Monkseaton High School

Monkseaton High School Seatonville Road, Whitley Bay, Tyne and Wear NE25 9EQ

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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 Outstanding

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Leaders have created a culture where ‘equality, opportunity, inclusion and achievement’ permeate the school community and are the cornerstone of their work. As a result, pupils are extremely respectful, tolerant and caring. Therefore, pupils’ personal development and welfare are outstanding.  The headteacher and deputy headteacher, supported well by other leaders, have an accurate view of the school and what needs to be done to improve.  The curriculum provides pupils with a broad range of subjects. Extra-curricular opportunities develop pupils’ personal and social skills.  Leaders have created a culture where staff can learn from one another. As a result, morale is high.  The quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good. Teachers’ strong subject knowledge and expertise are clear. They use this well to plan learning that engages pupils and sequence activities so that pupils can build their knowledge and skills over time.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 In the main, questioning is used well to engage and prompt pupils’ ideas. However, there are times when questioning does not encourage pupils to extend or fully develop their ideas. Similarly, there are times when learning activities do not demand enough from pupils.  Pupils’ behaviour is good and, in some instances, exemplary. Pupils enjoy their time at school and they demonstrate this through their words and actions.  Despite some historical variability, particularly for disadvantaged pupils, current pupils in the school are achieving well. Rates of progress are improving for different groups of pupils and across a wide range of subjects. Therefore, pupils’ outcomes are good.  Leaders’ efforts to improve identified pupils’ reading skills are bearing fruit. Appropriate support and intervention are helping pupils develop those skills necessary for future success.  The sixth form is good. New line management

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

and leadership of the sixth form are providing a strong foundation for improvement. Students’ attitudes to their studies are a strength of this phase of the school. As a result, they achieve well over time.  While showing some sign of improvement, pupils’ attendance is not high enough, especially for disadvantaged pupils. However, leaders have initiated a raft of strategies to support individual pupils and ensure they attend more regularly.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching and further raise standards, in the main school and the sixth form, by: – providing learning activities that sufficiently challenge pupils consistently to achieve at the highest standards possible, especially for higher-prior-attaining pupils – ensuring that teachers’ questioning is routinely and consistently used to develop and extend pupils’ understanding of ideas and concepts.  Continue the drive to increase attendance and reduce persistent absence, in the main school and the sixth form, by ensuring that strategies to support pupils have a greater impact, and where they do not, adapting them accordingly.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

 The headteacher and deputy headteacher are a formidable, compassionate team. They lead by example and have the highest of expectations of all staff and pupils.  They have an accurate view of the school. They are candid, humble and driven to bring about further improvement. Leaders at all levels are dynamic and contribute well to the ethos of the school, so that all pupils experience a culture where ‘equality, opportunity, inclusion and achievement’ permeate the school. Together, they ensure that pupils who face barriers, particularly disadvantaged pupils, can achieve their very best.  Leaders are thorough and accurate in their analysis and evaluation of what the school does well and what needs to improve. The school development plan is a detailed document and it pinpoints the most pertinent areas of improvement that the school needs to focus on to improve standards, especially for disadvantaged pupils. Leaders’

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

planned reviews are regular so that leaders have a clear handle on what is working and what is not. The headteacher and deputy headteacher are more than willing to make difficult decisions and changes if things have not been as good as they should be, especially in relation to the decline in disadvantaged pupils’ outcomes since the previous inspection. Despite this decline, leaders have the experience and confidence to ensure that the school continues to improve apace and, therefore, the effectiveness of leadership and management is good.  Leaders’ actions to ensure that staff have access to a wide range of tailored professional development opportunities are having a positive impact on raising standards. Staff appreciate the opportunities they can engage in to learn from each other and share the good practice that exists in the school. Collaboration is a strong feature of the school and staff enjoy learning with and from one another.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

 Leaders’ determined approaches to improving outcomes for disadvantaged pupils is strategically well planned in the school’s pupil premium strategy plan. As a result, actions, especially those focusing on building resilience, have had a positive and considerable effect on improving and building pupils’ personal development and welfare. Consequently, these actions are enabling current disadvantaged pupils to make better gains in their knowledge and understanding over time.  Middle leaders are involved in the quality assurance processes that monitor the quality of teaching in their subject areas. For example, they take an active role in checking pupils’ work to gauge pupils’ progress and curriculum coverage. They know their roles and responsibilities well and they understand how important their roles are in holding staff to account and, therefore, improving the quality of teaching and raising standards.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

