Ken Stimpson Community School

Inspection of Ken Stimpson Community School Staniland Way, Werrington, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire PE4 6JT

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Requires improvement Personal development Requires improvement Leadership and management Requires improvement Sixth-form provision Good Previous inspection grade Good 5 and 6 October 2022

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy learning and want to do well in school. They understand the value of education. Many pupils show pride in their achievements and have high aspirations for their futures. Pupils do not always learn and achieve in line with their potential because the quality of the school’s curriculum and provision is not consistently strong.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Lessons are typically calm. Most pupils concentrate on their learning and work hard. Periodically, some pupils disrupt learning in some lessons. During social times, pupils enjoy each other’s company and have fun together.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are safe at school and are well supported when concerns arise. Pupils have mixed views on how well bullying is managed. While bullying is not common, sometimes it is not resolved quickly enough.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Students in the sixth form value their experiences at school and the support of their teachers. Students have a clear focus on their next steps in education or employment. They embrace the many opportunities the school provides for them to achieve academically and personally, including the nationally recognised groups learning about enterprise.

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better?

Leaders have been developing a new approach to the curriculum. They aim to broaden pupils’ opportunities to learn a wide range of subjects. Leaders have not yet organised the curriculum in a way that helps pupils learn most effectively. For example, in some areas of the curriculum, teachers try to teach too much knowledge at the same time. This leaves many pupils being overloaded and forgetting what has been taught.

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better?

Leaders have not clarified what they want pupils to know in some subjects. This leads to teachers not always teaching pupils the important knowledge they need to succeed. This also means that teachers do not always check that pupils know precisely what they should. As a result, pupils have gaps in what they know and understand as they move up the school. To help pupils catch up, leaders have introduced small support groups that occur before, during and after the school day. These help pupils to review what has been taught. To attend some of these support groups, pupils are taken out of lessons. As a result, some pupils miss parts of the curriculum and develop further gaps in knowledge.

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better?

Leaders have introduced new ways of helping pupils to enjoy reading. These plans have not yet affected pupils’ reading habits the way leaders want. Pupils told us that they read for pleasure less in secondary school than they did in their primary schools. However, pupils also told us that they enjoy the reading sessions they have in tutor groups. 5 and 6 October 2022

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Leaders’ support for pupils who struggle with reading helps many pupils improve. Leaders have not yet trained all staff in the school’s approach to teaching phonics and reading. As a result, teachers do not always give the most effective support that some pupils need to improve.

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Teachers do not teach pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) consistently well. Some teachers do not provide learning opportunities that routinely meet the needs of these pupils. Some teachers also do not use leaders’ detailed guidance when teaching these pupils. However, the provision for pupils with autism spectrum disorder is well delivered. These pupils learn how to be successful in school and the wider world.

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Teachers do not consistently apply leaders’ set approach for managing behaviour. As a result, some pupils disrupt the learning of others in some lessons. On occasion, some pupils can be unruly during social times.

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Leaders’ actions have improved attendance since the recent national lockdowns. However, the number of pupils who are persistently absent is still too high.

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Leaders have planned a curriculum and enrichment opportunities to support pupils’ personal development. This curriculum includes studying fundamental British values. Some pupils’ understanding of these areas is not sufficiently well developed. This is particularly noticeable in the amount of intolerant language used by some pupils when referring to people’s differences. In the sixth form, however, students enjoy and benefit from the many impressive opportunities leaders provide. These help students learn how to live happy and healthy lives in contemporary society.

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Leaders ensure that all pupils and students in the school receive the independent advice and guidance they need to make positive next steps in education or employment.

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Leaders have managed the school through a turbulent period. Some staff feel unsettled and not well enough supported to do their work as well as they could. Leaders have built positive relationships with the local community in the interest of the pupils and students at the school.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff are well trained to look for signs of potential harm. They know their pupils well and act swiftly and appropriately when concerns arise.

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Safeguarding

Leaders keep meticulous records about vulnerable pupils and work well with external agencies and ensure that these pupils get the support they need. 5 and 6 October 2022

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Governors ensure that leaders carry out the expected background checks to ensure that adults at the school are suitable.

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Staff ensure that pupils know how to keep themselves safe and how to respond when worried about their well-being.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Leaders’ curriculum is not clear or organised well enough. As a result, teachers sometimes teach the curriculum in a way that overloads or confuses pupils. Leaders need to clarify for teachers exactly what pupils must know and in what order knowledge should be taught.  Leaders have not ensured that all staff understand and use the school’s approach to teaching phonics and reading. Teachers do not consistently support pupils, particularly those who struggle with reading, well enough in lessons. Leaders need to develop teachers’ expertise and ensure they use the school’s chosen approach to teaching phonics and reading.  Some teachers do not provide the effective learning opportunities that support pupils with SEND to learn well. Leaders need to ensure that teachers have secure knowledge in how to support pupils with SEND more effectively and follow leaders’ guidance for these pupils.  Teachers do not follow leaders’ behaviour policy consistently. This leads to some

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

pupils disrupting learning in some lessons and demonstrating inappropriate conduct during social times. Leaders need to ensure that all staff have consistently high expectations and follow the behaviour policy set out.

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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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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 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10199717 Type of school Secondary Comprehensive

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provision

Number of pupils on the school roll 1149

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sixth form

Appropriate authority The governing body

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sixth form

Date of previous inspection 26 and 27 April 2016

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Information about this school

 The school serves as the Peterborough secondary hub for pupils with autism. The hub aims to support other schools and currently supports six pupils.  The school uses five registered and three unregistered alternative providers.  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 inspector(s) carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors spoke with the headteacher, members of the senior leadership team, the special educational needs coordinator, governors, a representative from the 5 and 6 October 2022

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local authority, representatives from alternative provisions, subject leaders, teachers, members of support staff, pupils, and students in the sixth form.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: geography, history, English, mathematics, modern foreign languages, physical education and science. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. Inspectors also spoke to leaders about the curriculum in some other subjects.  When inspecting safeguarding, inspectors held discussions with the designsated safeguarding lead (DSL), the deputy DSL, teachers, members of support staff and pupils. Inspectors also scrutinised school policies regarding safeguarding, child protection records and the central record of background checks made to ensure

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adults at the school are suitable.  Inspectors scrutinised the 57 responses to Ofsted’s online survey for parents, the 114 responses to the pupil survey, and the 90 responses to the staff survey.

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Inspection team

Al Mistrano, lead inspector His Majesty's Inspector

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Inspection team

Damian Loneragan His Majesty's Inspector

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Inspection team

Tony Bishop Ofsted Inspector 5 and 6 October 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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