Rosedale College

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T 0300 123 4234 www.gov.uk/ofsted

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Ms Heidi Faure Principal Rosedale College Wood End Green Road Hayes Middlesex UB3 2SE

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Short inspection of Rosedale College

Following my visit to the school on 2 November 2016 with Yvonne Chisholm, Ofsted Inspector, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to report the inspection findings. The visit was the first short inspection carried out since the school was judged to be good in November 2012.

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Short inspection of Rosedale College

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. You work closely with other leaders within both the school and the trust to implement necessary improvements and check that they are effective. Your efforts are recognised by staff and pupils, who appreciate the high- quality support and the personal encouragement you give them. The inclusive ethos that underpins the work of the trust is widely shared and understood. All staff demonstrate the same high expectations regarding pupils’ behaviour and achievement. This has ensured that many pupils make exceptional progress from their starting points and achieve impressive examination results by the end of key stage 4.

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Short inspection of Rosedale College

You have addressed the areas for improvement identified in the last inspection report. Nearly all teaching is good or better as a result of the regular monitoring and feedback provided by leaders and managers. Your observations inform a carefully planned programme of professional training opportunities that support the needs and aspirations of each teacher. Teachers and support staff are provided with comprehensive information about each pupil to allow them to plan learning activities with appropriate levels of challenge and support. The progress of all pupils is evaluated regularly so that any gaps in their understanding are identified and additional support is quickly arranged. This ensures that pupils, including those who are most able, the disadvantaged and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, can make rapid progress towards their individual targets. Leaders have taken a proactive approach to help fill gaps in teacher recruitment. For

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Short inspection of Rosedale College

example, 42 new teachers joined the trust in September 2015 following a recruitment process undertaken by the executive principal in Jamaica. As a result of effective induction programmes and professional development opportunities available across the trust, staff retention rates are high and the school is fully staffed with subject specialists.

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Short inspection of Rosedale College

The quality of the sixth-form provision has been improved and this has started to have an impact on the achievements of older pupils. Detailed information, advice and guidance is provided to help pupils choose the courses they wish to study at both key stage 4 and key stage 5. Targeted mentoring and pastoral support and visits to universities, employers and careers fairs assist pupils to make informed choices about their futures and take advantage of the opportunities available to them. A bridging programme for two weeks in the summer holiday is attended by all Year 11 pupils planning to join the sixth form. This helps them prepare for the demands of their chosen courses and allows their learning needs to be fully assessed. Consequently, all pupils who began their courses last year continued with their studies this year. Although academic outcomes are still not as good as vocational results, the gap closed last year and overall standards improved.

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Short inspection of Rosedale College

Pupils benefit from access to all the resources within the Rosedale Hewens Academy Trust. Some pupils leave the school at the end of Year 8 or Year 9 to enrol at one of the two studio schools within the trust and complete examinations and qualifications that reflect their interests and skills. As well as vocational subjects, some very able pupils leave to study law, psychology or economics, which leads to university courses and professional careers. Your records demonstrate that many of these pupils continue to make rapid progress in their new placements and achieve the highest grades in their examinations.

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Short inspection of Rosedale College

The school is a safe place and pupils state that there are few concerns about bullying or antisocial behaviours. Their views are supported by the low number of serious behaviour incidents and exclusions that are recorded. When incidents do occur, they are carefully logged and evaluated as part of a wider assessment of needs and risks. Leaders have ensured that safeguarding procedures take account of the latest guidance issued and all the required employment checks are carried out before staff appointments are confirmed. Staff receive regular safeguarding updates and training throughout the year. Consequently, they know how to report any concerns that they may have. All staff have a detailed understanding of the needs of every pupil because information-sharing systems are effective and the welfare and well-being of any pupil causing concern is carefully considered before further support is agreed. Although an extensive rebuilding programme is planned

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Short inspection of Rosedale College

for the future, some parts of the main building are currently in poor condition and disrepair. For example, some flooring tiles in corridors are lifting and are a potential trip hazard. Other buildings and the outside areas are well resourced and maintained to a high standard.

