Schools & FE · School inspection (CIF)
Parrenthorn High School
Summary
Jonathan Smart (lead), Allan Torr, David Hampson, Kath Harris, Rachel Cave, Sheldon Logue
What we read, and from where
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- Inspection date verified
25 Apr 2019
- Inspectors verified
Allan Torr, David Hampson, Jonathan Smart, Kath Harris, Rachel Cave, Sheldon Logue
- Leadership and management verified
Requires improvement
- Outcomes verified
Requires improvement
- Overall effectiveness verified
Requires improvement
- Personal development, behaviour and welfare verified
Requires improvement
- Previous overall verified
Outstanding
- Teaching, learning and assessment verified
Requires improvement
- Postcode verified
M25 2BW
- Name on report verified
Parrenthorn High School
- URN verified
105358
Deep dive
What this report says
In plain English
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Grade profile
Hollow rings show the previous inspection, 2008.
- OverallRequires improvement
- Leadership and managementRequires improvement
- OutcomesRequires improvement
- Personal development, behaviour and welfareRequires improvement
- Teaching, learning and assessmentRequires improvement
Tone of the report
How positive or critical the inspectors' language is, from the words they chose. No AI involved.
In line with other reports of this type graded Requires improvement.
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How the report reads, start to finish
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Strengths
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- The school’s science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics STEAM events are extremely well attended and highly effective in sparking pupils’ interest in these subject areas. p.7
- Pupils receive excellent support to stay safe when online and when using social media. p.1
- For example, there is highly effective support so that pupils know to stay safe when online and when using social media. p.5
- Pupils who are educated at alternative providers behave well and are well supported to make good progress in their learning. p.7
- Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Outstanding p.1
Concerns
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- Pupils’ progress was weak across a range of subjects, including humanities and modern foreign languages. p.1
- In the past, leaders’ use of pupil premium funding has been ineffective. p.1
- Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) do not make consistently good progress from their starting points. p.1
Next steps
Quoted from the report. Tap to see it on the page.
- Improve pupils’ outcomes by: – ensuring that disadvantaged pupils make consistently good progress from their starting points, particularly disadvantaged boys – ensuring that pupils’ outcomes improve further by the end of key stage 4, particularly in modern foreign languages and humanities – further improving the progress made by pupils with SEND. p.2
- Improve pupils’ personal development, behaviour and welfare by: – improving disadvantaged pupils’ attendance and reducing the proportion of disadvantaged pupils who are regularly absent from school – reducing further the number of boys, especially disadvantaged boys, who are temporarily excluded from school or from lessons. p.2
- Since the new senior leadership team took up post, it has improved the school from a low base. p.3
- Senior leaders are well on their way to transforming the quality of education that the school provides. p.3
- However, the school does not currently provide a good standard of education. p.3
- Leaders have a secure understanding of their school. p.3
- Their school improvement priorities are precise and accurate. p.3
- They are based on a secure evaluation of the quality of education that the school currently provides. p.3
What the report dwells on
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Anatomy of the report
How the report is built, against others of the same type and grade.
- Pages
- 13
- Words of findings
- 3,854
- longer than usual (typical 3064)
- Reading level
- Hard
- Flesch 46, typical 47
- Average sentence
- 14 words
- Next steps
- 8
- typical 8
- Hedged sentences
- 12%
- “some”, “not always”, “most”…
Where the words go
Full report text
Parrenthorn High School Heywood Road, Prestwich, Manchester M25 2BW
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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement
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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement
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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement
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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Requires improvement
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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement
p.1
Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Outstanding
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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils
This is a school that requires improvement
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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils
In 2018, pupils underachieved considerably by the end of key stage 4. Pupils’ progress was weak across a range of subjects, including humanities and modern foreign languages. Although improving, particularly at key stage 3, disadvantaged pupils underachieve, especially disadvantaged boys. In the past, leaders’ use of pupil premium funding has been ineffective. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) do not make consistently good progress from their starting points. Leaders’ systems to check and improve the quality of teaching are increasingly effective. However, some weaker teaching persists. Improvement plans do not contain clear measures of success on which governors can challenge and hold leaders to account for the impact of their actions to improve the school. Middle leadership is not consistently good. Leaders have overhauled the curriculum. However, it is too early to see the full effect of
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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils
this on pupils’ learning and progress. Some teachers do not challenge pupils, especially the most able pupils, to think deeply about the concepts and topics that they study. In some subjects, teachers do not sequence learning effectively enough. They do not think carefully about what pupils should know and how that knowledge builds over time. Teachers do not develop pupils’ subject-specific literacy and language skills well enough. Pupils engage well in high-quality discussions in lessons. However, some pupils, especially boys, do not transfer their ideas and knowledge into their written work with enough precision. Too many disadvantaged pupils are regularly absent from school. Too many pupils are temporarily excluded from school or lessons.
