The Nottingham Emmanuel School

Inspection of a good school: The Nottingham Emmanuel School Gresham Park Road, West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire NG2 7YF

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Outcome

The Nottingham Emmanuel School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils, including those in the sixth form, are proud to be members of this school. Staff have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour and effort. Pupils recognise that this is because their teachers want them to do well. Pupils work hard and know that this is helping them to succeed.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils describe the school as inclusive. There is a sense of community, where all are valued. One pupil summarised the views of others by saying, ‘You feel like you are part of something.’ Pupils get on well with each other and with staff. Pupils value the diversity of the school community. They know that equality is important. Pupils appreciate that they are ‘free to express their faiths’.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel safe in school. They feel well supported by pastoral staff and are confident to seek help and advice when needed. Some parents are worried about bullying. However, pupils said that any concerns are taken seriously and dealt with effectively.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Most pupils are happy and enjoy their experiences at school. They appreciate the extra opportunities that are available, such as taking on leadership roles and contributing to charity events. Pupils endeavour to embody the school’s values of ‘wisdom, hope, community and dignity’.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The curriculum is ambitious and designed to give all pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), the knowledge they need to succeed. The curriculum at key stage 3 is broad and provides pupils with a range of enriching experiences. Leaders have thought carefully about how to organise the curriculum at key stage 4 and what qualifications will help pupils to take their next steps. 10–11 March 2020

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Subject plans are coherently planned and well sequenced. They set out what pupils should learn and when. Plans build on pupils’ prior learning and knowledge. Opportunities to revisit learning to recap and recall are built in so that pupils remember more.

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Leaders have introduced a ‘teaching and learning framework’. This sets out clear expectations of how teachers should plan and structure lessons. Teachers consistently follow the framework’s expectations in structuring their lessons. For example, all lessons begin with ‘spaced retrieval’ activities. These help pupils to remember important knowledge over time and ‘make it stick’. However, not all teachers ensure that the work they set is suitably demanding. Sometimes pupils are not appropriately challenged. Equally, some pupils who need extra help are not given the support they need. Teachers do not always ensure that the work they set is accessible for all pupils. In many subject areas, pupils with SEND are supported well. They are helped to access the full curriculum. For example, teachers provide special equipment in design technology, physical education (PE) and art. Relationships between staff and pupils are positive. Pupils are confident to

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seek help when they need it. Pupils are keen to participate in activities. The majority of pupils behave well in lessons. This helps them to learn and achieve. Occasionally, when teaching does not meet pupils’ needs, some pupils become distracted and lose focus. Most pupils meet teachers’ high expectations of their conduct.

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Leaders have placed a high priority on developing pupils’ literacy and reading skills. They encourage pupils to read for pleasure. Staff and pupils read together in tutor sessions, sharing a range of challenging and engaging texts. ‘Spaced retrieval’ activities incorporate technical and subject-specific terminology. The English curriculum exposes pupils to a range of literary and non-fiction texts. Pupils are articulate and speak with confidence in a range of situations. For example, Year 8 pupils spoke with an inspector about ‘aesthetic appreciation’ in a PE lesson.

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Pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND, achieve well across the curriculum in all year groups. Pupils achieve well in their external examinations at the end of Year 11. The number of pupils who leave school with qualifications in modern foreign languages and humanities subjects is increasing. Students achieve particularly well in the sixth form.

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Leaders aim to develop the ‘whole child’ and place a high priority on pupils’ well-being and personal development. Pupils, including students in the sixth form, appreciate the range of opportunities they have to experience new things and develop their leadership skills. They enjoy mentoring younger pupils and taking part in fundraising to support charity events. Students appreciate the help they get to settle in when they start in the sixth form. They receive good advice and guidance about the opportunities that are available to them when they leave the sixth form. They feel well prepared to take their next steps.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders have established a culture of safeguarding. Staff understand their responsibilities to safeguard pupils. Staff are well trained and recognise the signs that help to identify 10–11 March 2020

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that a pupil may be at risk of harm. Leaders are proactive in mitigating risks. For example, they have carried out research into the effects of adverse childhood experiences and use this to inform staff training and to provide support to pupils. Leaders act promptly when concerns are raised. They involve external agencies when necessary.

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Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe. They are knowledgeable about potential risks. They know how to seek advice and support when required.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The curriculum is ambitious for all pupils. However, sometimes the work that teachers provide is not sufficiently demanding. Sometimes it is not suitably accessible. Leaders should ensure that work matches the aims of the curriculum and meets pupils’ different needs so that they are appropriately challenged and supported.

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Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good. This is called a section 8 inspection of a good or non-exempt outstanding school. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find some evidence that the school could now be better than good or that standards may be declining, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will convert the section 8 inspection to a section 5 inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the third section 8 inspection since we judged the predecessor school, Nottingham Emmanuel School, to be good on 30–31 October 2012.

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How can I feed back my views?

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 are the school and you are 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. 10–11 March 2020

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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. 10–11 March 2020

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School details

Inspection number 10110157 Type of school Secondary comprehensive

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provision

Number of pupils on the school roll 1087

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form

Date of previous inspection 15 March 2016 under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is part of the Archway Learning Trust.  The school is a Church of England school. It received its last section 48 inspection in November 2015. Its next section 48 inspection is due in November 2020.  A small number of pupils attend alternative off-site provision at Aspire and Crisp.

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Information about this inspection

 We met with senior leaders, including leaders from the trust. I spoke by telephone with a member of the board of trustees and with the chair of the academy advisory board.  An inspector visited the provision at Aspire.  We undertook deep dives in English, mathematics and PE. These deep dives consisted of meeting with curriculum leaders, visiting lessons, examining pupils’ work and 10–11 March 2020

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meeting with teachers and pupils from the lessons we visited. We also met with subject leaders, visited lessons and looked at curriculum plans for a range of other subjects.  I met with the designated safeguarding leader and members of the school’s safeguarding team. I scrutinised a range of documents related to safeguarding, the school’s single central record and the school’s system for monitoring safeguarding concerns.  We met with groups of staff and with pupils, including students in the sixth form.  We considered the 273 responses to Ofsted’s Parent View and the 266 free-text comments. We considered the responses to the staff’s and pupils’ surveys.

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Inspection team

Deborah Mosley, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Claire Shepherd Ofsted Inspector 10–11 March 2020

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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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