The Archbishop Lanfranc School

Age group 11–16 Inspection date(s) 7–8 March 2012 Inspection number 376632 The Archbishop Lanfranc school Inspection report

p.1

Unique reference number 101826 Local authority Croydon Inspection number 376632 Inspection dates 7–8 March 2012 Lead inspector Lesley Farmer

p.1

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. The registered childcare provision, managed by the governing body, was inspected under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006.

p.1

Type of school Comprehensive School category Foundation Age range of pupils 11–16 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 1052 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Roger Lavington Headteacher David Clark Date of previous school inspection 3–4 June 2009 School address Mitcham Road Croydon CR9 3AS Telephone number 0208 6891255 Fax number 0208 6833113 Email address www.office@lanfranc.croydon.sch.uk

p.1

Registered childcare provision The Archbishop Lanfranc School Nursery Number of children on roll in the registered childcare provision Date of last inspection of registered childcare provision 3–4 June 2009 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 Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not

p.1

exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

p.2

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk 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.

p.2

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.ofsted.gov.uk

p.2

Introduction

This inspection was carried out with two days' notice. Inspectors spent time in the Early Years Foundation Stage, observed 48 lessons taught by 48 teachers and held discussions with groups of students, staff and two members of the governing body, of which one was the Chair of the Governing Body. Inspectors took account of the responses to the on-line questionnaire (Parent View) in planning the inspection, observed the school’s work, and looked at development plans, the school’s self- evaluation, the school’s tracking data showing students’ progress, teachers’ lesson plans, and students’ work. Joint observations of lessons were conducted with three senior leaders. In addition, inspectors analysed the questionnaire responses of 94 parents and carers, 26 staff and 150 students, and took their views into account.

p.3

Information about the school

The Archbishop Lanfranc School is of average size serving a part of Croydon of considerable ethnic and cultural diversity. The school has a significantly higher proportion of boys than girls. The proportion of disabled pupils and those that have special educational needs, including those with a statement of special educational needs, is above average. The proportion of students known to be eligible for free school meals is higher than average. The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which sets the minimum expectations for students’ attainment and progress. The school holds several national and local awards, including the National Association for Able Children in Education (NACE) award. There is a Nursery overseen by the governing body. The privately run Lanfranc Pre-school is inspected and reported on separately. Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate

p.3

Information about the school

Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

p.4

Key findings

 This is a satisfactory school. Students behave well. Achievement is best in the key subjects of mathematics, English and modern foreign languages. However, variation in the quality of teaching means that students are not progressing well in all subjects and therefore the school cannot be judged good. Disabled students and those with special educational needs achieve in line with their peers.

p.4

Key findings

 Teaching is satisfactory overall with good and outstanding features. Students achieve best when the work is carefully planned, tailored to their individual needs and when teachers adopt a range of strategies to challenge them fully and encourage their participation. However, this is not always the case in all subjects. Marking is inconsistent across and within subjects, consequently students are sometimes unclear about how to meet or exceed their targets.

p.4

Key findings

 Behaviour and safety are good. Students are polite and show mutual respect. They recognise unsafe situations and act responsibly. This is particularly evident in their management of the constraints of the building at breaks and change of lessons. They say they feel safe and they respond especially well to teaching that actively engages them.

p.4

Key findings

 The headteacher is highly visible and well supported by the governing body and leaders at all levels. Senior leaders and those at middle level know the school well and have an accurate view of the strengths in teaching and performance, and areas for improvement. However, some key priorities, such as the need to make fuller use of the six-weekly assessment information to build teachers’ capacities to drive up the achievement overall, and further develop their abilities to improve the development of students’ communication, listening, reading and writing skills, although evident in some lessons, have not impacted positively on outcomes. The school provides a balanced curriculum. The overall effectiveness of the Nursery is good. Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

p.4

Key findings

Schools whose overall effectiveness is judged satisfactory may receive a monitoring visit by an Ofsted inspector before their next section 5 inspection.

p.5

What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Raise overall achievement for all students by: ensuring that all teachers increase the level of challenge in lessons so that all students either meet or exceed their aspirational targets ensuring that all teachers capitalise fully on students’ positive attitudes by delivering lessons that actively engage them in their learning building on the existing best practice in the development of high-quality communication, listening, speaking and writing skills for students, so that it is replicated across all areas rather than some, with a particular focus on extended writing across all subject areas developing greater consistency in the ways in which departments mark and assess students’ work and their progress, so that they understand what they need to improve and know how to go about it.

