St Augustine's Roman Catholic School, Scarborough

St Augustine’s Roman Catholic School, Scarborough Sandybed Lane, Stepney Hill, Scarborough, YO12 5LH

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Overall effectiveness Good

Effectiveness of leadership and management Outstanding

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Overall effectiveness Good

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Outstanding

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Overall effectiveness Good

Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement

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This is a good school

 ‘We respect, accept and care for all’ is part of the school’s mission statement. The school is successful in this endeavour.  The headteacher’s outstanding leadership has underpinned the rapid improvements made since the last inspection. Characterised by both strength and humility, his vision for the school is embraced by the whole school community.  Staff, pupils and parents and carers are phenomenally positive about the direction of the school, its leadership and the quality of education on offer.  The governing body and the senior team provide excellent leadership, and strong support to the headteacher.  There is a high level of ‘buy-in’ to the caring and supportive ethos of the school. Pupils are typically courteous, polite, and show a deep level of respect for one another. Their behaviour is outstanding.  As a result of focused leadership, pupils now make good progress from their starting points, and their

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This is a good school

rate of progress continues to increase.  The performance of disadvantaged pupils is improving rapidly and the gap between their achievement and that of others is narrowing.  Teaching is good. In many lessons teachers’ excellent subject knowledge and skilful planning generate good learning and understanding.  Pupils appreciate the strong and impartial guidance they receive as to their next steps after leaving school.  The extra-curricular opportunities offered by the school are rich and varied. These include a wide range of sporting, musical and dramatic clubs.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 There is some variation in teachers’ expectations of what pupils can achieve, and in the quality of feedback to pupils.  The rates of progress that pupils make in English and mathematics are good, but not yet outstanding.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching to raise achievement to even higher levels, including in English and mathematics, by: spreading the best practice that exists to all subjects and all groups of pupils, and the strongest subject leadership to all subjects insisting that all teachers follow the school’s policy on feedback ensuring that all teachers have high expectations of what pupils can achieve, and plan accordingly.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is outstanding

 The headteacher provides outstanding leadership. Staff, parents and pupils all speak very highly of the way he enthuses others. He expects the very best from all members of the school community. Comments such as ‘the headteacher has done an incredible job’ are common. Staff morale is high. One member of staff took the opportunity on the questionnaire to thank the staff and pupils at school for ‘making us smile every day’.  As a result of the determined leadership of the headteacher, the governing body and the senior team, the school has come on in strides since the last inspection. The quality of teaching is good and the commitment and behaviour of the pupils outstanding. The rates of progress that pupils make are good across all areas of the curriculum, and the standards they reach are above the national average. Their rates of progress continue to increase.  The headteacher has used teacher appraisal well to challenge any weaknesses in teacher performance

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is outstanding

and to reward the very best teachers. He has done this robustly. As a result, teachers meet the required standards, and the quality of teaching is improving. This approach, combined with high-quality and well- focused training for teachers, has had a positive impact on the rates of progress that pupils are making.  The senior leadership team is highly effective. The leadership of teaching is incisive, and helps to identify next steps for the school in the development of teaching. Pastoral leadership is equally strong, and helps support outstanding behaviour across the school.  The leadership team is aware that the next step is to spread the best practice that exists to all subjects and all groups of pupils, and to extend the strongest subject leadership to all subjects. Middle leaders are strong and continue to develop their role.  Partnerships with parents and the local community are strikingly effective. The school is now over-

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is outstanding

subscribed and has an excellent local reputation – deservedly so.  The school uses the pupil premium funding effectively to help disadvantaged pupils receive the academic and social support they need to make good progress and reach high standards. They make good progress from their starting points. Additional finance is used for literacy and numeracy support, additional teaching assistants, and enrichment opportunities. Finances provided for pupils who need to catch up are also well used.  The curriculum is well designed to meet the needs of different groups of pupils. Of note is the excellent standard of careers education, and the information, advice and guidance offered to help the pupils make the right choices after they leave school. Teachers consider how the curriculum should evolve effectively. It is broadly academic, but also offers vocational subjects and a wide range of opportunities for pupils to

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is outstanding

develop new skills. An increasing proportion of pupils are studying modern languages and history or geography.  The range of extra-curricular opportunities is rich. Dance club, drama club, jazz festivals, the chamber choir and a wide range of sporting fixtures are examples of these opportunities. The pupils speak highly of this provision.  Values of tolerance, acceptance, fairness and justice are central to life at school. The work of the chaplaincy and the development of spiritual awareness support these values. Pupils are engaged in charity work, and understand its importance. They are involved in the development of the school, and make their voice heard. Lessons help pupils develop culturally, socially and morally. As a result, the school prepares pupils well for life in modern Britain.  The school works hard to ensure that all pupils achieve well, no matter what their background. One example is the development of the ‘hub’ which supports pupils who speak English as an additional

