The Warren School

The Warren School Whalebone Lane North, Chadwell Heath, Romford, Essex RM6 6SB

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

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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 Not previously inspected

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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

 Since becoming an academy, The Warren School has introduced many new systems to support learning. These systems are not yet fully embedded. Pupils make inconsistent progress because of this across all key stages and subjects.  Leaders do not evaluate the use of pupil premium funding rigorously. They do not set targets for improvement for disadvantaged pupils that are measured from the pupils’ starting points. The difference between progress for disadvantaged pupils and that of other pupils is still too wide.  In the 2016 GCSE examinations, the progress for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities was significantly below that of other pupils with the same starting points. Although this group of pupils are now making better progress, this is still below the progress of which they are capable because teachers set work that does not meet their needs.  The school was part of a local sixth-form

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

consortium. In 2015 and 2016, the outcomes for sixth-form students in examinations were variable. A sixth form was set up in 2015 in the school. Overall progress for current sixth-form students is variable.  Leaders do not track groups of pupils effectively, for example the least able and the most able pupils. Teachers are not held to account for the progress of these groups. The most able and least able are not challenged enough in lessons and do not make the progress of which they are capable.  Teachers give advice to pupils on how to improve their work, but the quality of this help is variable. Often pupils do not respond to this support in their written work. The pupils then continue to make the same errors.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The school is part of the Loxford School Trust. The trust offers effective leadership, support and challenge. The trust gives good training to staff. This training includes coaching and information sessions. Staff and students say that this has improved the quality of teaching.  There is a strong culture of safeguarding in the school. Pupils feel safe and there is a calm orderly atmosphere around the school because of a very high staff presence.  Pupils’ progress in GCSE examinations in 2015 and 2016 was average and is improving.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 School leaders must ensure that: – school self-evaluation and school development planning have a sharper focus so that groups of pupils, including those who are disadvantaged, make better progress – they check the attendance and exclusion of disadvantaged pupils and pupils who have special educational needs to find patterns and plan interventions more effectively – middle leaders check the progress of groups of pupils from their starting points and put in support, so these groups can catch up with their peers.  Improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment by making sure that: – teachers identify pupils’ needs and plan lessons to meet those needs – teachers set tasks that develop pupils’ learning and ensure that those pupils who finish their work early are given extra work to deepen their understanding.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

 Leaders at all levels are ambitious for their pupils. They set high expectations for pupils’ behaviour. Pupils respond to these expectations and their behaviour around the school and in classrooms is calm and attentive.  The school offers a wide range of training opportunities for all staff. Staff, especially newly qualified teachers, find this training very helpful. Pupils told inspectors that teaching in the school is much better now.  The trust gives support in training. Experienced staff from the trust work alongside leaders in the school to develop the leaders’ skills. The effect of this coaching is seen in safeguarding and the improvements in pupils’ behaviour.  The curriculum was reviewed and there is now a broad and balanced curriculum that meets the needs of pupils. The full impact of this new curriculum is not yet seen in pupils’ outcomes. There is a legacy of poor teaching prior to the school becoming an

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

academy. This affects pupils’ overall progress and outcomes.  Leaders have introduced changes to the curriculum in key stage 3 to prepare the pupils for the new GCSE courses. There are new GCSE subjects available for pupils to study with pathways for less able pupils. Pupils told inspectors that they enjoy the new courses.  There is a wide choice of extra-curricular activities during breaks and after school. The activities include a chess club, a drama club, study support, fund-raising for charity and many others. These activities support the pupils in their development and pupils say that they appreciate the wider opportunities.  The school’s self-evaluation and development plans lack sharp analysis and targets. Broad targets are set around improving outcomes and progress. Groups of pupils who have poor attendance and progress are not evaluated; nor are there targets set for their improvement. The attendance and progress of some groups, for example

