Bedale High School

Inspection of Bedale High School Fitzalan Road, Bedale, North Yorkshire DL8 2EQ

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Requires improvement Previous inspection grade Good 26 and 27 June 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy at this inclusive school. Pupils understand the school’s values of courage, commitment and compassion. They are learning to become more resilient and independent. Leaders are increasingly ambitious for pupils’ academic progress. However, pupils do not have access to a religious education (RE) curriculum that covers the scope of the local authority’s agreed syllabus. The support the school provides for weaker readers is not as effective as it could be.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have high expectations for pupils’ behaviour. Pupils behave well at this school. They are respectful and supportive of each other most of the time. Pupils feel safe in school. They have trusted adults to speak to if they have any concerns. Pupils value the pastoral support from the school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils have a thorough understanding of positive and negative relationships. They talk knowledgeably about the protected characteristics and understand which actions constitute discrimination. A significant number of pupils take part in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme in Years 9 and 10. Some pupils do not attend school often enough.

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better?

The school has recently reviewed all areas of the curriculum. Leaders have identified the important knowledge that they want pupils to learn. Teachers deliver this knowledge in a logical order that builds in complexity over time. The curriculum is ambitious for all pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

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better?

Published outcomes for the past two years have been below national averages and, in some subjects, significantly below. The school has responded to this by introducing a research-informed lesson structure to help pupils build resilience and become more independent learners. There is some evidence that this is having a positive impact. For example, in English and history workbooks, there is evidence of improvements in pupils’ extended writing. Sometimes, teaching does not match the aims of the curriculum. On these occasions, pupils do not consistently make as much progress as they could.

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better?

The school promotes a love of reading well through a range of strategies. These include ‘snack-bite’ reading in the dining hall, form-time reading and reading and writing competitions. The school accurately identifies pupils who struggle with reading. However, some of the support that is in place for these pupils is not focused enough to help them improve swiftly. These pupils do not catch up with their peers as quickly as they might.

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better?

Whole-school attendance figures are below national averages. Disadvantaged pupils attend school less often than their peers. Pupils who do not attend regularly make less academic progress than their peers. Improving pupils’ attendance is rightly a 26 and 27 June 2024

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priority for the school. The school now has effective systems in place to identify, support and challenge pupils who have poor attendance. As a result, the number of pupils who are persistently absent has decreased significantly this year.

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The school effectively identifies pupils with SEND. Teachers support most pupils with SEND well in lessons. As a result of this support, pupils with SEND progress well from their starting points.

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The school provides a range of opportunities to support pupils’ wider development. Pupils access a range of extra-curricular clubs such as sports, drama and board games. They take on a range of leadership roles at the school, for example sports leaders, school councillors and school ambassadors. Feedback from the school council has resulted in the introduction of a summer uniform. Pupils support the local community through work with a local care home. The school provides effective careers provision for pupils. Pupils encounter the world of work through alumni visits and discussion questions in form time. All Year 11 pupils went on to further education, training or employment last year.

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Governors have a strong oversight of the school and regularly hold school leaders to account. Leaders are mindful of staff workload and genuinely care about the well- being of the staff. However, leaders have not ensured that the curriculum for RE meets the expectations of the locally agreed syllabus. As a result, pupils do not have a thorough understanding of a range of different beliefs and cultures. Leaders have taken steps to address this with the appointment of a full time RE teacher and plans to timetable RE for all pupils from September 2024. Staff are proud to work at the school.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The school has not developed an RE curriculum that is in line with the local authority’s agreed syllabus. As a result, pupils do not have a thorough understanding of a range of different beliefs and cultures. The school should ensure that all pupils have access to an RE curriculum that meets the scope of the locally agreed syllabus.  In some lessons, the activities that teachers deliver do not meet the full ambition of the curriculum. In these lessons, pupils do not consistently make as much progress as they could. The school should ensure that staff are supported to plan activities which deliver the intended curriculum.  Some of the support that is in place for weaker readers is not sufficiently focused. As a result, these pupils are not catching up with their peers quickly enough. The 26 and 27 June 2024

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school should ensure that the strategies in place to support weaker readers are matched precisely to their areas of weakness.  Too many pupils do not attend school regularly. These pupils are not achieving as well as they might. The school should continue to work with pupils and their families to overcome any barriers to regular 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 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 June 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of trust Jan Reed and Steve Ingram

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 17 and 18 January 2019, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this school

 The school is maintained by North Yorkshire local authority.  The school is smaller than the average-size secondary school.  The school has a larger-than-average number of service children on roll.  The school uses three alternative education provisions. One is registered and subject to inspection by Ofsted. Two are unregistered provisions.  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. 26 and 27 June 2024

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 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 and other senior leaders.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in mathematics, English, science and design technology and food. 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 disabilities coordinator, reviewed education, health and care plans and other support plans for pupils with SEND. They visited lessons to see how pupils with SEND are supported to learn.  Inspectors met with the leader responsible for reading to discuss the support for

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pupils at the early stages of reading.  The team scrutinised the school’s records of bullying, reviewed the actions leaders take when bullying occurs and spoke to several groups of pupils, including some single-gender groups, to understand their experience of school.  Inspectors met leaders to discuss pupils’ behaviour and reviewed the school’s data on external and internal suspensions.  Inspectors met with the chair of the governing body and other governors.  Inspectors met with a representative from the local authority.  Inspectors scrutinised records relating to attendance and records of pupils who have joined and/or left the school roll.  Inspectors met with the leader responsible for alternative provision to discuss the rationale for its use and to review the checks that leaders carry out to ensure pupils are safe. Alternative provision settings were contacted and visited as part of this inspection.

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 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 the views of parents and staff through Ofsted surveys, as well as additional communication from parents during the inspection. The views of pupils were considered through a range of inspection activities.

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Inspection team

Chris Sergeant, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Katie Spurr His Majesty’s Inspector 26 and 27 June 2024

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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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