Setting

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

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Dame Alice Hudson Executive Headteacher William Perkin Church of England High School Oldfield Lane North Greenford Middlesex UB6 8PR

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High School

Following my visit with Terry Millar, David Bromfield and Anne Hudson, Ofsted, Inspectors, to your school on 5–6 February 2019, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to confirm the inspection findings.

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High School

This monitoring inspection was conducted under section 8 of the Education Act 2005 and in accordance with Ofsted’s published procedures for no formal designation inspections of schools. The inspection was carried out following Ofsted’s risk assessment process. Inspectors focused on the effectiveness of safeguarding arrangements, management of behaviour and other aspects of the effectiveness of leadership and management in the school. Inspectors also considered the arrangements for the sixth form, as there were no students in the sixth form when the school was last inspected in June 2015.

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Evidence

Inspectors met with the executive headteacher, associate headteacher, senior and middle leaders, members of staff, groups of pupils, some parents, the chair of the governing body and a representative of the local authority.

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Evidence

Inspectors scrutinised the single central record of pre-employment checks and other safeguarding information. Inspectors examined the school’s safeguarding procedures and practice and the arrangements for managing pupils’ behaviour in the school. They looked at a range of documentation, including attendance and behaviour records, medical records and governing body minutes. Inspectors also considered two reviews, commissioned by leaders, in response to a critical incident in 2017. This incident resulted in a pupil’s death. At the time of this inspection, the circumstances relating to this incident were still under review by the appropriate authorities. Ofsted does not have the power to investigate specific complaints and concerns relating to individual pupils. However, Ofsted does consider such concerns when assessing the effectiveness of the school’s safeguarding arrangements and its leadership.

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Evidence

Having considered the evidence, I am of the opinion that, at this time, the arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Context

William Perkin is larger than the average-sized secondary school. There are 1135 pupils on roll, including 142 students in the sixth form. There are similar numbers of girls and boys on roll. The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is above that of other schools. The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is below the national average. The number of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is significantly below the national average. However, the proportion of pupils who have an education, health and care (EHC) plan is significantly above that of other schools. The majority of pupils with an EHC plan receive additional support through a separate resource centre established to support pupils with autism.

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Context

The school opened in 2013 and has grown year on year. The first cohort of students entered the sixth form in September 2018. The school is part of the Twyford Academies Trust and is sponsored by the Diocese of London. The school shares its site with another of the trust’s schools Ada Lovelace, which opened in September 2018 with its first cohort of Year 7 pupils. Pupils in Year 7 from the two schools are taught together. This will continue until the new school moves to its own permanent building in September 2020.

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Safeguarding

The school’s arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Leaders, including those responsible for governance, take their responsibility for safeguarding pupils seriously. Governors hold leaders to account effectively. Leaders ensure that staff employed to work in the school are suitable to work with children. They conduct thorough checks and maintain comprehensive and up-to-date recruitment records. The staff with responsibility for safeguarding are highly trained, as are the two designated safeguarding governors. All staff receive high-quality safeguarding training, and all know exactly what they should do if they are concerned about a pupil.

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Safeguarding

The school’s safeguarding policies and procedures and clear and understood by all staff. Staff are vigilant. They know the warning signs that may suggest that a pupil is at risk from harm. They communicate with speed, and pass on any concerns to appropriate staff without delay. Leaders are swift to refer concerns to external agencies, when necessary. They access early help quickly, and provide agencies with the information they need to keep pupils safe. When leaders do not agree with a decision taken by an external agency, they are dogged and tenacious, and push to ensure that appropriate decisions are made.

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Safeguarding

Pupils feel safe in the school. Every pupil who spoke to inspectors said they feel safe. Pupils said that they know who to go to if they have a concern, and are confident that they will receive the support they need. This is because pupils are provided with excellent pastoral care. They are taught how to keep themselves safe, including when they are online. Pupils have access to a wide range of professionals in the school, including mentors, counsellors, therapists and psychologists. Pupils receive appropriate information and guidance regularly, during assemblies and morning tutor sessions.

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Safeguarding

Leaders ensure that procedures for keeping pupils safe are secure. Pupils with medical needs are well cared for. Leaders ensure that medicine is stored securely. They ensure that medicine is in-date and that pupils’ care plans are stored alongside the medicine they need in clearly labelled boxes.

