Corpus Christi Catholic College, A Voluntary Academy

Inspection of Corpus Christi Catholic College, A Voluntary Academy Neville Road, Leeds, West Yorkshire LS9 0TT

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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 Previous inspection grade Not previously inspected

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The principal of this school is James O’Doherty. This school is part of St Gregory the Great Catholic Academy Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Peter Hughes, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Shaun Vickers. 12 and 13 March 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Corpus Christi Catholic College is a welcoming school where pupils are safe. Most pupils say they have an adult in school who they can talk to if they have concerns. The school has recently expanded its pastoral team. Parents and pupils value the quality of pastoral care at the school. Most pupils enjoy school. However, bullying happens and some pupils say the school does not always deal with it effectively.

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What is it like to attend this school?

After a period of decline in attainment standards, the school has recently taken appropriate steps to begin to bring about much needed improvements. Most lessons are orderly. However, parents have expressed their concerns that expectations for behaviour and learning are not as high in some lessons as they are in others. Inspectors agree. Due to variable expectations, pupils tend not to achieve as well as they could.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school offers pupils a range of extra-curricular clubs to take part in, such as chess, reading, drama and a range of sports. Pupils have the opportunity to develop their leadership skills by being prefects and members of the school council. Pupils who hold leadership roles are proud to attend the school and feel like they have a voice.

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better?

The school acknowledges that pupils’ achievement is not as high as it needs to be. The school has recently begun work to address this. It has invested in a new key stage 3 ‘mastery’ curriculum that is challenging and aspirational. The new curriculum clearly identifies the core knowledge that pupils should learn over time. Some departments are further along than others, in embedding this new curriculum. All pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), benefit from studying a broad curriculum.

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better?

There is variation in how well the curriculum is being implemented. In most lessons, teachers have secure subject knowledge and explain concepts clearly. However, teachers do not systematically assess pupils’ understanding and adapt their teaching to respond to pupils’ misconceptions or gaps in knowledge. As a result, the impact of the curriculum is variable. Signs of better impact are more evident where pupils are following the school’s new curriculum. For example, in a Year 7 English lesson, pupils demonstrated clear understanding of the complex plot of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. They were able to select key quotations and develop detailed analysis of them.

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better?

Pupils with SEND, including those pupils who attend the additional resource provision, are well supported. The school has clear systems for assessing and reviewing the needs of pupils. The school draws on the expertise of a range of professional support to help meet pupils’ needs. 12 and 13 March 2024

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The school has identified those pupils at the early stages of reading. A phonics programme has been implemented to support pupils. Staff have received appropriate training. The school has prioritised this aspect of its work by recently appointing a new leader for reading and literacy.

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The school has a clear behaviour policy. Pupils understand this policy and think that it is fair. Some teachers do not apply the school’s behaviour policy consistently. This means that pupils receive mixed messages about the school’s expectations. Low- level disruption and disengagement are not always challenged as they should be. Some pupils show a lack of tolerance for others as they use language that is derogatory, racist and/or homophobic.

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Some pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, do not attend school regularly enough. Leaders have recently introduced more robust systems for tracking attendance. This is helping to inform the strategies the school uses to improve attendance. Although this work is in its infancy, there are signs that the school’s actions are beginning to improve attendance for some pupils.

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Pupils follow a detailed curriculum in personal, social, health and economic education. The depth of pupils’ understanding of different world religions and fundamental British values varies. Pupils develop culturally, morally and spiritually in a range of ways. The school holds culture days and regular assemblies, which give pupils the opportunity to reflect on faith. The school has recently developed its careers provision. Pupils are provided with opportunities to engage with local employers.

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It is only recently that the school has operated with a full senior leadership team. This has helped to bring recent improvements to the school that need embedding. The school’s vision for the quality of education it wants pupils to receive is not currently realised. Staff feel proud to work at the school. They say that leaders support them well with their well-being. Some staff and parents say that leaders could do more to communicate with them. Trustees and governors are skilled and experienced. They have an accurate view of the school’s strengths and areas to develop.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The school does not apply its behaviour policy consistently. As a result, pupils receive mixed messages about the school’s expectations. Some pupils do not meet the school’s expectations for behaviour or do not focus enough on their learning. The school must ensure that all staff apply the behaviour policy 12 and 13 March 2024

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consistently, so that behaviour across the school is consistently of a high standard.  The curriculum is in a state of development and improvement. Some departments are further along this improvement journey than others. This means that the school has not clearly identified the body of knowledge that they want pupils to acquire and develop over time in all subjects. The school must ensure that an ambitious curriculum is planned, sequenced and embedded consistently well across all subjects.  The teaching of the curriculum is not consistently strong enough across all subjects. As a result, pupils have significant gaps in their knowledge and do not achieve well. The school must ensure that the curriculum is implemented consistently well, and pupils’ understanding is checked systematically, so that pupils know more and remember more.  Some pupils, including the most disadvantaged, do not attend school often

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enough. As a result, these pupils have gaps in their learning. The school must use and develop its recently improved tracking systems for attendance, to identify and plan robust support to improve pupils’ attendance.

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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 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). 12 and 13 March 2024

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 The school’s religious character is Roman Catholic.  As the school is designated as having religious character, it is inspected under section 48 of the Education Act 2005. The last section 48 inspection of the school was in June 2019. The timescales for reinspection have been extended because of COVID-19.  The current principal has been in post since September 2020.  The school joined the St Gregory the Great Catholic Academy Trust in April 2021.  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.  The school has an additionally resourced provision on site. It caters for learning and cognition needs.  The school uses five alternative provision providers. Four of these are registered providers. 12 and 13 March 2024

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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.

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Information about this inspection

 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.  The inspection team held meetings with the principal, senior leaders, middle leaders, teachers and pupils.  The lead inspector met with trustees and members of the local governing board.  The inspection team carried out deep dives in these subjects: English, mathematics, geography, physical education and design and technology. 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 met with the special educational needs and/or disabilities coordinator.  Inspectors met with the leader in charge of the personal, social, health and

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Information about this inspection

economic curriculum and pupils’ personal development.  An inspector spoke to leaders at the unregistered alternative provision used by the school.  The lead inspector met with the leaders responsible for the pupil premium strategy.  The lead inspector met with the chief executive officer for the trust.  The lead inspector spoke with a representative from the diocese.  The inspectors observed pupils during social times. They spoke with pupils and leaders about opportunities for pupils’ personal development.  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.  The lead inspector considered the responses to Ofsted Parent View. He also took into consideration the responses to the surveys for staff and for pupils.

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Inspection team

Dan McKeating, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Bernard Clark Ofsted Inspector 12 and 13 March 2024

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Angela White Ofsted Inspector 12 and 13 March 2024

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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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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