Guiseley School

Inspection of Guiseley School Fieldhead Road, Guiseley, Leeds, West Yorkshire LS20 8DT

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Sixth-form provision Good Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement 24–25 September 2019

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What is it like to attend this school?

Guiseley School has experienced a lot of changes since the previous inspection in October 2017. Pupils, parents and staff say that the school continues to improve as a result. Pupils say that the new headteacher and other recently appointed staff have been successful in their efforts to improve behaviour. Relationships between pupils and staff are positive. Classrooms are alive with frequent pupil discussion. Currently, corridors and lunchtimes can be busy. This is, in part, due to limited space and tight corridors or stairwells. Pupils and staff are very much looking forward to moving into the new school building next year. Pupils say that they feel safe at school. Most pupils know who they can speak to if they have a problem or concern. A very small minority of pupils had some concerns relating to how teachers respond to incidents of bullying. Some pupils told inspectors how counselling sessions at the

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What is it like to attend this school?

school had helped get them through a difficult time. Most teachers expect a lot from pupils. They expect pupils to present work neatly and in detail. In lessons, teachers ask pupils lots of questions to ensure that a learning point is explored in full. Nearly all pupils take part in some form of artistic activity due to the school’s significant specialism in this area.

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better?

Pupils study subjects in key stage 3 for two years, before making their option choices for key stage 4. Many subject leaders have carefully considered the design of the curriculum to ensure that pupils learn the most important subject content. Most of the time, this ensures that pupils use their previous learning well to help them understand a new topic or idea more easily. Leaders often review how well the curriculum leads to pupils achieving well. They know that in some subjects, pupils move onto a new topic too quickly before they have understood the last. As a result, leaders have started to look at how they can give pupils more opportunities and time to learn a broad and rich curriculum for longer.

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better?

Teachers, including those new to the profession, benefit from very effective training. This helps them to improve their work in the classroom. Most teachers know their pupils well and plan lessons to ensure that pupils know more and remember more over time. Teachers use a range of methods to recap work and go over work that pupils covered a long time ago. Pupils say that this helps them learn a lot.

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better?

Historically, pupils’ results at the end of Year 11 have been broadly average when compared to other pupils across the country. However, disadvantaged pupils have not achieved well. Leaders are using the additional funds they receive to support disadvantaged pupils far better now. As a result, disadvantaged pupils currently in the school achieve highly.

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better?

Lessons are calm and purposeful. Low-level disruption is rare. This was not always the case. Pupils say that teachers are more strict now and that they get into trouble if they misbehave. Pupils’ positive attitudes to learning allow teachers to experiment with different types of learning activities. Pupils appreciate the chance to work in 24–25 September 2019

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Pupils’ attendance is improving and the proportion of pupils who miss school frequently is declining. Leaders know that, although improving, attendance could be even better. New leaders with responsibility for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are contributing to these pupils attending more and achieving more highly. Support for vulnerable pupils, both inside and outside of the classroom, is much stronger now.

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Pupils’ personal development is a strength across the school. Pupils take part in a range of activities to develop their leadership skills. During the inspection, pupils were voting to elect their pupil house representatives. Pupils took this very seriously, commenting that the speeches made by their peers were very impressive.

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Students in the sixth form study an ambitious academic curriculum. Students attend well, are punctual and act as effective role models to younger pupils in the school. Students achieve well. As a result, nearly all students progress onto appropriate and demanding higher-education courses, training or employment.

