King Edward VII School

Inspection of King Edward VII School Glossop Road, Sheffield, South Yorkshire S10 2PW

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Inspection dates: 27 and 28 September 2022

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Overall effectiveness Inadequate

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Inadequate Sixth-form provision Good Previous inspection grade Good 27 and 28 September 2022

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders at King Edward VII school do not do enough to keep children safe. A significant minority of pupils do not feel that they have an adult to speak to. Some pupils would not pass on concerns about bullying. While school records show that bullying is not frequent, leaders do not encourage pupils effectively to speak to an adult if they are worried about something.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Most pupils are happy at this school. They relate well to each other and there is a respectful atmosphere. However, there are a small number of pupils that do not feel part of the school community. This is because sometimes leaders do not communicate effectively with parents and pupils about the decisions they take that may affect groups of pupils.

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What is it like to attend this school?

In lessons, relationships between pupils and staff are positive. Pupils’ behaviour across both school sites is a strength of the school. The sixth form is thriving and draws pupils from across Sheffield schools. Sixth-form pupils told inspectors they liked the academic approach to the curriculum.

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What is it like to attend this school?

An ambitious curriculum is planned for all, including those pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). However, leaders do not check that their expectations for pupils are being enacted in lessons, especially for pupils with SEND.

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better?

Leaders ensure that all pupils follow a broad curriculum. Some pupils with SEND are taught an adapted curriculum to meet their specific needs. Leaders consider the decisions around this carefully to ensure it is appropriate. The sixth-form provision attracts pupils from a wide range of schools because they are drawn to the academic rigour offered in the courses available.

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better?

There are inconsistencies in the curriculum across subjects. This is because quality assurance processes do not routinely check how subject leaders are organising their curriculums. In some subjects, such as history, there is clear thought given to how pupils will progress during their time at King Edward VII school. This is not the case in some other curriculum areas, especially in key stage 3. Curriculum planning in the sixth form has more clearly identified end points.

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better?

Pupils enjoy their lessons because they are taught by passionate, engaging and expert teachers. However, pupils’ recall of the important information they are taught is inconsistent. When talking about design and technology lessons, some Year 10 pupils could recall the details of a clock they had made in previous years. In this subject, teachers make regular checks on important information they want pupils to remember about, for example, measuring accurately. In other subjects, staff are less sure about what pupils have remembered because they do not make regular checks. The whole-school approach to assessment lacks consistency. 27 and 28 September 2022

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Pupils’ behaviour around the school is respectful and calm. Pupils at the lower school site need more reminding of the code of conduct, but this is well managed by staff. The personal, social and health education (PSHE) curriculum builds a sense of respect among pupils and there is a strong sense of community among the diverse population of the school. Leaders ensure that pupils receive careers advice and information about their next steps. Leaders are also taking steps to ensure that there is a person trained to lead careers in school.

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Leaders quickly identify those pupils at the earliest stages of reading. Despite this, they have not implemented a systematic approach to the teaching of phonics to ensure that these pupils can read and access the curriculum. Leaders do not undertake regular checks on the ways that teachers meet the needs of pupils with SEND in lessons. There are gaps in leaders’ knowledge about the quality of education for pupils with SEND. The information in pupils’ education, health and care plans is not shared effectively with teachers. This means that pupils needs are not considered as well as they might be when they are in lessons. The recently appointed special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) knows this.

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Leaders could not explain to inspectors their rationale for choosing different alternative education provision for different pupils. Leaders, during this inspection, were not clear about which pupils attended which provision. For example, in separate meetings, discrepancies arose in the number of pupils attending different alternative providers. Systems for checking do not work effectively. Checks on whether the curriculum is appropriate for each pupil had not taken place.

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Leaders do not ensure that school policies are applied by all staff. This includes policies about the curriculum and those relating to safeguarding. Surveys from pupils are collected regularly. These clearly show that a significant minority of pupils do not feel that they have an adult to speak to. They would hesitate to pass on concerns about bullying. Leaders have not acted on this information. Governors do not challenge leaders about this lack of action. Governors do not ensure that leaders’ work on curriculum initiatives, such as approaches to assessment, is implemented effectively. Despite this, teachers feel that they are well supported by leaders and are proud to work at King Edward VII.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders’ actions around the safeguarding of pupils lack rigour. They do not thoroughly check that staff remember important safeguarding updates. As a result, some staff have a too casual attitude to their responsibilities around safeguarding. Sometimes, staff do not pass on safeguarding concerns to appropriate staff in the school. This puts children at risk.