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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils
The current leadership team is well on the journey to transforming the school. Their improvement priorities are correct and their view on the school’s effectiveness is accurate. Pupils’ attainment is good. The proportion of pupils who achieve a standard or strong pass in English and mathematics is similar to the national average. Pupils behave well in lessons and most are keen to learn. Staff and pupils confirm that leaders have improved behaviour considerably over the last two years. Pastoral support is very strong. Bullying is rare. Pupils receive excellent support to stay safe when online and when using social media. Safeguarding is highly effective.
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What does the school need to do to improve further?
Improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment by: – ensuring that teachers develop pupils’ subject-specific literacy and language skills equally well across the curriculum – ensuring that pupils’ written work improves further, especially that of boys – ensuring that teachers set demanding work for pupils, particularly the most able pupils, that challenges them to think deeply about the concepts being studied – ensuring that teachers sequence learning more effectively through thinking carefully about what pupils need to know and how that fits into the bigger picture. Improve pupils’ outcomes by: – ensuring that disadvantaged pupils make consistently good progress from their starting points, particularly disadvantaged boys – ensuring that pupils’ outcomes improve further by the end of key stage 4, particularly in modern foreign languages and humanities – further improving the progress made by pupils with SEND.
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What does the school need to do to improve further?
Improve pupils’ personal development, behaviour and welfare by: – improving disadvantaged pupils’ attendance and reducing the proportion of disadvantaged pupils who are regularly absent from school – reducing further the number of boys, especially disadvantaged boys, who are temporarily excluded from school or from lessons. Improve leadership and management by: – ensuring that governors challenge and support leaders more effectively and evaluate the effectiveness of the actions that leaders take to improve the school on pupils’ learning and progress – ensuring that school improvement plans, including the pupil premium strategy, contain clear measures of success – strengthening middle leadership so that middle leaders are fully accountable for the implementation and impact of the curriculum in their subject areas – ensuring that the pupil premium funding is used more effectively to remove barriers to learning for disadvantaged pupils
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What does the school need to do to improve further?
– embedding and enhancing leaders’ systems to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of teaching to eradicate any remaining weaknesses.
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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement
Since the new senior leadership team took up post, it has improved the school from a low base. Senior leaders are well on their way to transforming the quality of education that the school provides. However, the school does not currently provide a good standard of education. Leaders have a secure understanding of their school. Their school improvement priorities are precise and accurate. They are based on a secure evaluation of the quality of education that the school currently provides. Nevertheless, there is a disconnect between some plans, for example the whole-school improvement plan and the pupil premium strategy. This is because they operate in isolation to one another. Moreover, the plans do not contain specific measures of impact regarding which governors can hold leaders to account. It is not always clear what the role of teachers and middle leaders is in improving outcomes for pupils. Although middle leadership is developing well across the school, it is not consistently
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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement
good. For example, some middle leaders have overseen a decline in pupils’ progress over time. Other middle leaders are new to role. Senior leaders provide good-quality ongoing training for middle leaders. However, some middle leaders have not developed the confidence or skills to be fully accountable for the quality of the curriculum in their subject areas, or its impact on pupils’ learning and progress. Leaders have overhauled the curriculum. They have rightly reviewed what is taught at key stage 3 and have effectively implemented changes. Consequently, pupils are making much stronger progress at key stage 3. Leaders have also evaluated the curriculum provision at key stage 4. Historically, most pupils have followed an academic route, for example the English Baccalaureate (Ebacc). This was still the case in 2017/18, with over three-quarters of pupils taking the Ebacc subjects. Although leaders are committed to an aspirational curriculum, this
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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement
does not meet some pupils’ needs. Leaders have successfully introduced a broader and more balanced offer at key stage 4. This is to support a small number of pupils who have different aspirations for their future education, employment or training. Leaders are on a journey towards raising teachers’ expectations of what pupils can and should achieve. However, not all pupils reach their potential. For example, outcomes for the most able pupils are not good enough. This is because teachers do not challenge pupils sufficiently well to think deeply about the topics or concepts that they are studying. Leaders’ fortnightly monitoring programme effectively informs the ongoing teacher training programme. The programme covers whole-school issues, for example teachers’ approach to questioning and improving outcomes for boys. Each department has a ‘teaching and learning champion’ to develop more consistently good-quality teaching
