Patchway Community College

Patchway Community College Hempton Lane, Almondsbury, Bristol, Somerset BS32 4AJ

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Inadequate

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Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The school has not improved in recent years; its standards have declined. School leaders, including governors, have been too slow to implement the necessary changes.  The quality of teaching is poor. Pupils do not make enough progress in a range of subjects across the three key stages.  Leaders have failed to prepare for potential risks to pupils, physically and mentally, for too long. Measures to guarantee the pupils’ safety are weak.  The most able and disadvantaged pupils are not achieving as well as they should because teachers are not challenging them effectively.  The governors are not challenging and holding leaders to account.  The pupils are not taught a balanced curriculum, particularly at key stage 3. Therefore, they are not prepared for key stage 4 in all subjects.  Pupils are not taught about British values well. Teachers do not refer to social, moral, spiritual and cultural topics frequently. Pupils, including

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

those in the sixth form, are not made aware of the importance of this aspect of their education.  There are too many instances of boisterous behaviour, especially at breaktimes and after school. This results in some pupils feeling unsafe.  Students in the sixth form are underachieving in a range of academic subjects and have been for the past three years.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The new headteacher took up the post four weeks ago. Despite her being in post for a very short time, there is evidence of her positive impact already. She has a clear knowledge and understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the school.  The majority of relationships between staff and pupils are respectful.  Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are achieving well. For those with education, health and care plans, parents and pupils are fully involved in the discussion of their needs.

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Full report

In accordance with section 44(1) of 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?

 Increase pupils’ progress so that by the end of each key stage their achievement reflects their potential and is in line with or better than national expectations.  Improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment, by teachers: – having the highest expectations of what pupils can achieve, particularly the most able, most-able disadvantaged and other disadvantaged pupils – working to the same high standards seen in all subjects so that pupils’ learning is consistently good or better.  Improve the quality of leadership and management, including governance, by ensuring that leaders: – deal immediately with deficiencies in safeguarding arrangements so that pupils are taught how to keep themselves safe in a variety of situations – monitor the impact of plans, policies and practice to check that they are improving the quality of education – plan and monitor changes to the curriculum so that it is balanced and provides for

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

the needs of pupils at each stage and accelerates their progress – organise the curriculum so that it prepares pupils well for life in modern Britain and enables them to understand fundamental British values – raise expectations for pupils and rigorously monitor and evaluate pupils’ achievement information to ensure that they succeed – analyse and tackle the root causes of misbehaviour – quicken the pace of change.  School and sixth form leaders must ensure that: – 16 to 19 study programmes are planned and tailored for individual students’ needs – the quality of teaching, learning and assessment is consistently good in all subjects – close tracking of each student’s progress informs the delivery of focused and targeted support – students develop their wider employability skills. 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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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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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

 School leaders, including governors, have failed to develop and sustain an ambitious culture in the school. Targets for pupils’ progress are too low and do not reflect the potential of individual pupils, especially the most able and the most able disadvantaged pupils.  School leaders have failed to make significant improvements. The level of monitoring by senior leaders and governors is poor. As a result, the standards in the school have declined to an inadequate level. Despite small improvements in achievement in the last academic year, results are still too low in many subjects, such as mathematics, science, geography, languages and computing.  The curriculum does not prepare pupils well for their choice of subjects at the end of key stage 3. The balance of curriculum time in Year 9, for example, is hindering those pupils who wish to pursue a modern foreign language in key stage 4.  Extra-curricular activities are offered to pupils and take-up is varied. Pupils enjoy the

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

activities. However, leaders do not evaluate routinely the impact that these activities have on pupils’ progress.  Disadvantaged and the most able disadvantaged pupils are not making enough progress. Leaders have not managed funding for disadvantaged pupils well and governors have failed to hold them to account for this. A comprehensive external review was undertaken in March 2016 but leaders have not yet implemented any of the advice given. A further pupil premium review is recommended so that the necessary rigour and responsibility for the eligible pupils is established.  Pupils eligible for Year 7 literacy and numeracy catch-up funding are taught individually. Leaders have been weak in the tracking of the progress made by these pupils.  In the past, targets to improve teachers’ performance were not aligned with the improvements the school needed to make or the teachers’ roles. School leaders and

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

governors were not exacting in managing this process.  The new headteacher has a good understanding of the leadership capacity in the school. She has used this to plan strategically so that the school is in a position for rapid improvement to take place.  The majority of the middle leaders in the school are enthusiastic and passionate about moving the school forward. They are keen to learn and practise leadership skills. As yet, the impact of any new training and guidance is not showing in pupils’ progress and behaviour.  The special educational needs coordinator is effective. Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are making good progress. All aspects of policy and practice are now up to date and in line with the most recent government guidelines. Pupils, parents and carers are involved fully with the planning of the curriculum and support needed.  The least able pupils progress well in the school. They have been supported by the

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

special educational needs coordinator and a team of well-trained teaching assistants.  It is recommended that the school does not appoint newly qualified teachers.