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

disadvantaged pupils, are below those of other pupils and not improving because of this lack of focus.  Information on the use of pupil premium funding for 2016 to 2017 was missing from the school website. Leaders gave this information during the inspection. The school does not evaluate the use of this funding effectively. For example, the funding was used to improve the attendance of pupil premium pupils, but leaders did not set measured targets for these pupils. The information given by the school on the progress of pupils who should receive help from pupil premium funding shows inconsistent progress across subjects. There are wide differences between the progress of pupil premium pupils and that of other pupils.  Leaders have introduced a system from the trust known as ‘the Loxford levels’ to track and measure progress for all pupils. This system is used to track the progress of the Year 7 pupils who receive help from the Year 7 catch-up funding. Most of these Year 7

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

pupils are now making expected progress. Interventions to support reading are in place. Inspectors listened to pupils in Year 7 reading, and the Year 7 catch-up pupils read with confidence.  Leaders do not check on the progress of different groups of pupils; nor do they set targets for the progress of groups of pupils such as the most- and least able pupils. Inspectors saw lessons where the most able pupils were given work that they found too easy. Often the least able pupils are set work that is too difficult. Leaders’ information lacks accuracy. This weak monitoring resulted in the most able disadvantaged pupils making poor progress in GCSE mathematics in 2016 examinations. In GCSE examinations in 2016, the least able pupils made poor progress overall and in humanities subjects.  Both the trust and the school have appointed governors with responsibility for pupils who have special needs. The trust director for special educational needs works

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

alongside the school’s special educational needs coordinator. The school has a system to track and monitor pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. Training is given to teachers and teaching assistants to give them strategies to identify and support pupils’ needs. In lessons, teachers do not always identify pupils’ needs. Teachers rarely adapt work to meet pupils’ individual needs. Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are making better progress, but their progress is still well below that of pupils with the same starting points.

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Governance of the school

 Governors are ambitious for the school. They set challenging targets and have been effective in improving standards over the last two years.  There is effective support for governance from the trust. Some governors work across both governing bodies. This brings valuable experience to the school’s governing body. One governor is a national leader of governance. This experience is seen in their challenge to the school’s leadership and in their understanding of their strategic role.  Governors check the information given to them by the school using experienced practitioners from across the trust. They are not always given proper information on progress by the school. There was evidence in the minutes of governing body meetings of governors challenging the leaders on attainment but not on progress. Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities and disadvantaged pupils made poor progress in 2016.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.  All the proper checks on staff and visitors are carried out in line with requirements. Staff training is up to date and record keeping is thorough. The safeguarding team is supported by an experienced leader from the trust. The school works well with local partners such as the local authority to seek support for pupils who are at risk.  Leaders give a regular briefing each week for staff on safeguarding issues. Staff are constantly reminded of their responsibilities in safeguarding their pupils. There is a culture of safeguarding across the school. Pupils who spoke to the inspectors said that they have been given advice on avoiding dangers on the internet and cyber bullying. Pupils say that they feel safe and they know where to go for help in school.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

 Teachers give guidance to pupils about how to improve their work. The quality of this guidance is variable. Sometimes the guidance is vague and does not support the pupils’ needs; for example, ‘Improve your work’. Pupils’ response to written guidance from the teacher is often missing or incorrect. Consequently, pupils develop misunderstanding of their work and continue to make the same errors over time.  In many lessons, work is not sufficiently challenging for the most able pupils. They finish their work quickly and wait quietly for the rest of the class to finish. The most able pupils make less progress than possible because of this lost time.  In every class visited by inspectors, all pupils followed the same task. Often the tasks were not sharply defined to meet the needs of pupils with low ability or pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. Pupils’ progress was limited as a

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

result.  Homework is not set consistently or completed. The pupils’ subject planners show huge gaps in setting homework. In mathematics classes, the homework set does not support the development of the pupils’ literacy. The new GCSE mathematics courses need a greater level of literacy. Homework is not supporting and developing learning.  In English and science lessons, teachers do not routinely correct pupils’ spelling mistakes. Consequently, pupils repeatedly make the same errors.  Teachers set targets for pupils in their work. In some subjects, these targets are not meaningful or they relate to topics that the pupils are not studying. Pupils are then confused about their progress.  Teachers have secure subject knowledge and they plan their lessons. There is a positive climate for learning in classrooms. Pupils arrive in class ready to learn. Most pupils engage well with their learning and enjoy learning because of this positive

