadership of teaching requires improvement. Middle leaders do not use the findings from their monitoring activities well enough to ensure that all

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This is a school that requires improvement

teachers use information effectively to plan work that challenges the most-able pupils and closes gaps in learning for others.  Leaders do not analyse the school’s information well enough to plan securely for improvement.  Governors too readily accept information presented to them and have not held leaders accountable stringently enough. They do not keep good oversight of strategic plans, or monitor the impact plans and policies have on the progress of key groups of pupils. These include underperforming groups and those supported through pupil premium funding.

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The school has the following strengths

 Specialist teaching and support in the school’s resource base for pupils with physical and hearing impairments is good.  The care and welfare of pupils are good. Those facing personal challenges are respected and supported well.  The vast majority of pupils conduct themselves well around the school.  Within the teaching staff there is much expertise which gives pupils confidence and stimulates their interest in learning.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the effectiveness of leadership and management by ensuring that: – governors keep sufficient oversight of the school’s work and provide rigorous challenge to the headteacher and senior leaders for the attendance and achievement of different groups of pupils – governors and senior leaders ensure that swift action is taken at all levels to improve the progress of disadvantaged groups, the most-able pupils and those who have special educational needs or disability throughout the school – leaders evaluate school information accurately to set clear priorities for actions that are designed to accelerate improvement in pupils’ learning and progress – middle leaders analyse and evaluate information from monitoring activities carefully and act swiftly to eliminate inconsistencies in the quality of teaching and learning.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching and its impact on the learning and progress of boys, disadvantaged learners and pupils who have special educational needs or disability by: – ensuring that teachers have high expectations of pupils, develop a love of learning and challenge pupils to have high expectations of themselves – using assessment information productively to plan lessons that match pupils’ needs and challenge them to achieve that bit more – making sure that teachers quickly identify and fill any gaps in pupils’ knowledge and understanding, giving pupils regular feedback and advice about their work, in accordance with the school’s marking and feedback policy, to help them improve their learning.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve attendance, particularly the attendance of disadvantaged pupils, by: − reducing the proportion of pupils who miss school on a regular basis − regularly evaluating the impact of actions taken to improve attendance, extending those that work and modifying others more quickly to improve their effectiveness.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

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

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

An external review of governance should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

 Since the previous inspection, senior and middle leaders have not raised the quality of teaching and pupils’ achievement in all subjects to ensure consistently good provision and outcomes for all groups of learners.  Systems to track the progress pupils make and to check the quality of teaching have been strengthened and a wide range of monitoring activities take place. However, senior and middle leaders do not analyse this information carefully enough to eliminate the variation within and between subjects.  Leaders do not ensure that they use performance information precisely to identify and take swift action to challenge the most-able pupils, and to close gaps in learning more securely for underachieving groups such as boys, pupils who have special educational needs or disability, and those who are disadvantaged.  Senior leaders are beginning to identify these issues, but evaluation of the school’s performance lacks

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

rigour and leaders’ assessment is overgenerous, as at the previous inspection. Leaders do not identify issues and priorities sharply enough in the current school improvement plans. Measures to judge the success of these plans revolve largely around the performance of Year 11 pupils. Leaders do not review the school’s work with enough rigour to bring about rapid improvement.  Leaders are ambitious for the school to be ‘simply the best’ and the school is making progress. Staff are keen to see the school develop. Middle leaders have begun to make changes, for example by using ideas from ‘The Market Place’, a forum for staff to share ideas and practice to develop their teaching. Subject leaders spoke positively about the targeted approach to monitoring the quality of teaching. They valued taking part in paired observations with the headteacher and other faculty leaders to help them to align their standards.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

 Leadership of special educational needs is developing but is not yet fully effective. Plans are at an early stage to track pupils’ progress and include parents’ and pupils’ views about their learning. These plans are part of the strategy to reduce the large gaps in progress throughout the school between pupils who have special educational needs or disability and those who do not.  The school does not use the pupil premium effectively enough to close gaps in attainment between disadvantaged pupils in the school and the others in school or nationally. The school’s use of the funding is spent mostly on staff salaries and the impact that this additional funding has in closing gaps is not evaluated well enough to inform leaders’ decisions about its use.  Leaders are now ensuring that their systems to appraise and manage the performance of teachers concentrate on improving the impact of teaching on the progress of individual pupils and groups.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

