Bishop Challoner Catholic College

Bishop Challoner Catholic College Institute Road, Kings Heath, Birmingham, West Midlands B14 7EG

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Inspection dates 13–14 September 2016 Overall effectiveness Good

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

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Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Inadequate

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school  Pupils make outstanding progress in a range of subjects, including English and mathematics. Disadvantaged pupils often make better progress than other pupils nationally from their different starting points, although this is not the case for all.  Pupils have ambition and an aspiration to succeed. The school’s curriculum meets their needs well, contributes to their outstanding progress and develops their spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding well.  Teaching is good and teachers work hard to ensure that pupils make the progress of which they are capable. However, there is variability in the quality of teaching and assessment across the school and leaders’ monitoring does not always capture this fully.  High-quality training and support are provided for trainee teachers based in the school.  Attendance overall is above average, although this is not the case for all groups. Fixed-term

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

exclusions are above the national average but declining.  Pupils’ behaviour, conduct and attitudes are very positive and the high quality of pastoral care ensures that all pupils are very well supported.  16–19 study programmes are effective. Most students make good progress from their starting points. However, rates of progress made by sixth formers are not as high as for pupils in Year 11. Students are well supported by staff who provide excellent advice and guidance about future pathways.  Leaders and governors took the safeguarding issues raised at the last inspection seriously by taking prompt and effective action. This has ensured that a strong culture of safeguarding permeates all aspects of school life, including in the sixth form.  The school is well led and managed. Leaders promote an ambitious culture of high achievement and equality of opportunity for all. Governors are knowledgeable, skilled and well

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

equipped to challenge and hold leaders to account.  Leaders monitor pupils’ outcomes to ensure that they remain outstanding. However, their strategic overview of the performance of groups is not always sharp enough.  Self-evaluation, although broadly accurate, is not balanced sufficiently by rigorous internal and external quality assurance and review.

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Full report

In accordance with section 13(4) of the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that the school no longer requires special measures.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Remove the few remaining differences in attendance and progress between groups of pupils by using the comprehensive data systems available to gain a sharper strategic overview of the performance of groups of pupils in all subjects and years.  Review the effectiveness of systems to monitor and evaluate the quality of teaching, learning and assessment, within departments and at whole-school level, so that expectations of what constitutes best practice are clear and understood by all.  Use the experience gained from the greater use of external quality assurance and review, in relation to safeguarding, to inform leaders and governors about how further improvement can be made so that all aspects of the school become outstanding.  Improve the achievement of students in the sixth form so that the rates of progress they make from their starting points are as high as those made by pupils at key stage 4.

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Good

 Senior leaders have a genuine desire to make a positive impact on the outcomes of pupils who attend the school. Their drive and ambition are shared by all staff, who strive to make sure that the individual needs of each pupil are met. The excellent personal and pastoral support that results contributes to the outstanding progress that pupils make.  Leaders ensure that an excellent range of professional development and training opportunities is available to all staff. Relevant and useful opportunities are planned so that staff at all stages of their careers, including trainee teachers, can benefit from these opportunities. Issues covered respond to areas identified by the school’s processes for monitoring the quality of teaching, learning and assessment. Leaders gain valuable experience through the school’s commitment to training new teachers and working with colleagues from other schools.  The systems in place to monitor the progress pupils make in key stages 3 and 4 are

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Good

thorough and highly effective. Leaders have produced an effective system for monitoring pupils’ progress that assists teachers in evaluating the impact of their work and identifies pupils who would benefit from additional support. The interventions that result have real impact, as evidenced by the outstanding progress pupils make.  Leaders and governors meticulously track and monitor the allocation of the pupil premium and Year 7 catch-up funding. The actions and strategies to support disadvantaged pupils have had a marked positive impact on raising their progress and attainment.  School leaders ensure that the curriculum places an emphasis on ensuring that all pupils receive solid academic foundations. It features many opportunities to develop the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils. The curriculum is responsive to the needs of pupils and sufficiently flexible to enable adaptations to be