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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement
across their subject areas. There are well-received breakfast sessions where staff deliver short sessions on effective teaching strategies. Although this ongoing training is improving the overall quality of teaching and learning, teaching is still not consistently good across the school. There is some weaker teaching that persists. Senior leaders track pupils’ progress well. They have introduced well-thought-out procedures to ensure that the information that teachers give them is accurate. For example, they have engaged with other schools to moderate and check the accuracy of assessments. This gives leaders a rich and comprehensive overview of how well current pupils are progressing across the curriculum. However, leaders have not had the time to show the impact of these changes on pupils’ outcomes at key stage 4. Until more recently, the pupil premium funding has not been spent effectively. Leaders
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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement
commissioned an external review of the pupil premium funding to see how they could use this money to greater effect. Leaders have acted on the findings and have made some strategic changes to improve the quality of teaching for these pupils. However, disadvantaged pupils, particularly disadvantaged boys, are not making consistently good progress from their starting points across both key stages. Conversely, leaders use the literacy and numeracy catch-up funding much more effectively. Pupils who enter the school with literacy and numeracy skills below age- related expectations are well supported to catch up with their peers. The special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) also ensures that the additional funding for pupils with an education, health and care plan is spent increasingly well. However, some pupils with SEND do not routinely have access to good-quality teaching. They do not make consistently good progress from their starting points in
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Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement
some subjects. The provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural (SMSC) development is strong. Leadership of this area is good. There is a comprehensive, well-designed programme of activities that covers all aspects of pupils’ SMSC development. There is a good-quality programme of extra-curricular provision. Pupils have access to a range of sports, a drama club, drumming lessons, the wind band and extra revision sessions after school. Pupils appreciate the extra sessions that their teachers provide. Middle leaders and teachers say that senior leaders take workload into account. They are considerate of supporting staff with regards to their work-life balance. Newly qualified teachers and recently qualified teachers feel well supported by leaders. They are proud to be a part of the school.
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Governance of the school
Governors are passionate and committed to improving the school. However, governors have not acted quickly enough to arrest the decline in pupils’ outcomes. That said, there have been several new appointments to the board of governors, who demonstrate an unwavering desire to reverse the trend of decline. They have the skills to improve this aspect of leadership and management. Over time, governors have not held leaders fully to account by asking probing and challenging questions about the impact of leaders’ actions to improve the school. Despite this, recent minutes of the governing body show that governors are now challenging leaders much more assiduously. Leaders do not give governors all the information that they need to fulfil their role effectively. For example, the school improvement plan and pupil premium plan do not contain appropriate measures of success on which governors can hold leaders to
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Governance of the school
account. Governors exercise their statutory safeguarding duties effectively. They have supported leaders to improve the culture and ethos of the school, for example by improving pupils’ behaviour for learning. Governors have also been pivotal in reducing exclusions. However, temporary exclusions from school, and from lessons, are not at an acceptable level.
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Safeguarding
The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. There is a strong culture of safeguarding across the school. The leadership of safeguarding is good. All statutory requirements are met and staff training is frequent and appropriate. Pupils benefit from high-quality pastoral support during their time at Parrenthorn High School. They feel safe in school. The parents who responded to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, are positive about leaders’ work to keep pupils safe. Leaders ensure that local safeguarding concerns are considered. For example, there is highly effective support so that pupils know to stay safe when online and when using social media. Leaders take effective action to educate pupils about the dangers of gangs and the impact of knife crime. Leaders work collaboratively with other agencies, for example the police and the local authority. Leaders instigate early help as required. Where referrals to the Local
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Safeguarding
Safeguarding Children’s Board do not meet the threshold, leaders continue to pursue agencies for additional support to safeguard pupils. Leaders’ documentation relating to pupils’ safety and well-being is strong.