 The school decided to remove early entry into examinations for the humanities and modern foreign languages. As a result, changes to the curriculum are providing more opportunities for pupils to study subjects in greater depth and detail. The amount of time for English and mathematics has been increased and additional support for reading, writing and mathematics is being better targeted to those who need it. The full impact of these changes has yet to be realised.  Senior leaders and governors know the context of the school and its pupils very well. The headteacher’s vision for the school to be ‘a happy and inclusive community’ is well demonstrated in the provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural education. There is a strong emphasis on British values of respect, tolerance and the rule of law. This helps to prepare pupils for life in modern Britain. The inclusive nature of the school is a strength and is evident in shared activities between pupils with hearing and

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

physical impairments and those without. Sports, performing arts, dance and extra-curricular activities enhance the learning and enjoyment of pupils.  Parents are generally positive about the school. However, in the inspection questionnaire, communication and better response to concerns were identified as areas that should be strengthened. The school currently does not fully meet its responsibilities to publish the information and policies that it should on its website.  The governance of the school – Revisions since the previous inspection have brought several changes to the membership of the governing body. Governors do not receive information from the headteacher in a format that helps them challenge leaders’ assertions about the quality of the school’s work. Governors are not sure that minutes are an accurate record of meetings and it has been some time since all governors have undertaken training about their responsibilities.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

– Until recently governors have played little role in monitoring the impact of the school’s long-term plans. Their checks on the impact of policies and oversight of key aspects of the school’s work, such as pupils’ behaviour, attendance, safety, and the progress of all groups, especially vulnerable children, are minimal. – Governors are developing their awareness about the pupil premium and catch-up funding through very recent briefings. They have not checked the effectiveness of the use of this funding on pupils’ progress within the school. Consequently, this limits their impact in being able to exercise high levels of challenge. – Governors show care in monitoring the school’s budget. They ensure that financial matters, including the performance management of the headteacher and teachers, proceed in a timely fashion and that they record decisions fully. They make regular checks on the progress of work to improve the quality

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Effectiveness of leadership and management requires improvement

of teaching. The governor leading on this work ensures good oversight through fortnightly meetings with a senior leader.  The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Procedures for keeping pupils safe are well supervised and operate well. The school’s work with external agencies and parents ensures that children receive support and a culture of safety and effective care is embedded.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

 The quality of teaching is inconsistent within and between subjects and, in several groups and subjects, pupils make slow progress.  Teachers are developing their use of school data to inform their planning but do not use this information well enough to challenge pupils adequately and secure good progress. The school’s own evaluations show inconsistencies in teaching and, over time, that they have limited pupils’ achievement.  Teacher’s expectations of some pupils are sometimes too low. In some key stage 3 classes, for example, activities include low-level, rudimentary tasks which do not advance pupils’ learning swiftly. In some classes boys are making slow progress and are working below their targets.  In Year 11, for example in GCSE English and physical education classes, teachers are starting to use information from tests and assessments to target their teaching more sharply on common areas of

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

weakness. This is helping pupils to make good gains in knowledge and understanding. However, this emerging stronger practice is not secure enough yet to have a good impact on pupils’ achievement.  Teaching, enjoyed by the most-able pupils, varies considerably in its quality and impact. High expectations by teachers who know their subjects well are a feature of the strongest teaching. In the highest sets pupils are challenged in their thinking, are becoming confident learners and have high expectations of themselves. However, this is not consistent, especially in key stage 3 classes and for those who are not in the top sets, where teachers do not plan work well enough to challenge these pupils.  Teachers’ expectations of pupils who have special educational needs or disability are rising in response to recent training and better information about their learning. This is not established well enough to secure

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

good progress. In some instances, other adults supporting these pupils are not always sure how to challenge and support their learning to best effect and do too much for them. Support staff have begun to have training to deal with this issue.  Teachers use questioning well in some classes in both key stages. Teachers are drawing on their recent training to find out the extent of pupils’ knowledge, and they structure the next part of the lesson accordingly.  The effectiveness of teachers’ feedback is inconsistent in its quality and impact on pupils’ learning because of variations in how well they apply the school’s feedback and marking policy. Teachers’ checks on learning are sometimes cursory and they give minimal feedback to some pupils in Years 7, 8 and 9. Teachers’ guidance to pupils and feedback about their work is moving ahead more swiftly in some subjects at key stage 4. For example, feedback is more secure in English and pupils are learning from