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Behaviour

Leaders have exceptionally high standards for themselves, and for staff and pupils. The school’s behaviour policy is thoughtful and clear. All staff adhere to the policy consistently when managing pupils’ behaviour. Leaders’ intentions are clear. They want pupils to understand why they should behave in a certain way, and they do.

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Behaviour

The pupils who spoke to inspectors said that they welcomed the school’s high standards. They told inspectors that this made them feel safe and helped them to learn. Pupils attend school regularly and are very rarely late. They look very smart and conduct themselves exceptionally well in lessons and as they move around the building. At the end of break and lunchtimes, pupils move promptly and quietly to their lessons. Inspectors noted pupils taking responsibility for their learning, and they required no prompting to get ready for lessons. Regular checks by staff ensure that pupils are equipped to learn. Pupils engage fully in lessons; they take pride in their work, and organise their books and folders well. Inspectors did not see any disruptive behaviour in lessons, and the school’s own behaviour records indicate that disruptive behaviour is very rare.

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Leadership and management

The school is very well led and managed. In 2018, pupils’ achievement at the end of Year 11 was exceptionally high and significantly above the national average in all subjects. All staff understand leaders’ vision for the school, and the school’s policies are applied consistently. Leaders have created a calm and purposeful learning environment.

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Leadership and management

Leaders, including those responsible for governance, work tirelessly to ensure that all pupils receive the highest standard of education possible. Staff and pupils work equally hard to secure the highest outcomes. Teachers plan effectively, and ensure that pupils are challenged in lessons. Pupils develop the skills and knowledge they require to be successful, and they make strong progress as a result.

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Leadership and management

Leaders reflect on their work constantly. They are swift to refine and improve their practice where they can. Leaders responded quickly and appropriately to the recent critical incident. They have managed the school community through this very difficult period with great care and compassion. Leaders, including those responsible for governance, commissioned two independent reviews following the tragic death of a pupil, and were quick to act upon all recommendations in the subsequent reports.

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Leadership and management

Pupils are polite and courteous, and they treat each other with respect. This is because leaders promote equality very well. Pupils are given opportunities to learn about different faiths and cultures, and they accept those who are different from them. Pupils said that bullying is very rare, and this is supported by leaders’ own records. They said that, when relationships do become strained, staff are quick to step in and help. Pupils spoke positively of the way staff, including the chaplain, use a sensitive approach to restore relationships. This is because the chaplain is trained in conflict resolution and has provided support for staff in this area.

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Leadership and management

Pupils are taught about the dangers of social media. Leaders took the decision to ban smart phones in the school. Parents and carers welcomed this decision, and pupils understood why it had been taken. As a result, issues relating to the inappropriate use of social media are rare in the school.

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Sixth form

The strengths that are evident in the rest of the school are also evident in the sixth form. Leaders anticipated the challenges a new sixth form would bring and appointed appropriately skilled staff in advance of it opening. Although the sixth form is not fully established and there are no students in Year 13, inspectors noted a wide range of strengths.

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Sixth form

Teachers use their excellent subject knowledge to plan lessons that engage and challenge students. Students prepare for lessons by reading and acquiring knowledge. In lessons, teachers skilfully teach students how to apply this knowledge, with a strong emphasis on developing their key skills. Students are mature and well behaved, and are respectful to each other.

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Sixth form

The sixth form curriculum is broad. Students are provided with a range of additional opportunities and activities to develop additional skills. For example, students are required to attend lectures in the subjects they are studying. These additional sessions are designed to stretch students’ thinking beyond A Level. Students told inspectors that they value the lectures, because they are able to consider and discuss profound and complex questions. One example of a lecture was: ‘Can time be paused?’

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Sixth form

The sixth form is welcoming. In 2018, a significant minority of students joined from other schools. Students in the sixth form develop their craft as leaders. They engage in community work, through the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme, and support pupils lower down the school as mentors, prefects or buddy readers.

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Sixth form

I am copying this letter to the chair of the board of trustees, the chief executive officer of the multi academy trust, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for Ealing. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website.

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