 The leadership of special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is effective. Pupils’ needs are identified quickly and, as a result, staff have access to valuable information that they can use to ensure that pupils with SEND acquire knowledge, understanding and skills alongside their peers.  The curriculum is broad, and pupils benefit from accessing a number of subjects that spark their interests and ambitions. Leaders’ firm commitment to give pupils access to a curriculum that prepares them for the demands of life in modern Britain is clearly evident. For example, more pupils are currently accessing modern foreign languages and, where appropriate, pupils access vocational qualifications that tap into their ambitions. The curriculum is well placed so that pupils can acquire and develop the knowledge, understanding and skills needed for life in modern Britain.  The personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education curriculum contributes

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

extremely well to pupils’ personal development and welfare. As a result, pupils’ attitudes are excellent, and they have highly respectful attitudes towards anyone that may be different from themselves.  Leaders’ well-planned promotion of British values, complemented by pupils’ strong spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, is excellent. Leaders and staff promote equality and diversity exceptionally well. Consequently, the ethos and culture of the school mitigate direct or indirect discrimination. Tolerance and respect permeate the school.

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Governance of the school

 Governors have a wide range of skills and expertise. They genuinely care about the school, its pupils, staff and the local community.  Governors are clear about their roles and responsibilities and how these are deployed among the governing body. They receive good-quality information from the headteacher and other leaders. As a result, the governors are equally well aware of those areas that need to improve.  Governors are effective in holding leaders to account. They have all received appropriate, up-to-date training, especially in safeguarding. They share the school’s vision of ensuring that pupils are safe and experience the best possible education.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.  The headteacher and other leaders and staff, including those with specific responsibility for safeguarding, are well trained and therefore aware of their responsibilities to ensure that all pupils feel safe and are safe. Staff receive appropriate training so that they have the knowledge and skills to identify when a pupil might be at risk of harm.  Those staff with specific responsibility for safeguarding are clear about their roles. Systems in place are clear and thorough. Consequently, a culture of vigilance is evident across the school. Links with appropriate external agencies are well placed, for example in the use of an external counsellor to support pupils’ mental health and well- being.  The checks completed on staff to assess their suitability so they can work with children are thorough and carefully recorded. Records are well maintained.

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Safeguarding

 The strong PSHE curriculum gives pupils a number of opportunities to learn about potential risks, for example when using social media and the negative effects of drug and alcohol misuse. This well-planned curriculum contributes strongly to pupils’ outstanding personal development and welfare.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

 The quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good. Learning is well planned and this ensures that activities are sequenced well so that pupils can build their knowledge and understanding of topics over time. In most subjects, pupils benefit from practising their skills, and this supports them so they can achieve well.  Pupils’ strong relationships with teachers and between each other enable them to engage in their learning well. Teachers know the pupils well. As a result, pupils, particularly those who are disadvantaged, are encouraged and motivated to do well and make strong progress.  Teachers have strong subject knowledge and expertise. This develops pupils’ confidence and, in the main, pupils are encouraged and prompted to use subject- specific vocabulary in their written and oral responses. Teachers support learning as they move around the classroom to check on pupils and, in most cases, tackle any

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

misunderstandings they may have. Where this is most effective, pupils progress at a more rapid pace and consolidate ideas and understanding quickly.  Teachers plan well so that they can tap into and build on pupils’ prior learning. For example, in history and physical education, pupils benefit from teaching that builds on previously taught vocabulary and from working together to discuss and develop their understanding of content.  Pupils use the feedback they receive from teachers well to reflect on their learning and improve their ideas. Pupils are committed to improving their work and learning from their mistakes.  Teachers’ questioning is used well to engage and prompt pupils in their learning. However, it is not used skilfully enough so that pupils’ learning is consistently and sufficiently developed, extended and deepened. Consequently, there are times when learning activities do not demand enough of pupils so that their understanding of a

