JCoSS

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

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Mr Patrick Moriarty Headteacher JCoSS Castle Wood Road New Barnet Hertfordshire EN4 9GE

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Short inspection of JCoSS

Following my visit to the school on 16 January 2019 with Kanwaljit Singh and David Davies, Ofsted Inspectors, and Carolyn Dickinson, Her Majesty’s Inspector, 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 December 2015.

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Short inspection of JCoSS

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. Based on the evidence gathered during this short inspection, I am of the opinion that the school has demonstrated strong practice and marked improvement in certain areas. This may indicate that the school is improving towards being outstanding. Therefore, I am recommending that the school’s next inspection will be a section 5 inspection.

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Short inspection of JCoSS

You and other leaders have led the school with a determination to provide the best academic and pastoral care for your pupils. You have created a culture of high expectations so that every pupil can succeed. You have ensured, with the help of your leadership team, that these aspirations have been translated into high outcomes for pupils taking public examinations. Pupils have on average made progress that is consistently well above that made by pupils nationally. You and senior leaders have maintained a strong focus on continuous improvement. Areas for improvement identified at the last inspection have been constant themes for the school’s self-evaluation and planning for improvement. In 2018, for example, the school was in the top 20% of schools for GCSE results in mathematics for pupils who are disadvantaged.

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Short inspection of JCoSS

Since the previous inspection, the school has maintained its record of successful examination results at GCSE and in the sixth form. For example, in 2018, at the end of Year 11, pupils’ progress from key stage 2 was in the top 20% in the country. The number of students in the sixth form whose examination results are well above average has also remained high year on year, with the average grade being a B and 38% of all grades being at A* or A.

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Short inspection of JCoSS

You know the school well. You understand its strengths and you are open and honest about what needs to be even better. You have identified and tackled weaker teaching and have improved the way that progress is recorded so that this can be used as a diagnostic tool to improve the outcomes for your pupils. The effect of this is that leaders and staff can further implement the school’s vision of further improvement for all pupils. Parents are overwhelmingly positive about the school, its leaders and the supportive environment that staff provide. Parents are pleased with the progress that their children have made. The school’s ethos is strong and inclusive. For example, in a discussion about why bullying was wrong, pupils said to me that it is not what a ‘mensch’ would do. Survey results indicate that staff strongly agree that they are proud to be members of this school.

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Short inspection of JCoSS

Safeguarding has a high profile in the school. Leaders and governors ensure that safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose. School records on safeguarding are secure. Case studies give examples of how the school carefully follows up any concerns internally and with external agencies, where needed, in a timely fashion. Referrals to the local authority, where necessary, are made promptly and are followed up carefully to make sure that pupils are kept safe. Risk assessments are rigorous.

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Short inspection of JCoSS

Leaders ensure that safeguarding training is up to date so that staff and governors understand current guidance. The governing body understands its responsibilities in terms of safeguarding. Pupils feel safe and learn how to keep themselves safe. Staff have been trained by the Child Exploitation and Online Protection team and give pupils information about how to recognise and deal with online child sexual exploitation. The school’s personal, social and health education programme links with the Community Security Trust, which provides training for schools in matters related to anti-Semitism, terrorism and security . Every year group takes part in online training on using the internet safely. Pupils say that bullying, including cyberbullying, is rare but, should it happen, they would know which adult to talk to in the school.

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Inspection findings

 The first line of enquiry was to explore what leaders are doing to improve outcomes for pupils in modern foreign languages and physical education. You have addressed issues of staffing and leadership in these departments. In the academic year 2017/18, you also made changes to the curriculum, which is now better suited to your pupils. Collaboration between faculties and with senior leaders has improved, resulting in better communication between and across departments. This means that teachers have an improved overall understanding of pupils’ performance and can share strategies that have been successful for individuals and groups of pupils. Leaders monitor pupils’ progress and plan interventions to address any concerns in a timely manner. Pupils now routinely use target language in their oral responses during modern foreign language lessons. There are still variations in teaching and behaviour in a few key stage 3

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Inspection findings

classes, but you have plans in place to ensure that teachers sharpen their practice still further.  The second line of enquiry considered how the school had addressed the progress of disadvantaged pupils. Governors recognise this as a matter for attention in the year ahead and a governor has been identified as being responsible for disadvantaged pupils, providing a greater focus at governance level. Leaders have worked closely with disadvantaged pupils academically and pastorally. Intervention for disadvantaged pupils has been tailored to each individual pupil’s needs. Teachers know their pupils well and pupils receive work that is matched to their abilities. Internal performance information shows that disadvantaged pupils are mostly performing at similar levels to those of their peers in key stage 3.  There is a focus on English and mathematics for pupils who need to catch up in Year 7. Additional staff have been employed and there are dedicated literacy

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Inspection findings

lessons. At key stage 4, additional staff are used to lead smaller groups, and they provide the capacity for withdrawal and intervention groups. These improvements have been brought about by more structured lessons and greater consistency in behaviour management. During the inspection, visits to lessons confirmed that these changes have been effective, including in the improvement of the teaching of modern foreign languages.  Mathematics is a subject in which disadvantaged pupils perform above the national average. Mathematics has a high profile at this school and is a strong focus from Year 7 onwards. For example, some sixth-form students act as ‘maths ambassadors’ by working with Year 7 pupils. Other interventions are aspirational, for example ‘Reach for the 9s’, a workshop that prepares pupils for the highest GCSE grade. However, leaders are aware that more work needs to be done with some disadvantaged pupils so that they can reach the same high standards as

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Inspection findings

other groups in the school.  The strong support disadvantaged pupils receive is continued into the sixth form. In 2017/18, 93% of students entitled to the pupil premium grant continued their studies at university, and 21.4% of those at Russell Group Universities.  Finally, I looked at the steps that the school has taken to improve the progress of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The SEND department is a strength of this school. Changes in the structure of this department have provided consistency and better teaching. This has increased the progress of pupils with SEND. Leaders carefully follow through the progress and attainment of their pupils. They have a clear understanding of individual pupils’ needs, which they are able to share with the teachers to plan what they have to do to improve the performance of individual pupils.  Support in lessons is well deployed, and the planning of lessons between

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Inspection findings

teaching support staff and teachers is well established. Learning support staff have benefited from an emphasis on the importance of training. For example, they take part in a weekly programme of continued professional learning and professional supervision. Teaching support staff are routinely monitored and observed with formal feedback to ensure that they enhance learning and progress. This means that support in lessons for these pupils is highly effective and responsive to their needs.

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Next steps for the school

Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that the school:

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Next steps for the school

 improves progress in languages and physical education so that pupils achieve the same high standards as they do in other subjects by improving the consistency in effective teaching in particular  continues to improve the progress of disadvantaged pupils by embedding the strategies that have been put in place for the early identification of pupils falling behind, the analysis of why this happens, and for the effective intervention to prevent this happening.

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

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Information about the inspection

The inspector carried out the following activities to explore the areas for enquiry during the inspection. Meetings were held with senior leaders, governors, the safeguarding team and with groups of pupils. Teaching was observed jointly across the school alongside the headteacher and senior leaders. A range of school documents, including the safeguarding records and policies, were scrutinised. A range of pupils’ books were reviewed during lessons and in a separate work scrutiny. The 198 responses to the Ofsted online survey, Parent View, were considered, as were the 113 staff responses.

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