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Governance of the school

 Governance of the school is weak. School leaders are not held to account and pupils’ progress does not reach national expectations in many subjects.  Governors have not ensured that the school website is up to date and compliant with statutory requirements. Parents and members of the public have nothing more than the names of governors and many of these are out of date as some of the governors, including the chair, have left. The funding agreement does not list the policies that are required.  A new chair of the governing body, appointed in May 2016, used the local authority’s governance services to evaluate the work of the governing body. Improvements are happening but too slowly. It is recommended that a further review take place to help speed up the process.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are ineffective.  The school’s leaders and governors have failed to ensure that staff embrace and promote an ethos that guarantees pupils’ safety.  They are not keeping policies up to date and crucial aspects, such as protecting pupils from the risks of radicalisation and extremism, are missing. Some of the staff, other than teachers, have not been trained in these elements. Leaders have failed to make checks on staff members’ understanding of these important policies and practice.  Leaders have not encouraged a culture of assessing risks. Staff and pupils are not vigilant in managing safety at all times.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

 The quality of teaching in the English Baccalaureate subjects, apart from English and history, is poor. There are pockets of practice that enable pupils to learn and achieve but progress is not consistent in these subjects. There were early signs of improvement in mathematics last year but progress has stalled. The English department is successful in its practice at key stage 4; the results in 2016 reflect this.  Pupils are not being stretched or helped to deepen their thinking. Teachers fail to challenge the most able and the most able disadvantaged pupils in a way that secures the standards they should achieve. An initiative which involves different levels of challenge in learning is a step in the right direction but too many pupils are not challenged with tasks that match their potential.  Too many teachers are not providing a range of resources to support learning. One of the consequences is that pupils are over reliant on the teacher as the main source of

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

information which limits learning over time.  Teachers’ ability to assess learning and challenge misconceptions is not secure. The wide variability of pupils’ work in books and teachers’ comments reflect this.  Despite being trained in using phonics to support pupils who cannot read well, teachers do not use this practice consistently. Therefore, pupils’ improvement in literacy is slow. Subject leaders are not monitoring this important work efficiently.  Where the school’s marking and feedback policy is followed, pupils make more rapid progress. Teachers’ specific comments and instructions for improvement help pupils to know what to do next in their learning.  Senior and middle leaders have plans in place to improve the quality of teaching over time but it is too soon to judge their impact.  The schemes of work have regular times allocated for assessing progress. In those subjects where formal assessments have taken place already, the outcomes are being

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

analysed carefully to identify gaps in learning and plan for further improvements.  Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are taught well. The special educational needs coordinator and teaching assistants monitor pupils’ work well.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is inadequate.  The school does not have an established curriculum to support pupils’ social, moral, spiritual and cultural knowledge and understanding. Consequently, pupils are not taught about the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect for and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs and for those without faith.  Tutor time is wasted and leaders do not monitor this valuable learning time. As a result, too often, pupils just sit chatting.  The school has ensured that pupils are taught about different types of bullying and, in particular, the risks of the internet, but leaders have not followed this through rigorously enough. There has been no analysis of the school’s bullying and racist incident logs to tackle the root causes.  The new headteacher has emphasised the need for staff to be vigilant when on duty

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Personal development and welfare

outside but this practice is not yet embedded. Pupils are not diligent in considering how they are placing others at risk through thoughtlessness. They do not recognise the dangers of cycling through the school grounds or carrying and waving scooters about.  A significant minority of pupils are not respectful of the site and litter is evident in the grounds.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is inadequate.  Although sanctions are put in place and pupils are isolated for short periods of time, there is no stringent analysis of cause and effect so the numbers of referrals are not decreasing.  The pupil survey identified concerns from pupils with regard to discriminatory behaviour. There is no evidence of school leaders ensuring that pupils understand why these behaviours are unacceptable.  Fixed-term exclusions are higher than the national average with many pupils being excluded more than once. These are often the most vulnerable pupils. Non-attendance for these pupils is high, too. Leaders have not done enough to tackle these weaknesses.  A significant minority of pupils engage in low-level disruption in lessons and intimidating behaviour when around the school site. However, the headteacher has already had a positive impact on behaviour and the majority of pupils are compliant

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Behaviour

and respectful of teachers in the classroom.  A small group of pupils in key stage 4 attend ‘Krunch’, an activity centre which helps these pupils behave and manage their learning when in the main school. A few pupils in key stage 4 benefit from attendance at the Concorde Partnership to study subjects not available in the school curriculum.

