Glossopdale School and Sixth Form

Inspection of Glossopdale School and Sixth Form Newshaw Lane, Hadfield, Glossop, Derbyshire SK13 2DA

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Inspection dates: 14 and 15 November 2023

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Sixth-form provision Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Previous inspection grade Not previously inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Overall effectiveness Good

The headteacher of this school is Debra McGloin. This school is part of TRUE Learning Partnership which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Peter Cox, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Grenville Page. 14 and 15 November 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high expectations for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The aim is that pupils ‘thrive’ and show tenacity, hard work, responsibility, independence, vision and excellence. Most pupils demonstrate these characteristics. Students in the sixth form talk about the positive and supportive environment they enjoy.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils develop positive relationships with their teachers. They feel safe. Pupils with SEND can access the ‘Hive’, a quiet space with extra adult support. Most pupils who expressed a view said that they are not worried about bullying. They share concerns with staff and trust them to take effective action. A small number of pupils say they would not always share their concerns about bullying.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils benefit from a range of wider opportunities. They take part in football, netball and dance clubs. Over one hundred pupils are currently volunteering to raise money for a trip to Kenya where they will take part in community work. During the inspection, local primary schools visited to watch the school production of ‘Frozen’.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils develop their leadership skills by taking part in the school council. They organise bake sales for charity. Sixth-form students support younger pupils in lessons and welcome visitors at school events.

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better?

The school’s curriculum is ambitious and has been carefully designed so that pupils learn about increasingly complex aspects of the subjects they study. There are opportunities for pupils to revisit prior learning. More pupils are opting to study modern foreign languages as a GCSE qualification. This will increase the currently low number of pupils entered for the subjects that make up the English baccalaureate. In the sixth form, students study a curriculum that builds on what they have learned in years 7 to 11.

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better?

Teachers have secure subject knowledge. They model thinking for pupils. Teachers help pupils to develop their subject-specific vocabulary. There are assessment systems in place to check pupils’ understanding over time. Some teachers do not rigorously check pupils’ understanding in lessons. On occasion, they move learning on before all pupils have secured the knowledge they need.

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better?

Teachers consistently start lessons with tasks designed to help pupils recall previous learning. In most subjects, these tasks and other strategies are successful in enabling pupils to recall the knowledge they have learned before. Pupils talk confidently about manifest destiny in history. They develop their ability to speak using different tenses in French. Teachers do not use these opportunities for pupils to reflect on what have already learned successfully in all subjects. In these subjects, including in mathematics, some pupils struggle to recall their learning. 14 and 15 November 2023

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Sixth-form students develop their knowledge over time. For example, they can share their understanding of linguistic techniques and poetry. Sixth-form students value the help their teachers provide, including personalised targets, that help them to get better at the subjects they study.

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Reading is prioritised. Pupils make good use of the library. Well-trained staff provide effective support to those who need help to become more fluent readers.

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There have been significant changes to the provision for pupils with SEND. These changes have resulted in more robust processes being in place to ensure that all staff know who pupils with SEND are and how to support them. Pupils with SEND benefit from personalised strategies to help them manage their emotions and access lessons.

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Most pupils learn in calm classrooms. Pupils and staff say behaviour has improved significantly. Pupils in the ‘Thrive centre’ value the help they receive to manage their behaviour. Some pupils say that, at times, lessons are disrupted in particular subjects.

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Many pupils enjoy school and attend well. However, some of the most vulnerable pupils do not attend well enough. The school uses a range of strategies to remove the barriers to pupils attending school. These strategies have helped to improve the attendance of some pupils. The school continues to prioritise attendance, working with parents and carers as well as wider agencies.

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In morning meetings, ‘beliefs and values’ lessons and assemblies, pupils study topics related to their personal development. They learn about respecting others and about the protected characteristics. Pupils contribute to the life of the school by becoming mental health champions. Pupils are less secure in their knowledge of British values and major world faiths. They attend careers fairs to consider their options when they leave school. Sixth-form students develop their understanding of resilience and mental health. They value the information that they receive about their next steps.

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Staff say that they enjoy working at the school. They say that working together and adjustments in the school’s marking policy make their workload manageable. Staff have regular opportunities to develop their practice. They learn from one another, as well as by hearing from external experts.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some subjects, teachers do not rigorously check pupils’ understanding in lessons. As a result, teachers do not always move pupils’ learning on at the most 14 and 15 November 2023

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appropriate point. Some pupils do not secure the knowledge they need to be able to access subsequent learning. The school should ensure that teachers know how best to check pupils’ understanding so that they can address any misconceptions or gaps in knowledge before moving learning on.  In some subjects, the strategies that teachers use to help pupils recall knowledge they have previously learned are not consistently effective. Where this is the case, pupils are not routinely able to remember what they have learned before. The school should ensure that there is consistency across all subjects in how teachers support pupils in their successful recall of previous learning.  Some vulnerable pupils are persistently absent. As a result, they cannot access the good quality of education that the school provides. The school should ensure that these pupils receive the support they need to enable them to improve their

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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' 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). 14 and 15 November 2023

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provision

Number of pupils on the school roll 1225

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sixth form

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school uses 11 unregistered and one registered 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. 14 and 15 November 2023

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 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 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 headteacher, other senior leaders, subject leaders, staff, the chief executive officer, the vice chair of trustees and members of the governing body.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in English, mathematics, science, modern foreign languages, history and computer science. 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 range of lessons in subjects other than those that were the focus of deep dives.

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 Inspectors met with leaders responsible for pupils’ behaviour and attendance, personal development and staff professional development. They also met with leaders responsible for the provision for pupils with SEND and the provision for disadvantaged pupils.  Inspectors met with the leader responsible for the sixth form, visited the sixth form and spoke with sixth-form students.  Inspectors met formally and informally with groups of pupils.  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.  Inspectors considered responses received on Parent View, including free-text responses. They also considered responses to the Ofsted surveys for school staff and pupils.

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Inspection team

Matthew Fearns-Davies, lead inspector His Majesty's Inspector

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Inspection team

Deborah Mosley His Majesty's Inspector 14 and 15 November 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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