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Good

made to meet pupils’ needs, interests and aspirations. As a result, the academic curriculum supports the outstanding progress pupils make.  An exceptionally diverse range of extra-curricular opportunities is available. Leaders monitor pupils’ participation thoroughly to ensure that activities meet the needs of all pupils. Additional academic support is available in many subjects within the extended school day. Pupils’ participation in all of these opportunities has a real impact on their academic and social progress and this contributes to the outstanding outcomes achieved.  At the heart of the school’s ethos are its Catholic mission and fundamental British values. The culture of the school promotes tolerance and respect for others, democracy and the rule of law. A carefully planned programme of assemblies and specific lessons is supported by identified opportunities to learn about spiritual, moral, social and

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Good

cultural issues. As a result, pupils are provided with many opportunities to reflect on, and understand, the wider world and their own roles and responsibilities.  Self-evaluation, although broadly accurate, is not sufficiently rigorous in identifying those areas that can be improved in order for all areas of the school to become outstanding. For example, while the comprehensive data systems ensure detailed tracking of the progress and attendance of different groups of pupils, leaders’ strategic overview of this is not always sharp enough. The monitoring of teaching, learning and assessment is thorough, but leaders’ expectations of what is required to achieve outstanding quality in this area are not consistent. The benefits of external quality assurance and review, which the school has experienced in terms of its safeguarding work, have not been applied to other areas of provision or to leadership and

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Good

management, in order to improve them to outstanding.

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Governance of the school

 Governors share leaders’ vision to ensure that all pupils experience high-quality learning and are supported by excellent pastoral care.  Governors are effective in analysing and evaluating the information that leaders present on the school’s performance and, as a result, have a good understanding of pupils’ outcomes.  Governors have a good understanding of how additional funding is deployed, including funding for those in receipt of the pupil premium. They accurately evaluate how effectively the school’s work impacts on the progress of disadvantaged pupils.  Governors responded proactively, and with humility, to the judgement about safeguarding in the sixth form in the previous inspection. They introduced an immediate review of governance and have acted promptly and with very positive effect on its recommendations. As a result, their ability to respond to leaders, to challenge them and to hold them to account about safeguarding and other school issues, has

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.  The immediate and effective internal and external quality assurance reviews of all aspects of safeguarding that were prompted by the last inspection led to actions that have enhanced and further developed the school’s work. A strong culture of safeguarding permeates all aspects of the school’s work, including that in the sixth form. Leaders, governors and staff, including the school’s newly qualified teachers and trainee teachers, are well trained and knowledgeable about the potential risks to pupils and how to report and act on any concerns they may have. Information and advice about the potential risks pupils face are an important part of the formal and informal curriculum in the school and safeguarding is now a regular agenda item at school council meetings. Relevant information and advice are shared with parents so that they are kept fully informed. For example, following an assembly about the risks of social

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Safeguarding

media, text messages were sent to parents to inform them that this had occurred and to encourage them to discuss these issues with their children when they returned from school.

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Good

 Pupils are taught by a team of committed professionals who know their subjects well. A combination of good teaching, excellent pastoral support, pupils’ significantly high levels of prior attainment on entry and a well-designed curriculum leads to outstanding outcomes.  Teachers have high expectations of pupils and they plan interesting activities that enable pupils to make rapid and sustained progress from their starting points.  Pupils have excellent attitudes towards learning in lessons due to strong relationships with their teachers. Teachers encourage pupils to show respect for the ideas and views of others. Most pupils concentrate well, work hard and are keen to succeed. Pupils regularly give each other constructive feedback on their work in a mature manner. They also make good use of the comments that they receive from their peers.  Pupils expand their vocabulary as a result of teachers’ high expectations about the use

