Enfield Grammar School

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

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Mr Christopher Lamb Enfield Grammar School Market Place Enfield EN2 6LN

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Short inspection of Enfield Grammar School

Following my visit to the school on 28 February 2018 with Ofsted Inspectors Louise Voden and Timothy Williams, 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 February 2014.

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Short inspection of Enfield Grammar School

Based on the evidence gathered during this short inspection, I have identified some priorities for improvement which I advise the school to address. In light of these priorities, the school’s next inspection will be a full section 5 inspection. There is

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no change to the school’s current overall effectiveness grade of good as a

You have established a clear vision with staff and the governing body that teaching and learning are key areas of improvement in order to raise pupils’ achievement. This is clearly articulated and teachers and governors that we met shared their agreement and full support.

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no change to the school’s current overall effectiveness grade of good as a

The previous inspection report recommended that the school should improve teaching. The recommendations included: teachers developing more consistency in their feedback to pupils on how they can improve their work; the setting of frequent homework; and ensuring that the most able pupils are challenged to reach the highest standards. These continue to be the areas that you have accurately recognised as requiring further improvement. This is because there are groups of pupils, including middle-attaining pupils and the most vulnerable, who have significantly underachieved in the last two years. There has been some improvement in the progress of high-attaining pupils, as evidenced in the Year 11 GCSE results in 2017. As a school, you rightly emphasise the importance of ensuring that this improvement is sustained over time, while addressing the necessary improvements for other groups.

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no change to the school’s current overall effectiveness grade of good as a

A further area of improvement from the last inspection was for subject leaders to work together across subjects to improve the quality of teaching in the school. During this academic year, middle leaders have worked together to share strategies. Middle leaders have all valued joining together for monthly school-based leadership training and told me that this was developing their skills well. These sound developments are at an early stage, and their impact on teaching and learning is not yet evident.

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no change to the school’s current overall effectiveness grade of good as a

There have been a number of staffing changes since the last inspection, particularly at leadership level. This has reinvigorated the leadership drive to raise the standards of achievement for all pupils. The school is focused on looking forward and embracing national educational developments within the curriculum. This is well received by pupils, who appreciate the choice of subjects available to them and want to do well in their examinations at GCSE and A level. The degree of respect shown by pupils, across all year groups, to each other and adults is a credit to the school. Relationships between staff and pupils are a strength. One pupil told me that he particularly valued ‘the togetherness and sense of trust between staff and pupils’. The majority of parents and carers said that they would recommend the school to others.

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no change to the school’s current overall effectiveness grade of good as a

You, other senior leaders and governors have ensured that safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose. The procedures for recruiting staff meet statutory requirements and include all the required checks on the suitability of adults to work in schools. The single central record is well maintained.

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no change to the school’s current overall effectiveness grade of good as a

Risk assessments are carried out for pupils travelling between the school’s two sites, and involve the supervision and monitoring of the designated route by staff. Pupils are taught specific information about keeping themselves safe in the local environment. Those we spoke with said that they feel safe in school and in the local area. We did discuss and agree that the risks for Year 11 pupils being allowed out at lunchtimes should be reviewed, and details in the risk assessments strengthened.

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no change to the school’s current overall effectiveness grade of good as a

Staff have a thorough understanding of their responsibility for ensuring that pupils are kept safe and well cared for. The systematic recording of concerns about individual pupils and the follow-up documentation show that staff are vigilant. Staff and governors have received training on female genital mutilation, the ‘Prevent’ duty and radicalisation, and demonstrate their understanding well. The school works well with outside agencies, and the particular case studies seen by the inspector show that work is timely and continuously reviewed and involves support for families.

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no change to the school’s current overall effectiveness grade of good as a

All of the pupils I spoke with said that they feel safe in school. They felt that anti- bullying information was highly promoted, particularly through the ‘Start telling other people’ approach. Overall, pupils considered that playground bullying incidents were dealt with well. Pupils are taught about homophobia, racism and fundamental British values. Older pupils particularly value their learning about different relationships.

