Haverstock School

Haverstock School 24 Haverstock Hill, Chalk Farm, London NW3 2BQ

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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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16 to 19 study programmes Requires improvement

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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 well-planned and decisive action to improve all aspects of the school’s work. As a result, pupils receive a good education.  Teaching is good and improving. This is because teachers benefit from quality training and leaders hold them to account for their pupils’ progress.  Teachers use assessment information well to plan activities that meet pupils’ needs. As a result, pupils make good progress.  Pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, make strong progress across the key stages and most subjects.  Leaders have improved the provision for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). With effective teaching and well-targeted extra support, they make equally strong progress as their peers from similar starting points.  Leaders have transformed pupils’ behaviour. Pupils now have positive attitudes to learning. Throughout the day, they behave in a calm and sensible manner.

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Although leaders have worked successfully to increase the attendance of pupils with previously high rates of absenteeism, overall rates of attendance remain below averages.  Pupils feel safe. They learn about risk and how to avoid getting into dangerous situations.  The curriculum meets the requirements of the national curriculum. It offers pupils a good range of academic and vocational options at GCSE. It makes a good contribution to their personal development.  Governors provide leaders with a good balance of support and challenge. They closely check on all aspects of the school’s work. They play a key role in securing sustained school improvement.  Leadership of the sixth form is improving. Leaders have changed the curriculum to meet students’ needs more closely. Attainment and progress in vocational courses are now good. Progress in academic subjects, although improving, remains below average.  Although some post-16 students benefit from

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

high-quality internships, matched closely to their career aspirations, others have no work experience. Students do not have enough opportunities to develop their personal and social skills in preparation for their future lives as successful and responsible citizens.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Build on the school’s work to reduce absence and persistent absence so that attendance rates improve and are close to national averages.  Continue to improve teaching so that pupils make routinely substantial progress across the subjects and year groups.  Improve the sixth form by: – ensuring that students make routinely good progress across the academic subjects – helping all students to secure work experience – increasing opportunities to broaden students’ personal and social development to better prepare them for their future lives.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

 The new headteacher, other leaders and governors share an ambition to help pupils achieve academic and social excellence. They have established rigorous systems for identifying areas for improvement. They tackle weaknesses methodically through well- defined actions, high-quality training and support, and rigorous monitoring and accountability. As a result, the school has improved in all aspects of its work. Staff morale is good.  In parallel to very successfully tackling of the previously poor behaviour that severely disrupted learning, leaders have systematically improved teaching. Leaders organised a comprehensive training programme, drawing on internal expertise, best practice in outstanding schools, and external consultants. In addition, staff have access to a bespoke training package, including coaching and mentoring. The intensive training and new rigorous accountability procedures have led to securely good and sometimes

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

excellent teaching.  New leadership of inclusion is effective. Leaders use new assessment systems to diagnose the specific needs of pupils with SEND and to sharply tailor support. Support strategies include the newly introduced phonics sessions for pupils who have difficulty in reading. Furthermore, leaders train all staff on how to plan appropriately for pupils with SEND. The special educational needs coordinator runs regular briefings focused on specific pupils, bringing together all staff who work with those pupils. Together, they share information and best practice. As a result, pupils with SEND make good progress.  The curriculum offers pupils a good range of academic and vocational courses that is sufficiently diverse to meet pupils’ varying needs. Leaders regularly keep the curriculum under review. Over the year, faculty and subject leaders rewrote their key stage 3 curriculums and learning plans; these are now more challenging and focused on

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

preparing pupils for the rigours of the new GCSEs. There is a greater focus on developing pupils’ knowledge and retention of information, and on extending their vocabulary.  The proportion of pupils who studied the required subjects to qualify for the English Baccalaureate (EBacc) accreditation last year was well below that found nationally. This is because the uptake of a qualifying modern foreign language was low. Leaders are now encouraging more pupils to study for the EBacc and the numbers doing so are increasing year on year.  Leaders promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development successfully. Pupils benefit from a range of enrichment activities on offer, as well as visits and visitors to the school. Visits include the theatre, the Royal College of Physicians, and to take part in debating competitions, for example. During the inspection, pupils rehearsed for their annual theatrical musical production. The productions develop a

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

range of pupils’ skills and talents, such as singing, dancing and art, as well as their presentation and collaboration skills. Pupils learn about different faiths, equality law and other aspects of citizenship. These experiences prepare pupils for life in modern Britain.  The local authority has provided effective support to school leaders and other staff, effectively helping them to improve the school.