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Good

of subject-specific language and insistence that pupils will answer questions orally in full sentences. Teachers provide pupils with activities that develop writing and reading within a range of lessons. As a result, pupils have strong literacy skills.  Leaders use assessment information effectively to know when a pupil is falling behind. Teachers and teaching assistants provide support and additional sessions for pupils to catch up and get back on track.  In many lessons, inspectors noted that teachers took opportunities to develop pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding. For example, in a Year 7 citizenship lesson, pupils were developing a thoughtful understanding of the fact that with rights come responsibilities, and considering this in terms of their own lives.  Homework is set regularly in accordance with the school’s expectations and helps to reinforce learning in lessons. A very high proportion of parents who responded to

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Good

Parent View stated that their children receive appropriate homework tasks.  Each subject department has its own policy on the nature and frequency of marking and the provision of written feedback to pupils. Mostly, these policies have a positive impact on pupils’ learning. For example, in English, history and geography, inspectors noted that pupils were using teachers’ written comments to improve the quality of their own work. However, not all teachers follow leaders’ expectations about marking and feedback. As a result, some pupils are not able to identify what they need to do to improve their work.  Teachers generally use highly effective questioning to help pupils to develop their ideas and think carefully about their answers. For example, in a Year 9 history lesson, pupils explored British values today compared with those of the Edwardian period. As a result of challenging and provocative questioning, they were encouraged to develop a

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Good

perceptive understanding of this. However, in some lessons, such as in science, teachers accept brief, closed responses that do not encourage pupils to think deeply and that result in slower progress.  Teachers carry out regular and accurate assessments with their pupils. As a result, teachers know their pupils well. In the best practice, teachers use assessment information to plan learning that stretches the most able while ensuring that pupils of all abilities make at least good progress. However, occasionally, this information is not used to ensure that individual pupils’ learning needs are well catered for.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding.  Pupils follow a well-designed programme of personal, social and health education through curriculum lessons or special events. Topics with appropriately challenging content are taught systematically. As a result, pupils know how to deal with the internet safely and other risks, including those from extremism and radicalisation.  Pupils told inspectors that they feel safe when in school and younger pupils said there were no areas of the school where they felt unsafe. These positive views are shared by parents and staff. Almost every parent who responded to Parent View said that the school kept their children safe.  Pupils value and benefit from high levels of participation in an extensive range of clubs and activities that are available outside lessons. Pupils’ personal development is greatly enriched by participation in these additional activities.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s ethos underpins the personal development and welfare of pupils and reinforces British values. Pupils take responsibility for their own actions and know how to be good citizens in modern Britain.  Pupils demonstrate respect, tolerance and compassion in many ways to other members of the school and beyond, through, for example, work to support charities that pupils have identified as important to them.  Pupils are clear about the school’s zero tolerance of discriminatory or offensive language and support this policy. Pupils understand bullying in all its forms and what to do if someone is being bullied. They say, and school records show, that bullying is rare. They have confidence that adults in the school tackle it robustly when it does occur.  The care and welfare of vulnerable pupils who attend the school are effective and well coordinated. School staff place a great emphasis on ensuring proper support and

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Personal development and welfare

intervention for these pupils. Staff are supported by the work of external agencies that provide pupils with effective and appropriate provision. Regular liaison with parents and carers and other agencies takes place and enhances support for pupils. Pupils know that there are always adults in school whom they can talk to if they feel that they are at risk or have problems.  There is a strong focus on providing effective careers education and information, advice and guidance that begins in Year 7. All pupils have access to impartial careers advice, and additional support is put in place for those most at risk of not successfully moving on to education, training or employment. Pupils benefit from the opportunity to participate in work-related learning and work experience. As a result, more pupils at the end of Year 11 move into sixth form, college or employment with further training than do nationally.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good.  In lessons, pupils listen carefully to staff and to other pupils and contribute their own ideas in a sensible and mature fashion. Inspectors observed high levels of concentration and focus. Examples of inattention in lessons were rare.  Pupils’ conduct around the school site during social times and when moving between lessons is orderly and calm and they respond quickly to instructions and requests from staff. Pupils are courteous, pleasant and helpful to adults and to each other.  Pupils have a sense of pride in their school environment and keep it free from damage and litter. Most pupils wear their uniform neatly, correctly and proudly.  Pupils are punctual and well prepared for their lessons.  Pupils enjoy school. Overall attendance is above the national average. The attendance of disadvantaged pupils is lower than that of other pupils but is improving.  The number of fixed-term exclusions has historically been above the national average

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Behaviour

but is declining. The number of pupils repeatedly excluded from school for a fixed term is declining and is below the national average. Overall, the fixed-term exclusion rates reflect the school’s high expectations and zero-tolerance approach to certain types of poor behaviour.