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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement
Some teachers do not plan and sequence learning effectively enough. These teachers do not think carefully about the knowledge that pupils need to know in each lesson and how this fits into the bigger picture. This is particularly the case in humanities, where the sequencing of learning between lessons lacks careful consideration. Occasionally, topics jump around without a clear rationale for learning. This is also the case in modern foreign languages. Teachers do not consider how to develop pupils’ grammatical understanding over time, particularly at key stage 3. Consequently, some pupils do not commit knowledge to their long-term memory. They make basic mistakes, such as omissions of verbs in sentences. They are unable to describe the use of reflexive verbs when learning about daily routine activities. Some teachers do not set work that is demanding enough for pupils, particularly the most able pupils. Consequently, pupils are not challenged to think deeply about the
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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement
topics or subjects that they are studying. Key stage 3 schemes of learning have been overhauled. These outline what is taught across subjects. These schemes of learning are having a very positive impact on pupils’ learning in English and technology. However, they are not equally well embedded across all other subjects. Leaders have effective plans in place to ensure that this happens quickly. Teachers are using their assessment of pupils’ learning more effectively. They are developing their knowledge about how to measure pupils’ progress from their starting points. Teachers apply the school’s marking and assessment policies well. Teachers have strong subject knowledge. However, some teachers do not use this to inspire pupils to have a love of learning, which would enable them to make consistently good progress from their starting points. There is a strong focus on improving pupils’ generic literacy skills across the
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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement
curriculum. For example, pupils are supported by peer-to-peer reading, speech and language development and additional literacy lessons. However, teachers do not develop subject-specific literacy and language skills equally well across the curriculum. An external audit of the quality of teaching in mathematics was commissioned. Teachers have already begun to act on the findings and recommendations. Current pupils are now making stronger progress because of improvements to teaching. Pupils’ communication skills are well developed. They articulate their responses to key questions in lessons effectively and with maturity. For example, key stage 4 pupils can talk convincingly about satire and its relationship to politics. However, pupils across the school, especially boys, are less able to commit their ideas to their written work with enough depth and precision. Overall, teachers use their questions well to address pupils’ misconceptions in lessons.
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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement
On occasions, however, some teachers do not check that all pupils have attempted the tasks that they have been set before giving pupils the answers. In these cases, some pupils simply note down the responses that their teachers give them, rather than attempting to think for themselves. This negatively affects pupils’ progress.
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Personal development and welfare
The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good. Pupils report that bullying is rare and that, when it does occur, it is dealt with effectively. The parents who responded to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, were also positive about leaders’ work to prevent bullying. Pupils behave well around the school and at breaktimes and lunchtimes. There is no litter or graffiti and most pupils wear their uniforms with pride. Pupils enjoy coming to the school. They talk with conviction of the marked improvements to pupils’ attitudes to school since the appointment of the new senior leadership team. Pastoral support is a strong feature of this school. Pupils have access to a wide range of impressive provision that includes therapeutic support, mindfulness training and pupil counsellors. There is also a plethora of non-teaching staff who support vulnerable pupils. The use of the inclusion room is being used to develop techniques to prevent
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Personal development and welfare
behavioural issues reoccurring. There are very few incidents of racism, homophobia or sexist behaviour in the school. Pupils confirm that the school is highly inclusive and that everyone is accepted. Pupils have extensive leadership opportunities. There are many opportunities to become a prefect, a school councillor, and a peer mentor to support younger pupils with reading. Pupils value these opportunities. Leadership is also well developed through pupils’ participation in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. There is an effective programme of personal, social, health and economic education that is taught through ‘drop-down’ days. Pupils enjoy the range of topics that teachers cover because they are interesting and relevant. Pupils talked passionately about their learning during these ‘drop-down’ days. When pupils are absent from these sessions, they are expected to catch up with the work that they have missed.
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Personal development and welfare
The quality of careers education, information, advice and guidance (CEIAG) is very good. There is a well-thought-out programme of lessons and activities across Years 8 to 11. The school’s website contains valuable information for parents and pupils alike. The CEIAG provision for pupils with SEND is particularly strong. The school’s science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics STEAM events are extremely well attended and highly effective in sparking pupils’ interest in these subject areas. At the most recent event, over 100 families attended. Pupils and parents explored and experienced stalls and mini lectures, which were provided by a range of different institutions that were promoting careers in STEAM subjects. Pupils’ SMSC development is good. Pupils took an inspector on a tour of the school to demonstrate how SMSC is woven into the curriculum and the wider life of the school. The range of provision was impressive. Pupils also have a good knowledge of
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Personal development and welfare
fundamental British values. Pupils have a very strong knowledge of how to stay safe online and in their local community. Pupils say that leaders ensure that their health and well-being is a key priority.