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The headteacher, senior leaders and governors provide strong leadership. Their guidance, coupled with effective support from the local authority, is leading to staff feeling valued and motivated. Results from the staff inspection questionnaire demonstrate that morale is high. Leaders, including governors, know the school well. Their plans to improve the school are accurate and targeted in the right areas. The capacity for further improvement is strong.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Leaders ensure that the safety of pupils is at the heart of everything they do. Nearly all pupils who responded to Ofsted’s inspection questionnaire said that they feel safe. Although a small minority of pupils had concerns relating to how teachers respond to incidents of bullying, inspectors were satisfied with the school’s work in this area. Inspection evidence demonstrates that staff are alert, well trained and aware of how to report any safeguarding concerns and to whom. Staff ensure that investigations are followed through to a suitable conclusion.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Leaders and staff have worked hard to ensure that the curriculum at key stage 3 covers all the subjects within the national curriculum. Furthermore, leaders have ensured that the new curriculum includes important subject content in many subjects. Pupils have a solid foundation from which to learn new knowledge and ideas. However, the quality of planning in this regard varies across subjects and, occasionally, pupils move on from a topic before mastering the previous one. This leads to misconceptions in the future and/or a superficial understanding for some 24–25 September 2019

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pupils. Leaders, including governors, must ensure that pupils are afforded enough time to study a broad and balanced key stage 3 curriculum that is rich in content and allows pupils to build upon their long-term memory.  Historically, attendance has been an issue. Disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND have not attended school as often as they should. Consequently, achievement for these pupils has been below average. While the support and quality of education pupils receive is much stronger now, leaders must ensure that all pupils, particularly disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND, attend well and achieve well.

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How can I feedback 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 feedback my views?

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

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How can I feedback 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. 24–25 September 2019

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provision

Number of pupils on the school roll 1,356

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sixth form

Appropriate authority The governing body

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sixth form

Date of previous inspection 10–11 October 2017

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Information about this school

 The school’s curriculum is coherently planned and sequenced in many subjects. Where necessary, leaders have already started to plan next year’s curriculum to address the curriculum issues highlighted in key stage 3. Plans are at an advanced stage in this regard.  The school is larger than the average-sized secondary school.  Most pupils attending the school are White British.  The proportion of pupils who are disadvantaged and receive support from the pupil premium is below the national average.  The proportion of pupils with SEND is broadly average.  A new special educational needs coordinator was appointed in September 2019.  The school is a member of the Aireborough Learning Partnership, a federation of eight schools. Their vision is to ‘Make a difference through collaboration, 24–25 September 2019

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aspiration, reflection, challenge, inclusiveness and impactfulness’.  Currently, the school uses full- and part-time alternative education provision for a small number of pupils at PiPeLine, Elland Academy, Springwell Academy, the Pennington Centre and the medical teaching centres at Leeds and Bradford.

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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 undertook deep dives into the following subjects: mathematics, English, science, geography and art. This involved a meeting with subject leaders, visits to a sample of lessons in these subjects, work scrutiny of books and other kinds of work produced by pupils who were part of classes observed by inspectors, discussion with teachers and a group of pupils from the lessons observed.  Inspectors visited a wider range of subjects on the second day of the inspection. Many of the visits to lessons were carried out jointly with senior leaders.  At the time of the inspection, inspectors took account of a qualifying complaint made in advance of the inspection (2017). The complaint raised concerns about the quality of the leadership and management of the school and the contribution made by the school to the well-being of pupils.  Meetings were held with senior and subject leaders, teachers, governors and the

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Information about this inspection

school improvement advisor from the local authority.  Inspectors scrutinised pupils’ work during lessons and with subject leaders. In addition, an inspector scrutinised work belonging to a large number of disadvantaged pupils and the most able pupils.  An inspector spoke on the telephone to all the alternative education providers used by the school.  Inspectors held informal and formal discussions with many pupils and observed interactions during social times.  Inspectors observed the work of the school and scrutinised a wide range of evidence, including the school’s self-evaluation, action plans and evaluations, attendance and behaviour records, safeguarding files, recruitment checks and trustees’ minutes.  Inspectors took into account the 271 responses from parents who completed Parent View, Ofsted’s online questionnaire. Eighty-seven members of staff and 190 pupils completed Ofsted’s online staff and pupil surveys. All of these

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Information about this inspection

responses were taken into consideration. 24–25 September 2019

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Inspection team

Lee Elliott, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Gill Booth Ofsted Inspector 24–25 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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