Lady Lumley's School

Inspection of Lady Lumley’s School Swainsea Lane, Pickering, North Yorkshire YO18 8NG

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Overall effectiveness Inadequate

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Inadequate Personal development Requires improvement Leadership and management Inadequate Sixth-form provision Good Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Good 9–10 October 2019

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What is it like to attend this school?

This is a school of contrasts. Classrooms are usually calm and orderly. Behaviour in lessons is usually good. Expectations of what pupils can achieve are high. This includes for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). There is an effective curriculum which helps pupils to do well by the end of key stage 4. Staff are proud to work at the school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

However, elsewhere, a different picture emerges. A large minority of pupils do not feel safe in school. They do not feel protected from bullying. They do not believe that there is an adult they could talk to if they were worried about anything. They are fearful of, and are fed up with, the behaviour of a small group of pupils. Some pupils do not believe that the school site is secure. They feel threatened on school transport. They hear abusive language regularly, which is not routinely challenged by staff. They are not confident that leaders will sort any of this out. Some pupils have come to accept that this is how it is.

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better?

The school provides a good quality of education. Leaders have made sure that an effective curriculum is in place. Subject leaders have thought about what pupils need to learn and when. They have organised their schemes of learning so that pupils build up their knowledge and skills in a logical way. Due to the ambitious and well-planned curriculum, pupils achieve well by the end of key stage 4. The school is effective in meeting the needs of pupils with SEND and those who are disadvantaged. They are appropriately supported.

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better?

Pupils’ behaviour in lessons and on corridors is mostly good. Yet pupils told inspectors that there is regular disruption by a small ‘hard core’ of pupils. While this is usually dealt with by staff, it starts again in the next lesson. Leaders have put lots of actions in place to try to break this cycle, yet pupils are not confident that things will change.

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better?

Pupils told inspectors that behaviour on one of the school buses is poor. Pupils feel threatened by the conduct of some pupils.

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better?

Pupils do not feel safe on the school field because of the behaviour of some pupils. This includes smoking and rough behaviour by some pupils on the ‘bank’. Pupils worry about the lack of staff presence outside at lunchtime for the first 15 minutes.

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better?

Pupils are concerned about the regular use of homophobic and racist language around school. They said that when staff hear such language, it is not always challenged.

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better?

A large minority of pupils have little confidence in the school’s ability to deal with bullying. School leaders feel they are addressing the bullying issues well but pupils 9–10 October 2019

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do not agree. Some parents and carers share pupils’ views about the ineffective management of bullying.

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Pupils access a wide range of opportunities outside their lessons. This includes residential visits abroad. Leaders have put in place a programme to support pupils in their understanding of the world beyond the school gates. For instance, pupils visited a mosque last year. However, pupils’ knowledge of faiths and cultures beyond Christianity is variable.

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Some aspects of the leadership of the school are effective. For example, there is no doubt that leaders act in the best interests of pupils when planning the academic curriculum. Staff feel well supported. Yet leaders and governors are not doing enough to tackle the weaknesses in the school. This is partly because they do not know that the weaknesses exist. When presented with evidence of weaknesses, leaders do not accept it to be the case.

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The provision for students in the sixth form is good. Students follow study programmes which are well matched to their abilities and their career aspirations. The strengths seen in the curriculum lower down the school are evident in sixth- form teaching. For example, teachers build on students’ prior understanding to help them learn new knowledge and skills. Students have access to a range of extra- curricular activities. Leaders have spotted where aspects of pupils’ personal development education are less thorough. They have a plan in place to address this. Students with SEND in the sixth form feel well supported by staff.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective.

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Safeguarding

A large minority of pupils do not feel safe in school. They are concerned that leaders do not tackle issues such as bullying well enough. Some pupils are intimidated by the poor behaviour of others. In addition to the matters highlighted above, pupils and parents also worry about the security of the school site. Leaders’ actions have not reassured a large minority of parents and pupils that the site is safe. Leaders’ attitude towards site safety is complacent. They believe that because there have been no security incidents in the past, there will be none in the future.

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Safeguarding

Governors have a limited understanding of how to hold leaders to account for safeguarding pupils. Governors do not know what to look for or ask about. They do not know what leaders do to check that safeguarding arrangements are working as they should.