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Outcomes for pupils Inadequate

 Pupils’ progress from their starting points is inadequate in a range of subjects. Subject and senior leaders have not been rigorous enough in monitoring pupils’ progress. The checking of the additional support that pupils receive is variable so not enough pupils make more rapid progress.  Pupils’ progress in geography, languages and computing is hampered due to teachers’ low expectations. Not enough work is expected of pupils at a high enough standard over time. Leaders’ expectations are similarly low.  The most able and the most able disadvantaged pupils are not challenged to make the progress of which they are capable. They are not required to extend their thinking or taxed in a demanding way to enhance their learning. This results in low attainment for these groups. The most able pupils pass GCSE examinations but many do not go on to achieve the highest grades.  School leaders have not evaluated the impact of pupil premium funding on improving

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Outcomes for pupils Inadequate

outcomes for disadvantaged pupils. The difference between the progress of the disadvantaged pupils and other pupils nationally has not diminished in the past two years. The difference in the performance of disadvantaged pupils and their peers remains too wide.  The pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are making good progress. As a result of good leadership in this area, well-trained adults’ close attention to pupils’ individual learning needs has contributed to these pupils’ success.  The pupils who attend the alternative provision, Krunch, on a part-time basis, are making adequate progress. Their curriculum focuses on social skills through practical subjects.  Too many pupils are not prepared appropriately for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Leaders and teachers are not ensuring that they progress well and reach the expected standards. This reduces pupils’ choices and opportunities

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Outcomes for pupils Inadequate

available to them post-16. In addition, pupils are not adequately prepared with skills that will make them employable.

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16 to 19 study programmes Inadequate

 Leaders have failed to monitor achievement in the sixth form satisfactorily. Students who take academic courses are not making adequate progress, particularly at AS level.  Although guidance is offered by an external adviser and school staff, it does not have the desired impact for a significant minority of students. They make wrong choices and change subjects after the start of their post-16 courses. This wastes valuable learning time.  The progress of disadvantaged students in the sixth form is weaker than that of other disadvantaged students nationally. However, there are disadvantaged students who attend higher education.  Too many students who need to retake English and mathematics qualifications in the sixth form are not achieving the results that they need to progress further.  The lack of an effective curriculum to support personal development means that students have little understanding of British values. They are not prepared for future

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16 to 19 study programmes Inadequate

employment, higher education and training.  The same lack of attention to detail and checking on safeguarding pervades the sixth form as it does in the rest of the school.  Students attend other schools and colleges within the Concorde Partnership. This provides a diverse mixture of opportunities to meet their learning needs.  Students make more secure progress in vocational subjects. The routine aspects of the work done are monitored more thoroughly, leading to better results.

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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

Gender of pupils in 16 to 19 study programmes Mixed

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School details

Of which, number on roll in 16 to 19 study programmes Appropriate authority The trust board

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 Patchway Community College became an academy in November 2013 under the Fusion Schools Trust. When its predecessor school of the same name was last inspected in November 2012, it was judged to be a good school.  The headteacher was appointed in September 2016. Patchway Community College is smaller than the average-sized secondary school.  The school does not meet requirements on the publication of information about the details of the curriculum, a statement on British values, the impact of the 2015/6 funding and the anticipated plan for 2016/7 funding for pupil premium, no policy on equalities and diversity and the safeguarding policy is incomplete on its website.  The school does not comply with Department for Education guidance on what academies should publish about safeguarding; the spending of the pupil premium funding and its impact on diminishing the difference in progress for these pupils; the

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Information about this school

spending of the Year 7 catch-up funding; and how the school complies with the public sector equality duty. The list of governors is not up to date and the dates of appointment, their roles (including relevant business and pecuniary interests and governance in other educational institutions) are not recorded. There are no details of the trust and no statement of intent or reference to fundamental British values.  A small number of key stage 4 pupils attend ‘Krunch’, which is a Christian charity provision that promotes personal development through music, sports, catering and the performing arts. Pupils attend on a part-time basis.  The Concorde Partnership, which includes Abbeywood Community School, Bradley Stoke Community School and South Gloucestershire and Stroud College, is used by a very small number of pupils at key stage 4 and the majority of students in the sixth form.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is slightly below the national average.

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Information about this school

 Approximately 15 pupils who did not attain the expected level in reading, grammar, punctuation and spelling or mathematics at the end of primary school are eligible for catch-up funding.  The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is above the national average.  The academy meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ and students’ attainment and progress.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors visited 26 lessons, six of which were observed jointly with senior leaders.  A wide sample of pupils’ work from all year groups and a range of subjects was scrutinised.  Inspectors talked with Year 10 pupils and sixth form students in formal meetings, as well as with pupils informally across the site.  Meetings were held with a number of senior and middle leaders, the chair of the governing body and the governor with oversight of safeguarding.  Information and other documentary evidence were scrutinised, including that relating to safeguarding, assessment, school self-evaluation and development planning.  Inspectors took account of 16 responses to the Ofsted online Parent View survey, 24 responses to the online staff survey and 10 responses to the online pupil survey.

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Inspection team

Kathy Maddocks, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Gillian Carter 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

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 .

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Inspection team

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, 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.gov.uk/ofsted

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