Tytherington School

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

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Mr Emmanuel Botwe Headteacher Tytherington School Manchester Road Macclesfield Cheshire SK10 2EE

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Short inspection of Tytherington School

Following my visit to the school on 22 November 2016 with Sue Lomas, 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 your predecessor school was judged to be good in November 2011.

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Short inspection of Tytherington School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection.

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Short inspection of Tytherington School

Since your appointment in 2015, you have created a positive culture and driven rapid change across the school. You have wasted no time in identifying the key priorities which will ensure that the school continues to improve swiftly. The new leadership team, ably led by you, is committed to academic excellence. Staff, parents and pupils welcome the new climate of change and innovation. Parents who met with me described you as inspirational, approachable and energetic. This was further confirmed by the 107 positive parental comments made in response to Ofsted’s inspection survey. Parents value the regular communication that you have with them and the vast array of additional opportunities you afford the pupils. Staff morale is high and middle leaders feel energised by your vision. You are adamant that each and every pupil in Tytherington School will not only continue to attain highly but will now make the excellent progress of which they are capable.

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Short inspection of Tytherington School

Governors recognise the impact that you have made since joining the school. They value the work you do to ensure that the curriculum meets the needs of your pupils in the main school and your students in the sixth form. You, with the support of the governors, are not afraid to make the changes needed to ensure that pupils are prepared for life in modern Britain. You have made difficult decisions and taken effective action in relation to staffing and curriculum design, for example, to ensure that disadvantaged pupils have an equal opportunity to access the full range of academic courses. As a result, the proportion of disadvantaged pupils who remain in the school’s sixth form is improving because they now have a broad and balanced curriculum to help them to achieve well. The overall proportion of pupils who proceed to further education or training is very high and the number of sixth-form students who progress to higher education is exceptional.

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Short inspection of Tytherington School

You work tirelessly to provide pupils with inspirational teaching and learning. To achieve this, staff training is at the forefront of your work. Your staff welcome the high-quality opportunities that they have available to them. There is a renewed focus on collaboration. Teachers support each other; they attend lesson-planning ‘clinics’ and undertake reviews of each other’s areas in order to share best practice. Staff respect the time you invest in them and your excellent understanding about high-quality teaching, learning and assessment. The ‘Tytherington Half-Dozen’, which puts passion, pitch, purpose, progress, pace and participation at the forefront of learning, is a clear example of your commitment to the best-quality teaching.

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Short inspection of Tytherington School

Standards in the sixth form continue to be excellent. Students achieve well and make very good progress. Since your appointment, you have continued to ensure that 16 to 19 study programmes meet students’ different needs. You also recognise the need to improve the performance of disadvantaged pupils in key stages 3 and 4 so that they have equal access to the sixth form. You recognise that the progress disadvantaged pupils made in the past was not good enough. You have introduced a system to track carefully the progress of disadvantaged pupils. You have also intensified the level of support they receive. Consequently, since the dip in 2015, the progress that disadvantaged pupils make is moving closer to that of other pupils nationally. You recognise that there is still work to do in this area. You have also put measures into place to ensure that the progress made by pupils in English aligns to the excellent progress made by pupils in mathematics.

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Short inspection of Tytherington School

You continue to ensure that Tytherington School is a calm and happy place to learn. Pupils are polite, courteous and respectful. Promoting equalities is central to your vision. Your relationship with pupils and students is striking because of the value you place on each one of them. They appreciate what you do for them because you know their individual contributions to life at Tytherington. You always take the time to recognise their gifts and talents. The ‘Advanced Learner Programme’, the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award to gold level, the ‘Macclesfield Pledge’ and the opportunities through your science, technology, engineering and mathematics programme ensure that pupils have rich experiences. The ‘Takeover Day’ gives pupils the opportunity to shadow their teachers at school to see what goes into planning and delivering a lesson. Your high expectations of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development manifest themselves in the uptake of the vast extra-curricular

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Short inspection of Tytherington School

Your current plans for further improvement are robust. You seek external support when necessary, for example, by commissioning a review of the impact of the government’s additional pupil premium funding. You continue to improve attendance for disadvantaged pupils and you are determined that the progress pupils make by the end of key stage 4 will continue to reflect pupils’ strong starting points.

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Short inspection of Tytherington School

Leaders and governors have ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose and records are detailed and of a high quality. There is a strong culture of safeguarding in the school, underpinned by regular staff training. Consequently, staff are acutely aware of the signs of abuse and understand how to deal with issues such as ‘sexting’ or peer-on-peer abuse, should they arise. Governors are also highly trained. There is a link governor to safeguarding and leaders regularly and robustly report on the effectiveness of their systems and procedures.

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Short inspection of Tytherington School

Leaders have embedded extremely strong systems for tracking pupils so that they can keep an eye on the academic and personal development of all pupils carefully. Their detailed tracking systems for areas such as attendance allow them to spot any concerns with individuals or groups quickly. These concerns are discussed at length by leaders and the pastoral team. For these reasons, the attendance of disadvantaged pupils continues to rise and is close to that of other pupils. Procedures, therefore, for dealing with children who may be missing education are exemplary.

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Short inspection of Tytherington School

Parents value the work that leaders do to keep their pupils safe. The parents who met with me spoke of the work the school does to support lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender pupils and students. Pupils value the school’s ‘Respect of Others, Self and the Environment’ days, which help them to learn about independent living, online safety, sex and relationships and emotional well-being. Responses to Parent View are also exceedingly positive about how safe pupils are at Tytherington School. Parents commented that: ‘The headteacher is dynamic and caring. He ensures that the school is a nurturing, safe and caring environment.’

