Harrytown Catholic High School

Harrytown Catholic High School Harrytown, Romiley, Stockport, Cheshire SK6 3BU

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

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Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Leaders have taken action to secure significant improvement since the last inspection. Pupils’ progress has improved rapidly across a range of subjects as a result.  Leaders have strengthened middle leadership through the appointments they have made and by providing training. Middle leaders are keen to bring about improvement in their areas.  Changes to the governing body have widened the range of skills that governors bring to the role. Governors have an accurate view of the school. They challenge leaders effectively.  The quality of teaching has improved. Leaders have put in place training to ensure that teaching effectively meets pupils’ needs.  Progress in mathematics has not improved. This is because some pupils are not challenged. There are not enough opportunities for them to practise mathematical fluency, reasoning and problem-solving skills.  Disadvantaged pupils’ progress is improving rapidly. However, there are still differences

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

between the progress of these pupils and that of other pupils nationally.  The progress of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) has increased steadily since the last inspection. These pupils make good progress.  The curriculum is broad and balanced. There are a number of high-quality extra-curricular activities to broaden pupils’ experiences and knowledge.  Pupils’ literacy skills are strong. They write with accuracy and fluency. They are encouraged to read widely, both in school and at home.  The provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural (SMSC) development is effective. Pupils learn to be tolerant and respectful towards other people. They are well prepared for life in modern Britain.  Pupils typically behave well in school. They have positive attitudes to learning. They are kept safe and feel safe while at school.  The proportion of pupils who are excluded from

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

school for a fixed period remains high. This is particularly true for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND.  Disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND do not attend school as regularly as their peers, although their attendance is improving.  The quality of careers advice and guidance that pupils receive is good. Most pupils move into education, employment or training.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure that improvements in the teaching of mathematics bring about greater gains in learning by: – providing pupils with more regular opportunities to develop their mathematical fluency, reasoning and problem-solving skills – providing activities that challenge pupils to achieve at the highest possible standard.  Continue to improve attendance by ensuring that the proportion of pupils who are regularly absent from school decreases, particularly disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND, so that it is at least in line with the national average.  Help those pupils who need to control their own behaviour to do so in order that fewer pupils are excluded from school for a fixed period, particularly disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

 Leaders have brought about considerable improvement since the last inspection. The introduction of clear systems for accountability has ensured that all leaders and teachers take responsibility for the progress and welfare of the pupils in their care. Middle leaders welcome this and feel that they have been given the responsibility and support to bring about improvement in their areas.  Since the last inspection, there has been considerable turbulence in staffing. Leaders have grasped this opportunity to strengthen both teaching and leadership. They have made some important appointments to middle leadership. These will allow them to move to a faculty structure and provide more opportunities for middle leaders to collaborate and share good practice.  Leaders’ effective monitoring of teaching and learning ensures that they know the strengths and weaker aspects of their teachers well. Leaders have used this

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

information to introduce a programme of training that provides appropriate support for teachers. Teachers now challenge pupils effectively through activities that meet pupils’ needs and build on what they already know. As a result, all groups of pupils are making stronger progress.  Training provided by leaders has brought about improvements in the quality of teaching. Consequently, pupils are making greater gains in their learning. Published examination results show a steady increase in the progress that pupils have made over the last three years. Their progress is now above the national average across a range of subjects. This trend of improvement is continuing for current pupils.  Despite the improvements that have taken place across other subject areas, pupils continue to make less progress in mathematics. There has been little improvement since the last inspection and pupils’ work shows that this is still the case for current

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

pupils. Leaders have taken action but they have had difficulty in providing stable staffing. Consequently, there has been little improvement in the quality of teaching in mathematics.  At the time of the last inspection, leaders did not use the pupil premium funding effectively to help disadvantaged pupils to make progress in line with that of their peers. They have now put strategies in place to help these pupils to attend more regularly and to catch up with their learning. Disadvantaged pupils’ progress has improved considerably as a result.  The curriculum is based on a broad range of subjects across key stage 3 and key stage 4. A wide range of extra-curricular opportunities enhance pupils’ experiences of learning. For example, there is a very successful science, technology, engineering and mathematics club, and a group of pupils have recently been to Wales to consider the geography of the coast.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

 Leaders provide a number of opportunities to develop pupils’ literacy skills. Pupils who enter the school with poor reading skills are given support to help them to catch up. Reading is promoted across the school. There is time for guided reading during English lessons. Pupils are also expected to read during form time and continue to read their books at home. Pupils typically write with fluency and accuracy. Standards of literacy are high.  Leaders provide dedicated curriculum time to pupils’ personal development and welfare each week. Leaders have developed these sessions to help pupils learn how to be responsible citizens in modern multicultural Britain. They also help to develop pupils’ SMSC understanding by encouraging discussion and debate on current national and local issues. Pupils are also encouraged to consider and debate ethical issues during religious education, which further enhances their SMSC development. For example, in

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

Year 10, pupils debated the question of euthanasia.  Leaders use a range of trips and visits to enhance the curriculum and support pupils’ personal development. Pupils benefit from days when they are taken off timetable to consider key issues that have an impact on the local community, such as knife crime, antisocial behaviour and drug abuse. Pupils are also given an opportunity to celebrate cultural differences in the local community through a multifaith celebration day. Visitors from a number of different faith groups come together to celebrate their differences and their shared values.

