Haverstock School

Haverstock School 24 Haverstock Hill, Chalk Farm, London NW3 2BQ

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Inspection dates 24 and 26–27 January 2017

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

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16 to 19 study programmes Requires improvement

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Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Good

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a school that requires improvement

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Leaders’ work has not maintained the good quality of teaching and learning, and pupils’ good outcomes since the previous inspection.  Outcomes at GCSE were average last year overall. White British disadvantaged pupils and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities performed particularly poorly though.  The outcomes for pupils in GCSE English were weak, as were other subjects including history. In contrast, science results were an area of relative strength.  Governors have not challenged leaders’ work sharply enough. Governors’ scrutiny has not been well informed by precise evaluations of all aspects of the school’s work.  Pupils’ attendance has fallen to below the national average over the past three years. Leaders’ work has not improved the overall attendance of pupils quickly enough, particularly for those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities.  There is variability in how teachers respond to

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

poor behaviour and pupils too often demonstrate behaviour that falls short of the standard expected. The number of recorded behaviour incidents and exclusions remains high.  Teachers’ expectations for pupils’ progress are too low. This means that the most able pupils are not always challenged to excel.  Teachers’ use of the school’s assessment and feedback procedures is variable. As a result, pupils are not always made aware of their mistakes or how to remedy them.  Teachers’ planning is not always effective enough to help pupils make quicker progress because their needs are not fully understood.  The sixth form has not improved enough since the previous inspection. Progress on A-level courses overall remains lower than should be expected. Furthermore, some students pursue study programmes that are not wholly suitable, given their prior attainment.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Leaders are accurate in their evaluation of the school’s work and ambitious to raise standards quickly. They have ensured that safeguarding arrangements are effective.  The school’s enrichment programme is broad and diverse, contributing well to pupils’ personal development and preparing them for life in modern Britain.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the consistency of good or better teaching and learning across subjects by teachers: – more precisely meeting pupils’ needs in their planning, particularly those of White British disadvantaged pupils and pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities – using assessment and feedback consistently in line with leaders’ expectations to improve pupils’ understanding of their progress – raising their expectations of what pupils can achieve, particularly of most-able pupils.  Improve outcomes in academic 16 to 19 study programmes by: – improving the match between students’ prior attainment and their study programme choices – ensuring that teachers challenge students consistently well to achieve their best.  Raise standards of behaviour and improve attendance by: – improving the way teachers apply the school’s behaviour policy and procedures so that pupils better understand what is expected of them inside and outside of

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

lessons – ensuring that strategies to improve attendance are more effective, particularly for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

 The headteacher’s evaluation of the school’s work is accurate in identifying why standards have slipped and is pragmatic about the work that needs to be done. New appointments to the school’s leadership are now beginning to improve the school’s performance, but it is too soon to see the impact of some of their work. Consequently, the standard of teaching and learning, and pupils’ outcomes, require improvement.  Variations in the quality of teaching and learning and in pupils’ outcomes demonstrate that the actions taken by the school to improve teaching, including training, have not yet had the desired impact on pupils’ outcomes. Teachers are keen to receive training that helps them develop and they have targets that are clearly linked to the school’s plans for development. This commitment is improving the focus of leaders’ strategies to raise standards.  Leaders have not been effective in evaluating the impact of some school improvement

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

strategies. In particular, strategies funded by the pupil premium have not been precisely evaluated to identify their impact on disadvantaged pupils’ performance. Leaders have piloted new strategies to improve pupils’ outcomes and reduce the reliance on interventions in Year 11 to make up any lost ground. For example, the high ability pupil initiative (HAPI) is aimed at identifying the most able pupils in Years 7 and 8, providing pupils with additional support to excel. This strategy has raised pupils’ aspirations and skills. However, not all strategies are planned and evaluated in the same way.  The curriculum for key stage 4 has been designed to allow pupils greater freedom to choose their GCSE courses. This has meant that fewer than average pursue and then achieve qualifications leading to the English Baccalaureate award. The school’s information indicates that this does not prevent pupils from going to destinations that