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

curriculum concept can be deepened,. This is particularly so for high-prior-attaining pupils.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is outstanding.  The headteacher, alongside other leaders and staff, has created a culture where ‘equality, opportunity, inclusion and achievement’ permeate the school. They go the extra mile for pupils to ensure they are safe and well cared for.  Pupils’ strong relationships with staff and each other are a cornerstone of the school. Pupils insightfully know the difference between right and wrong. They are extremely tolerant and respectful and therefore add to a culture of exceptional personal development and welfare. For example, the school has recently been awarded the Rainbow Flag Award, which demonstrates pupils’ commitment to promoting awareness and acceptance of difference. Pupils are unequivocal in their view that everyone is treated equally, and difference should be embraced and celebrated.  The PSHE curriculum that pupils access is excellent. Pupils benefit from learning about

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Personal development and welfare

healthy lifestyles, how to identify and support mental health issues and sex and relationship education. Together, these wide-ranging topics develop pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural skills exceptionally well.  Pupils spoken to during the inspection confidently explain how they feel safe at school. They understand how to stay safe and look after themselves and one another. Pupils’ views are that bullying is very rare and if it does happen, it is down to a ‘silly falling out’. However, pupils are confident that should they have a worry or concern, staff will support them and help them in an effective and timely manner.  Pupils who attend alternative provision benefit as they are given appropriate opportunities to build on and develop their personal and social development.  Pupils understand that staff want the best for them. As a result, they work well together and value their education at Monkseaton High School.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. In some instances, pupils’ behaviour is exemplary.  Pupils’ attitudes to their learning are very positive. Interruptions to learning are rare and, when they do happen, they are minor. The newly implemented behaviour system is having a positive effect as expectations of pupils’ behaviour and consistency of expectations have risen. The culture around the school is calm and orderly. Pupils act responsibly and care for one another.  Pupils pay attention in class. They listen attentively and behave respectfully towards each other and their teachers. Pupils speak confidently and participate in their learning.  Pupils who attend alternative provision do so because it meets their needs and interests. The school works closely with these providers to monitor pupils’ safety, welfare and learning.  Despite some improvement in attendance, too many pupils are regularly absent from

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Behaviour

school, especially disadvantaged pupils. Leaders’ work to improve these pupils’ attendance is beginning to have a positive impact. The attendance team has identified a number of pupils whom they monitor on a regular basis. However, leaders acknowledge there is still work to do to continue the trend of improvement and sustain high levels of attendance for all. Although leaders have worked with families to raise the importance of attendance, some families still do not play their part in ensuring that their children attend as regularly as they should.

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Outcomes for pupils Good

 In 2017, overall progress for pupils was significantly above the national average. In contrast, in 2018, overall progress for pupils was broadly average, although it must be noted that pupils join the school in Year 9, which is part-way through the five-year period covered by the Progress 8 measure. Disadvantaged pupils’ progress over time has been a concern. Leaders’ actions for current pupils are beginning to gather momentum. As a result, current pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, are achieving well over time. Therefore, pupils’ outcomes are good.  In subjects where there have been historical concerns, for example in mathematics, outcomes for current pupils are showing green shoots of improvement. Improvements in the teaching of mathematics, particularly in the use of homework booklets, are leading to pupils making better gains in their understanding and skills. Leaders are resolutely determined to ensure that such improvements come to fruition and are

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Outcomes for pupils Good

sustained.  In relation to disadvantaged pupils, the school’s current pupil assessment information indicates that they are making improved progress overall, and in a number of subjects they are studying, for example English, art, mathematics and science. School information demonstrates that disadvantaged pupils are making improved progress year on year. Inspection activities that focused on pupils’ work in books and observations of their learning confirm leaders’ views that pupils are making improved gains in their knowledge, skills and understanding across the subjects they study. Where this might not be the case, leaders’ fastidious tracking demonstrates that these are identified quickly, and appropriate and specific support is put in place.  Leaders identified that some pupils’ learning was being hindered by their lack of confidence in reading. Leaders are driving an increasing focus on developing pupils’

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Outcomes for pupils Good

reading skills. They have identified a variety of resources and sessions that identified pupils can participate in so that their skills develop in reading, comprehension and understanding, and vocabulary.  Pupils benefit from a variety of high-quality careers, information, advice and guidance. This has led to a greater proportion of pupils accessing appropriate education, employment or training. The proportion of disadvantaged pupils, particularly those that join the school later than their peers, who move into education, employment or training, has increased steadily over time.

