Heysham High School Sports College

Heysham High School Sports College Limes Avenue, Morecambe, Lancashire LA3 1HS

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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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16 to 19 study programmes Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Achievement is inadequate. Pupils do not make rapid enough progress from their starting points in a range of subjects, including English and mathematics.  Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, those who are disadvantaged and the most able do not make rapid enough progress. Gaps between the achievement of disadvantaged pupils in school and others nationally are not closing rapidly enough.  Teaching is inadequate because over time it is not ensuring that pupils make rapid enough progress. Teachers do not have high enough expectations of what pupils can achieve. They do not set them sufficiently challenging work.  Teachers do not consistently follow the school’s marking and feedback policy.  Pupils’ literacy and communication skills are not developed well enough in different subjects and in all years. Consequently, they do not do as well as they should in GCSE examinations.  Behaviour is inadequate. Attendance is too low

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

and the proportion of pupils who are persistently absent is high. The proportion of pupils who are excluded for poor behaviour is high.  A significant proportion of pupils who responded to the questionnaire said that behaviour was a concern around school and in lessons, and that bullying was not always dealt with effectively by teachers.  Leaders and governors have too positive a view of how rapidly the school is improving. Actions to improve teaching have not had sufficient impact. There have not been enough improvements in teaching and achievement or behaviour since the last inspection.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The sixth form is improving. Students make at least average progress in a range of subjects.  The headteacher has the confidence of the staff. They are keen to develop their practice and are positive about the school.  The school takes care of pupils, and systems for safeguarding are effective. Pupils report that they are well looked after and feel safe on site, and that they are taught how to keep themselves safe.

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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?

 Improve the quality of teaching so that achievement for pupils across the school accelerates rapidly by: – raising teachers’ expectations of what pupils can achieve – ensuring that teachers assess pupils’ work accurately to identify what they can do well and the gaps in their knowledge and understanding – ensuring that teachers use assessment information to set work which matches pupils’ needs – promoting good spelling, grammar and punctuation across the curriculum in order to develop pupils’ literacy skills – asking pupils challenging questions so that they deepen their thinking, explain their answers in depth and check their understanding – ensuring that teachers consistently follow the school’s marking policy so that their feedback is effective in helping pupils to improve their work.  Improve pupils’ behaviour and attendance, and reduce the number of exclusions, by ensuring that: – teachers set activities which will engage and motivate pupils in their learning

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

– all teachers have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour and consistently follow the school’s behaviour management systems – leaders with responsibility for behaviour undertake rigorous monitoring and evaluation to check the impact of strategies to improve pupils’ behaviour and attendance.  Improve the impact of leaders at all levels in driving improvements by: – ensuring that all leaders are quick to tackle any examples of underperformance in their area of responsibility – undertaking rigorous and realistic monitoring of all improvement activities to evaluate their impact – analysing the barriers to pupils’ progress – being precise and robust in the analysis of weaknesses in teaching so that appropriate actions can be put in place to address them – ensuring that there is a clear plan to improve pupils’ literacy skills across the curriculum – listening to pupil voice when evaluating the quality of the school’s provision.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

A review of the use of pupil premium funding should be undertaken to assess how the school may improve this aspect of its work.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

The school may not appoint newly qualified teachers.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

 Although senior leaders undertake a range of monitoring activities to check how well the school is doing, including lesson observation, work scrutiny and visits to lessons to look at learning, they do not analyse their findings rigorously enough. As a result, their judgements about how rapidly the school is improving, particularly the quality of teaching, are overgenerous. They do not have an accurate enough view of what is going well or a precise enough view of what is needed to bring about further improvements.  Leaders do not have an accurate view of how well pupils are progressing. Information about how well pupils and different groups of pupils are achieving in different year groups and subjects is not readily available. Teachers do not consistently assess pupils’ work accurately and tend to have an over-optimistic view of how well they are learning. As a result, leaders and teachers are not in a position to provide swift enough

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

support for pupils when they start to fall behind.  Middle leaders do not have an accurate enough view of teaching in their areas. Their judgements are too positive because they do not make the links between the quality of teaching and its impact on pupils’ progress. Neither middle nor senior leaders know precisely which aspects of teaching need to be developed in order to raise pupils’ achievement. They identify barriers to learning as being pupils’ low aspirations, low literacy skills and lack of independence, but they do not pay enough attention to how teaching could be improved to make these things better.  Leaders set targets for teachers to improve their performance. However, these are not specifically linked to areas for development which have been identified in the school improvement plan, such as teachers’ feedback to pupils. Leadership targets are not specific and they have success criteria which are not precise enough, so it is difficult for