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

they aspire to.  The support provided to pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is not evaluated precisely to ensure that those pupils’ performance improves quickly from their starting points. The care and support provided to individuals is carefully thought through and tailored to their needs but there is a lack of precision in the way leaders measure whether strategies are working overall.  Middle leaders are increasingly able to demonstrate how their work is improving the consistency of progress in their areas of responsibility. In science, humanities, and design and technology, for example, leaders’ strategies to improve pupils’ outcomes are beginning to have demonstrable impact: pupils’ progress is becoming more rapid, especially that of particular groups identified as underachieving, such as White British disadvantaged pupils.  The curriculum is enriched by a wide range of diverse opportunities that promote

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and prepare them for life in modern Britain. Community work is a cornerstone of this activity.  Leaders have received effective support from the local authority. This support has helped to identify precisely the areas of the school that require improvement and to measure the outcomes of that work. Consequently, leaders’ evaluation of strategies aimed at improving pupils’ outcomes is more accurate than in the past.

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Governance of the school

 Governors hold the headteacher and senior leaders to account for their work through routine reports. They challenge the information presented by leaders and are ambitious for pupils’ futures. However, governors have not precisely monitored how new and developing strategies are improving pupils’ performance so that quick gains are made in key areas including attendance, behaviour and outcomes.  Governors have welcomed training to improve their skills and have recruited new governors in order to perform more specialist roles, such as oversight of safeguarding. Governors have plans in place to further improve their scrutiny of leaders’ work, including visiting the school more regularly to focus on specific areas of development. The chair of governors is demanding, expecting more of the school and for its pupils.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Staff are appropriately trained so that they are able to identify potential risks and spot signs of harm. Staff have received training on the ‘Prevent’ duty, and are familiar with the latest statutory guidance. Pupils are well versed in how to keep themselves safe, including through sessions that have developed their skills at keeping safe online. Leaders are sensitive to the local area’s situation and carry out regular reviews, including intelligence from the police and local authority, so that pupils are kept safe. When necessary, appropriate referrals are made to external agencies. The school works well with external care providers and social workers to support pupils who require that additional support. Staff and the majority of pupils and parents agree that this is a safe school where pupils are happy. Inspectors agree with this view.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

 Teaching and learning require improvement because there is inconsistency across subjects in what pupils are expected to achieve. Teachers’ planning does not consistently pay enough attention to pupils’ needs and this results in progress being too slow, particularly that made by White British disadvantaged pupils and pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities.  The variability in expectations is reflected in some teachers’ use of feedback on pupils’ work. Leaders’ expectations are clear but too often the presentation of work in books and the feedback on that work falls short of these expectations. In the best examples, feedback is used to correct misconceptions and challenge pupils to make new links in their learning, but this is not consistently the case. Similarly, homework is used well when it consolidates or prepares for learning but this, too, is inconsistent across subjects.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

 The assessment system has recently been redesigned to take account of national changes at key stage 3. This is helping staff to monitor pupils’ progress in their subjects increasingly effectively. It is too soon to tell if these developments are helping to secure better outcomes across year groups and for all groups of pupils.  Assessment at key stage 4 and in the sixth form is more consistent. However, differences in teachers’ expectations about how pupils use the feedback that they receive mean that sometimes misconceptions go unnoticed, limiting the learning.  The most able pupils, including those who are disadvantaged, do not make sufficiently rapid progress. This is because teachers do not consistently anticipate or plan more challenging tasks that will push these pupils on at a faster pace. Where teachers’ questioning is too accepting of low-level responses, then this further slows pupils’