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Behaviour
The behaviour of pupils requires improvement. Overall, pupils’ attendance is broadly in line with the national average for secondary schools. The overall number of pupils who are regularly absent from school is also reducing. That said, the rate of attendance for disadvantaged pupils remains too low. Too many of them are regularly absent from the school. Pupils’ behaviour in lessons has improved. Leaders have introduced a new behaviour policy. This has had a positive effect on pupils’ engagement and attitudes to learning. Pupils and staff confirmed to inspectors that there has been a vast improvement in pupils’ behaviour. When issues do occur, senior leaders support staff well to deal with concerns. Pupils behave well in lessons. However, a minority of pupils, particularly boys, do not always apply themselves diligently to their work. They do not misbehave. However, they do not complete the activities that the teacher has set and, therefore, do not
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Behaviour
make good progress. The proportion of pupils who are temporarily or permanently excluded from the school is declining, due to the success of leaders’ efforts to improve pupils’ behaviour. Leaders have successfully changed the school’s culture and ethos. Nonetheless, the number of temporary exclusions from school or from lessons remains too high. Disadvantaged pupils and boys are disproportionately excluded. Due to behavioural incidents in the school or in lessons, pupils may spend time in the internal inclusion room, where they continue with their curriculum studies. Pupils receive effective support from staff, including counsellors and behaviour outreach workers. This support helps pupils to address the issues that caused them to be removed from lessons. Pupils who are educated at alternative providers behave well and are well supported to make good progress in their learning. The school’s work to safeguard pupils at off-site
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Behaviour
provision is strong. Communication between leaders and staff at alternative providers is extremely good. Leaders engage regularly with representatives from alternative providers to review pupils’ learning and progress.
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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement
Over the past three years, pupils’ progress has declined by the end of key stage 4. In 2018, pupils’ progress was very weak in several subjects, including humanities, English and modern foreign languages. Pupils’ progress also declined in mathematics and in science to below the national averages for these subjects. This is because pupils did not make good enough progress from their starting points. Leaders have stemmed the decline and outcomes are improving. Over the past few years, the progress made by boys has been much weaker than that of girls. Inspectors scrutinised the work of current pupils across a range of subjects during the inspection. Current pupils’ work confirms that the gap between the progress of girls and boys is now closing more quickly in most subjects. Inspection evidence also confirms that pupils in key stage 3 now make much stronger progress. This is because they have benefited from improvements to the quality of
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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement
teaching and learning and much higher standards of behaviour. Middle leaders have also reviewed what is taught across this key stage. Although 2018 results show that progress in English was weak, most current pupils are making consistently good progress from their starting points in this subject. This is due to improved leadership and a much stronger focus on how well the curriculum is taught. Over the past two years, the progress made by disadvantaged pupils has been weak. Leaders and teachers have not addressed the specific barriers to learning that prevent these pupils from catching up with other pupils nationally with the same starting points. The use of the pupil premium funding has not been effective. However, there is secure evidence that current disadvantaged pupils are making better progress due to the improvements made to the quality of teaching and a strong focus on meeting the needs of these pupils. Nevertheless, disadvantaged pupils, especially disadvantaged
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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement
boys, do not make consistently good progress from their starting points. The progress made by pupils with SEND is not consistently good. In 2018, outcomes for pupils with SEND were poor. Leaders are taking effective action to improve the provision for pupils with SEND. However, these pupils have not caught up with other pupils nationally with the same starting points. The progress made by the most able pupils has declined over time. In 2018, the most able pupils underachieved across a number of subjects, including English, mathematics, modern foreign languages and humanities. Leaders have acted quickly to address this issue. However, they have not had enough time to demonstrate the impact of their actions on pupils’ outcomes by the end of key stage 4. The least able pupils make good progress from their starting points across a range of subjects. Pupils’ attain well across several subjects. For example, the proportion of pupils who
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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement
achieve a standard pass in English literature, textiles, drama, music, food technology, science and computer science is broadly in line with national averages or above. However, too few pupils achieve a strong pass or higher. Therefore, pupils do not achieve as well as they should. The progress made by children looked after is good and improving. Leaders have an equally strong focus on pastoral support and academic challenge to support these pupils. This helps to prepare the pupils for the next stages of their education, employment or training. The progress made by pupils accessing alternative provision is good. Some of these pupils have previously refused to go to school. They now access education in a much more positive way and make substantial progress. Leaders monitor the progress of pupils at alternative provision regularly. They make frequent checks to ensure that they are being taught well.