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Safeguarding

The school’s systems for checking the suitability of staff to work in the school meet requirements. Leaders with responsibility for identifying and supporting pupils who are vulnerable and need extra help are diligent in their work. They also make referrals to other agencies when necessary. 9–10 October 2019

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Leaders and governors have failed to understand the reasons why a large minority of pupils do not feel safe in school. Leaders’ systems to accurately and thoroughly identify and evaluate pupils’ views about school are not effective. Leaders, including governors, should review the ways in which the views of pupils and parents are gathered, analysed and evaluated so that they capture an accurate picture of the school.  Leaders think that they take bullying seriously and believe that they act on it effectively. However, a large minority of pupils, and parents, do not share this view. Leaders should review and evaluate the ways in which they manage bullying so that pupils and parents can have confidence that leaders protect pupils from bullying.  A small number of pupils present the school with very challenging behaviour. Despite some appropriate action by leaders to try to bring about an improvement,

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

some pupils continue to behave inappropriately. Leaders need to act to ensure that no pupil is disadvantaged by the poorly behaved minority.  Some pupils and parents are not confident that the school site is safe. However, leaders do not think that pupils or parents should be worried about site safety. Leaders should take action to listen to these anxieties and to understand them. They should take appropriate and reasonable steps to reassure pupils and parents about site safety.  Pupils reported widespread use of homophobic and racist language. Some pupils do not report this because they do not expect staff or leaders to act. Some pupils have become hardened to such abusive language. Leaders should act to address the school culture in which such language is endemic and considered normal.

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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 . 9–10 October 2019

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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. 9–10 October 2019

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School details

Inspection number 10110760 Type of school Secondary comprehensive

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sixth form

Appropriate authority The governing body

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sixth form

Date of previous inspection 23 February 2016

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Information about this school

 The school is the base for an ‘enhanced mainstream school’ (EMS) provision for local authority SEND outreach. This caters for pupils with specific learning difficulties who are not on the roll at Lady Lumley’s School. Pupils are supported in their own schools. The EMS is due to be decommissioned by the local authority in December 2019.  The school runs an off-site unit in conjunction with three other local secondary schools. Ryedale Out-of-School Education (ROOSE) caters for pupils in key stages 3 and 4 for whom mainstream education is unsuitable for a period of time.

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Information about this inspection

In accordance with section 44(2) of the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that this school requires significant improvement, 9–10 October 2019

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because it is performing significantly less well than it might in all the circumstances reasonably be expected to perform.

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 This inspection was initially carried out under section 8 of the Education Act. Because of concerns about standards of behaviour and the extent to which pupils were safe, the inspection was deemed a section 5 inspection.  We met with the headteacher and deputy headteacher. We also met the senior leaders with responsibilities for: the sixth form; pupils with SEND; the pupil premium funding; behaviour and attendance; and pupils’ personal development. We met with a representative of the local authority and a group of governors.  As part of this inspection, we carried out a detailed review, known as a ‘deep dive’, of four subjects: English, mathematics, science and geography. Each deep dive consisted 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 different year groups, accompanied by a leader; a meeting with some of the

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teachers whose lessons were visited; a discussion with some of the pupils from the lessons visited; and a scrutiny of the workbooks of some of the pupils from the lessons visited.  To inspect the safeguarding arrangements in school, we looked at the records of staff employed at the school and the checks made on them. We met with the staff with responsibility for safeguarding. We sampled a case file to look at how the school identifies, helps and manages vulnerable pupils. We spoke with numerous pupils, staff and governors about safeguarding. We scrutinised the school’s records of accidents, bullying incidents and behavioural incidents. We considered the school’s records of homophobic and racist incidents. Information relating to site security was considered.  We spoke with pupils in several meetings and around the school site.  We spoke with a range of staff, including teachers and support staff.  An inspector visited the ROOSE off-site provision.

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 The responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaires were considered. These were: the pupil survey (273); the staff survey (83); Parent View (163); and the free-text responses to Parent View (159). We considered one letter from a parent and one letter from a pupil, and spoke with three parents on the telephone.

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Inspection team

Steve Shaw, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Phil Riozzi Her Majesty’s Inspector 9–10 October 2019

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Garry Stout Ofsted Inspector 9–10 October 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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