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

environment.  Pupils respond well to teachers asking questions in class. In some lessons, teachers question pupils very effectively and this develops pupils’ knowledge and understanding.  Pupils say that teachers challenge any derogatory language in class, so this type of behaviour is rarely seen.  Parents are given regular information on how well their child is doing. Over 90% of parents who responded to the Ofsted online questionnaire said that they are satisfied with the quality of this information.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.  In lessons and around the school, pupils are self-confident and well behaved. They are punctual to lessons, and once in class, they apply themselves to their learning effectively. There are adults, who are not teachers, in many lessons who support pupils in managing their behaviour. Inspectors saw very little low-level disruption in lessons.  Pupils show respect to teachers and towards other pupils. Their uniform is neat and they have a pride in their school. The pupils are keen to reflect on the different culture of others in the school. Pupils enjoy the opportunity to sample food from diverse cultures in the canteen. Inspectors did not see any discriminatory behaviour during their visit.  The school gives pupils guidance on how to keep themselves safe. Pupils told inspectors that they are given advice on how to stay healthy through exercise and a

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Personal development and welfare

healthy diet. There are lessons on dealing with bullying, including cyber bullying. There is a ‘Life and Learning Zone’ in the school where pupils can go for counselling if they have any problems. Pupils say that bullying is rare and that when it occurs, it is dealt with effectively by teachers.  Around the school on corridors and in classrooms there are displays listing the school’s values and relating these to British values. In lessons, pupils are encouraged to debate issues involving democracy. In history in Year 8, pupils are studying the Suffragette Movement. Pupils debate moral issues in tutor time. Pupils who met with inspectors said that there is a strong community spirit in the school.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils requires improvement.  There was a very high number of permanent exclusions both last year and this year and this number is well above the national average. The use of the school’s internal exclusion unit is very high. The school does not evaluate the exclusion information sharply enough to identify groups of pupils who are excluded more often. All the permanent exclusions were either of disadvantaged pupils or pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities.  Pupils’ attendance is improving overall. Information given by the school shows that the attendance of pupils overall is slightly above national average. On the second day of the inspection, the overall attendance was very low. Disadvantaged pupils’ attendance, although improving, is well below that of other pupils. Information given by the school shows that the attendance of pupils who have special educational needs and/or

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Behaviour

disabilities has declined. The number of pupils who are regularly absent is decreasing.

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Behaviour

 There is special provision in the school for pupils who have moderate learning difficulties. These pupils are taught separately and are integrated into mainstream lessons where possible. The progress of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is still well below that of other pupils with the same starting points.

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

 Outcomes for students in the sixth form in 2016 were strong. In 2015, the outcomes for sixth-form students were weak and variable. The information on the progress of sixth-form students offered by the school was inconsistent with variable outcomes. Variation in students’ progress was seen by inspectors during sixth-form lesson observations.  In the 2015 GCSE examinations, pupils made average progress from their starting points, except in languages and humanities subjects, where progress was significantly below that expected.  In the 2016 GCSE examinations, pupils’ progress was again average, with poor progress in languages and humanities. Disadvantaged pupils made progress below that expected in English, languages and humanities. Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities made poor progress in English, mathematics, languages and humanities. The most able pupils, including most-able disadvantaged pupils, made

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

weak progress in English Baccalaureate subjects. Boys made poor progress in languages and humanities.  Attainment outcomes rose in the 2016 GCSE examinations. The Year 11 pupils in 2016 had higher prior attainment when they arrived in the school than in previous Year 11 groups.  Information given to inspectors by the special educational needs department on pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities shows improved progress for current pupils. The information given by the school on all pupils shows negative progress overall across all subjects for all year groups except Year 7. Progress for pupils in English in Years 11, 9 and 8 also shows negative progress. In mathematics, all year groups, except Year 7, show negative progress. The school did not offer any analysis of groups other than for disadvantaged pupils and pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. Where pupils who have specific needs could be

