South Wigston High School

Inspection of South Wigston High School St Thomas Road, Wigston, Leicestershire LE18 4TA

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Overall effectiveness Inadequate

The quality of education Inadequate Behaviour and attitudes Inadequate Personal development Requires improvement Leadership and management Requires improvement Previous inspection grade Requires improvement 7 and 8 December 2022

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What is it like to attend this school?

Too many pupils do not behave well in lessons and around the school. They often disrupt the learning of others. Pupils say that they do not always feel safe. Some pupils use derogatory language, including racist and homophobic insults.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils say that when bullying happens, it isn’t dealt with very well. They say that they don’t always feel confident that when they report it to staff it will stop.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) do not have their needs met well. Leaders do not help teachers fully understand pupils’ needs or plan adaptations that will support them. Leaders do not communicate with parents of children with SEND well enough.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils benefit from a range of opportunities. They take part in different extra- curricular activities. There are clubs, including sports, drama and a variety of other interests. Pupils benefit from trips to the theatre and local places of worship.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders are determined to change the culture in the school and to raise expectations for all pupils. They have begun to make some positive changes. There have been many changes to staffing in the school, and some pupils, parents and carers are concerned about this.

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better?

In some subjects, the curriculum is sequenced well. Leaders have identified the key knowledge and skills that pupils will learn and when. This helps teachers to plan effective lessons. Nevertheless, this is not the case in some other subjects.

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better?

In some lessons, teachers use precise questioning. These questions enable pupils to recall important facts. This helps pupils to be ready to learn new knowledge. Nonetheless, too often, teachers do not question pupils well enough. They do not check on pupils’ prior knowledge nor do they identify pupils’ misconceptions. Pupils’ learning does not build on secure foundations. Pupils cannot remember a lot of what they have been taught.

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better?

Some staff do not have high enough ambitions for pupils. Sometimes, teachers plan activities for pupils without considering what knowledge they will learn. Pupils become disengaged because they don’t have to think deeply enough. This often leads to pupils having negative attitudes towards learning. Pupils’ workbooks are sometimes of poor quality in terms of presentation and content. They often contain incomplete work.

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better?

Leaders do not provide useful information to help teachers adapt their lessons for pupils with SEND. Leaders have identified these weaknesses. They have begun to improve the support that pupils with SEND receive. 7 and 8 December 2022

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Too many pupils say that poor behaviour disrupts lessons and that teachers don’t always manage poor behaviour well enough. Some disruption happens because teachers do not always plan lessons that fully engage pupils. Too many pupils behave poorly. Some pupils truant lessons.

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Some pupils do not respect each other. Pupils say that corridors and toilet blocks are not always safe places to be. Leaders have recently implemented a behaviour policy. This policy has higher expectations for pupils and stricter sanctions. However, some pupils say that the policy is not consistently applied by all staff.

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Attendance is too low, particularly for disadvantaged pupils and for pupils with SEND. Many pupils arrive late to school. These pupils miss too many lessons. Leaders recognise this and have started to develop strategies to improve pupils’ attendance and punctuality.

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The personal development curriculum helps to prepare pupils for life in modern Britain. Pupils learn about how to keep themselves safe in a range of contexts and the British values of democracy, respect and tolerance. However, not all pupils can remember what they have learned. Pupils have opportunities to learn about their future careers and experience the world of work.

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Leaders, governors and the multi-academy trust have a vision of high expectations for all pupils. However, they have not been able to make the necessary changes as quickly as they had hoped for this to become realised. Not all staff, pupils and parents have supported all the changes they have made. Leaders need the support of all stakeholders if they are to improve the school.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Teachers know their role in keeping children safe. They know their pupils well and know how to identify when they might be at risk.

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Safeguarding

Leaders have developed the way they manage concerns about pupils’ safety. They now have a more robust system for helping to ensure pupils are safe. More staff, including heads of year, are now trained in this system. Leaders respond quickly and appropriately to any safeguarding concerns. They work effectively with external agencies such as the police and social care.

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Safeguarding

Leaders follow appropriate guidelines when appointing new members of staff.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Teachers do not always have high enough expectations for pupils. Pupils do not always learn key knowledge. Leaders should ensure that teaching helps pupils to 7 and 8 December 2022

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learn and remember more of the planned curriculum.  Teachers do not always question pupils effectively. They do not routinely check pupils’ understanding or identify their misconceptions. Pupils are not able to build on secure prior knowledge as well as they should. Teachers should ensure that they frequently check pupils’ understanding and address any misconceptions promptly.  Teachers do not effectively meet the needs of pupils with SEND. Pupils with SEND do not benefit from a good enough quality of education. Leaders should ensure that teachers have the information and support they need to effectively adapt teaching for pupils with SEND.  Some pupils’ behaviour is not good enough in lessons and around the school. They disrupt learning and can make other pupils feel unsafe. Leaders should ensure that all staff have high expectations for behaviour and consistently challenge poor behaviour.  Too many pupils do not attend school frequently enough or are late for school.

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Many of these are disadvantaged pupils or pupils with SEND. These pupils miss lessons and do not achieve as well as they should. Leaders should pursue appropriate strategies to ensure that all pupils attend well and arrive on time.  Some pupils do not benefit from the personal development curriculum. They are not always able to remember what they have been taught. Leaders should ensure that all pupils are fully prepared for life in modern Britain.  Many pupils, parents and staff say they are concerned about the rapid changes that have been made to the school. They say that information is not always communicated to them well enough. Sometimes they don’t understand the changes that are being made. Leaders should communicate the rationale effectively to all stakeholders for the changes they are making to improve the school.

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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. 7 and 8 December 2022

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School details

Appropriate authority The board of trustees

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School details

Date of previous inspection 10 February 2022, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is part of the Learning without Limits Academy Trust  The school uses the services of two registered and nine unregistered alternative provisions.  Leaders have recently set up an on-site alternative education facility called ‘The Phoenix’ for a small number of pupils at key stages 3 and 4.  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 graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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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. 7 and 8 December 2022

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 This was the third routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors met with the headteacher, other senior leaders, subject leaders and a range of staff.  The lead inspector met with the chief executive officer and the education director of the Learning without Limits Academy Trust.  The lead inspector met with two representatives of the governing body, including the chair.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in English, mathematics, geography, physical education and computing. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke with teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at a sample of pupils’ work.  Inspectors visited lessons in a range of other subjects.

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 An inspector spoke with staff from some of the alternative provisions used by the school and viewed documentation to support the use of alternative provision.  Inspectors looked at documentation, including safeguarding records, behaviour logs, attendance and punctuality reports, the school’s self-evaluation, improvement plans and minutes from governing body meetings.  Inspectors spoke to pupils from all year groups, including pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils. They also considered the views of Ofsted’s pupil survey.  Inspectors considered the responses to the Ofsted Parent View and staff surveys.  The lead inspector evaluated safeguarding arrangements by looking at the single central record and safeguarding logs. Meetings were held with the designated safeguarding lead, the principal and other relevant staff.

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Inspection team

John Spragg, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Chris Stevens His Majesty’s Inspector 7 and 8 December 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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