Greenfield Community College, A Specialist Arts and Science School

Inspection of Greenfield Community College, A Specialist Arts and Science School Greenfield Way, Newton Aycliffe, County Durham DL5 7LF

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Requires improvement Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement 17–18 September 2019

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What is it like to attend this school?

There is a family feeling about this school. It has a warmth and a friendliness to it. Across both the Newton Aycliffe and Shildon sites, the school is calm and has a peaceful atmosphere. Pupils feel well supported by staff, especially by the ‘Progress and Guidance’ team. Pupils are not worried about bullying at school. They know that it occasionally happens, but the school takes it seriously and steps in to stop it. Pupils seem happy at school and told inspectors that they feel safe.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The leaders of the school want the pupils to achieve as well as they can. However, this is dependent on which teachers pupils get. Some teachers are more skilled and ambitious for their pupils than others, and better at dealing with low-level disruption than others. There is a deep commitment to the arts in school and how pupils’ lives can be enriched by them. Leaders have increased pupils’ opportunities to access the arts subjects and changed the curriculum to try to bring this about.

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better?

Leaders introduced a new curriculum after the previous inspection. They shortened key stage 3 to two years and extended key stage 4 to three years. Pupils now choose from a larger list of options for their GCSEs. However, it means that there is less time available for studying subjects to the necessary depth in Years 7 and 8. Subject leaders have started to plan the curriculum in their subjects. At present, they have not fully thought about how to plan for key stage 3 so that pupils who decide to ‘drop’ the subject at the end of Year 8 do not miss important knowledge.

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better?

Across some aspects of the curriculum, the work pupils have to do is not sequenced carefully enough. For example, Year 11 pupils described some of their Year 10 curriculum as ‘bitty’. As a result of the subject plans not being fully developed, some of the work set for pupils is not stretching enough for their different abilities.

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better?

The school uses different sorts of assessment to keep an eye on how well pupils are doing. This information tells leaders that pupils’ achievement has been below expectations for some years. However, leaders, teachers and governors still have a rosier view of pupils’ achievement than is the case.

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better?

Pupils’ behaviour around school and in lessons, at both sites, is largely good. Inspectors saw pupils and staff working and talking together with a positive, respectful manner. Pupils said that while this was often the case, at times in some lessons there was low-level disruption. They said that some teachers were better than others at putting a stop to it.

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better?

The school provides pupils with a wide range of opportunities for their positive personal development. This is especially the case for the arts and sport. Pupils broaden their understanding of charity work through the ‘Time 4 Success’ programme. 17–18 September 2019

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A new special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) leader is now in place. Pupils with SEND get the same curriculum opportunities as other pupils. Leaders know that there is still much to do for these pupils.

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Leaders have started the process of strengthening the curriculum and the quality of teaching. They have listened to their staff about workload. All staff spoken to by inspectors feel supported. Some parents and staff do not think that the Shildon site gets the same attention from leaders as the Newton Aycliffe site. Governors fulfil their responsibilities.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders have made sure that they make the correct checks about adults before they work in school. The staff with specific safeguarding jobs know what they are doing. The systems in school are set up to spot when pupils might be at risk. Staff are trained in safeguarding and know what to look out for. When extra help is needed, the safeguarding leaders get in touch with the right people in other organisations. For example, the school has strong links with the local authority’s children’s services and the police.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The subject content in foundation subjects at key stage 3 has narrowed as a result of the introduction of a three-year key stage 4. So that pupils are exposed to the full breadth and scope of the national curriculum, leaders should identify exactly where subject content has been narrowed and take action to ensure that any narrowing or omission is addressed.  Subject leaders are at different stages of curriculum planning and implementation. Consequently, there is variability in the extent to which the curriculum is coherently planned and sequenced across subjects. Leaders should enable subject leaders and teachers to construct a curriculum which is coherently planned and sequenced, so that pupils acquire sufficient knowledge and skills for future learning and employment.  Leaders are aware that some teachers’ expectations of what pupils should achieve are not high enough. Leaders should take effective action to ensure that all

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

teachers have the highest expectations of all pupils, setting appropriately challenging work, so that pupils achieve well in national examinations.  Improve the provision for disadvantaged pupils. Leaders, including governors, need to establish a clearer understanding of the impact of the use of the funding. This should then be used to inform their planning better.  Ensure that actions to address leaders’ identified weaknesses in provision for pupils with SEND are taken. In particular, leaders should take the necessary 17–18 September 2019

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action to improve the quality of teaching so that the needs of pupils with SEND are fully met.  Take action to improve the clarity of leaders’, teachers’ and governors’ understanding of the school’s assessment information about pupils’ progress. There are variations in the conclusions drawn from this information. As a result, governors do not have an accurate understanding of the school’s performance over time.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use Ofsted Parent View information when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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How can I feed back my views?

If you’re not happy with the inspection or the report, you can complain to Ofsted .

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

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. 17–18 September 2019

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School details

Inspection number 10110569 Type of school Secondary comprehensive

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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Information about this school

 The school received a monitoring inspection in December 2017.  The school operates across two sites. One is at Newton Aycliffe, the other at Shildon.  One provider of alternative education is used by the school.

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Information about this inspection

We carried out this inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors met with the headteacher and deputy headteacher. They also met assistant headteachers with responsibility for pupils with SEND, for the pupil premium funding and for pupils’ personal development. An inspector met with a representative of the local authority.  As part of this inspection, inspectors carried out in-depth considerations of five subjects, known as ‘deep dives’: English, mathematics, science, geography and physical education. A deep dive consists of: a meeting with the subject leader to get an overview of the curriculum planning and how it works in practice; a visit to several lessons in that subject in different year groups, sometimes accompanied 17–18 September 2019

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by the leader; a meeting with some of the teachers whose lessons were visited; a discussion with some of the pupils who were in the lessons visited; and a scrutiny of the workbooks of some of the pupils in the lessons visited.  To inspect the safeguarding arrangements in school, inspectors looked at the records of staff employed at the school and the checks made on them. Inspectors met with the staff with particular responsibility for safeguarding. An inspector sampled a case file to look at how the school identifies, helps and manages vulnerable pupils. Inspectors spoke with numerous pupils, staff and governors about safeguarding.  An inspector visited the alternative provider used by the school.  Inspectors visited both school sites and went into lessons in both.  Inspectors spoke with pupils in meetings and around the school sites.  Inspectors spoke with a wide range of staff, including teachers and support staff.

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 The responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaires were considered. This included the pupil survey (nine responses), the staff survey (49 responses), Parent View (43 responses) and the free-text responses to Parent View (39 responses). A telephone call made to Ofsted by a parent during the inspection was considered.

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Inspection team

Steve Shaw, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Julie McGrane Ofsted Inspector 17–18 September 2019

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regulates and inspects to 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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