Rokeby School

Inspection of Rokeby School Barking Road, London E16 4DD

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The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Outstanding Personal development Outstanding Leadership and management Good

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

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The headteacher of this school is Jo Doyle. This school is part of the Newham Community Learning trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer (CEO), Anthony Wilson, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Paul Leslie. 1 and 2 April 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

At Rokeby School, pupils are well supported to succeed. Pupils embrace the school’s values and are expected to ‘dare to be the best’. They are committed to their learning and take pride in their work. Pupils typically achieve well, including in national examinations. Staff have very high expectations.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school prides itself on the excellent relationships between pupils and staff. Staff know their pupils well, and pupils know who to talk to if they have any concerns. Pupils show exceptionally positive attitudes towards their learning. Disruption to lessons is rare and never tolerated, so pupils learn without distraction. The school encourages pupils to celebrate difference and engage positively when learning about the beliefs and opinions of others.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils benefit from an exceptional enrichment offer. The school provides numerous, varied opportunities to nurture, develop and stretch pupils’ talents and interests. For example, pupils can take part in gardening, music and dance and a wide range of competitive sports. Pupils also enthusiastically embrace roles of responsibility, which help to develop their leadership skills. For instance, pupils act as mentors, school ambassadors and student council representatives. They relish these opportunities to support the school and the wider community.

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

Staff have very high expectations for what pupils can achieve. The school’s curriculum is ambitious and carefully designed to ensure that pupils acquire essential knowledge, vocabulary and skills. Staff help pupils retain important knowledge, for instance by recapping their learning at the start of each lesson. As a result, pupils can confidently recall and articulate what they have learned.

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

Teachers have strong subject knowledge. Staff design activities that enable pupils to discuss their learning with each other. This helps pupils to clarify their thinking, strengthening their overall knowledge. However, in a small number of subjects, pupils’ understanding is not consistently checked, so misconceptions are sometimes not addressed. This means that some pupils do not build knowledge as securely as they could. The school is taking effective action to address this.

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

Staff accurately identify any special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) that pupils may have and provide staff with useful information about those needs. Many of these pupils benefit from a personalised approach that is focused on meeting their particular needs. While, overall, pupils with SEND achieve well, the needs of some pupils are not always well considered when adapting the delivery of the curriculum.

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

The school promotes a love of reading across all subjects. Pupils with low literacy skills are identified and given focused support. For example, pupils who require help with phonics receive targeted support to quickly develop and improve their reading skills. 1 and 2 April 2025

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Behaviour across the school is excellent. Pupils are supportive and respectful of each other. The approach staff take to encouraging positive behaviour is consistent and fair. Staff regularly praise and reward pupils who show positive attitudes. Pupils maintain high levels of attendance. Those who initially struggle to attend regularly show improvement over time due to the dedicated care and support they receive.

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The focus on the personal development of pupils is a considerable strength of the school. The school’s approach to personal development supports pupils to become safe, healthy and well prepared for life in modern Britain. For example, the school has developed philosophical discussion sessions that are delivered by pupils based on a theme. This enables pupils to take genuine ownership of an important aspect of their education. There is a comprehensive careers programme that starts from Year 7, which provides advice and guidance about different pathways.

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Leaders from the trust and school work very effectively together. They have clear plans to improve provision further. For example, they recognise that the curriculum has many strengths, but that some pupils in a small number of subjects achieve less well. Trust and school leaders have established positive relationships with staff, who feel highly regarded. Staff appreciate the priority given to their well-being, for example when the school has made adjustments to assessment approaches that support their workload. Similarly, the school has engaged effectively with parents and carers, many of whom speak very positively about the school.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 At times, some teachers do not use suitable strategies to identify and address misconceptions effectively. This means that some pupils develop gaps in their knowledge that are unaddressed. The school should ensure that these staff have the expertise they need so that pupils’ understanding is checked consistently well.  The curriculum is not consistently well adapted for some pupils with SEND. This means that pupils sometimes struggle to access the ambitious curriculum that is intended. The school should ensure that all pupils with SEND are fully supported to access the intended learning.

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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. 1 and 2 April 2025

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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). 1 and 2 April 2025

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 The school is part of Newham Community Learning multi-academy trust.  The school opened under the same name after converting to become an academy in December 2021. When its predecessor school was last inspected by Ofsted, it was judged to be good for overall effectiveness.  The school uses one registered provider of alternative provision.  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. 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 1 and 2 April 2025

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provision). Schools receiving a graded inspection from September 2024 will not be given an overall effectiveness grade.

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 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation 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 carried out deep dives in these subjects: English, mathematics, modern foreign languages and history. 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 also discussed the curriculum in some other subjects.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, 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

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safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  Inspectors scrutinised a range of documents, including leaders’ evaluation of the school and priorities for improvement.  Inspectors met with senior leaders, a selection of subject leaders, teachers and support staff.  Inspectors met with members of the local governing body. Inspectors also spoke with representatives from the trust.  Inspectors reviewed a range of school documents, including records related to attendance, behaviour and pupil movement.  The inspectors considered the views of pupils and staff, including through their responses to Ofsted’s online surveys. Inspectors also considered responses to the online survey, Ofsted Parent View, including parents’ free-text responses.

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Inspection team

Robert Grice, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Duncan Kamya Ofsted Inspector 1 and 2 April 2025

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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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