Sacred Heart Catholic Secondary

Inspection of Sacred Heart Catholic Secondary Mersey Road, Redcar, North Yorkshire TS10 1PJ

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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 12 and 13 July 2022

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What is it like to attend this school?

Sacred Heart Catholic Secondary is a school where all staff have high expectations of their pupils. Leaders have an ambitious vision for all pupils to achieve well. The Christian ethos of the school is central to this. The school has improved because of the actions leaders have taken.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud of the school values such as strength, resilience and community. Pupils play an active role in the local community and beyond. They visit care homes and provide hampers for the elderly at Christmas. Pupils had the opportunity to visit a school in Ghana as part of an international expedition.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The relationships between pupils and staff are strong. Pupils behave well in lessons and around the school. Pupils are clear about the rules they have to follow. Pupils feel safe in school. Some pupils say bullying does happen sometimes. They say that adults will not tolerate this and they sort it out straight away. Pupils enjoy their work being celebrated by leaders during ‘praise Fridays’.

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better?

Leaders have developed an ambitious and challenging curriculum for all pupils. Leaders have identified the important knowledge they want pupils to know and remember in each subject. Teachers have secure subject knowledge. They present new ideas in a way that pupils find easy to understand. Leaders have introduced ways for teachers to formally check what pupils know and remember. This is well established in the core curriculum subjects, for example English and science. In some foundation curriculum subjects, such as history and art, this is not as well developed. This means that in some subjects, pupils learn new information before they have understood the information that they have learned previously.

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better?

In science, topics build on what pupils already know from key stage 2. Leaders have also thought about what pupils need to know if they go on to study science after Year 11. Pupils start learning some of this content as they progress through key stage 4. Leaders have worked closely with the mathematics department to ensure that the mathematical skills needed in science are taught the same way in both subjects. This helps pupils use mathematical skills in the science curriculum.

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better?

Pupils study Shakespeare throughout key stage 3. Pupils learn about the link between gender and power in different Shakespeare plays. They can apply this knowledge when they study Romeo and Juliet in year 10.

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better?

The art and design curriculum helps pupils build knowledge and skills. Pupils apply what they have learned to different materials and more difficult projects. For example, in year 7 pupils use their knowledge of shape and form to sketch objects in 2D, progressing to working in 3D in year 9 when they make modelling masks. 12 and 13 July 2022

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Leaders work well with parents of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Leaders have acted on parents’ historic concerns about the education of their children. Leaders have recently appointed a new special educational needs coordinator (SENCo). The SENCo works closely with experienced SENCos within the trust. The SENCo has provided clear guidance to staff on how to support pupils’ specific needs. However, some staff do not have sufficient expertise to deliver this support and to check how well pupils are learning. Leaders know that staff training in this area is a priority.

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Leaders ensure that adults use the behaviour policy consistently across the school. Pupils understand the rewards and consequences systems. As a result, there is a calm and orderly atmosphere in lessons and around the school. Staff deal consistently and swiftly with any incidents of poor behaviour. Leaders have clear strategies to improve attendance. They work with external agencies to ensure that the most vulnerable pupils attend school regularly.

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Leaders place a high value on pupils’ personal development. The personal, social and health education curriculum is carefully planned. Teachers are trained well to deliver this content. Pupils value what they learn. Pupils have a strong understanding of healthy relationships, consent and how to stay safe online. Pupils receive high-quality careers advice and guidance. The school has recently won a national award for the quality of their careers advice. The school is a lead school for careers within the Tees Valley local authority.

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Leaders are well supported by colleagues from the trust. Leaders and those responsible for governance have an accurate view of the school’s effectiveness. This means leaders have prioritised the most important things to further improve. Leaders consider staff workload. Staff say that their views are listened to by leaders.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

School staff are vigilant in keeping pupils safe. There is a strong culture of safeguarding across the school. Leaders ensure that all staff know that safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility. Leaders communicate regularly with staff, so they are well informed about the most vulnerable pupils’ needs. Staff receive regular training related to safeguarding. Staff are clear about how to identify pupils at risk of harm. They share their concerns promptly with leaders.

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Safeguarding

The members of the safeguarding team work closely with external partners and agencies. Leaders check that pupils get the support they need at the right time. 12 and 13 July 2022

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some subjects, such as history and art, teachers do not use assessment precisely enough to check that pupils are secure in their knowledge of the most important curriculum content. This means that when pupils learn new information in these curriculum subjects, they find it more difficult to build on their prior knowledge. Leaders should ensure that assessment is used consistently by teachers across all curriculum subjects to pinpoint what pupils know and can do, then ensure that new learning builds securely on this.  Some staff lack expertise in delivering strategies to support pupils with SEND across the curriculum. This means that the support pupils with SEND receive is not consistently strong across the curriculum or across the school. Leaders should ensure that all relevant staff access high-quality training on delivering specific strategies to support pupils with SEND to access the curriculum.

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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. 12 and 13 July 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10241152 Type of school Secondary

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School details

Website https://sacredheart.npcat.org.uk

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 16 and 17 January 2019, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Sacred Heart Catholic Secondary School opened as an academy in September 2015. The school is a member of the Nicholas Postgate Catholic Academy Trust. The school is designated as having religious character.  The school is part of the Diocese of Middlesbrough. The most recent section 48 inspection was carried out on 6th and 7th July 2022. At the time of the inspection, the outcome of this had not been published.  The headteacher works as the executive headteacher of two other secondary schools within the trust.  A new SENCo was appointed in May 2022. They are supported by colleagues from the trust.  The school meets the requirements of the Baker Clause, which requires schools to provide pupils in Years 8 to 13 with information about approved technical education qualifications and apprenticeships.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. 12 and 13 July 2022

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 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with school leaders and has taken that into account in their evaluation.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in history, art and design, science and English. They held discussions with curriculum directors, curriculum leaders and teachers. They also talked to pupils about their learning and looked at the work they have completed.  Inspectors looked at curriculum plans and discussed assessment in mathematics, modern foreign languages and music.  Inspectors met with the SENCo, spoke to pupils with SEND, reviewed plans to support these pupils and visited lessons to see how these pupils are supported to learn.  Inspectors met with the leaders responsible for reading to discuss how reading is promoted in the school. They also observed intervention sessions to see how

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pupils are supported to improve their reading.  Inspectors met with the designated safeguarding leads and reviewed a range of documentation, including safeguarding records and policies, to ensure that appropriate actions are being taken to keep children safe.  Inspectors scrutinised the school’s records of bullying, reviewed the actions leaders take when bullying occurs and spoke to several groups of pupils, including some single-gender groups, to understand their experience of school.  Inspectors met leaders to discuss pupils’ behaviour, and they reviewed the school’s data. They visited the reflection room and spoke to pupils about their views of behaviour.  Inspectors met with representatives from the multi-academy trust, diocese and local governing body and reviewed the documentation relating to governance. A telephone conversation was held with the chair of the trust and a representative from the local authority.

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 Inspectors considered the views of pupils, parents and staff through Ofsted surveys, as well as additional communication from parents during the inspection.

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Inspection team

Stuart Voyce, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Barry Reed Ofsted Inspector 12 and 13 July 2022

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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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