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Outcomes for pupils Outstanding

 Since the previous inspection, pupils at Bishop Challoner Catholic College have achieved significantly better examination outcomes from their various starting points than similar pupils nationally. The proportion of pupils at the end of Year 11 attaining five or more GCSE grades A*–C, including English and mathematics, is consistently exceptionally high. The school’s assessment information for 2016 indicates that the attainment of Year 11 pupils increased further.  The proportion of pupils securing A* and A grades at GCSE is much higher than the national average in many subjects including English, mathematics, religious education, history and separate sciences. The proportion of pupils who achieve the English Baccalaureate is significantly higher than for all pupils nationally.  The progress pupils made across many subject areas at GCSE in 2015 was significantly higher than the national average. This pattern of outstanding progress is securely seen

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Outcomes for pupils Outstanding

in evidence throughout other year groups as a result of the good teaching, the broad and balanced curriculum and the extremely strong levels of pastoral support that pupils receive.  The proportion of pupils in both English and mathematics who make or exceed the expected level of progress from their various starting points is much higher than the national average.  Most-able and middle-attaining pupils make significantly better progress from their higher starting points than similar pupils do nationally. The excellent subject knowledge of teachers, high aspirations of pupils and the strong pastoral care and support lead to outstanding outcomes for these groups of pupils.  In mathematics, the proportion of disadvantaged pupils who made or exceeded the expected level of progress in 2015 was similar to or higher than for other, non- disadvantaged pupils nationally. In English, the proportion was slightly below non-

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Outcomes for pupils Outstanding

disadvantaged pupils nationally. The most able disadvantaged pupils do well in this school. In current year groups, the progress of disadvantaged pupils in English and mathematics is even stronger, as evidenced by the school’s performance information for current pupils and their work in lessons. These successes are the result of the well- targeted use of pupil premium funding.  From their different starting points, pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities secure similar, and in some cases, better outcomes than all pupils do nationally. Their progress is carefully monitored by teachers and leaders, and these pupils benefit from effective and targeted support in addition to their lessons when they most need it.  The school regularly measures the progress pupils are making across all their subjects. Its records indicate that most, but not all, groups of pupils make excellent progress

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Outcomes for pupils Outstanding

across subjects and year groups. Departments operate a rigorous and effective system of catch-up sessions and support programmes to ensure that most pupils meet their potential.  Pupils’ progress at key stage 3 is also strong, including for the most able. All groups of pupils are on track to achieve outcomes expected for their age and prior attainment.  Pupils are exceptionally well prepared for the next stage of their learning. They leave with qualifications and learning behaviours well suited to the demands of further education or training. As a result, the proportion of pupils who continue into education or training is higher than the national average.

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16 to 19 study programmes Good

 The outstanding progress in the 11 to 16 element of the school continues in Year 12 but is not as strong in Year 13. Historically, progress across nearly all qualifications has been in line with the national average. Students’ progress on vocational courses improved in 2015. Most groups of students make good progress from their starting points. The school’s own information about students’ achievement across a range of subjects in summer 2016 indicates improvement on previous years.  In the past, the number of students not completing some AS-level courses has been too high. In response to this, leaders have adjusted the entrance requirements for some courses to ensure that students have the necessary ability to do well. As a result, retention rates are now higher.  Effective leadership and management of the sixth form ensure that very high-quality personal support and monitoring complement good teaching and the excellent