p.5

What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure that leaders at all levels make full use of the very comprehensive six- weekly tracking assessment information available to them so that: students’ progress towards targets is linked to the quality of teaching they receive and appropriate actions are taken to secure improvements in teaching where necessary the staff training programme is routinely aligned to the outcomes of the tracking programme the central focus of departmental improvement plans is the development of teachers’ capacity to broaden their repertoire of teaching strategies so as to improve achievement at all levels.

p.5

Achievement of pupils

In lessons, students’ progress is variable. They make best progress where the teachers actively engage them in their learning and ensure that activities closely match their capabilities, together with an appropriate level of challenge. For example, in a Year 11 French lesson, high ability students were revising for an examination and made good progress because the teacher carefully blended a range of tasks involving questioning, three-minute paired work and sharing of ideas. Short feedback sessions conducted in French allowed the whole class to consider suggestions. As a result, all students progressed rapidly, no time was wasted and the learning was fun. In many instances, students’ positive attitudes enable them to progress even when the learning is less inspiring. However, for a minority of students, too much teacher talk, combined with insufficient feedback on how to improve, can result in a more passive response to learning. Where this is the case,

p.5

Achievement of pupils

students become demotivated and disengage completely, distract others or become Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

p.5

Achievement of pupils

distracted. In these circumstances, progress is considerably slower.

p.6

Achievement of pupils

Students join the school with attainment that is low. They make satisfactory progress from their starting points but the standards that they achieve are low compared to the national average. The rate of improvement over three years although variable, is now in line with the national rate. Students from different ethnic groups achieve as well as or better than other groups, with the exception of White British boys. However, the school has identified this as a priority and is making effective steps to narrow the gap. The development of students’ mathematical skills is mainly underpinned by effective teaching of mathematics, which is driving up students’ progress in this area. However, this is less true in the case of their communication skills of reading, listening, speaking and writing, where the development of extended writing is a weakness and progress is only just beginning to accelerate through the

p.6

Achievement of pupils

teaching of English and other subjects. Achievement in the Early Years Foundation Stage is good because of the high quality provision and leadership provided. The progress made by disabled students and those with special educational needs is satisfactory and, for some individuals, it is good given their starting points and the level of challenge in learning that they face. Most parents and carers feel that their child is progressing well. While inspectors found this to be true for some students across most subjects, progress overall is too variable for it to be judged good.

p.6

Quality of teaching

Teaching makes a satisfactory impact on achievement over time. Where it is good or better, learning proceeds rapidly because the planning is thorough and the learning strategies are cleverly tailored to individual needs, so as to captivate and challenge. For example, in a Year 10 information and communication technology class, students worked independently, designing a home page for the school’s website. The teacher skilfully drew students together to assess individual students’ work and to illustrate how individuals had satisfied assessment criteria at different levels. Students’ good achievements at varying levels were celebrated and, as a result, all students progressed well and were able to see what they needed to do to attain the highest grades. However, a significant minority of teaching is less successful because teachers do not adapt their teaching to engage all students fully. This is particularly true of activities where the teacher explains for too long, or

p.6

Quality of teaching

questioning sessions do not motivate all students to participate, either because the questioning is too easy or too difficult. Teachers’ expectations of different students are not always made clear enough to them so as to challenge them fully and teachers do not always make the most of students’ positive attitudes. The majority of parents and carers feel that teaching is good but inspection evidence supports the views of students expressed in their questionnaires, in which only a minority felt that teaching is good all the time. In meetings and lessons, students noted they learn best when teachers vary the tasks and do not talk too much.

p.6

Quality of teaching

The development of students’ literacy and communication skills is evident in most subjects but better in some, such as history and English. Across the curriculum, there are many good examples of opportunities provided for students to develop morally, Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

p.6

Quality of teaching

socially and culturally through the careful selection of topics and materials designed to encourage reflection on current issues.

p.7

Quality of teaching

Marking of students’ work is inconsistent. Although helpful, detailed and regular at times, there is considerable variation in how work is marked both within subject areas and across them. Because of this, students’ abilities to develop the necessary study skills when working at home or independently vary considerably. For those that need additional support, the gap is wide; for those that need it less, the necessary feedback to challenge them to progress still further is not always there. As a result, students at all levels cannot routinely capitalise on the good teaching where it occurs.

