St Philip Howard Catholic Voluntary Academy

Inspection of St Philip Howard Catholic Voluntary Academy Sunlaws Street, Glossop, Derbyshire SK13 8DR

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Previous inspection grade Requires improvement 5 and 6 October 2021

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud to attend this school. They get on very well together and show others kindness and respect. Pupils know that staff care about them and want them to be successful. They appreciate the support that staff give them and their families, particularly in response to the impact of COVID-19.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff have high expectations which most pupils respond to positively. The school is calm and orderly. Well-established classroom routines create an environment where pupils can learn. Pupils enjoy gaining rewards for doing well. Pupils do not think that bullying is an issue in school. They feel safe and are confident that staff will solve any problems swiftly.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils regularly give back to their local community. For example, they support a local care home for older people and donate money to a nearby well-being project, as well as raising funds for charities further afield. Many pupils take advantage of a rich variety of extra-curricular activities, including sport, music, art, gardening and cooking clubs.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Parents and carers are overwhelmingly positive about the school. One parent summed up the views of others: ‘Leaders have transformed the school into a nurturing, aspirational environment where pupils can flourish.’

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better?

Leaders have brought the school community together. Their strong values focus closely on doing the best for each pupil. The school has improved a lot since its previous inspection.

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better?

Leaders’ commitment ensures that all pupils benefit from a good quality of education. They have made sure that the curriculum is ambitious for all pupils. Pupils learn a broad range of subjects. Those with special educational needs and/or disabilities follow the same curriculum as their peers. These pupils are well motivated, thanks to the effective support they receive from staff.

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better?

Leaders have established clear intentions for the curriculum. In almost all subjects, pupils follow a course of learning that builds steadily on what they already know towards ambitious end points. Curriculum leaders consider carefully the order in which they teach the subject content so that pupils know more and remember more over time. Pupils achieve increasingly well in almost all subjects.

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better?

Most teachers make appropriate choices about how to teach the curriculum. They use their strong subject expertise to check pupils’ knowledge and understanding before moving on. However, leaders have not ensured that the curriculum is delivered consistently well in all subjects. In Year 7, pupils do not get off to a quick enough start in mathematics. In science, teachers do not always ensure that they 5 and 6 October 2021

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plug the gaps in pupils’ knowledge. Some pupils do not achieve as well as they could in these subjects.

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Well-trained staff provide effective support to pupils who struggle to read well. They successfully encourage pupils to become confident and fluent readers. Leaders’ plans to promote a love of reading across the curriculum are not yet fully in place. For example, they have refurbished the library but not yet ensured that it has a wide variety of texts.

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Most pupils attend well and are keen to learn. They behave positively towards each other and willingly help others. Staff provide effective support to pupils who need extra help to improve their behaviour or attend more regularly.

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There are many and varied opportunities for pupils to develop their skills, interests and character. Through the curriculum and other experiences, they learn how to become responsible citizens. Pupils discuss and debate their views respectfully. They make a rich contribution to the wider life of the school. Leaders have given much thought to their social and spiritual development. Leaders have begun to implement the programme of relationships and sex education. Elements of this curriculum are successfully delivered. However, not all aspects of the programme for personal development are coherently planned.

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The provision for careers education is well developed, although opportunities for work experience have been limited recently. The school meets the requirements of the Baker Clause, which requires schools to provide students in Years 8 to 13 with information about approved technical education qualifications and apprenticeships.

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The trust and the local governing body provide leaders with close support and challenge. Staff benefit from training provided by the trust to improve their practice. Staff appreciate how considerate leaders are of their well-being and workload. They are proud to work at the school.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Pupils learn about local risks they may face, including from county lines and substance misuse. They know how to look after their mental health. Pupils have someone to talk to if they are worried.

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Safeguarding

Staff are well trained. They know how to spot that a pupil may be at risk. They report any concerns promptly to leaders. Leaders maintain detailed records of their actions to keep pupils safe. They work closely with external agencies when pupils need extra help.

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Safeguarding

Almost all pupils, staff and parents think that pupils are safe at school. 5 and 6 October 2021

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Leaders have not ensured that the implementation of the curriculum is of the same high quality in all subjects, including science. On occasion, teachers do not make sound pedagogical choices or check that all pupils have understood the learning before moving on. Leaders should ensure that all teachers, including those who are not specialists, are supported to ensure that they deliver the curriculum consistently well.  Leaders have not made sure that opportunities to promote pupils’ personal development are coherently well planned and implemented. Some aspects of personal development are not delivered in such a way that pupils are explicitly taught the key knowledge they need. Leaders should ensure that the programmes for personal, social, health and economic education, relationships and sex education and health education are planned coherently and delivered consistently and effectively.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View 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.

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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. 5 and 6 October 2021

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School details

Inspection number 10200057 Type of school Secondary comprehensive

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School details

Date of previous inspection 16 and 17 January 2018, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Since the school’s previous inspection, two new assistant principals have been appointed.  A new special educational needs and disabilities coordinator (SENDCo) joined the school in September 2021.  The school uses Derbyshire County Council’s tailor-made programmes to provide an alternative education for a very small number of pupils. This provision is not registered.  A section 48 inspection of the school’s religious character took place on 12 June 2018.

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Information about this inspection

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

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Information about this inspection

This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with school leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation. 5 and 6 October 2021

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 Inspectors met with the headteacher and other senior leaders, including the SENDCo.  The lead inspector met with the designated safeguarding lead to discuss safeguarding, looked at documentation relating to safeguarding, the school’s system for recruiting staff and the school’s single central register. Inspectors also spoke with staff and pupils about safeguarding.  Inspectors did deep dives in four subjects: mathematics, science, history and Spanish. For each deep dive, inspectors met with curriculum leaders, visited lessons, looked at pupils’ workbooks, spoke with pupils and met with teachers of the lessons visited. On the second day of the inspection, inspectors visited lessons and reviewed curriculum plans in a wider range of subjects. Inspectors spoke with some Year 7 pupils about reading and listened to them read.  Inspectors met with groups of pupils from Years 9 and 10 and a group of pupils

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who are eligible for pupil premium funding from the government. Inspectors spoke with other pupils informally and observed the behaviour of pupils during social times.  The lead inspector met remotely with the chair of the board of trustees and the chair of the local governing body. The lead inspector also met remotely with trust representatives, including the chief executive officer and the senior director of school improvement.  An inspector spoke on the telephone to a representative of the school’s alternative provider.  Inspectors took into account the 62 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, including 43 free-text responses. They also considered the 40 responses to the survey for staff and 111 responses to the pupils’ survey.  The inspection team reviewed a range of documentation, including the school’s self-evaluation and leaders’ plans for improvement, curriculum plans for English,

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art and computer science and information about pupils’ attendance, behaviour and exclusions.  During the inspection, approximately 50 pupils were absent from school due to issues related to COVID-19.

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Inspection team

Rachel Tordoff, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Steve Lewis Ofsted Inspector 5 and 6 October 2021

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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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