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Inspection findings

 We agreed three lines of enquiry at the beginning of the inspection. The first focus was to see how effective the teaching of disadvantaged pupils is across all year groups. This was because these pupils have made significantly less progress at the end of Year 11 than all pupils nationally for the last two years.  You and your newly formed leadership team have made improving the teaching and learning for all groups of pupils a priority. This has been supported by extensive professional development, which is considered by staff to be of high quality and value. The additional funding the school receives to meet the needs of disadvantaged pupils has been more strategically used this year. Subject leaders bid for specific resources to target pupils’ needs and a senior leader monitors the impact of interventions.  The impact of these strategies on the quality of teaching and learning has yet to be fully realised. Our visits to classrooms with senior leaders showed that there is

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Inspection findings

further work to be done to ensure that all groups of pupils, including those who are disadvantaged, receive consistent high-quality teaching.  Sixth-form students feel supported and were able to give examples of how they receive good feedback that helps them to improve. However, this was not as evident in other year groups, and pupils are yet to receive consistent high- quality guidance about improving their work. In particular, disadvantaged pupils need further support with their learning. You and your team agreed that the work we saw in pupils’ books was below the expectations you have set for measures at the end of key stage 4.  Our second line of enquiry was focused on the progress of middle-attaining pupils. This was because, in 2017, attainment and progress measures at the end of key stage 4 were markedly below average for this group of pupils.  You and your leadership team have put in place professional development that

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Inspection findings

clearly conveys higher expectations of teaching and learning. Middle leaders also spoke positively about the training ‘Drive to Fly’, which they feel is prompting improvements in teaching and subject leadership. Middle leaders told me that this professional development ‘is encouraging teachers to be more pupil-centred’. However, they recognised that this approach is in its infancy.  In the joint visits to lessons, you and senior leaders demonstrated your accurate understanding of the quality of teaching and its impact on pupils’ learning. We were in agreement that, while teachers and leaders are committed to developing their teaching further, new strategies are not yet within their day-to-day practice. This was evident in some lessons and pupils’ work, particularly where there was insufficient challenge for middle-attaining pupils, which may prevent them from meeting or exceeding their targets.  We were able to see some examples of lessons where all pupils were learning

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Inspection findings

quite well as they engaged in answering questions posed by the teacher. However, we agreed that, when they responded, pupils did not always use their knowledge to probe and deepen their thinking and understanding of concepts. This was also reflected in their writing. Their books showed evidence of limited responses which varied in quality and quantity over time.  Our third area of focus looked at the retention of pupils during the year. This was because, in 2016, nine pupils left the school between Years 9 and 10. The school was able to show the systematic procedures leaders have put in place for monitoring the retention of pupils. The detail shown for each pupil demonstrated that there were different reasons for each pupil leaving the school. Records also showed their destinations. This pattern of pupils leaving has not been repeated.

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Next steps for the school

Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that:

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Next steps for the school

 teachers raise their expectations for all groups of pupils to ensure that they achieve well in all subjects  the drive and focus on high-quality teaching and learning are built upon in order to raise achievement, particularly for middle-attaining and disadvantaged pupils  leaders continue to monitor the progress of high-attaining pupils to ensure that the improvement in attainment and progress in 2017 is sustained over time  teachers develop pupils’ thinking more effectively so that they apply their knowledge and deepen their understanding of different topics.

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

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Information about the inspection

The inspection team met with you, senior leaders and three governors, including the chair and vice-chair, to discuss aspects of the school’s work. Inspectors also met with the leader responsible for pupil premium funding and with a representative of the local authority. Joint visits to lessons were made with senior leaders and there was scrutiny of the work of all groups of pupils. Inspectors held formal and informal discussions with groups of pupils. Inspectors took account of 117 responses from parents to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, including free-text comments. Inspectors also took account of the views of members of the school’s team who responded to the online survey for staff. A range of the school’s documentation was considered, including information about pupils’ achievement, the school improvement plan, safeguarding checks, policies and procedures, and information about attendance and exclusions.

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