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Governance of the school

 The governing body has undergone considerable change since the last inspection. There is a new chair and vice-chair, as well as several new governors. The new governors bring a range of skills to the role from both the education sector and business. They know the strengths and weaknesses of the school. They use their skills and knowledge effectively to hold school leaders to account.  Governors have worked closely with leaders to ensure that the key recommendations from a review of pupil premium funding have been acted upon. The progress of disadvantaged pupils has increased considerably as a result.  Governors work closely with school leaders to ensure that the processes in place to keep children safe are effective. They have all received appropriate, up-to-date training on safeguarding and the key issues that face their pupils.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.  The safeguarding policy has been updated annually and training has been given to all staff to ensure that they know what to do if they have concerns about a pupil. Leaders provide updates to safeguarding information during staff training sessions when necessary. Leaders have ensured that appropriate systems are in place so that only adults who are safe to work with pupils are employed in the school.  During the inspection, pupils demonstrated that they knew how to keep themselves safe online. They told inspectors that there was always someone to go to if they needed help. They explained the role of the ‘bullying ambassadors’ but felt that they were rarely needed. Typically, pupils did not think that bullying was an issue in the school but felt it was dealt with well by staff when it did happen.  Leaders work cooperatively with providers of alternative provision to ensure that all

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Safeguarding

safeguarding checks are in place and that pupils attend regularly. Attendance is closely monitored, and absence followed up promptly. Leaders visit these providers regularly to ensure that pupils are safe and making good progress.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

 The quality of teaching has improved considerably since the last inspection. Pupils are making good progress across almost all subject areas as a result.  Since the last inspection, there has been a focus on the quality of teachers’ questioning and the use of assessment. Teaching now builds more effectively on pupils’ past learning. Consequently, they have fewer gaps in their learning and progress is stronger.  Teachers start lessons by helping pupils to remember previous learning. Consequently, pupils build on their prior learning, as well as making stronger connections between their new learning and what they already know. This makes them more confident when answering or asking questions so that they make better progress.  Most teachers now use questioning effectively. When this is the case, their questioning is directed to individual pupils and checks their understanding. Many teachers use questioning to help pupils to think deeply about their learning and adjust their ideas. As

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

a result, pupils are making better progress.  The school’s policies expect teachers to give pupils time to reflect on their work and make changes or redraft it. Most teachers use this time effectively to help pupils to see where they have gone wrong and their work improves as a result.  The past underperformance of disadvantaged pupils has left gaps in their knowledge. Middle leaders and teachers identify the individual needs of these pupils and intervene to help them to make stronger progress. There are still differences between the progress of disadvantaged pupils and that of other pupils but these are diminishing.  Teachers work within and across departments, as well as with other schools, to check the accuracy of their assessments. As a result, they are more confident in their assessments, which are more reliable. This improvement has helped teachers to plan learning that is more effective in meeting the needs of pupils.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

 The special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) has produced a ‘passport’ for all pupils with SEND. This details the specific learning needs of the pupil, with advice on how to provide support. This, together with the training that the SENCo has provided, has helped teachers to meet the needs of pupils with SEND more effectively. These pupils are now making good progress.  Although stronger teaching is bringing about improvement in pupils’ learning across most subject areas, this is not the case in mathematics. In mathematics, pupils’ progress is considerably weaker than the national average. Teaching tends to focus on learning procedures at the expense of developing mathematical fluency, reasoning and problem-solving skills. For pupils that have low prior attainment, the work set is often not challenging enough.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.  Pupils benefit from a comprehensive programme to support their personal development and welfare. This covers all aspects of British values, as well as pupils’ SMSC development. Leaders have improved the curriculum by introducing a series of high- quality resources that stimulate discussion. This is improving pupils’ engagement and ensuring that teaching is more consistent.  Pupils develop a clear understanding of democratic principles, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect. They were able to talk to inspectors about the importance of valuing all people, despite their differences.  Leaders provide pupils with good-quality careers information. Pupils receive help and support to guide them in their options for key stage 4. Independent advice, careers fairs and trial interviews are used to help them to determine the next stage in their