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Governance of the school

 Governance is strong. Governors are ambitious for the school. They bring a range of skills and experience to support their work, including chairing governing bodies in other schools.  Governors regularly audit the effectiveness of their work. They commission external consultants to give them an independent view of the school’s effectiveness, including their governance. All governors attend a range of training events, including on safeguarding and understanding pupil performance data.  Governors have strong working relationships with school leaders. They provide leaders with high levels of support and challenge. A team of governors visits the school regularly to check, first-hand, on progress against their key priorities for improvement. They visit lessons, check books and talk to staff, pupils, parents and carers. In these ways, and through leaders’ reports to their committees, they gain a deep understanding of the school’s effectiveness.

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Governance of the school

 Governors have a major positive impact on school improvement.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.  The three designated safeguarding leaders make sure that all members of staff understand the latest government safeguarding guidance. Leaders also arrange specialist safeguarding training, such as on the ‘Prevent’ duty, female genital mutilation and knife crime. Staff therefore have a good understanding of the local context and are alert to any signs that may raise concerns. They report their concerns without any delay.  Leaders work with a range of external agencies and with parents to support pupils’ safety and well-being.  Through the curriculum and visitors, pupils learn about risk and how to keep themselves safe in different situations. Leaders also invite parents to workshops, such as on keeping safe online.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

 Teaching is effective and helps all groups of pupils to make good progress.  Teachers have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour. They establish consistent routines for learning across the school and enjoy good working relationships with pupils. As a result, teachers and pupils use the time in lessons productively.  Typically, teachers use assessment information and the strategies they have learned in training to plan activities that meet pupils’ needs. This year, training has helped teachers to plan effective support and challenge for pupils’ differing needs and abilities. They use questioning to deepen pupils’ understanding and to challenge their thinking. Across subjects, teachers emphasise the development of pupils’ vocabulary and plan recall activities to help pupils remember key concepts over time.  Teachers regularly check pupils’ progress against their targets and, in line with the school’s policy, give them feedback on how to improve their work. Pupils welcome the

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

feedback and routinely learn from their mistakes and improve their work. In line with the school’s policy, teachers set homework. These activities help pupils to consolidate their current learning and to prepare for future learning. Leaders and teachers deploy additional adults effectively to support pupils who need extra help. As a result, pupils of all abilities, including pupils with SEND, make good progress in their learning.  Teaching makes a good contribution to pupils’ personal development. In one year group, for instance, pupils debated whether the government should allow a British citizen who had travelled to Syria to join Islamic State back into the country.  There remains, however, some variability in teaching. Occasionally, teachers’ subject knowledge is not secure and sometimes questioning is too shallow. In these instances, pupils make limited progress in those classes.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school's work to promote pupils' personal development and welfare is good.  Leaders put much emphasis on pupils’ welfare, including supporting their safety, mental health and emotional well-being. Family support workers help pupils and their families whose circumstances make them vulnerable. The school has a designated area where pupils can go for mentoring, support and counselling, should they have any worries and concerns. The school makes sure that pupils have access to professional therapists, such as educational psychologists and occupational therapists, as needed. Furthermore, a Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) counsellor visits the school every week. The service is available to treat pupils with emotional, behavioural or mental health difficulties.  At the time of the previous inspection, instances of poor behaviour undermined some pupils’ feeling of safety. Now that behaviour is good, pupils say that they feel safe.

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Personal development and welfare

Their sense of safety is further enhanced by the presence of the Safer Schools police officer, based at the school. Bullying is rare and should it happen, pupils are confident that staff will deal with it effectively.  Pupils learn how to keep their bodies healthy, such as through a proper diet and avoiding substance misuse. In addition to their regular physical education, pupils can take part in a range of sporting clubs.  Pupils benefit from a well-planned programme of impartial careers guidance. This helps them make choices for key stage 4 and post-16 courses that are appropriate to their abilities and matched well to their career goals.  Leaders keep a close eye on the behaviour, attendance and progress of the few pupils who attend alternative provision.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good.  The new headteacher and governors put pupils’ behaviour at the top of their agenda when they took up their posts. They devised a new policy and strategies, setting out high expectations, clear procedures and balancing rewards and consequences. As a result, they have transformed pupils’ behaviour.  Records show that incidents of poor behaviour have significantly reduced and that fixed-term and permanent exclusions have noticeably reduced.  Pupils behave well in lessons and are keen to learn. They work well independently and in groups and readily help each other. Their positive attitudes make a strong contribution to their good progress. Disruption to learning is rare, and when it happens, teachers intervene quickly so that learning can continue.  Pupils are proud of their school. They behave maturely in the dining room and during social times. A calm atmosphere pervades the school.

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Behaviour

 Leaders sought external expertise and have revised their systems for improving attendance and reducing persistent absence. Pastoral teams are diligent in the pursuit of improving attendance. There is evidence that pupils whose attendance has been low are coming to school more regularly as a result of the school’s work. There are some circumstances beyond the school’s control that lower overall attendance figures. Nevertheless, leaders know that they need to do more to reduce overall absence further.

