Rodborough

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

p.1

Mr M Armstrong-Harris Headteacher Rodborough Technology College Rake Lane Milford Godalming Surrey GU8 5BZ

p.1

Short inspection of Rodborough School

Following my visit to the school on 10 January 2017 with Ofsted Inspector Christopher Doherty, 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 June 2013.

p.1

Short inspection of Rodborough School

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. You provide highly effective leadership and are passionate about improving the school. Your evaluation of the school’s strengths and areas to develop is accurate. This means that school leaders are working on the right priorities to improve the school. The governing body is effective and provides you with the correct balance of support and challenge. Governors carry out their statutory duties well and are very clear that their role is strategic in nature.

p.1

Short inspection of Rodborough School

Leaders know the school’s pupils and families well. Collectively, staff provide effective support for all learners. It is clear that school leaders, governors and staff at every level have established a culture in which everyone in the community is valued and treated with respect.

p.1

Short inspection of Rodborough School

During our visits to classrooms, we observed very positive attitudes towards learning. Pupils were clearly enjoying the levels of challenge on offer and showed respect towards their teachers.

p.1

Short inspection of Rodborough School

The school community is a harmonious environment where pupils feel safe and are happy. The school promotes a core vision that encourages pupils to excel, develop new skills and have positive attitudes. The commitment of staff to raising pupils’ self-awareness and enhancing their personal development and welfare was clear to see throughout my visit. At the time of the last inspection, inspectors highlighted the school’s many strengths. These included extremely effective leadership and pupils’ ‘fantastic’ attitudes towards learning. They also identified the need for continued improvement in the quality of teaching to further raise the achievement of pupils. Leaders have dealt with these matters successfully. The quality of teaching, learning and assessment has improved. Most pupils are making very good progress from their different starting points in a range of subjects.

p.1

Short inspection of Rodborough School

Since the last inspection, school leaders have continued the process of self- evaluation to identify the key priorities of the school. You explained to me very clearly the school’s main strengths, as well as the areas that need to be developed. These include accelerating the progress disadvantaged pupils make, and ensuring that outcomes for boys improve to better match those of girls, especially in English and science. We also agreed that the school’s policies on rewards and sanctions could be improved, so that pupils from vulnerable groups benefit more fully from the school’s very good provision.

p.2

Short inspection of Rodborough School

Leaders and governors are proactive and have ensured that the school’s arrangements for safeguarding and keeping pupils safe are robust. This includes checks on the suitability of staff. Leaders ensure that statutory policies are fit for purpose and that all staff adhere consistently to school procedures for keeping pupils safe. Training, including for governors, is up to date. Because of this, staff are well equipped to deal with any emerging issues that may require their attention.

p.2

Short inspection of Rodborough School

Work with the local authority and other external agencies ensures that timely and appropriate interventions are made when required. Personalised support for individual pupils is a strength. Pupils know who to go to if they have problems, and are clear about what they have been taught about their own personal safety. Pupils told inspectors that they feel safe in school and that staff care for them.

p.2

Inspection findings

 The school’s leaders have rightly prioritised the achievement of boys as an area for improvement. Recently, there has been too much of a difference between the outcomes for boys compared with girls. Staff have developed their teaching and improved the curriculum content to better meet the needs of boys. This is already improving the levels of engagement seen in classrooms, as well as having a positive impact on the progress of boys.  The school’s tracking systems provide a good range of information about how well pupils are progressing. School leaders know from their careful analysis of the school’s data that not all disadvantaged pupils make the progress they are capable of. Regular meetings enable leaders and teaching staff to identify those pupils at risk of underachieving. Interventions are increasingly effective. The recent introduction of a ‘teacher advocate’ for pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds is also having a good impact on the quality of provision these pupils

p.2

Inspection findings

receive.  Because staff are now increasingly aware of individual pupils’ needs, they are better able to offer personalised support. Recently, a very small number of most- able pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds were found to have underachieved. School leaders are in the process of ensuring that staff offer better stretch and challenge to these pupils for them to achieve their full potential.  School leaders are taking effective action to address the historic issue of poor attendance for vulnerable groups. In the past, too many pupils from these groups have been excluded and had poor attendance. The school is working closely with external agencies to reduce exclusions and improve attendance. The introduction of breakfast clubs is an example of the school leaders’ response to help improve the outcomes of underperforming pupils from vulnerable groups.

p.2

Next steps for the school

Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that:

p.3

Next steps for the school

 the school’s sanctions and rewards systems support all pupils to participate fully in day-to-day school life  boys make better progress in all areas of the curriculum, so that their outcomes more closely match those of girls  expectations and aspirations for disadvantaged pupils are raised, so that they make more accelerated progress and their outcomes improve to match those of other pupils nationally.

p.3

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 Surrey. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

p.3

Information about the inspection

Inspectors met with school leaders, other staff, governors and pupils. They visited classrooms with senior leaders, talking to pupils and assessing their work. They also observed pupils’ behaviour in and out of the classroom. Inspectors scrutinised a wide range of school documentation, including leaders’ self-evaluation of the school’s performance, development planning, the school’s federation learning review, policies and procedures and attendance and behaviour tracking information. Inspectors also considered the views of the 205 parents, 44 staff and 24 pupils who responded to Ofsted’s online surveys.

p.3