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16 to 19 study programmes Good

curriculum offer. Students take pride in their work and are committed to doing well. They behave in a mature and responsible way and have a very good understanding of how to keep themselves safe. A new system to monitor their whereabouts when not in lesson time has been introduced, which is working effectively. Students say that they understand the importance of this new system and are positive about its introduction.  Teachers use their strong subject knowledge to pitch lessons at the right level. Students appreciate their lessons and comment on the additional support teachers regularly offer outside the class, which helps them improve their work. However, students do not make the outstanding rates of progress as at key stage 4. Leaders and teachers still need to do more to ensure that effective strategies that encourage higher rates of progress, including how students make use of their non-lesson periods, are

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16 to 19 study programmes Good

embedded at key stage 5.  Sixth-form students make a very positive contribution to the ethos of the school. They respond well to the expectations of additional responsibility through undertaking leadership roles and being effective role models to younger pupils. The sixth form is an aspiration for many younger pupils because it is a purposeful place of study that leads to future success.  Most of the small number of students joining the sixth form without GCSE passes at grade C or above in English achieved success in their resit examinations. However, resits have not been as successful in mathematics. The school realises how important these qualifications are to enable progression to further study or employment with good prospects for training and is reviewing its approach to these students.  Students are well supported for their next steps. The effective provision of careers advice and guidance, which started in the main school, continues in the sixth form. In

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16 to 19 study programmes Good

Year 12, there is a focus on employability skills and work-related learning that provides students with valuable experience for the future. In Year 13, the focus moves to university applications and other appropriate routes, including apprenticeships. This provision enables students to make informed decisions about the next steps in their education. As a result, similar proportions of students as that seen nationally are successful in the next stage of their education, employment or training.

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School details

Unique reference number 103560 Local authority Birmingham Inspection number 10020455

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School details

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.

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School details

Type of school Secondary comprehensive School category Voluntary aided Age range of pupils 11–18 Gender of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils in 16 to 19 study programmes Mixed

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School details

Number of pupils on the school roll 1,205 Of which, number on roll in 16 to 19 study programmes Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Mr G Keegan Principal Mr K McEvoy Telephone number 0121 4444161 Website www.bishopchalloner.org.uk Email address enquiries@bishopchalloner.bham.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 10–11 May 2016

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Information about this school

 The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.  The school is of above-average size and has a sixth form.  The majority of pupils in the school are White British but there is an above-average proportion of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds. A below-average proportion of pupils speak English as an additional language.  One in three pupils in the school are supported by pupil premium funding.  The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities with a statement of special educational needs or an education, health and care plan is just above average. The proportion of pupils with special educational needs supported by the school is average.  Currently, no pupils access their education with an alternative provider.  The school has been supported through the Birmingham Education Partnership in its work to address safeguarding concerns identified in the section 5 inspection in May

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Information about this school

2016. Leaders have received particular support from the headteacher of Swanshurst School. In addition, the school commissioned support from a range of other external consultants.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors spent the morning of the first day of the inspection exploring all aspects of safeguarding in the school before converting the inspection to a section 5 and exploring all aspects of the relevant evaluation schedule.  Inspectors observed teaching in 34 lessons. Most observations were carried out jointly with members of the leadership team. Lessons visited covered a wide range of subjects and year groups. Inspectors observed two assemblies and three tutor periods and visited the nurture room. Inspectors also observed pupils’ behaviour between lessons, and at break and lunchtimes.  Inspectors reviewed pupils’ work in lessons.  Inspectors held meetings with senior and middle leaders, and with the vice-chair and other members of the governing body.  Inspectors evaluated the 295 responses from parents to the Ofsted online questionnaire, Parent View. Inspectors took into account the views of members of staff

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Information about this inspection

and pupils through a range of formal meetings as well as informal discussions with pupils during lessons and in social times.  Inspectors reviewed documentation from a variety of sources, including the school’s self-evaluation and improvement plans, school policies and school information about outcomes, teaching and behaviour.

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Inspection team

Gwen Coates, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Louise Mallett 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

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. www.gov.uk/pupil-premium-information-for-schools-and- alternative-provision-settings .

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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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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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.gov.uk/ofsted

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