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

their mistakes.  Checks on learning take place for the small number of pupils who follow an alternative curriculum and who study off-site for all or part of the week. Although discussions with pupils take place, teachers keep no formal records and offer very limited guidance and feedback to them.  Teachers and leaders are using more rigorous tracking systems to identify pupils who are falling behind. Support staff are coaching individual pupils well to boost their literacy skills through intensive and targeted support in small groups and individually. The impact of this work is stronger in reading and writing than it is in mathematics.  The teaching within the specialist centres for pupils with hearing and physical impairments is effective. For example, specialist teachers who know their subjects extremely well assist pupils with complex needs to learn about their conditions and disabilities. This is helping them to make faster progress.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment requires improvement

 Some pupils have very positive views about the teaching they receive and the increased opportunities they now have to study GCSE subjects in greater depth. Typically, one pupil summed this up as, ‘My teacher stimulated my interest and makes learning enjoyable.’

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.  The quality of care and support for pupils is strong. A high level of support is available for pupils with physical and hearing impairments. Experienced staff help pupils to cope with intimate care and health needs and this contributes well to their confidence and engagement in learning.  Pupils who have special educational needs or disability are integrated into all aspects of school life. All pupils are very respectful to those in wheelchairs. They are friendly and polite to each other at social times during the day and work cooperatively alongside each other in lessons.  There are many strengths to the school’s pastoral work. Health education is effective. Most pupils say the school helps them to maintain their emotional and mental health. They are taught how to stay safe and are aware of the risks of drugs and alcohol, and the importance of the responsible use of social

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Personal development and welfare

networking.  Many pupils feel the school encourages them to look after their physical health well. They enjoy a wide range of sports and events. Pupils are especially keen to participate in new opportunities such as the tennis academy, and they participated enthusiastically in a dance festival during the inspection.  Pupils feel safe at school. They are well supervised at break and lunchtimes and there is plenty for them to do. Pupils are confident to report concerns to staff and that they will be listened to. Bullying incidents are rare, although some parents felt concerns were not attended to in the depth they wanted.  The school gives pupils increasingly effective careers advice and guidance to enable them to take up placements in education, employment or further training.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils requires improvement.  A large number of pupils choose not to come to school regularly and rates of persistent absence are high compared to the national average. The school is working with external agencies to address the problem more rigorously than earlier in the year, when its actions and oversight of attendance was weak.  The attendance and behaviour of pupils who receive some or all of their education elsewhere varies. School staff ensure that these pupils are safe and have access to advice and guidance about the next steps in their careers.  Pupils’ conduct around the school site is generally good and classrooms are orderly and calm.  When pupils are not challenged effectively in their learning their work rate slows and they make little effort to participate in class. The majority of pupils are engaged and, when given work to do in groups, do so constructively and readily.

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Behaviour

 Staff and pupils agree that behaviour is improving. This has especially been the case over the last two terms, in response to clearer expectations and more targeted plans that make use of external agencies to support those pupils who need additional help with their conduct and anger issues.  The behaviour system, developed further since September 2015, has resulted in fewer behavioural and bullying incidents, and the use of exclusion remains rare. Pupils know what good behaviour the school expects, and they know the consequences for misbehaviour.  The views of some parents that the school does not manage behaviour well is not supported by what inspectors saw and checked thoroughly. However, leaders do not make clear enough to parents when they have made revisions to the behaviour policy.

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Outcomes for pupils require improvement

 In many year groups, pupils, particularly boys, disadvantaged pupils and those who have special educational needs or disability, are making slow progress. The work in pupils’ books and the progress they make over time varies too much in a range of subjects, including mathematics.  School assessment information shows wide gaps in the progress of boys compared to girls. Since the previous inspection, the school has made few inroads into identifying and overcoming the weaknesses in boys’ performance. However, girls achieve well at Newsome High School. By the time they leave school most girls are making consistently good progress from their different starting points to reach standards above the national average.  Teachers target catch-up funding to support pupils with mathematics carefully, but this is not securing the gains that the school intends. School information shows that fewer pupils are reaching their targets