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Outcomes for pupils Good

 In 2018, pupils’ attainment in GCSE examinations was higher than in the previous year. This represented stronger progress than in the past across most subjects, especially English and mathematics. Progress in languages was significantly above average, though progress in the ‘open element’ remained low. Furthermore, disadvantaged pupils’ progress increased significantly. As a result, in almost all progress measures, they outperformed other pupils nationally.  Inspection evidence supports the school’s view that progress across subjects in the current Year 11 is good and stronger than that of the 2018 cohort.  Pupils in key stages 3 and 4, including disadvantaged pupils, make good progress in most subjects. This is because teaching in those subjects is routinely effective.  Pupils with SEND make strong progress because they benefit from teaching and extra support that staff tailor well to their needs.

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Outcomes for pupils Good

 Last year, almost all Year 11 pupils moved on to post-16 education.

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16 to 19 study programmes Requires improvement

 Since the previous inspection, leaders have been systematic in their focus on improving the school. They prioritised improving behaviour, creating effective systems of accountability and improving teaching and learning. Only more recently has the attention of leaders and governors focused on improving the sixth form. In September 2018, they created a new additional leadership post specifically to raise standards in the sixth form. The provision has improved but there are still identified areas of weakness. Leaders have a raft of credible planned actions for next year to support their aim of providing students with a good post-16 education.  Leaders have reviewed the formal curriculum and there is now a better match between students’ needs and the courses offered. There are now more vocational subjects and leaders are further extending the vocational offer from September 2019.  Teaching in the sixth form has improved as teachers have benefited from leaders’ work

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16 to 19 study programmes Requires improvement

to raise the quality of teaching across the school. Teachers generally have good subject knowledge and understanding of examination requirements. In many lessons, teachers challenge students to ensure that they progress strongly, but this is not yet consistent. There is a strong emphasis on helping students to grasp key concepts and extend their subject-specific vocabulary.  The improvements to the curriculum and in teaching have led to students making strong progress in vocational subjects. In Year 13, students’ progress in academic subjects is improving, but remains below average. It is stronger in Year 12.  Students behave well. They have good attitudes to learning and attend regularly. Retention from Year 12 into Year 13 is high.  In most respects, the school provides all students with good careers guidance. One part of this is a comprehensive programme in partnership with a national charity,

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16 to 19 study programmes Requires improvement

linking students with employers and preparing them for the world of work. There are, however, limited places on this programme. Students who participate in this programme take part in paid internships for three to six weeks. These placements are well matched to students’ career aspirations. Other pupils, who are not accepted or eligible, do not routinely have opportunities for work experience. This puts them at an unfair disadvantage.  Leaders do not make sure that all students participate in a wide enough range of activities to develop their personal and social skills. Students can take part in extra- curricular activities, such as a course on developing the skills for public speaking, but some do not. Some choose to take on responsibilities, such as mentoring younger pupils. However, developing students’ personal and social skills, such as volunteering and contributing to the wider community, is an area of the school’s work that leaders

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16 to 19 study programmes Requires improvement

have not fully developed. This means that the school does not prepare all students effectively enough for their future lives as successful and responsible citizens.  At the end of last year, most students continued their education at university. The rest joined apprenticeship schemes, went into employment or took a gap year to travel abroad or for doing voluntary work.

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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

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

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Email address office@haverstock.camden.sch.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 24 and 26–27 January 2017

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Information about this school

 Since the previous inspection, there has been a large turnover of staff. The new headteacher joined the school in September 2017. The school has restructured its senior and middle leadership teams, which has included several new external appointments. A new leadership post for the sixth form was created in September 2018.  Almost all the current governors were appointed after the previous inspection. The current chair and vice-chair took up their posts in the summer of 2017.  There is a higher than average proportion of pupils with SEND and a greater proportion of pupils than is typical have an education, health and care plan.  A few pupils attend alternative provision at Camden Centre for Learning.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed teaching and learning in a range of classes. Senior leaders joined inspectors during most of these visits.  Inspectors looked closely at pupils’ work to inform judgements about pupils’ outcomes and the quality of teaching, learning and assessment.  Inspectors met with three groups of pupils and spoke informally to other pupils in lessons and during social times. Inspectors met with school leaders and other members of staff.  Meetings were held with the chair, vice-chair and two other governors, and with a representative from the local authority.  Inspectors examined a range of documentation related to pupils’ attainment and progress. They also looked at records and documentation about pupils’ behaviour, attendance and exclusions, and the ways that staff help to keep pupils safe.  Inspectors considered the 20 responses to Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire for parents, which included some free-text responses. Inspectors took account of the

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Information about this inspection

views of the 80 members of staff and the 87 pupils who responded to the inspection surveys.

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Inspection team

David Radomsky, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

David Davies 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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