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is outstanding

language. Leaders have identified this group of pupils as one that requires extra support, and have provided additional resources for them. As a result, they are making good progress.  The local authority provided a good level of support when the school needed it most. Once advisers identified that improvements were well underway, they provided high-quality advice and less intensive support.  The governance of the school Governance of the school is outstanding. Since the last inspection governors acted decisively to restructure, and to change their systems and processes so as to be able to make decisions quickly. They have a comprehensive and detailed understanding of the school. They make an excellent contribution to school self-evaluation and planning for improvement. They take their own training very seriously, and as a result understand achievement data well. They make sure that the school gets full

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is outstanding

value from the additional funding it receives to support pupils who are disadvantaged, or those who need to catch up. Governors ensure that health and safety regulations are fully met and that pupils are safe in school. The financial management of the school is strong, and improvement planning is dovetailed with financial planning well. The governors bring a good range of skills and experience to support and challenge the leadership of the school. Governors are highly ambitious for the school, and their high expectations have helped the school to improve.  The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Staff receive training and updates as required. They are made aware of, for example, issues in e-safety, radicalisation, female genital mutilation and other sensitive topics. Policies and procedures are tight, and help to keep pupils safe.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

 Teaching is typically good and is characterised by effective planning and accurate assessment. Most teachers have a good understanding of where pupils are in their learning and plan lessons to build upon this. They are particularly good at checking how well pupils are doing in lessons and changing tack or pace according to how well the pupils are doing. As a result, pupils make good progress across a range of subjects.  Where teaching is most effective, both teachers and teaching assistants have high expectations of all of the pupils. They expect the highest of standards. For example, in a Year 8 art lesson, the teacher skilfully questioned pupils and answered their questions with precision. Pupils were keen to produce their very best pieces of work and standards were high. In a Year 11 mathematics lesson, pupils were given challenging problems and expectations were high of all pupils. They grappled successfully with the

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

questions and made strides in their understanding.  Teachers have strong subject knowledge. They provide many opportunities to deepen pupils’ understanding, consolidate learning, and practise new skills. They use homework effectively to extend learning or to prepare for new topics.  Teachers generally adhere to the school’s marking policy. This is not consistent, however.  Pupils come to school ready to learn. Teachers build upon this successfully by capturing pupils' imagination in lessons and providing structured opportunities to cover GCSE (and other examinations) course content thoroughly. Occasionally, their expectations of what pupils can achieve are not high enough.  Teaching assistants are particularly well used to support pupils who speak English as an additional language. This supports their learning in lessons and helps them make progress and narrow gaps in attainment between them and other pupils.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

 Teachers tailor lessons well for pupils with special educational needs or disability. This careful planning, sometimes accompanied by extra support, helps them to make good progress.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding.  Pupils are committed to their studies. They have very positive attitudes in lessons and show a high level of focus. They are resilient and give of their best. They grapple with new material and make a concerted effort to understand. This is pivotal to the progress they make.  Pupils have an excellent understanding of how to stay safe. They know why it is important to stay safe online, and have a variety of strategies to do so. They say that any form of bullying is rare, and that on the occasions that it occurs, it is dealt with swiftly by staff. They have a high level of respect for others. They say that the use of derogatory language is very rare indeed, and that the school community does not tolerate any forms of discrimination, including homophobia and racism.  The school is a cohesive community. One striking example of this is the mentoring scheme. Year 11

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Personal development and welfare

pupils are matched to groups of Year 7 pupils and work with them across the year to help them organise themselves and give advice on lessons and help them with their learning. The Year 7s speak animatedly about this, and cite it as an excellent way to help them make the transition from primary to secondary school.  Pupils and parents in the questionnaires say that the school is a safe place, and that pupils’ physical and emotional well-being is at the heart of the pastoral system. Inspection findings agree. Pupils needing support receive this from school.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is outstanding.  Pupils are courteous, polite and mature. They show a high level of respect to each other and to adults.  Staff and parents say that the school has effective policies and procedures for dealing with any unacceptable behaviour. During the inspection no low-level disruption at all was observed. Behaviour around the school site is excellent. Pupils look after the school well and there is no evidence of litter or graffiti.  Pupils attend school regularly, and there are relatively few fixed-term exclusions. Careful and thorough analysis of the groups of pupils less likely to attend, or more likely to struggle to behave, has taken place. The school leadership has increased levels of support for these pupils to help them attend school and maintain high standards of behaviour, and this is having a positive impact.  Pupils take pride in their work and their appearance.