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Outcomes for pupils require improvement

and many in Years 7 and 8 make slow progress in developing their knowledge, skills and confidence.  Significant groups of pupils, including those who have special educational needs or disability, are not making enough progress given their starting points on entry to the school. School information shows wide gaps remain in the progress these pupils make compared with pupils who do not have special educational needs or disability. Training is increasing teachers’ expectations of this group of pupils and early signs show improvements in pupils’ literacy skills.  Pupils attending the school’s designated resource base with physical or hearing impairments are making good progress in their literacy, communication skills and numeracy. The resource base prepares them well for their next steps in education or training.  In 2015 a lower proportion of higher-attaining pupils than nationally made the necessary progress to

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Outcomes for pupils require improvement

reach top grades in mathematics and science. In response to good teaching, the most-able pupils who took English, photography and music achieved above average A*/A grades. The current progress of the most-able pupils remains variable in many subjects due to inconsistencies in teaching, expectations and challenge.  There is little evidence to show that gaps between the attainment and progress of disadvantaged pupils and other pupils in the school and nationally are closing in response to the school’s use of pupil premium funding. This is because the additional support is not closely tailored to match pupils’ learning needs. High rates of absence also impede pupils’ progress.  Since the previous inspection, GCSE results and progress have fluctuated in English and mathematics and achievement in modern foreign languages, physical education and sports and humanities has declined. Changes to the content and structure of examination courses is leading to more confident teaching and

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Outcomes for pupils require improvement

learning and progress is improving in French and physical education.  Pupils in Years 10 and 11 are making swifter progress, especially in English, languages and physical education, although progress in mathematics remains weaker in Year 10.  Pupils in Years 7 and 8, who entered the school with low reading ages, are making good progress to catch up in response to intensive, additional support. Many are becoming increasingly confident readers and sustain their interest and enjoyment in reading in response to good provision for weaker readers.  Most pupils who are attending alternative provision are currently making swifter progress to achieve work-related qualifications, but their progress is slower in English and mathematics.

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School details

Unique reference number 107761 Local authority Kirklees Inspection number 10011967

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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 11−16 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 578 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Mike Rosser Headteacher Paul Gittins Telephone number 01484 516712 Website www.newsomehigh.co.uk Email address office.newsome@edukirklees.net Date of previous inspection 18 March 2014

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Information about this school

 Newsome High School is a specialist sports college and is smaller than the average-sized secondary school.  The school has two resource bases for pupils with physical impairments and pupils with hearing impairments from the Kirklees area. There are currently 10 hearing-impaired and eight physically impaired pupils in the bases.  Most pupils are from White British backgrounds.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils who are supported through the pupil premium is above the national average. The pupil premium is additional funding to support pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and children looked after by the local authority.  The proportion of pupils who receive support for special educational needs or disability is below the national average and the proportion that have a statement of special educational needs or an education, health and care plan is above average.  The school places pupils in the following alternative off-site provision for part of the week; Quarmby

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Information about this school

Garage, Reins Mill Garage, New Haven Motor Vehicles, The Oakes Care Centre and Victoria Mills. In addition, 10 pupils are dual-registered and are permanently educated off-site at Egerton College, an independent school, New Directions College, a private training provider, and Ethos College, a pupil referral unit.  The school meets the current government floor standards, which set minimum expectations for attainment and progress in English and mathematics by the end of Year 11.  The school does not meet requirements on the publication of information about the school curriculum on its website.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed teaching and learning in lessons in a wide range of subjects and in each year group. A number of tutor-group sessions and an assembly were also visited.  Inspectors looked at the school’s self-evaluation of its own performance, development plans, records of checks on the quality of teaching and information about pupils’ achievement, attainment and behaviour. Safeguarding documents and the school’s arrangements to keep pupils safe were also reviewed.  Inspectors scrutinised pupils’ work in books, listened to some pupils reading, and spoke with them about their work.  Meetings were held with senior and middle leaders responsible for different aspects of the school’s work. Meetings were held with three governors, including the chair of the governing body, and with a representative of the local authority.  Inspectors considered the views of 24 parents who responded to Parent View (Ofsted’s online

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Information about this inspection

questionnaire) and parental responses to the school’s own questionnaire. The views of 64 staff and 21 pupils who returned a questionnaire were also considered.

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Inspection team

Gina White, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector David Pridding Ofsted Inspector Stephen Wilkinson 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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