p.7

Behaviour and safety of pupils

Students are courteous, friendly and polite. They take an evident pride in being part of the school community and are keen to let visitors know how greatly they value the school and its staff. They attend well, are punctual to lessons and want to learn. They understand the nature of risk and act responsibly. In particular, they navigate some of the narrower areas of the school that were not designed for the volume of students now on roll, with maturity and common sense. They say that bullying occurs occasionally and they have a clear awareness of the differing types of bullying that can arise. However, they maintain that where it occurs, it is generally connected with friendships and the school acts effectively to help resolve matters.

p.7

Behaviour and safety of pupils

Exemplary safeguarding and care arrangements, combined with good relationships and mutual respect, ensure that students feel safe in school and know that adults in the school will help them if they have a problem. A small minority of parents and carers felt that lessons were often disrupted by inappropriate behaviour but students say that disruption is infrequent and most teachers deal effectively with challenging behaviour. Students who have difficulty in behaving properly receive a good range of support. The school is highly inclusive and is successful in enabling most students to stay in school and learn, with a good focus on identifying ‘at-risk’ students so as to intervene. Good links are maintained with external agencies, such as social services to support families when required.

p.7

Leadership and management

The headteacher is highly visible and provides clear direction. He is supported by a capable senior leadership team and a governing body that is ambitious for the school. Senior leaders have correctly identified areas for improvement, such as the further development of the communication skills of reading, writing, speaking and listening across all subjects and are committed to raising standards for students at all levels. However, whilst some strategies, such as those developed in geography and English to raise attainment and increase rates of progress, have begun to impact, others have not done so.

p.7

Leadership and management

The range of expertise and skills across the staff is broad and a significant minority Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

p.7

Leadership and management

of staff are new to the school or in the early stages of their teaching careers. Although senior leaders have correctly prioritised the need to build capacity in staff at all levels, for example to broaden the range of their teaching repertoire and to develop their abilities to promote deeper understanding and independence in students’ learning, some of these approaches are more recent and therefore their impact is not fully realised. The school has been successful in improving outcomes for students since the last inspection, despite challenges faced with recruitment of staff. Although the rate of improvement was slower than the national rate, it has now caught up and capacity to improve is satisfactory.

p.8

Leadership and management

The school provides a balanced curriculum that meets the needs and interests of students and is effective in its promotion of their spiritual, moral and cultural development. Ensuring equality of opportunity for all is a high priority and school leaders do not tolerate discrimination. Their success in this area is evidenced through the achievements of the different ethnic groups which are predominantly in line with those of their peers.

p.8

Leadership and management

Safeguarding procedures are robust and the school sets high standards in this regard. The recording of checks carried out on staff, risk assessments of premises and the monitoring of attendance are efficient.

p.8

childcare provision

Overall effectiveness of the Early Years Foundation Stage is good. Children settle well in the nursery and progress well because of the high quality of care. During their time there, they feel safe and secure and achieve well. As a result, they are well prepared for moving on to school.

p.9

childcare provision

Provision for children’s learning and development is good. Children are known well and their parents and carers are fully involved in the activities and well-informed about the progress of their children. Staff plan and manage activities effectively and they are creative in their planning of child-initiated activities both indoors and outdoors.

p.9

childcare provision

There is a strong team ethos and a very clear focus on staff training and development and on all aspects of safeguarding. The Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum is carefully planned to focus on all six areas of learning to help children progress. The provision is well led and highly valued by staff in the school and by parents in the local community.

p.9

childcare provision

These are the grades for the Early Years Foundation Stage of the registered childcare provision, inspected under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

p.9

childcare provision

Overall effectiveness of the Early Years Foundation Stage Taking into account: Outcomes for children in the Early Years Foundation Stage The quality of provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage The effectiveness of leadership and management of the Early Years Foundation Stage for the registered provision

p.9

Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding These features are highly effective. An outstanding school provides exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. Grade 2 Good These are very positive features of a school. A school that is good is serving its pupils well. Grade 3 Satisfactory These features are of reasonable quality. A satisfactory school is providing adequately for its pupils. Grade 4 Inadequate These features are not of an acceptable standard. An inadequate school needs to make significant improvement in order to meet the needs of its pupils. Ofsted inspectors will make further visits until it improves.

