Collingwood School & Media Arts College

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

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Mr Richard Jones Headteacher Collingwood School and Media Arts College Stobhillgate Morpeth Northumberland NE61 2HA

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Short inspection of Collingwood School and Media Arts College

Following my visit to the school on 13 June 2018 with Zoe Westley, HMI, 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 November 2014.

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Short inspection of Collingwood School and Media Arts College

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

Collingwood is a friendly and welcoming school which is committed to developing the whole child. In this school, all pupils are valued and welcomed.

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

You and your leadership team are very well supported by a strong, skilled team of teaching and non-teaching staff. Staff are highly committed to the school and to ensuring that all pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities are supported.

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

The school is a safe and ordered environment. Pupils behave very well in lessons and during unstructured times. Pupils’ positive relationships with the adults in school lead to an atmosphere of trust, where the pupils feel safe to develop their social and personal skills. The strong commitment of staff to meet the needs of pupils is evident. Governors are proud of this aspect of the school’s work. In the sixth form, students have access to a wide range of programmes, which support them to develop the skills they will need in their future lives.

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

Students in key stage 4 and in the sixth form take part in a theatre programme which is currently touring. This has led to an increasingly positive self-image and self-confidence in pupils.

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Inspection findings

 Relationships between pupils and staff are very strong and staff know all pupils well. Pupils told me that adults help them with their work and also help them if they are worried or upset. Pupils are proud of the school. Pupils behave very well in lessons and around the school. They are polite and courteous, listening well to their teachers and to each other. You and your team ensure that pupils’ emotional needs are well met, developing attributes such as resilience.  The staff in school help the pupils to develop self-care skills through well- considered supportive sessions which promote independence.  Leaders are taking action to improve the attendance of pupils who have found attending school challenging; this is proving to be successful. However, leaders are not recording or evaluating the interventions and strategies used to see whether these are effective for all groups of pupils.  The staff and pupils in school value the emphasis put on the arts and media.

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Inspection findings

They are proud of the projects they have completed such as the ‘Anti-Bullying’ animation and the ‘Code of Conduct for the Library’ video. Both helped the pupils to develop their video-creation and editing skills, while also helping them to understand the importance of the subject matter. The staff and pupils also spoke with pride about their theatre production project which is currently on tour.  The teaching in other curriculum subjects in school is not as focused on the pupils making more rapid progress.  Leaders do not have a good enough understanding of the progress made by pupils in school. They are currently developing the systems which will help to track the progress. The leaders and teachers do not yet have a clear and consistent understanding of what is meant by the term ‘good progress’ when describing how pupils are moving forward in their academic work.  Governors are very supportive of the school and are proud of the school’s ethos

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Inspection findings

and drive to support pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities. However, their understanding of the curriculum and pupils’ progress is not fully developed. They do not provide enough challenge to the leaders in school.  The leadership team has not ensured that the school’s record of checks made on the suitability of staff to work with young people is accurately maintained and compliant. However, I am confident that the checks have now taken place. Policies related to safeguarding, including the child protection policy, are up to date and meet the requirements of statutory guidance.  Staff receive appropriate training in all aspects of child protection, including the ‘Prevent’ duty to keep pupils safe from radicalisation. Staff know what to do if they have any concerns about the well-being of a pupil. Appropriate and prompt referrals are made to external agencies where necessary. Records of such referrals are accurately kept and monitored to ensure that follow-up actions are

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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

 they are fully aware of their statutory duties in relation to safeguarding young people in school  pupils are receiving good-quality teaching in all subject areas  they can clearly demonstrate the impact of teaching and learning in all subjects on the progress of pupils  they develop the systems to record the diverse range of interventions used across the school, so that they can be evaluated for their effectiveness and their impact on pupils’ progress.

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

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Information about the inspection

During the inspection, I met with you and the leadership team, with the leaders for the arts and media, the school improvement partner manager and with two governors. I met with pupils from across the year groups. I scrutinised a range of documents, including information on pupils’ progress, and on safeguarding and development planning and the school’s self-evaluation. My colleague and I visited classes and evaluated pupils’ work. I took account of 19 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View.

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