Teignmouth Community School, Exeter Road

Inspection of Teignmouth Community School, Exeter Road Exeter Road, Teignmouth, Devon TQ14 9HZ

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The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Requires improvement Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Sixth-form provision Good Previous inspection grade Inadequate

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The headteacher at this school is Rachel Wickham. This school is part of the Ivy Education Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Katy Quinn, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Anthony Smith. 8 and 9 October 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Teignmouth Community School has the ambition for pupils and staff to be ‘the best version of themselves’. This shared vision has driven the recent rapid improvements made to many areas of the school. The school recognises that there is more work to do to further raise the achievement of pupils by the end of key stage 4 and replicate the improvements seen in sixth-form outcomes.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has clear expectations for the behaviour of pupils. Pupils appreciate that they can largely learn without disruption. There are some pupils who have found it challenging to adapt their behaviour to meet these higher expectations. The school is providing support for these pupils to reduce the number of suspensions.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Bullying remains a concern for some pupils at this school. They are starting to understand what behaviour is unacceptable and are increasingly prepared to share concerns with adults. However, for some pupils, incidents are not resolved swiftly enough to reassure them that they will not reoccur.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Activities such as geography fieldwork and trips to local museums bring the curriculum to life. Pupils and sixth-form students develop leadership skills through the charity committee and the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. School productions and sporting competitions encourage pupils to develop their talents.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The school has significantly improved the curriculum to make sure it is broad and ambitious for all learners. Subjects set out what pupils should learn in order to build their understanding and enable them to be successful in their qualifications. The sixth-form curriculum has been reviewed to provide relevant courses that meet the aspirations of pupils. This means that pupils and sixth-form students are now increasingly better prepared for their next steps.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The activities used in lessons do not always enable teachers to know precisely what pupils can and cannot do. Therefore, without this information, teachers do not make the changes needed to the curriculum to resolve these gaps and misconceptions. This means that some pupils find it harder to understand new content. Equally, when pupils have grasped concepts, they are not always given the opportunity to move on to more challenging work quickly enough.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Reading is a school and trust priority. The weakest readers are quickly identified and receive the support that they need to catch up and keep up with their peers. The books read together have been chosen to develop pupils’ cultural understanding and celebrate difference. This reinforces what pupils have learned through other areas of the curriculum.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The school appropriately assesses the individual needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). However, the school has not provided sufficient 8 and 9 October 2024

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information and training for adults to make sure that they can adapt the curriculum to meet pupils’ needs. As a result, these pupils are not learning the curriculum as well as they might. In contrast, sixth-form students with additional needs are well supported to be successful in their chosen courses.

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Improving attendance is a key focus of the school. While there have been small improvements in attendance, it remains below national average. The school closely tracks pupils’ attendance to identify areas where support is needed. It is engaging with parents and carers to raise their awareness of the importance of attending school regularly. The school is also beginning to raise expectations of pupil engagement in lessons. The ‘Bridge’ facility provides bespoke support to re-engage pupils with school life.

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The personal, social and health education curriculum has been substantially revised to provide pupils with the information they need to prepare for adult life in modern Britain. Pupils receive age-appropriate information about healthy relationships. They are encouraged to look after their physical and mental health. Sixth-form students particularly appreciate how adults listen to their feedback when planning sessions. This means that those in the sixth form benefit from a wide range of personal development opportunities.

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Pupils are given effective careers education, information, advice and guidance. Careers fairs, guest speakers and visits to universities help pupils to understand the range of future pathways that are available to them. Sixth-form students have individual support to make applications for higher education, apprenticeships and employment.

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The school is considerate of the workload and well-being of staff. Staff receive extensive training opportunities and individual coaching. This has supported them to develop the knowledge and skills they need to deliver the new curriculum effectively.

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Those responsible for governance seek to hear parental feedback about the school through engagement events. Many parents recognise the improvements that have been made at the school. However, the trust recognises the need to give a greater number of parents opportunities to provide constructive feedback to resolve their concerns.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Assessment within the curriculum does not help staff accurately identify pupils’ starting points or gaps in their knowledge or understanding. This means that some pupils do not receive the support or challenge they need to learn as well as they should. The school should ensure that the use of assessment checks pupils’ understanding more effectively so that the curriculum can be adapted accordingly. 8 and 9 October 2024

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 The curriculum is not adapted precisely enough to meet the needs of pupils with SEND. Consequently, these pupils do not learn the curriculum as well as their peers. The school should ensure that teachers have the information and training they need to adapt the curriculum to meet pupils’ needs.  When there are incidents of unacceptable behaviour, including bullying, the actions taken are not always resolving issues. This means that some pupils are experiencing repeated bullying and the number of suspensions given for persistent poor behaviour remains high. The school should ensure that the actions taken after a behaviour incident provide pupils with the support that they need to improve how they manage their behaviour.

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How can I feed back my views?

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). 8 and 9 October 2024

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form

Date of previous inspection 5 March 2024, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 This school is part of the Ivy Education Trust.  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 uses one registered and four unregistered alternative provisions. 8 and 9 October 2024

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. During a graded inspection, we grade the school for each of our key judgements (quality of education; behaviour and attitudes; personal development; and leadership and management) and for any relevant provision judgement (early years and/or sixth-form provision). Schools receiving a graded inspection from September 2024 will not be given an overall effectiveness grade.

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Information about this inspection

In accordance with section 13(5) of the Education Act 2005, His Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that the school no longer requires significant improvement.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.  Inspectors discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors held discussions with school leaders at all levels. Inspectors also spoke with teaching staff, support staff, trust executive leaders, governors and trustees.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: English, mathematics, science, geography and physical education. 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. The sixth form was considered through the deep dives as well as through additional lesson visits.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around the school, including at

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Information about this inspection

breaktimes.  Inspectors viewed a range of school documentation, including minutes of governance meetings, the school’s self-evaluation documents and improvement plans.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: reviewed the single central record; took account of the view 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 to the online survey, Ofsted Parent View, as well as responses to the staff survey and pupil survey.

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Inspection team

Sara Berry, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

John Weeds Ofsted Inspector 8 and 9 October 2024

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