Standish Community High School

Inspection of a good school: Standish Community High School Kenyon Road, Standish, Wigan, Lancashire WN6 0NX

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Inspection dates: 13 and 14 October 2021

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Outcome

Standish Community High School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel happy and safe at Standish Community High School. They are polite and friendly. Pupils feel able to speak with an adult if they have any worries or concerns.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave well. They say that staff deal with any rare incidents of misbehaviour quickly and effectively. Some pupils raised concerns about unacceptable language used by some of their peers. However, pupils are confident that leaders will take swift and effective action to deal with this.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils told inspectors that bullying rarely happens. Most pupils say that staff will sort out bullying quickly. However, a very small number of pupils do not share this view.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils strive to live up to 'The Standish Way'. This outlines leaders’ high expectations for pupils to become successful learners, confident individuals and responsible citizens. Pupils enjoy a range of clubs and activities, such as sports and reading clubs. Pupils value the ‘LGBT club’ that provides a voice for the school's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders are ambitious for all pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). This is reflected in the well-planned curriculum. Pupils achieve well across the school.

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

Leaders have ensured that pupils benefit from an appropriately ambitious curriculum at key stage 4. For example, most pupils study a creative subject. More pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND, now opt to study history, geography and modern foreign languages than before. Pupils study a broad range of subjects at key stage 3. Leaders have taken steps to enable pupils to learn some creative subjects in greater depth. However, in a small number of creative subjects, pupils do not learn about 13 and 14 October 2021

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some aspects of the curriculum deeply enough. For example, in art and design, pupils do not gain a rich enough knowledge of art from ancient times to the present day.

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Subject leaders have designed curriculum plans that clearly outline what pupils need to learn, and when. Pupils build on what they already know and can do. For example, in geography, pupils build on their knowledge of biomes when learning about rainforests.

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Teachers have a strong knowledge of the subjects that they teach. They use subject- specific training well to deliver curriculum plans effectively. Teachers design learning that helps pupils to remember the curriculum. For instance, teachers regularly recap important knowledge from previous lessons. This helps pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND, to know more and remember more across the curriculum.

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Teachers check pupils’ learning regularly and identify their mistakes. Teachers provide pupils with the extra help that they need to understand important concepts. Teachers also make appropriate adaptations to the curriculum, for example to address common misconceptions.

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Pupils can learn without distractions. Teachers deal with any incidents of low-level misbehaviour quickly and effectively.

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The special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) uses a range of effective strategies to identify the needs of pupils with SEND. The SENCo provides staff with detailed information so that they can support pupils with SEND well to access the curriculum. Any pupils who need additional help with their reading receive appropriate help to develop their fluency and accuracy.

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Leaders provide pupils with many opportunities to become well-rounded citizens. Pupils learn about respect, diversity and challenging prejudice through a well-sequenced and age-appropriate personal, social, health education (PSHE) curriculum. Pupils are accepting and respectful of people's differences. They benefit from a range of appropriate guidance to prepare them for the next stage of education, employment or training.

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Governors and trustees are ambitious for the school. They provide leaders with effective challenge and support. For example, they have challenged leaders’ work to improve the curriculum and pupils’ behaviour. Staff value leaders’ strong regard for their workload and well-being. Staff appreciate that leaders often say ‘thank you’.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Pupils develop a strong understanding of the risks they may face, such as the potential dangers associated with social media. Leaders adapt the PSHE curriculum regularly to alert pupils to potential risks. For example, pupils recently learned about stranger danger.

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Safeguarding

Staff receive a range of appropriate safeguarding training, including in relation to the ‘Prevent’ duty and sexual harassment. Staff know how to use the school’s systems to 13 and 14 October 2021

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report any concerns about pupils’ well-being. When necessary, leaders refer concerns to external agencies without delay. They take the time to follow up these concerns when needed.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some creative subjects in key stage 3, pupils do not gain knowledge of certain aspects of the curriculum in sufficient depth. This means that some pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those pupils with SEND, do not benefit fully from the opportunity to develop the rich cultural capital they need for later life. Leaders should ensure that pupils have the opportunity to learn creative subjects in sufficient depth at key stage 3.

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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 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 some 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, Standish Community High School, to be good on 19 and 20 November 2014.

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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 .

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school. 13 and 14 October 2021

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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. 13 and 14 October 2021

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School details

Inspection number 10206176 Type of school Secondary Comprehensive

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provision

Number of pupils on the school roll 1288

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provision

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 The school is part of the Mosaic Academy Trust.  Since the previous inspection, a new chair of governors and headteacher have been appointed. The previous headteacher is now chief executive officer of the Mosaic Academy Trust. Several other staff have also joined the school, including a new subject leader for science and a new SENCo.  A very small number of pupils attend three unregistered alternative providers. Pupils attend these providers on a part-time basis.

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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. 13 and 14 October 2021

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 The lead inspector met with representatives of those responsible for governance and representatives of the Mosaic Academy Trust. The lead inspector also met virtually with a representative of Wigan local authority.  Inspectors met with the headteacher and other senior leaders.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: mathematics, design and technology, modern foreign languages and science. For each deep dive, inspectors met with subject leaders, looked at curriculum plans, and visited a sample of lessons. Inspectors met with teachers and spoke with pupils about their learning. Inspectors also scrutinised samples of pupils’ work.  The lead inspector reviewed leaders’ curriculum plans and pupils’ work in a range of other subjects. The lead inspector also spoke with leaders and teachers in some of these subjects.  Inspectors spoke with pupils about their wider development and experiences of school

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life.  The lead inspector reviewed a range of safeguarding documentation, including the school’s single central record. The lead inspector also scrutinised other documentation, including leaders’ records of behaviour and bullying.  The lead inspector considered the 123 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, including 119 free-text comments, the 140 responses to Ofsted’s pupil questionnaire, and the 72 responses to Ofsted’s staff questionnaire.

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Inspection team

Linda Emmett, lead inspector Her Majesty's Inspector

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Inspection team

Sharon Asquith Ofsted Inspector 13 and 14 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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