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

progress.  In science and work-related subjects, pupils make stronger progress because of the better match between teachers’ expectations and pupils’ prior learning. As a result, pupils’ learning is spurred on and supported by the good rapport they have with the teacher and their innate desire to learn. In such cases, the most able pupils make good progress because they recognise that teachers will expect them to ‘hit the high notes’ and work hard to achieve them.  Learning support assistants are increasingly well deployed because teachers are clearer about their role in the classroom. They are most effective when the teacher and support assistant have an accurate view of pupils’ needs and anticipate the potential barriers to their learning so as to overcome them quickly.  Teachers’ subject knowledge is secure and underpins the underlying strengths that exist in teaching and learning across the school. Teachers use this subject knowledge

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare requires improvement. Instances of weaker behaviour undermine some pupils’ feeling of safety and the good work that leaders do to support pupils’ welfare.  The range and variety of opportunities that the school provides for pupils is vast but leaders do not routinely evaluate whether or not these are effective in improving pupils’ preparation for life beyond school.  Pupils interact well with one another and regularly demonstrate the values of respect and tolerance. Those who arrive during the year are made to feel welcome quickly. Pastoral leaders have a good understanding of pupils’ additional needs in order to support their learning.  Leaders know their pupils well and work with outside agencies to help reduce barriers to learning and improve their well-being. For example, there is a particularly strong focus on improving the mental health and well-being of pupils who have special

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Personal development and welfare

educational needs and/or disabilities.  Few pupils attend alternative provision but those who do are well monitored by staff to ensure that they attend and make progress in their courses.  Pupils receive careers advice and guidance that they find helpful in supporting their decision-making. A well-planned programme underpins this work and means that pupils’ decisions are based on good information.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils requires improvement. Pupils’ behaviour too often slips below leaders’ expectations and results in a high number of exclusions. Recently introduced systems, including the headteachers’ Saturday detention, with greater clarity of leaders’ expectations, are slowly improving behaviour. The behaviour support assistants work with teachers so that teachers can concentrate on the learning.  Low-level disruption is not widespread but leaders are aware of the link between a lack of precise challenge in lessons and the likelihood of pupils being off-task. Teachers receive training to help manage behaviour but this is yet to result in consistently disruption-free lessons.  Pupils reported to inspectors that the school is generally calm and welcoming but there are occasions where pupils fall out. Inspectors’ observations during the inspection support pupils’ view, while the school’s records of behaviour incidents note that, despite

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Behaviour

high expectations, some pupils still exhibit poor behaviour towards one another and staff.  Pupils’ attendance has slowly declined over the past three years. There remain differences between groups of pupils and year groups which are not being rapidly reduced by the systems that leaders have in place.  Pupils are generally punctual to lessons but too many are late to school in the morning. The systems in place work effectively to follow this up but some pupils have not developed a high enough regard for their learning to want to be at school on time.

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

 Pupils’ outcomes require improvement because there is variability in how much progress pupils make across subjects and year groups. The 2016 GCSE results showed that pupils had made slightly less progress than expected of them overall. This was primarily the result of underperformance in English and subjects that fall into the ‘open’ element of the government’s Progress 8 performance measure.  The proportion of pupils achieving good GCSE grades was much lower than found nationally in English and lower than that found nationally in mathematics. Results in some other subjects including history were also weak. In contrast, GCSE outcomes in science and languages were significantly better than national averages.  This variability is reflected in the achievement of current pupils, as shown by the school’s assessment information. The continuing differences between year groups, subjects and pupil groups are due to the variations that exist in teaching and learning.

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

 The majority of pupils come from disadvantaged backgrounds. In 2016, the progress of pupils in this group was average overall and their attainment showed year-on-year improvement. However, the progress of the most able disadvantaged pupils was lower, particularly when compared to other most-able pupils in the school. The progress of White British disadvantaged pupils was particularly slow and is now an area of focused work by school leaders.  Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities made very slow progress last year. Leaders have identified this as a key area for improvement and inspectors agree with their evaluation that identifies the need for more robust strategies to raise the attendance and outcomes of pupils in this group.  Pupils who need to catch up with their literacy are well supported by a strategy that typically helps them to make the expected gains by the end of Year 8. However,

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

support for literacy development across subjects is variable. Middle leaders’ work to improve the use of subject terminology is now beginning to have the desired effect. Pupils’ reading is sound and the library is a busy place at break and lunchtimes.  Pupils who attend alternative provision typically make secure progress during their time there. Pastoral leaders monitor their progress and support those pupils’ re-integration into school when appropriate.