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Outcomes for pupils are good

 The rates of progress pupils make and the standards they achieve have risen sharply since the last inspection. Their achievement is now securely good, and in some subjects it is outstanding. This is due to rapid improvements in the quality of teaching. Parents, pupils and staff agree.  Pupils’ progress in mathematics and English is good. An above-average proportion make the progress which is expected of them and, similarly, an above-average proportion make more than expected progress. Inspection evidence from lessons and looking at exercise books also confirms that pupils make good progress.  Progress in art, music and science is outstanding. In addition there has been a gear change in the quality of provision in geography since the last inspection.  Disadvantaged pupils make very good progress. Their progress is similar to that of other pupils and the standards they attain are ever closer to those of other pupils. The school uses additional funding well to

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Outcomes for pupils are good

support these pupils, both socially and academically. Similarly, pupils who need to catch up are well supported, and many reach average levels of attainment by the time they leave Year 11. They are well prepared for the next stage of their education, training or employment.  The most-able pupils make good progress. Sometimes, teachers’ expectations of what they can achieve and how much they can understand are not high enough. In some lessons, pupils were seen to make leaps in progress due to challenging activities and very probing questioning. This excellent practice is not consistent across the school.  The achievement of pupils who have special educational needs or disability is good. They benefit from good support from teachers and the special educational needs coordinator. Their needs are increasingly well addressed in lessons.  The systems to track pupils’ progress are advanced. As a result, leaders address any areas of weakness

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Outcomes for pupils are good

directly. For example, in 2015 the progress of boys in English was weaker than that of girls. The school focused on this area and their progress is now stronger. Similarly, the most-able students performed relatively less well in mathematics in 2015. Inspection evidence confirms that this is no longer the case. The school knows exactly where pupil progress may be beginning to stall, and teachers respond quickly to ensure that all pupils perform well. Currently progress in English and mathematics is not strong enough to be judged outstanding.  The proportion of pupils who leave school without a job or continuing in education is below the national average. Pupils leave school with the skills necessary to make the most of the opportunities that are available to them for their futures.

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School details

Unique reference number 121714 Local authority North Yorkshire Inspection number 10011999

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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 Voluntary aided Age range of pupils 11−16 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 545 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Dianne Swiers Headteacher Mark Taylor Telephone number 01723 363 280 Website www.staugs.co.uk Email address admin@st-augs.org Date of previous inspection 26−27 February 2014

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Information about this school

 The school is smaller than the average-sized secondary school.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils eligible for support through pupil premium funding is below average. The pupil premium is additional funding for those pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals and those children who are looked after by the local authority.  The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is above average. The school has developed a specialist ‘hub’ to support these pupils.  The proportion of pupils who have support for special educational needs or disability is above the national average.  The proportion of pupils with a statement of special educational needs or an education, health and care plan is similar to the national average.  The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.  No students attend alternative provision.  The school meets the government’s floor standards, which set out the government’s minimum standards

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Information about this school

for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics by the end of Year 11.  Since the previous inspection, a deputy headteacher has been appointed. All of the members of the governing body, including the chair, were not in position at the time of the last inspection.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed lessons and groups of pupils working, and observed pupils at breaktime and when moving around school.  They talked to pupils in lessons about their experience at school and looked at work in their books. They talked to three specific groups of pupils about the school, the behaviour of pupils and the quality of teaching.  Joint observations of teaching were conducted with the headteacher and findings discussed.  Inspectors held meetings with members of the governing body and the teaching staff, including middle and senior leaders. One inspector spoke to a representative from the local authority.  Inspectors took account of the 121 responses to Ofsted’s online parent questionnaire, Parent View, 136 responses to the online pupil questionnaire and 47 responses to the online staff questionnaire.  Inspectors observed the school’s work and scrutinised a range of documentation including the school’s

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Information about this inspection

view of its own performance, monitoring records, information about pupils’ progress, improvement planning, minutes of the meetings of the governors, and records of behaviour and attendance. They looked closely at records relating to safeguarding and child protection, and at policies, including those published on the school’s website.  A range of other evidence, including displays, the school website and evidence representing the school’s wider achievements beyond the classroom, was also considered.

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Inspection team

Michael Wardle, Lead inspector Ofsted Inspector Michael Maddison Ofsted Inspector Ashley Wood 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

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Inspection team

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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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