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Inspection findings

 In 2016, a higher proportion of disadvantaged pupils achieved a good grade in English and mathematics than other pupils nationally. There have also been improvements in the progress made by disadvantaged pupils in English over the past academic year, although leaders recognise there is still work to be done. Effective action is already under way to improve the progress made by the most able disadvantaged pupils in English. Leaders have reviewed their approach to teaching, learning and assessment and, as a result, standards are set to improve further this academic year. They now ensure that all pupils study appropriate and challenging texts to ensure that they are fully prepared for the rigour of the new examinations.  In mathematics in 2016, most groups of disadvantaged pupils made stronger progress than other pupils nationally. However, the most able disadvantaged made progress that is broadly in line with the national average. Strong leadership

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Inspection findings

in this department has already improved teaching so that these pupils are now on track to excel.  Leaders have changed the curriculum. The new headteacher continues to raise expectations for disadvantaged pupils across the school. In 2015, disadvantaged pupils did not achieve well in the English Baccalaureate measure because they did not all study a GCSE in science. Swift action now means all disadvantaged pupils are following an appropriate course in science to prepare them more fully for life in modern Britain.  Leaders include a significant proportion of disadvantaged pupils on the ‘Advanced Learner Programme’. This raises pupils’ aspirations and gives them access to high-quality experiences which enrich their lives.  The quality of teaching is good in all key stages. There are still, however, further opportunities for teachers to help all pupils to make more rapid progress by thinking carefully about how they plan their lessons. For these reasons, you are

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Inspection findings

constantly checking the quality of teaching and responding to your findings with appropriate training opportunities. Leaders across the school are becoming highly skilled in measuring the impact of teaching on pupils’ progress. Consequently, pupils are now beginning to make even more progress.  Leaders work well with local primary schools to ensure that the curriculum meets the needs of the pupils. In mathematics, leaders ensure that sufficient thought is given to which teachers are put into Year 7 to give pupils the best start to their secondary education. The department adopts an enquiry-based learning approach to teaching. This enables pupils to think deeply and solve problems from a young age. Teaching in mathematics promotes excellent outcomes.  Pupils make very strong progress in humanities and modern languages. Leaders now ensure that all pupils study an appropriate science qualification. The school’s

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Inspection findings

own data shows that the impact of this change will result in better outcomes for disadvantaged pupils this summer.  Careers information, advice and guidance is a significant strength. There are strong links with business, industry and higher-education establishments which increase the aspirations of pupils. In the sixth form, there is a wide range of work experience which enrich students’ study programmes. A link with the local NHS trust, for example, gives students opportunities to experience work in a hospital.  Pupils are given a wide variety of opportunities to earn leadership points on the school’s ‘leadership ladder’. This enables pupils to be active citizens in their school community and develops leadership skills which are useful for their future lives. Pupils, for example, regularly have to talk to staff in briefings about their experiences on visits or trips.  A high proportion of pupils stay on into the school’s sixth form. The number of

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Inspection findings

pupils who complete their courses at the end of Year 13 is also very high. Students’ attainment is excellent and the progress they make is also very strong. Just over a third of students leave the school with the top grades in their subjects. Approximately three quarters of students continue to higher education; this is almost double the national average.  As outcomes continue to improve for disadvantaged pupils at key stage 4, there has been an increase in the number of these pupils who stay into the sixth form. As a result, disadvantaged pupils have higher aspirations. This year nearly 70% of the school’s disadvantaged pupils progressed into the sixth form. Leaders continue to evaluate their curriculum to ensure that they can best meet the needs of a wider range of students. New programmes of study are planned for next academic year.

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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

 the progress made by disadvantaged pupils, including the most able disadvantaged pupils, continues to improve, especially in English  teachers’ planning for the different ability groups enables pupils to make more rapid progress.

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Next steps for the school

I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Cheshire East. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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Information about the inspection

We worked with you closely on this inspection to look at:

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Information about the inspection

 how effectively leaders, including governors, create a culture of safeguarding and if there is improvement in the attendance of disadvantaged pupils  the progress made by disadvantaged pupils, across the curriculum, in relation to other pupils nationally  whether teaching is sufficiently challenging to meet the needs of the pupils at Tytherington School  the impact of leaders’ work on improving progress in other subjects so that it matches that in mathematics  how effective the schools’ curriculum is in supporting the highest outcomes for all pupils and the effectiveness of careers information, advice and guidance  the impact of careers education, information, advice and guidance in support of a smooth transition from Year 11 into the sixth form and from Year 13.

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Information about the inspection

 We visited lessons with senior leaders across a range of subjects in key stages 3, 4 and 5.  An in-depth look at pupils’ work was undertaken with a senior leader. We also looked at pupils’ work during lessons and students’ work in the sixth form.  We met formally with a group of pupils and spoke to many more pupils and students informally throughout the inspection.  Meetings were held with you, senior staff, members of the governing body, parents, middle leaders and representatives from the sixth form. Telephone calls were made to the school improvement partner and the chair of governors.  We scrutinised a range of documentation, including: safeguarding and child protection; the school’s own self-evaluation; external reviews of the school’s effectiveness; governors’ minutes; school improvement plans and department improvement plans; records relating to attendance and behaviour; information about teaching, learning and assessment and information from the school’s

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Information about the inspection

website.  We also took into account 107 responses from Ofsted’s free-text service, 115 responses to Parent View, and one response to the pupil questionnaire.

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