Fullhurst Community College

Inspection of Fullhurst Community College Imperial Avenue, Leicester, Leicestershire LE3 1AH

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Inspection dates: 26 and 27 September 2023

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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 Good 26 and 27 September 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

The vast majority of pupils are happy to attend Fullhurst Community College. They show positive attitudes to learning. Pupils understand the school values: respect, kindness, determination and unity. These values underpin the strong relationships pupils have with staff and each other. Pupils respect diversity.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel safe in the school. They know who they can talk to if they need help and trust staff to resolve issues quickly. Pupils value the support the school gives them to maintain good mental health and well-being.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The dedicated staff at the school have worked hard to create an inclusive culture. They are ambitious for all pupils. This includes those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). All pupils have opportunities to achieve their aspirations. Pupils with complex needs in the specially resourced provision for pupils with SEND (specially resourced provision) receive excellent support from well-trained staff.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Through ‘The Fullhurst Pledge’, the school provides all pupils with a range of enrichment activities. These include opportunities to experience the arts and a variety of trips and visits. Pupils take part in community and charity activities. The school prepares pupils well for their next steps in education and future careers.

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better?

The school has planned an ambitious curriculum to meet the needs of all pupils. Pupils in key stage 3 enjoy a full range of subjects. At key stage 4, pupils choose from a broad selection of academic and vocational courses. This includes the subjects that make up the English Baccalaureate. The school adapts the curriculum for pupils with SEND to make sure that it meets their needs. Pupils in the specially resourced provision have opportunities to benefit from the curriculum in full. In all subjects, the curriculum identifies what pupils need to learn and when. This helps pupils build knowledge over time.

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better?

The school makes sure that all pupils are able to access the curriculum. When pupils join the school in Year 7, staff quickly identify where they have many gaps in their understanding and address these quickly. Staff provide good support for pupils who need extra help with reading.

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better?

In lessons, teachers deliver new knowledge clearly. They provide well-planned activities for pupils to practise. Pupils work hard in lessons. Teachers regularly check what pupils can remember. They address misconceptions quickly. Pupils achieve well. They remember what they have learned.

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better?

There is a well-planned curriculum for personal, social and health education (PSHE) to support pupils’ wider development. Pupils know how to keep themselves safe and healthy. They learn about staying safe online and how to form healthy relationships. Pupils learn about British values, equality and protected characteristics but they do 26 and 27 September 2023

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not gain a deep enough understanding of these important topics. The school has identified this and revised the teaching of these topics so that all pupils will be well prepared for their lives in modern Britain. The school provides pupils with opportunities to pursue their interests in a range of sports and creative pursuits.

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The school has high expectations for pupils’ behaviour. Most pupils behave well in lessons and around school. A small number of pupils do not behave as well as they should. These pupils sometimes disrupt the learning of others. The school has planned a system of consequences for pupils who do not follow routines. This system is not yet embedded fully. Staff do not always apply consequences consistently. The school has recognised this. Leaders have begun to provide effective training and support to help staff deal with poor behaviour. Pupils who struggle to regulate their own behaviour receive good support. Most pupils attend school well. The school identifies pupils who do not attend as often as they should. There is a well-planned range of strategies to support these pupils to improve their attendance.

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Staff are proud to work at the school. They are happy and appreciate the support they get from the school to develop their knowledge and skills.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The PSHE curriculum is not yet fully embedded. Pupils do not have a deep enough understanding of some important themes such as British values and protected characteristics. The school needs to make sure that all pupils gain the knowledge they need to be well prepared for their lives in modern Britain.  Not all staff consistently apply the school’s behaviour policy. Some incidents of poor behaviour are not addressed effectively. Pupils are not always clear about what the routines are that they need to follow. The school needs to ensure that behaviour is managed consistently well so that all pupils learn to follow routines and disruptions to learning are minimised.

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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. 26 and 27 September 2023

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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’ is used to mean pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND); pupils who meet the definition of children in need of help and protection ; pupils receiving statutory local authority support from a social worker; and pupils who otherwise meet the criteria used for deciding the school’s pupil premium funding (this includes pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years, looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 26 and 27 September 2023

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School details

Number of pupils on the school roll 1,517

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Headteacher Christina Bailey (Executive Headteacher)

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School details

Date of previous inspection 16 January 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The executive headteacher was appointed in April 2022.  The school has a specially resourced provision for pupils with speech, language and communication needs which caters for 43 pupils.  The school uses 12 unregistered alternative providers.  The school meets the requirements of the provider access legislation, which requires schools to provide pupils in Years 8 to 13 with information and engagement 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

 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.  This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 26 and 27 September 2023

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pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school  Inspectors met with the executive headteacher, the deputy headteachers and other school leaders.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: English, science, history, languages and art and design. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  Inspectors visited a number of lessons in other subjects and discussed the curriculums with school leaders.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.

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 Inspectors met with pupils from a range of year groups, including pupils with SEND, to hear about their experiences at the school.  Inspectors met with a range of teaching and non-teaching staff.  Inspectors considered responses to pupil and staff surveys, as well as Ofsted Parent View.

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Inspection team

John Spragg, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

John Craig Ofsted Inspector 26 and 27 September 2023

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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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