p.10

Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Nursery schools 46 46 8 0 Primary schools 8 47 40 5 Secondary schools 14 38 40 8 Special schools 28 48 20 4 Pupil referral units 15 50 29 5 All schools 11 46 38 6

p.10

Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

New school inspection arrangements have been introduced from 1 January 2012. This means that inspectors make judgements that were not made previously. The data in the table above are for the period 1 September 2010 to 31 August 2011 and represent judgements that were made under the school inspection arrangements that were introduced on 1 September 2009. These data are consistent with the latest published official statistics about maintained school inspection outcomes (see www.ofsted.gov.uk ). The sample of schools inspected during 2010/11 was not representative of all schools nationally, as weaker schools are inspected more frequently than good or outstanding schools. Primary schools include primary academy converters. Secondary schools include secondary academy converters, sponsor-led academies and city technology colleges. Special schools include special academy converters and non-maintained special schools.

p.10

Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Percentages are rounded and do not always add exactly to 100.

p.10

Common terminology used by inspectors

Achievement: the progress and success of a pupil in their learning and development taking account of their attainment.

p.11

Common terminology used by inspectors

Attainment: the standard of the pupils’ work shown by test and examination results and in lessons.

p.11

Common terminology used by inspectors

Attendance the regular attendance of pupils at school and in lessons, taking into account the school’s efforts to encourage good attendance.

p.11

Common terminology used by inspectors

Behaviour how well pupils behave in lessons, with emphasis on their attitude to learning. Pupils’ punctuality to lessons and their conduct around the school.

p.11

Common terminology used by inspectors

Capacity to improve: the proven ability of the school to continue improving based on its self-evaluation and what the school has accomplished so far and on the quality of its systems to maintain improvement.

p.11

Common terminology used by inspectors

Leadership and management: the contribution of all the staff with responsibilities, not just the governors and headteacher, to identifying priorities, directing and motivating staff and running the school.

p.11

Common terminology used by inspectors

Learning: how well pupils acquire knowledge, develop their understanding, learn and practise skills and are developing their competence as learners.

p.11

Common terminology used by inspectors

Overall effectiveness: inspectors form a judgement on a school’s overall effectiveness based on the findings from their inspection of the school.

p.11

Common terminology used by inspectors

Progress: the rate at which pupils are learning in lessons and over longer periods of time. It is often measured by comparing the pupils’ attainment at the end of a key stage with their attainment when they started.

p.11

Common terminology used by inspectors

Safety how safe pupils are in school, including in lessons; and their understanding of risks. Pupils’ freedom from bullying and harassment. How well the school promotes safety, for example e-learning.

p.11

Inspection of The Archbishop Lanfranc School, Croydon CR9 3AS

Thank you for your help and for talking to us during the recent inspection. We thoroughly enjoyed meeting you and seeing your work. I am writing to tell you about our findings. Your school provides you with a satisfactory education.

p.12

Inspection of The Archbishop Lanfranc School, Croydon CR9 3AS

 Your achievement is satisfactory overall and you are making best progress in subjects such as mathematics, English and modern foreign languages.  Teaching is satisfactory, with some good and outstanding lessons.  Your behaviour is good. Your attitudes to learning are positive. The best lessons involve you thoroughly in learning, with good discussion and plenty of challenge. In some lessons, the work and activities are less varied, and not so effective in moving you on and challenging you. In others, the marking does not always give you enough information on how or what to improve.  You told us you were proud of your school, pleased with the progress you make and feel well looked after. We saw for ourselves that you are polite, willing and keen to learn. Your attendance is good; please keep this up.  The headteacher and staff are working hard to improve the school. They are concentrating well on the most important areas, such as teaching and ensuring

p.12

Inspection of The Archbishop Lanfranc School, Croydon CR9 3AS

that you improve your basic skills in reading, writing, listening and communicating, across all subjects. However, there are some variations in how well each department makes improvements in the quality of its teaching.

p.12

Inspection of The Archbishop Lanfranc School, Croydon CR9 3AS

We have asked the headteacher to include the following in his development plans:

p.12

Inspection of The Archbishop Lanfranc School, Croydon CR9 3AS

 ensure that the plans to improve achievement overall build on the best practice within the school, so that every department is equally effective in developing your communication, reading and writing skills in particular  ensure that each subject area develops the quality of its teaching equally well so that teachers use assessment information about you to plan their lessons to meet your individual needs, challenge and engage you all in active learning, and ensure marking and feedback are always of high quality and enable you to improve your achievement.

p.12

Inspection of The Archbishop Lanfranc School, Croydon CR9 3AS

Please accept my best wishes for the future.

p.12

Inspection of The Archbishop Lanfranc School, Croydon CR9 3AS

Lesley Farmer Lead inspector procedures set out in the guidance 'Complaining about inspections', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234 , or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

p.12