Wright Robinson College

Inspection of an outstanding school: Wright Robinson College Abbey Hey Lane, Gorton, Manchester M18 8RL

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Outcome

Wright Robinson College continues to be an outstanding school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud to be part of this exceptional school. They are adamant that it is a safe, happy and harmonious place to learn. Pupils thoroughly enjoy coming to school to learn. They say, ‘Every aspect of school life is about teamwork.’

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What is it like to attend this school?

All pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), achieve exceptionally well. The ambitious curriculum motivates and engages pupils to work extremely hard. Staff have very high expectations of each of them.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils concentrate fully on their learning. They relish the opportunity to master new challenges. Pupils are highly appreciative of the learning opportunities that teachers provide. Pupils are fiercely proud of their successes.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Behaviour is exemplary. Pupils are extremely courteous and respectful. Pupils of all ages get along exceedingly well. They are accepting of each other’s differences. Pupils have no concerns about bullying. They said that it would be ‘out of the ordinary’. Should any bullying occur, pupils are confident that teachers will ‘shut it down immediately’.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils spoke with great pride about the extensive range of leadership, charitable and enrichment opportunities on offer. They delight in developing new skills and in finding new ways to contribute to the wider community. Pupils develop into highly confident, articulate and responsible young adults who are ready to ‘shine’ in the world.

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

Leaders, governors and trustees have created a distinctive school with a clear purpose. They are deeply committed to ensuring that every pupil can flourish, irrespective of their personal circumstances. A culture of high aspirations and a can-do approach to learning pervade the school. 6 and 7 October 2021

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Leaders have an unswerving commitment to ensuring that every pupil has access to an ambitious curriculum. Pupils study a broad range of subjects in key stage 3. In key stage 4, the English Baccalaureate suite of subjects is at the heart of the curriculum. Across the school, teachers use their excellent subject expertise to plan learning that builds logically over time. Teachers plan learning that captures pupils’ attention and rouses their curiosity.

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Teachers’ delivery of the curriculum helps pupils build their knowledge and make connections between current and previous learning. Opportunities for pupils to practise their learning are rich and plentiful. Teachers are highly adept at checking how well pupils, including those with SEND, learn the curriculum. This means that misconceptions are swiftly dealt with before pupils move on to the next stage of their learning. Consequently, pupils acquire an impressive breadth and depth of knowledge of the curriculum.

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Some pupils who join the school are behind with their reading. Staff prioritise checks to determine pupils’ phonics and reading knowledge to great effect. Skilled staff provide intensive support to address the deficits in pupils’ reading knowledge. As a result, these pupils catch up quickly. They soon read with fluency and confidence.

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Similarly, pupils with SEND are accurately identified. They benefit from high-quality support. Staff are given pertinent information so that they can deliver the curriculum in a way that meets the individual needs of pupils with SEND. As a result, these pupils are expertly supported to overcome any barriers that they face.

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Staff are uncompromising in their high expectations for pupils’ behaviour. Relationships between staff and pupils are built on mutual understanding and respect. Pupils are courteous and considerate. Pupils’ impeccable conduct around the school building is matched by highly positive attitudes in lessons.

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Pupils benefit exceptionally well from a high-quality personal development curriculum. This helps pupils to build their knowledge in a range of topics, including health and cultural diversity. Pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND, make the most of an impressive array of leadership roles and extra-curricular activities. As one pupil said, ‘There are so many activities, I can’t keep track.’

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Leaders ensure that pupils receive high-quality, up-to-date and relevant careers guidance. This equips pupils with the knowledge that they need to make informed choices about their next steps.

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Staff are exceptionally proud to work at Wright Robinson. They benefit extremely well from leaders’ genuine desire to manage workload and care for their well-being. Leaders provide extensive opportunities for teachers to access subject training and to work collaboratively.

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Trustees and governors are knowledgeable and proactive. They hold leaders to account robustly for the quality of education at the school. 6 and 7 October 2021

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

The leaders of safeguarding, along with the wider safeguarding team, ensure that they have up-to-date expertise in all aspects of safeguarding. They use this knowledge skilfully to identify potential risks to pupils and to decide on any next steps. Leaders work collaboratively with outside agencies to secure timely help when any pupils need it. Teachers are vigilant. They know how to report any concerns that they have.

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Safeguarding

The safeguarding team is aware of the risks that pupils face on a daily basis. Staff modify the curriculum to include these risks. Pupils are confident that they have the information they need to help keep themselves safe.

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Background

When we have judged a school to be outstanding, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains outstanding. This is called a section 8 inspection of a good or outstanding school, because it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, 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 deem the section 8 inspection as a section 5 inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the first section 8 inspection since we judged the predecessor school, also known as Wright Robinson College, to be outstanding in March 2016.

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How can I feed back my views?

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 . 6 and 7 October 2021

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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. 6 and 7 October 2021

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School details

Number of pupils on the school roll 1830

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 A small number of pupils are taught in the Compass Centre, which is led and managed by the school. The Compass Centre is a temporary provision for pupils whose behaviour is a cause for concern.  A small number of pupils in Years 10 and 11 are educated off site at two alternative education providers.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection that 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.  During the inspection, inspectors held meetings with the headteacher, other senior leaders, the special educational needs coordinator (SENDCo) and the SENDCo designate, middle leaders, teachers and members of support staff.  The lead inspector met with the representatives of the local governing body, which provides local governance for the school. The lead inspector also considered the minutes of the governing body meetings. 6 and 7 October 2021

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 The lead inspector also spoke with the chief executive officer of the trust and other representatives of the board of trustees.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in the following subjects: art and design, English, history, physical education and science. For each deep dive, inspectors met with subject leaders, looked at curriculum plans, visited several lessons, spoke with teachers, spoke with some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. Inspectors also considered other curriculum areas, including design and technology and mathematics.  Inspectors met with the designated safeguarding leader and other staff responsible for safeguarding. They considered a range of documentation in relation to safeguarding, including leaders’ pre-employment checks on staff and staff training records. Inspectors spoke to staff, pupils, governors and trustees about the wider aspects of safeguarding.

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They also considered survey responses from staff, parents and carers and pupils around safeguarding.  Inspectors examined other documents, including records about pupils’ behaviour.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour at breaktimes, in corridors, during registration and in lessons. They also spoke to pupils about bullying, behaviour and leaders’ expectations of their behaviour. Inspectors also discussed pupils’ programme of wider personal development.  Inspectors reviewed the 62 responses from parents and carers to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View. This included the 34 comments submitted via the free-text facility. Inspectors also considered views represented in an email from a parent.  Inspectors also considered the 128 responses to Ofsted’s pupil questionnaire and the 149 responses to Ofsted’s staff questionnaire.

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Inspection team

Alyson Middlemass, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Lenford White Ofsted Inspector 6 and 7 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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