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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

identified, the work given often did not meet their needs.  The school has several initiatives in place to support reading. Pupils all carry a book with them to read. Teachers display notices outside their classrooms to tell pupils what books they are reading. Every Thursday in tutor period, all pupils and staff read together. This focus on the importance of reading encourages pupils and they read fluently in lessons.  Pupils are well prepared for the next stages in their education. The school gives them information about careers, including apprenticeships. The pupils are encouraged to take on leadership roles in the school such as those of junior sports leaders and literacy leaders to support younger pupils. Pupils say that they are confident in making choices about their future because of these opportunities.

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16 to 19 study programmes Requires improvement

 Outcomes for students in public examinations in 2015 and 2016 were inconsistent. In 2015, students made poor progress. In 2016, students made much stronger progress. Information given by the school on the progress of current students shows variable progress.  The variation in outcomes is supported by the evidence that inspectors collected during lesson observations. Teachers in some lessons set work that is not challenging enough, for example in mathematics and chemistry. Sixth-form students are not stretched and this limits their progress.  The development of English in the sixth form is also variable. In the 2016 examinations, the proportion of students improving their GCSE grades in mathematics and English was well below national averages. Current students appear to be making stronger progress in mathematics than in English.  There is a wide programme of careers advice and guidance for students. This includes

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16 to 19 study programmes Requires improvement

university trips, support for university applications, and careers conferences. The school takes part in the Sutton Trust widening participation programme. This summer, 12 students will have placements through this programme. Sixth-form students say that they feel well supported in making their choices for the next stages in their lives.  There were no responses to the Ofsted online survey for students. Students who met with the inspectors spoke highly of the support given by the school on their programmes of study. Guidance for choices of sixth-form courses is limited. The students told the inspectors that they were encouraged to stay in the sixth form but were given very little information on other sixth forms either in schools or colleges. Four of the eight students who met with the inspectors said that they had dropped subjects.  The headteacher sets a clear ambition for the sixth form. Student numbers are rising

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16 to 19 study programmes Requires improvement

and the most able students now stay on in the sixth form. Students say that under the new leadership, the school has improved, with better teaching and improved behaviour from students.  Students are given guidance on how to keep safe. They were recently given information on female genital mutilation and on avoiding radicalisation. They have opportunities to develop their own leadership skills by supporting younger pupils with their reading.

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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

Number of pupils on the school roll 1,208

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School details

Of which, number on roll in 16 to 19 study programmes Appropriate authority Academy trust

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School details

Email address office@thewarrenschool.net

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 The school does not meet requirements on the publication of information about pupil premium funding, pupils’ progress in public examinations, Year 7 catch-up funding or governors’ information on its website.  The school does not comply with Department for Education guidance on what academies should publish about pupil premium funding, pupils’ progress in public examinations, Year 7 catch-up funding or governors’ information.  The Warren School became an academy in 2015. The school is part of the Loxford School Trust, a multi-academy trust.  There is a specially resourced provision for pupils who have moderate learning needs.  The school uses alternative provision, which is run by Barking and Dagenham local authority.  The multi-academy trust gives support for leadership, planning, safeguarding and special educational needs.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors visited 55 lessons, including short visits and parts of lessons. They saw teaching across a range of year groups and subjects. Inspectors also visited registration time.  Discussions were held with the trust’s chief executive officer, the headteacher, members of the governing body, senior and middle leaders, a range of staff, including newly qualified teachers, and groups of pupils.  There were no responses from pupils or staff to the Ofsted online questionnaire.  Inspectors took account of the 182 responses from parents to the Ofsted online questionnaire.  The inspection team scrutinised a wide range of documentation including: records relating to pupils’ behaviour and attendance; minutes of meetings; information on pupils’ progress; the school’s self-evaluation and planning; and the school’s assessment system.  Inspectors reviewed safeguarding records, policies and procedures.

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Inspection team

Dame McVittie, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

David Boyle 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

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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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