Hindley High School

Inspection of Hindley High School Mornington Road, Hindley, Wigan, Lancashire WN2 4LG

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Overall effectiveness Inadequate

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Inadequate Previous inspection grade Requires improvement 11–12 March 2020

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at Hindley High School are respectful to each other and to staff. The pupils said that they feel safe. They are happy to come to school. Pupils have confidence that teachers deal well with the rare instances of bullying that occur.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils said that behaviour is mostly good. Silly behaviour is stopped quickly by teachers. The corridors are generally calm and orderly. Pupils are rarely late for lessons. The proportion of pupils that are regularly absent from school is falling.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Although there are signs of recent improvements, pupils’ learning has not been good enough for some time. This is partly because leaders have not tackled weaknesses in pupils’ education quickly enough. In addition, leaders do not have high enough expectations of what some pupils can achieve.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils can participate in a wide range of extra-curricular activities. Pupils enjoy the school productions and the gospel choir. They enjoy taking on responsibilities, such as becoming a prefect, an anti-bullying ambassador or a mental health ambassador.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have created links with the local community. Pupils value opportunities to help others in their local area. For example, pupils are keen to support the local food bank to help those that are less fortunate than themselves.

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better?

For too long, pupils in this school have not received a good quality of education. Leaders have not acted swiftly enough to resolve this situation. The actions that they have taken have not been effective in bringing about the necessary improvement to pupils’ achievement. Governors have not held leaders to account for the lack of improvement to the quality of education over the last five years. Governors and leaders do not have an accurate understanding of how well the school is performing.

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better?

Governors and leaders are not ambitious enough for pupils. Over time, pupils have not achieved well in their GCSE examinations. For many years, their attainment and progress have been below national averages in most areas of the curriculum. Governors and leaders do not expect enough of disadvantaged pupils and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). This lack of ambition permeates the school. Too many pupils, particularly those who are disadvantaged and those with SEND, leave the school without attaining a standard or strong pass in their English and mathematics GCSEs.

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better?

Since the appointment of the new deputy headteacher, improvements to the curriculum have started to build momentum. Over the last year, new curriculums have been developed for most subjects. New learning is ordered appropriately so that it builds on prior knowledge. However, these improvements are recent. The 11–12 March 2020

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impact of this change is patchy. It is too early to see if older pupils are learning more than the Year 11 pupils who left the school in the last few years.

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Leaders are beginning to give teachers time to develop the skills that they need to deliver the curriculum effectively. They have established links with other local schools to improve the delivery of different subjects. Some teachers have been given individual support to improve their practice. Even so, the implementation of the new curriculum plans is variable. The quality of education that pupils receive is too dependent on the teachers that they have. Leaders and governors continue to leave too much to chance.

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Some teachers help pupils to remember more through the activities that they use. This is not the case across the board. As a result, pupils’ learning across subjects and year groups remains uneven. Aspirations for disadvantaged pupils, low-prior attaining pupils and pupils with SEND are too low. Although these pupils follow the same curriculum as other pupils, they do not have regular opportunities to deepen their knowledge of the subjects that they study. This prevents some pupils from extending their thinking and learning.

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Pupils’ behaviour has improved since the last inspection. Most pupils are considerate to each other. Social areas are usually pleasant places to be. Pupils move promptly to their lessons. They work hard. Learning is rarely disrupted by poor behaviour. Attendance is improving and is now broadly in line with the national average.

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The provision for pupils’ personal development has improved over the last year. Leaders have introduced a new programme of learning called ‘Identity and Destination’. This curriculum prepares pupils for life in modern Britain. Pupils are taught about the rule of law and they debate moral issues. Pupils are given careers advice and guidance on their possible next steps. This improved guidance is helping more pupils to remain in education, training or employment once they leave school.

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Pupils can take on several responsibilities, including becoming a sports leader. They are encouraged to participate in a range of trips and activities. For example, pupils visit theatres and art galleries. Pupils have the opportunity to participate in musical activities and several sports.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. Leaders undertake all necessary pre-employment checks on new staff.

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Safeguarding

Staff receive safeguarding training annually. They are given updates when needed. Staff understand the main issues that are likely to affect their pupils. They recognise the signs of a pupil in need of support. They act promptly to get them the help that they need.

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Safeguarding

Pupils know how to keep themselves safe. They understand the dangers of the internet, particularly those related to social media sites. 11–12 March 2020

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

◼ Leaders have been too slow to bring about the required improvement to the quality of education that pupils receive. As a result, pupils do not achieve as well as they should by the end of Year 11. Leaders must act with urgency to ensure that recent improvements to the curriculum are consistently well implemented across all subjects and year groups. ◼ Governors have not held leaders to account for the quality of education provided by the school. This has contributed to the lack of improvement that has been made in this area over the last five years. Governors are too reliant on the information that leaders give to them. They accept this information too readily. Governors must ensure that they have the knowledge, understanding and skills to hold leaders to account for developments within the quality of education. ◼ Very recent improvements to curriculum planning means that most subject areas have a well-ordered curriculum. However, there are still weaknesses in how these

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

curriculum plans are delivered across departments and in year groups. This is because some teachers do not have the necessary skills or understanding of subject pedagogy to enable pupils to learn well. As a result, pupils do not gain the knowledge that they need to attain well in their GCSE examinations. Leaders must ensure that teachers develop the knowledge and skills necessary to deliver the curriculum effectively in order to better prepare pupils for their future education, employment or training. ◼ Governors and leaders do not have high enough expectations of disadvantaged pupils, low-prior attaining pupils and pupils with SEND. The activities that teachers plan for pupils do not always give them regular opportunities to extend their thinking and to deepen their knowledge of subjects. As a result, these pupils do not learn as much as others. This prevents them from attaining well in external examinations. Leaders must raise their expectations of disadvantaged

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

pupils, low-prior attaining pupils and pupils with SEND. They must ensure that the activities planned enable pupils to extend their thinking and learning across subjects so that they achieve as well as other pupils nationally.

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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. 11–12 March 2020

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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.

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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. 11–12 March 2020

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School details

Inspection number 10121971 Type of school Secondary comprehensive

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Website http://www.hindleyhs.wigan.sch.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 26 March 2019, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

◼ The school currently uses alternative provision at Next Level Learning and The Engagement Centre to contribute to the education of a small number of pupils.

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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

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, because it is performing significantly less well than it might in all the circumstances reasonably be expected to perform. 11–12 March 2020

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◼ During the inspection, we spoke with pupils about their work and school life. We held meetings with senior leaders, governors, subject leaders and a representative from the local authority. ◼ We reviewed documentation, which included leaders’ evaluation of the school’s strengths and areas for improvement, and the school development plan. We scrutinised information about pupils’ attendance and behaviour. ◼ We considered the views expressed by parents and carers in the 48 responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View, as well as parents’ comments received via the free-text facility. We considered the 28 responses to the questionnaire for staff. We also considered the 87 responses to the questionnaire for pupils. ◼ We reviewed a range of documentation about the school. This included information about safeguarding, including the school’s record of checks undertaken on newly appointed staff. ◼ As part of the inspection, we did deep dives in the following subjects: English,

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mathematics, modern foreign languages and music. In these subjects, we met with subject leaders, visited lessons, spoke with pupils, met with teaching staff and looked at pupils’ work. We also considered other subjects as part of the inspection.

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Inspection team

Erica Sharman, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Des Callaghan Ofsted Inspector 11–12 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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