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Safeguarding

Risk assessments, in particular those concerning the safety of pupils at the upper school site at lunchtime, have not been completed. Leaders did not take appropriate 27 and 28 September 2022

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action to learn from mistakes when a serious safeguarding incident occurred. This means they miss opportunities to improve their approaches to safeguarding. The systems for sharing information about safeguarding concerns between key members of staff are not effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Safeguarding policies are not consistently applied. This means that the systems leaders adopt do not work as intended and that children may be at risk of harm. Leaders should ensure that all staff understand and follow their responsibilities in relation to safeguarding and the reporting of safeguarding concerns.  The assessment of risk in relation to safety, including pupils’ movement on and off the upper school site at dinner time, has gaps. This means that leaders cannot be sure they are taking appropriate action to keep children safe. Leaders should ensure that they identify and assess risks that pupils face so appropriate actions to minimise risk are in place.  There is a lack of clear leadership regarding pupils who attend alternative provision. Leaders do not have a shared, clear view of the curriculum or quality of education that pupils attending alternative provision receive. Leaders should

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

ensure that oversight of alternative provision and the quality of curriculum are managed appropriately.  Leaders do not act on the information they collect from pupils. The concerns of some pupils are not addressed as a result, and leaders do not take deliberate steps to improve the school experience of all pupils. Leaders should enact clear plans to address pupils’ concerns based on the information they have about pupils.  Leaders do not make regular checks on assessment systems across different subject areas. Consequently, some teachers do not assess what pupils have remembered. They do not adapt the curriculum they teach to ensure pupils remember important information. Leaders should ensure there is a consistent approach to assessment across the school.  Governors do not challenge leaders despite receiving clear information about, for example, pupils’ opinions about their school. This results in a lack of strategic

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

planning and direction. Governors should ensure that they challenge the information they receive to ensure that the school improves.  Leaders do not make checks on what lessons are like for pupils with SEND. This means they do not know what the quality of education is like for pupils with SEND. Leaders should ensure there are strong systems in place to check on the support and quality of education that pupils with SEND receive. 27 and 28 September 2022

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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. 27 and 28 September 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10251771 Type of school Secondary

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provision

Number of pupils on the school roll 1804

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sixth form

Date of previous inspection 24 April 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Since the last inspection, there have been changes in some senior leadership positions, including the recent appointment of a new assistant headteacher with oversight for key stage 3. A new SENCo has taken up their position at the beginning of this this academic year.  King Edward VII is a split-site school. Years 7 to 9 are taught at the lower school site. Years 10 to 13 are taught at the upper school site.  The school makes use of nine alternative education providers for a small number of pupils. One of these is an unregistered provider.  The school meets the requirements of the Baker Clause, which requires schools to provide pupils in Year 8 to 13 with information about approved technical education qualifications and apprenticeships. 27 and 28 September 2022

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this inspection under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We deemed the inspection a graded (section 5) inspection under the same Act.

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Information about this inspection

In accordance with section 44(2) of the Education Act 2005, His Majesty's Chief Inspector is of the opinion that this school requires significant improvement, because it is performing significantly less well than it might in all the circumstances reasonably be expected to perform.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspection was carried out following a number of complaints made to Ofsted that raised serious concerns. His Majesty’s Chief Inspector decided that an inspection of the school should take place to follow up the whole-school issues that were raised. Inspectors sought to establish whether leaders took effective action to deal with bullying. Inspectors also wanted to establish how leaders at the school handle complaints and concerns from parents.  This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors spoke with the headteacher and other senior leaders, including those with responsibility for sixth form, timetabling, staffing, curriculum, inclusion and safeguarding, and behaviour. Inspectors also spoke with a group of governors,

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Information about this inspection

including the chair.  Inspectors spoke with representatives from the local authority, including the safeguarding officer for the local authority.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: English, mathematics, history, and art, design technology and engineering. For each deep dive, inspectors spoke with subject leaders, looked at curriculum plans, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors spoke to leaders with responsibility for PSHE and looked at PSHE curriculum plans. Inspectors also visited some PSHE lessons. Inspectors spoke to pupils about after-school clubs  Inspectors spoke to pupils both formally and informally, including single-sex groups of pupils. Inspectors also observed social times and spoke to pupils as they arrived at school.  Inspectors spoke with the SENCo and examined the provision for pupils with

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Information about this inspection

SEND.  Inspectors examined records of attendance and looked at leaders’ use of alternative provision.  To inspect safeguarding, inspectors scrutinised record-keeping and looked at how leaders manage serious incidents. Inspectors also spoke to pupils and staff, and scrutinised the single central record. 27 and 28 September 2022

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 Inspectors spoke to support staff and early career teachers as well as other teaching staff.  Inspectors took account of the views of pupils, staff and parents through surveys, including Ofsted Parent View.

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Inspection team

Matthew Vellensworth, lead inspector His Majesty's Inspector

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Inspection team

John Linkins His Majesty's Inspector 27 and 28 September 2022

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