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

leaders to check whether they are having an impact. Although there is a range of training opportunities available to teachers, these are not linked closely enough to the school’s areas for improvement or teachers’ targets.  Leaders have not used additional sources of funding such as the pupil premium grant or catch-up funding (money which is provided to the school to support pupils who start school in Year 7 with attainment which is below average) well enough. Pupil premium funding is not always spent in ways that will accelerate the achievement of disadvantaged pupils and close the gaps with others. For example, money has been spent on a reading programme which is used by all pupils in Years 7 and 8 whether they are disadvantaged or not. Some of the catch-up funding has also been spent on technology packages for literacy and numeracy but these are not geared precisely enough towards the skills that individual pupils need to develop. Therefore, the

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

achievement of disadvantaged pupils and those who need to catch up is not accelerating rapidly enough.  Leaders and teachers identify literacy as a significant barrier to pupils’ achievement. However, it is not well developed across the curriculum. Pupils are not given sufficient opportunities to write at length in a range of subjects. Errors in pupils’ spelling, punctuation and grammar are not corrected consistently, including vocabulary that is crucial within particular subjects. There is a literacy policy in school but there is no action plan to improve literacy. As a result, the school is not taking urgent enough action to tackle weaknesses in pupils’ literacy.  Since his appointment in 2013, the headteacher has gained the confidence of the staff. They welcome opportunities for professional development and are keen to improve their practice. External support from the local authority has been welcomed by staff, as

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

has the work of a national leader in education who has provided guidance on a range of areas, including assessment, middle leadership and teaching. However, impact of this support has not been rapid enough.  The curriculum is broad and tailored to meet the needs of the least able. There is less evidence of challenge for the most able pupils. The curriculum is supported by enrichment activities and a focus on British values which encourage ‘scholarship’ and pride in contributions to the local community, as well as a strong focus on sports and performing arts. Pupils speak very positively about the range of extra-curricular opportunities available to them. These make a positive contribution to their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.  Since the previous inspection, the school has gained the ‘Inspiring information, advice and guidance’ award for its work on careers guidance. Pupils benefit from a well-

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Inadequate

qualified careers adviser who has developed good links with the local college and is successful in negotiating work experience placements. Pupils have access to careers events with support from a wide range of employers, the armed services and colleges. Year 11 pupils all have individualised careers interviews and support.

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Governance of the school

 Since the previous inspection, the governors have used external support to undertake an audit of their strengths and areas for improvement. As a result of this, they have restructured, making the governing body smaller but with a broader range of experience, and have been awarded a quality mark for their work. They are provided with regular information from the headteacher about how well the school is doing and they also interview middle leaders about performance in their areas of responsibility. They make checks on the quality of performance management targets and know about the training which is offered to staff to improve their performance. However, because leaders’ self-evaluation is overgenerous, the information they receive is not always accurate. They have not checked sufficiently well on whether pupil premium and catch- up funding are being spent in a way which will close gaps. They check that British

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Governance of the school

values are being promoted through assemblies and the curriculum, and can give other examples such as mock elections and the use of the memorial garden for reflection and remembrance. However, they are unclear about the extent to which the school is promoting equalities. They acknowledge that they take it for granted that a strong pastoral team is promoting equality and that the needs of groups against whom it is illegal to discriminate are well promoted, but they do not take steps to check on it.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.  Leaders are rigorous in following safe recruitment policies, and all appropriate checks are made on staff.  The child protection policies meet requirements and are very comprehensive. They include raising awareness of the range of possible abuse including peer-to-peer abuse, and there is an appropriate emphasis on safe use of technology and the risks of sexting. Staff receive regular training on a wide range of issues, including child sexual exploitation, domestic violence and the risks of radicalisation.  Work is undertaken with parents and with a wide range of agencies where pupils are deemed to be at risk.  Governors have all received safeguarding training, including on the ‘Prevent’ duty, and they, like the staff, have all read ‘Keeping children safe in education’.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