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Personal development and welfare

career. Leaders are further developing the careers curriculum and are well on their way to meeting the government’s targets for careers education.  There are a small number of pupils who attend alternative provision. Leaders ensure that the provision effectively meets the needs of the individual pupils. As a result, these pupils are well cared for and safe.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good.  Pupils are generally respectful to each other and to adults in the school. They behave well in social areas. Their interactions with each other and with teachers are generally lively and vibrant. Although teachers monitor these areas, pupils are able to moderate their own behaviour when teachers are not present.  Pupils typically have positive attitudes to learning. They listen carefully during lessons and engage in the activities set. Their work demonstrates that they work hard to complete it. While some work is untidy, it is usually well organised and complete. Pupils typically take pride in their work.  During lesson changes, pupils move through the corridors quickly and purposefully. They arrive punctually at lessons. Instances of bullying are rare.  Attendance has improved since the last inspection. Overall attendance is now only slightly lower than the national average. Leaders have appointed an attendance officer

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Behaviour

to monitor attendance and bring about improvement. This is having an impact, particularly for those pupils who are regularly absent from school.  The proportion of pupils who are regularly absent from school is higher than the national average, particularly for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND. For these pupils, the reasons for absence are looked at on an individual basis. Contact between home and school is frequent and support is put in place where possible. These actions help pupils to overcome the barriers that prevent them from attending school. As a result, the proportion of pupils who are regularly absent from school has decreased over the last year.  The rate of exclusion is higher than the national average. Leaders explained that this was a consequence of two significant incidents that took place on the school premises. One of these incidents was at the end of the school day and included pupils from other

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Behaviour

schools in the area. These two incidents inflated the exclusion figures significantly. However, there have been no further incidents since, and the exclusions have been effective in acting as a deterrent to other pupils.

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Outcomes for pupils Good

 Information from pupils’ GCSE results demonstrates that leaders have brought about steady improvement in pupils’ progress since the last inspection. Progress has improved from being well below the national average to above the national average across almost all subject areas.  Attainment measures are also showing considerable improvement. The proportion of pupils that gain a standard pass in both English and mathematics is higher than the national average. The proportion of pupils that gain a strong pass in both English and mathematics is in line with the national average. Similarly, the proportion of pupils that attain a standard pass in the English Baccalaureate suite of subjects is in line with the national average.  Progress in mathematics has not been as strong. Historic data demonstrates that pupils’ progress in GCSE mathematics has been below the national average and has shown very little improvement since the last inspection.

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Outcomes for pupils Good

 Current pupils’ progress is following the same trend as that seen in the historic GCSE results. Pupils continue to make good progress across a range of subjects. However, progress in mathematics remains weaker than that seen in other subjects. Although leaders have made a number of appointments in the mathematics department, these will not commence until September.  Disadvantaged pupils’ progress has improved significantly since the implementation of the recommendations of the pupil premium review. Current disadvantaged pupils are continuing to make improved progress. The difference between the progress of disadvantaged pupils and that of other pupils is diminishing.  The training given to teachers, together with the detailed information about pupils’ individual needs that is available to them through the ‘pupil passport’, helps them to plan learning that meets the specific needs of pupils with SEND. These pupils now

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Outcomes for pupils Good

make good progress over time from their starting points.  Catch-up funding is used effectively to help pupils with weak literacy skills. Small-group guided reading and the reading that takes place in English and during form time help these pupils to make strong gains in their literacy skills. Over two thirds of them have made gains in their reading age by the end of Year 7.  The high-quality careers education, together with the proportion of pupils that gain a GCSE in both English and mathematics, ensures that pupils are well prepared for the next stage in their career. Pupils’ destinations after they leave the school are appropriate and help them to make progress towards their chosen career. The proportion of pupils who move to appropriate destinations is higher than the national average.

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School details

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Email address headteacher@harrytown.stockport.sch.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 10–11 January 2017

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Information about this school

 Harrytown Catholic High School is smaller than the average-sized mixed comprehensive 11 to 16 secondary school.  The proportion of pupils that are eligible for free school meals is lower than the national average.  The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is lower than the national average.  The proportion of pupils with SEND and the proportion of pupils with an education, health and care plan are both higher than the national averages.  In key stage 4, a small number of pupils attend alternative provision at The Pendlebury Centre and Broadstones School.  The school is governed by a local governing body.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed teaching and learning across a range of subjects, including carrying out joint observations with school leaders.  Inspectors formally scrutinised pupils’ work from Years 7, 8, 9 and 10 across a range of subjects jointly with school leaders. They also looked at pupils’ work when observing teaching and learning.  Inspectors met with the headteacher and other senior leaders. They spoke with a group of curriculum leaders, a group of teachers and a group of non-teaching staff.  Inspectors met formally with four groups of pupils from Years 7, 8, 9 and 10. They also spoke with pupils informally during social times.  Inspectors spoke with a representative of the local authority, a representative of the diocese and the school improvement partner. An inspector spoke with four members of the governing body, including the chair of governors.  Inspectors examined a range of documentation, including school policies, safeguarding

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Information about this inspection

procedures, the leaders’ self-evaluation and the leaders’ school improvement plan.  Inspectors considered the 26 responses to the pupils’ survey, the 32 responses to the online staff questionnaire, the 107 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, and the 80 written responses from parents and carers.

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Inspection team

Erica Sharman, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Annette Patterson 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

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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