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16 to 19 study programmes Good

 In 2018, outcomes for students following academic courses were broadly average. A high proportion of students who left the sixth form accessed employment, education or training. Over time, students have achieved well from their various starting points. This trend is set to continue and in some subject areas, marked improvement is evident. Students who attend Monkseaton High School’s sixth form are served well. They receive a good-quality educational experience.  New line management and leadership of the sixth form are highly effective. Leaders monitor students’ progress with rigour. As a result, students are quickly identified, and support is put in place to support them achieve. Leaders have spent time ensuring that students access courses that meet their interests but are also suitable for their future ambitions. Consequently, current Year 12 students’ assessment information and evidence from observations and work scrutiny demonstrate that they are making

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16 to 19 study programmes Good

stronger progress in their academic subjects than in previous years. Students following vocational qualifications continue to make strong progress over time.  Staff and student relationships are a strength of the sixth form. Students speak confidently about how their teachers support them and offer them timely advice and guidance. Students get on well together and they support one another in their learning.  Teachers know their students well. As a result, learning is effectively planned and takes into account different students’ starting points and, in most cases, what they have learned previously. Students are appreciative of the feedback they receive from their teachers and explain how this supports them to improve and learn from their mistakes.  Students show high levels of engagement in the subjects they study. They are focused and want to do well. Students appreciate the good level of subject expertise that

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16 to 19 study programmes Good

teachers have, although sometimes, teachers do not use their expertise well enough to deepen and extend students’ understanding of a concept or idea.  Students access a work experience programme that taps into their interests and aspirations. Students benefit from this because it develops them personally and socially. Students also profit from accessing extra-curricular activities to enhance their personal development and welfare. Students who attend the Football Academy are well served and have access to an extensive range of extra-curricular sporting activities.  Students feel safe and know how to keep themselves safe, physically and emotionally. The respect and tolerance that permeate the main school are further strengthened in the sixth form as students are respectful, tolerant and, importantly, act as positive role models to the younger pupils in the school.  While improving, students’ attendance is still not high enough. In a minority of cases,

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16 to 19 study programmes Good

the low attendance of some students has had an adverse effect on their progress and attainment. However, leaders’ actions, for example in current Year 12, are having a positive impact.

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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

Gender of pupils in 16 to 19 study programmes Mixed

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School details

Of which, number on roll in 16 to 19 study programmes Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 23–24 February 2016

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Information about this school

 The school is a smaller than the average-sized secondary school. The vast majority of pupils are White British, and few pupils are from minority ethnic backgrounds.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium is above the national average. In contrast, the proportion of pupils identified with SEND is below average.  The school serves pupils from Years 9 to 13. Most pupils arrive at the school from neighbouring middle schools. However, there are a number of pupils whose time at the school begins during the academic year.  A small number of identified pupils access alternative provision at PALS and Moorbridge Pupil Referral Unit.  The school continues to run a successful football academy.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors held meetings with the headteacher, deputy headteacher, governors and other leaders, including a group of staff. The lead inspector spoke on the telephone with the school’s development partner.  Inspectors observed teaching and learning across a wide range of subjects. Many of these observations were conducted jointly with senior leaders.  Inspectors examined a wide sample of pupils’ work in books and folders. They conducted this within lessons and as a separate inspection activity, particularly focusing on the progress and attainment of current disadvantaged pupils in the school.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour and their attitudes between lessons, at the beginning and end of the school day, and during breaks and lunchtimes. They spoke with pupils from different year groups, both formally and informally.  A wide range of documentation was examined, including the school’s self-evaluation

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Information about this inspection

and development plan documents. Inspectors scrutinised documentation regarding the work of the governing body, records pertaining to safeguarding and child protection and attendance information, and records relating to behaviour.  Too few parents made their views known to inspectors using Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, for a meaningful analysis.

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Inspection team

Darren Stewart, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Diane Reynard 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

You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open- government-licence/ , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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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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