 Teaching over time does not lead to pupils making good enough progress. Many teachers do not assess pupils’ work accurately and have an inaccurate view of what they know and can do. Teachers do not take into account pupils’ starting points or use accurate information about how well pupils are achieving to set work which meets the needs of the range of abilities. Work is often therefore too easy for the most able and too hard for the least able.  Teachers do not take enough opportunities in lessons to check how well pupils are learning. Too many take answers only from pupils who put their hands up and do not check that other pupils in the class understand. Teachers’ questioning is not probing enough to check on the depth of pupils’ understanding or encourage them to explain and develop their ideas in more detail. They are often satisfied with closed or superficial responses.  Teachers say that pupils are not independent enough and are too reliant on them.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

However, they often set work which encourages this dependence. In some English and science lessons, for example, pupils spend time copying. This does not enable them to develop their independence or their literacy skills.  Literacy skills remain a weakness across the school because teachers do not pay sufficient attention to correcting spelling, grammar and punctuation. Nor do they ensure that pupils can write their ideas in full sentences using a broad range of sophisticated vocabulary. This limits the ability of the most able in particular to reach the highest grades at GCSE.  Teachers do not consistently follow the school’s marking and feedback policy.  Teaching assistants are not consistently given precise enough information by teachers about what they need to do to support pupils who have special educational needs and/ or disabilities effectively. In some cases, for example, the teaching assistants do the

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate

work for pupils rather than encouraging them to be more independent in their learning.  Teachers all have good relationships with pupils and in some cases this leads to pupils being motivated and engaged in their learning. Some teachers provide useful examples to pupils, which show them what a good piece of work looks like. Where progress is at its most rapid, teachers challenge pupils with questions which make them think and then push them to explain their ideas in detail. However, these strengths are not well embedded across the school.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare requires improvement.  Pupils feel safe because they say that teachers have a high profile around the school at breaks and lunchtimes. They are taught how to keep themselves safe through the curriculum, which covers a range of topics such as health and the safe use of technology.  Pupils around school are typically polite, cooperative and helpful to visitors. They are courteous and most hold doors open for each other and for adults. The majority are positive about the school and value the wide range of extra-curricular activities which are available.  Pupils say that the school is harmonious and that people of different faiths, cultures and backgrounds are all welcomed and respected. They are all confident that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender pupils and adults are valued and safe in school, and that any examples of homophobic language and behaviour are not tolerated.

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Personal development and welfare

 In the majority of cases, work in pupils’ books is well presented and indicates that they take pride in their work.  The school checks that pupils who are educated off site are kept safe and receive appropriate provision.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is inadequate.  A significant proportion of pupils who completed the pupil questionnaire reported that over time lessons are frequently disrupted by poor behaviour and that behaviour outside lessons is sometimes poor as well. A similarly large proportion said that bullying is a concern and teachers do not act quickly enough to resolve it.  Attendance has been low over time and though a range of strategies are in place to address this, such as the appointment of new welfare officers, improvement is not rapid enough and the proportion of pupils who are persistently absent remains well above average.  Exclusions are well above average. Leaders say that this is because there has been a ‘no tolerance’ policy since September 2015, but as exclusion figures are not showing signs of rapid improvement, the policy is not yet having sufficient impact on pupils’ behaviour. Exclusions are particularly high for pupils who have special educational

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Behaviour

needs and/or disabilities, suggesting that aspects of provision are not meeting their needs well enough.

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Outcomes for pupils Inadequate

 Pupils do not make sufficient progress from their starting points. Throughout the school, progress across year groups and subjects is too uneven. In 2015, outcomes were below the floor standard. Unvalidated outcomes for 2016 show some improvement and are above the floor standard, but the proportions of pupils who made expected progress were very low in a number of subjects, including mathematics, history, geography, French, science, performing arts and textiles.  School data for the current Year 11 indicates that outcomes should be better than in 2016. However, work in pupils’ books did not show good enough progress to confirm that this is likely to be the case. In 2015 and 2016, teachers were overly optimistic in their assessments of what pupils were likely to achieve in the examinations. Though work has been done to improve the accuracy of assessment, some assessments of pupils’ work are still inaccurate, and therefore data entered into the school’s tracking