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Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement
Reading is promoted well, particularly at key stage 3. Inspectors met with some aspiring authors who are keen to publish their work. Overall, the proportion of pupils who progress to education, employment and training has been broadly the same as the national average for secondary schools. However, there is evidence that this figure is improving significantly.
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School details
This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. The inspection was also deemed a section 5 inspection under the same Act.
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School details
Appropriate authority The governing body
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School details
Date of previous inspection 9 to 10 December 2008
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Information about this school
Parrenthorn High School is an average-sized secondary school. The school has increased its planned admission number to cater for a demand for secondary school places in the local area. A new headteacher and two new deputy headteachers were appointed in September 2016. The school has a high number of children looked after on roll. The number of disadvantaged pupils on roll is similar to the national average for secondary schools. The number of pupils with an education, health and care plan is much higher than the national average. A few pupils are educated at alternative providers. The school makes use of: EdStart, Craig Ormerod Associates, Next Level Learning, Achieve Training, Changing Education Work Experience, Elms Bank School and Spring Lane.
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Information about this inspection
This inspection was carried out due to the following concerns: pupils’ outcomes across a range of subjects; the progress of disadvantaged pupils, boys and the most able pupils; and the proportion of pupils temporarily or permanently excluded from the school. Several complaints were also made to Ofsted which raised serious concerns. Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector decided that an inspection of the school should take place to follow up the whole-school issues that were raised. Inspectors followed up concerns about pupils’ behaviour and welfare, safeguarding arrangements, outcomes for pupils and the leadership and management of the school. This inspection was conducted with notice. However, following wider concerns about the quality of education that the school provides, the inspection was deemed a full section 5 inspection under section 9 of the Education Act. Inspectors formally observed teaching in a wide range of lessons across key stages 3
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Information about this inspection
and 4. Some of these were done jointly with senior leaders. Shorter learning walks across a series of lessons were also undertaken with senior leaders. Inspectors undertook an in-depth analysis of pupils’ work across subjects and across key stages. Inspectors also focused on the work of disadvantaged pupils, boys and the most able pupils. Most work scrutinies were jointly conducted with leaders. In addition, inspectors looked at pupils’ work in lessons. Meetings were held with a wide range of people, including: senior leaders; members of the governing body; a representative from the local authority; subject leaders; the coordinator for special educational needs; other middle leaders; teachers; newly qualified and recently qualified teachers; and pastoral leaders. A range of documentation was scrutinised by the inspection team, including: safeguarding documentation; the school’s own self-evaluation; the school improvement
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Information about this inspection
plan; an external review of pupil premium funding; a recent review of mathematics; the current pupil premium strategy; documentation relating to pupils with SEND; information about the quality of teaching, learning and assessment; information about ongoing teacher training; minutes of the meetings of the governing body; information about how well current pupils are progressing in their learning; analyses of past pupils’ performance; and behaviour, attendance and exclusion records. Observations of pupils’ behaviour were undertaken at the start of the school day, during the school day, between lessons, during breaktimes and at lunchtimes. Inspectors met formally with a range of pupils from key stages 3 and 4, including most-able pupils and those with SEND. Inspectors spoke to pupils informally around the school and during lessons. The inspection team considered 98 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent
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Inspection team
Jonathan Smart, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector
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Inspection team
Allan Torr Ofsted Inspector guidance ‘Raising concerns and making a complaint about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/publications/complaints-about-ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .
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Inspection team
In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. www.gov.uk/pupil-premium-information-for-schools-and- alternative-provision-settings .
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Inspection team
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 and as part of the inspection.
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Inspection team
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.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted .
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Inspection team
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 and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.
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Inspection team
If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .
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Inspection team
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Inspection team
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Inspection team
T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted
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