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Inspection findings

 The school benefits from knowledgeable and committed leaders who are held strongly to account by leaders of the trust and the local advisory board of governors. Trustees and governors contribute a wide range of professional expertise and know the school well. They work closely with you to bring about improvements across all aspects of the provision. Together, you have acquired a very accurate understanding of the school’s strengths and areas for further development.  The school environment is calm and pupils move around the site in a considerate manner. There are very few disruptions to learning and little time is wasted. Breaks and lunchtimes are staggered to ensure that all pupils can be seated in the dining room. They are encouraged to eat and talk together with friends and staff to develop the social skills they will need as adults. Pupils have free access to the extensive outdoor spaces and indoor areas, including the library. They

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Inspection findings

require very little direct supervision from adults because pupils understand that they are expected to behave well and rarely disappoint.  Pupils develop good literacy and numeracy skills. Those who read to inspectors demonstrated high levels of fluency and expression. Pupils learning English as an additional language and those requiring additional literacy support benefit from targeted reading interventions and smaller class sizes that help them to catch up. The most able pupils who are confident readers make good use of the library resources where they are guided to suitably challenging texts. Many pupils who spoke to inspectors identified mathematics as their favourite lesson and standards of numeracy across the school, including for those who are most able, are high.  Most pupils attend school regularly and overall attendance rates across the school, including in the sixth form, remain above average. Systems for

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Inspection findings

monitoring attendance and for following up on any unauthorised absences are robust. Leaders are fully aware of their statutory obligations regarding children missing from education and alert the local authority if they have any concerns. No pupil is removed from the school admissions register until an alternative placement has been confirmed.  A minority of parents express dissatisfaction with some aspects of the school and would not recommend it to others. However, the school remains oversubscribed and the trust operates a waiting list for parents who have requested a placement for their child. This is methodically maintained and appropriately managed. Places are offered as they become available, in line with the school’s admissions policy. This includes accepting pupils who may be difficult to place under the in- year fair-access scheme, monitored by Hillingdon local authority. Sometimes parents become frustrated that it takes too long for an offer to be made. This is

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Inspection findings

partly because the trust undertakes a thorough assessment of every pupil’s needs to ensure that they are offered a place at the most appropriate school within the trust. Leaders are aware that this process needs to be completed as quickly as possible.  The school website does not meet requirements concerning the publication of information about special education needs or accessibility plans. There is no special educational needs information report that provides a link to the local offer. Some policies have not been replaced with newer versions when they have been reviewed or do not include all the latest statutory guidance. In some cases, there are different versions uploaded to the trust and the school’s website. This is confusing and frustrating for parents who require this information.

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Next steps for the school

Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that:

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Next steps for the school

 parents are provided with accurate information and timely support to help address any concerns that they may have  information provided on the school’s website reflects the latest guidance issued and covers all the required areas.

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Next steps for the school

I am copying this letter to the chair of the executive board and the chief executive officer for the Rosedale Hewens Academy Trust, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Hillingdon. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

Inspectors agreed to prioritise the following areas with the school at the start of the inspection:

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Information about the inspection

 the quality of the sixth form and the impact of improvements on raising achievement since the previous inspection  how a good or better standard of teaching and learning has been maintained across all teachers and subjects  how leaders manage attendance and admissions arrangements and address parental concerns and complaints  the effectiveness of the school’s safeguarding arrangements.

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Information about the inspection

Inspectors carried out the following activities to explore these areas during the inspection:

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Information about the inspection

 they met with the principal and other members of the senior leadership team, the chair of the local advisory board and the executive principal for secondary education, the leader of the sixth form, the attendance officer and the special educational needs coordinator  they conducted a series of short visits to classrooms to look at learning across all key stages, accompanied by senior leaders  they spoke to pupils about their work, listened to them read and held informal conversations with individuals and groups during break and lunchtimes  they considered the 12 staff questionnaires, the 27 responses to the online Parent View questionnaire and the results of the school’s own parental and learner surveys  they scrutinised a range of documentation including the school’s self-evaluation and development plan, pupil progress information, admissions and attendance logs and safeguarding records  they checked the school’s website and complaints history.

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