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Outcomes for pupils Inadequate

systems cannot be relied upon. Examples of pupils’ work from key stage 3 also showed that they are not yet making sufficient progress in a number of subjects.  The most able pupils, including disadvantaged most able pupils, do not make sufficient progress in English and mathematics. In English, this is partly because expectations are not high enough and teachers often praise mediocre responses. Literacy is a barrier to all pupils and it prevents the most able from attaining the highest grades. Pupils often repeat low-level tasks, such as listing verbs, rather than being presented with frequent opportunities to write at length. In mathematics, though work scrutiny indicated that pupils often make progress in individual lessons, the curriculum is not structured well enough over time to provide them with opportunities to build on earlier experiences and to apply their skills to solving problems which have a number of steps. The most

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Outcomes for pupils Inadequate

able are not given sufficient challenge to enable them to tackle higher-level questions.  The achievement of disadvantaged pupils and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is too low because teachers are not taking sufficient steps to identify the barriers to their learning and to put in support which is precise enough to address their needs. Pupil premium funding and catch-up funding are not well targeted and therefore the gaps between the achievement of pupils for whom these funds were intended and others are not closing rapidly enough.  Leaders have raised the profile of reading across the school, including the purchase of a reading programme for Years 7 and 8 and allocation of regular reading time. However, teachers do not take regular opportunities to ensure that pupils read in lessons. Regular checks are made on pupils’ reading ages, but leaders do not evaluate these rigorously

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Outcomes for pupils Inadequate

enough to check whether pupils are making rapid enough progress. As a result, extra reading support for some pupils is not having enough impact on their progress.

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16 to 19 study programmes Requires improvement

 Leaders have high aspirations and are committed to securing an inclusive sixth-form provision which will meet the needs of the students and the local community. As a result, provision and outcomes are improving. The progress of students is closely monitored and swift action is taken to identify and support those who are falling behind. The interim minimum standards have been met for the last two years, and progress in both academic and vocational courses has been close to the national average. Retention rates on courses and between Years 12 to 13 have also been close to average, and all students who have left the sixth form in the last three years have gone into education, employment or training. However, outcomes for students who are retaking English GCSE are better than for those who are retaking mathematics.  All students who are on vocational courses have the equivalent of one day a week in work placement, which prepares them well for their next stage in employment or

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16 to 19 study programmes Requires improvement

education. They also have access to a range of enrichment activities including sports, dance and the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. Within the curriculum, they have had opportunities to cover key topics such as sexual health, radicalisation, hooliganism, child sexual exploitation and domestic violence.  The quality of teaching in the sixth form requires improvement because, as with the main school, teachers do not ask sufficiently probing questions to challenge the most able students. In some cases, students lack the skills and confidence to talk independently about the topics they are studying and to make links with prior learning.  Behaviour for the sixth form is good both in lessons and around school. Students are very positive about their experiences and opportunities available. Punctuality has improved and most students arrive at school and lessons on time. However, attendance, though improving, is still too low.

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School details

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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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 governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 1–2 April 2014

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Information about this school

 The school does not meet requirements on the publication of information about the most recent examination results on its website.  It is an average-sized secondary school with a sixth form.  The vast majority of pupils are from White British backgrounds.  The proportion of pupils supported by the pupil premium is well above average.  The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is below average, but the proportion that are supported by a statement or education, health and care plan is slightly above average.  A very small number of pupils attend alternative provision at the Chadwick Centre, a pupil referral unit.  The school works in partnership with three other local schools, Carnforth High School, Central Lancaster High School and Our Lady’s Catholic College, to provide a broader range of courses for students in the sixth form.  It is receiving support from a national leader in education from Great Sankey High

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Information about this school

School.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum national expectations for attainment and progress.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed teaching and learning in a range of lessons. One of these lessons was observed jointly with a senior leader.  Samples of pupils’ work in books were scrutinised in lessons. In addition, jointly with the deputy headteacher, inspectors reviewed work from pupils in Years 8, 9 and 11.  A range of documentation was scrutinised, including minutes of meetings, information provided to governors, action plans, examples of anonymised performance management targets and records of leaders’ monitoring activities.  Inspectors spoke formally with senior and middle leaders, as well as with the chair of the governing body and six other governors, a representative from the local authority and the national leader in education supporting the school. They also held formal meetings with a number of groups of pupils as well as talking to them informally at breaks and lunchtimes.  Inspectors took into account responses to the Ofsted staff questionnaire, the 11 text

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Information about this inspection

responses from parents and the 11 responses to the online parent questionnaire (Parent View). They also took account of 402 responses to the pupil questionnaire.

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Inspection team

Christine Birchall, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Elaine Parkinson 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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