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16 to 19 study programmes Requires improvement

 Students who study academic courses have typically made less than expected progress in the last three years. Recent work to improve the sixth form’s performance has resulted in some improvement in students’ progress overall, but the pace of improvement is not yet as rapid as leaders would like it to be.  Leaders’ work to revise the entry criteria to the sixth form and improve the advice given to students has not yet led to all students selecting study programmes that are the right match for their prior attainment. However, more students do now stay on to complete their study programmes.  Most students study academic study programmes but an increasing number opt for work-related courses as well. Students studying level 2 courses, including GCSE mathematics and English re-sits, are increasingly successful at gaining those qualifications before pursuing further study or work-related opportunities.  Students reported to inspectors that they like the sixth form and chose to come here

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16 to 19 study programmes Requires improvement

because they value the support that teachers give them. They also reported to inspectors that sometimes teachers do not provide enough challenge or close support to help them excel from their starting points. Evidence from the inspection supports these views.  Teachers in the sixth form are able to draw on their secure subject knowledge to plan activities that support students’ progress against exam board criteria. Questioning and the use of assessment vary between subjects, however, with the pace of learning in some subjects too slow as a consequence.  Behaviour in the sixth form is typically strong, with students demonstrating the attitudes to learning that leaders aspire to for the whole school.  The strategy for providing activities that underpin students’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is strong. Students take leading roles in community projects. Leaders plan and deliver a regular programme aimed at providing students with the

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16 to 19 study programmes Requires improvement

skills and resilience to cope beyond school, which students told inspectors that they value.  Students who pursue work-related courses have performed better than those on academic courses recently. More students are also now opting to go on to work-related training and apprenticeships after leaving school. Leaders recognise this shift in demand and are actively reviewing the post-16 curriculum programme accordingly.

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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

Number of pupils on the school roll 1,159

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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

Email address office@haverstock.camden.sch.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 1–2 December 2011

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Information about this school

 The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.  Haverstock School is a larger than average secondary school with a sixth form. Around 40% of pupils are girls. Typically, pupils join the school from lower than average starting points.  A far higher than average proportion of pupils are eligible to receive pupil premium funding, aimed at supporting the performance of disadvantaged pupils. More pupils than is typical also have special educational needs and/or disabilities and require an education, health and care plan.  The majority of pupils come from minority ethnic backgrounds including Asian or Asian British, Bangladeshi, and Black or Black British, or Black African. A number of pupils join the school during the school year, including those qualifying as refugees.  A few pupils attend alternative providers: The Boxing Academy, Westminster Kingsway College and Aspire at Quintin Kynaston Community Academy.

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Information about this school

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

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Information about this inspection

 This inspection was carried out as part of a pilot within the London region. The section 8 inspection was led by an Ofsted inspector before being handed over to one of Her Majesty’s Inspectors to complete the section 5 inspection.  Inspectors visited 46 lessons, many of those jointly with school leaders. Inspectors scrutinised pupils’ work during those observations as well as outside of lessons. Pupils were heard reading.  Inspectors met with leaders, staff, governors and the school’s local authority support advisers. Formal and informal discussions were held with pupils throughout the inspection. The views of staff and parents were considered as part of inspectors’ analysis of survey feedback.  Inspectors scrutinised a range of documentation including: policy and procedure documents; assessment and behaviour information; minutes of governors’ meetings; the single central register and arrangements to safeguard pupils’ welfare; evaluations

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Information about this inspection

of the school’s performance, including the use of pupil premium funding, and plans for development.

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Inspection team

Matt Tiplin, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Dame Joan McVittie, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Hayley Follett 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

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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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