Allerton High School

108057 Unique Reference Number Leeds LEA 277890 Inspection number 5 December 2005 to 6 December 2005 Inspection dates Mr Stephen Wall CfBT Lead Inspector Reporting inspector

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This inspection was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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King Lane School address Secondary Type of school Leeds Community School category West Yorkshire LS17 7AG 11 to 18 Age range of pupils 0113 2684216 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 0113 2370508 Fax number 1103 Number on roll Mrs E Moxon Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs P Lewis Headteacher 13 November 2000 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 277890 5 December 2005 - 11 to 18 6 December 2005 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated.

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Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied.

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Introduction

The inspection was carried out by 5 additional inspectors.

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Description of the school

Allerton High School is a specialist business and enterprise school on the outskirts of Leeds. It is larger than most secondary schools and has a growing sixth form. The school has a very diverse ethnic and religious intake and has plans to build a multi-faith centre on the school site. There is an above average number of students learning English as an additional language. Although the numbers entitled to free school meals is below average, students do not generally come from advantaged backgrounds. The school has an above average number of students with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, mainly because it is one of two 'speech and language resource centres' in Leeds catering for about 20 students with language difficulties. Students enter the school with average levels of attainment.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Allerton High School, 5 December 2005 to 6 December 2005

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Grade: 2

This is a good school and the inspectors confirm the view the school has of its effectiveness. It is outstanding in promoting racial and inter-faith harmony. The school offers good value for money. Students enter the school with average levels of attainment and gain above average results in tests and examinations in the main school and the sixth form, representing good achievement and progression. The school is proud of its programmes to promote personal well-being and development, and rightly so. Its personal and social education curriculum is outstanding. Most students' behaviour is good. Students make good progress because they receive good, challenging teaching in the majority of their lessons. However, prolonged staff absences, beyond the school's control, are having an adverse effect on students' progress as they lose some continuity in their learning. The school's curriculum meets statutory requirements

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Grade: 2

and is responsive to pupils' needs, for example it offers Jewish studies and a variety of community languages. The school's specialist status in business and enterprise is having a very positive influence on the range of vocational options for students, particularly in Key Stage 4 and the sixth form. The specialist status has also supported very good improvements to the provision for information and communication technology (ICT) since the last inspection. Care, guidance and support for students are good; they feel safe and valued as individuals. The headteacher's leadership of the school is outstanding. Management is good, although procedures for the assessment of students' work are not yet rigorous enough. Since the last inspection, the school has made good progress. It has good capacity to improve further.

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Grade: 2

The sixth form is good, as the school rightly judges. Strong leadership and management promote good learning. Students enjoy this friendly community and benefit from very good, supportive relationships with teachers. Standards in 2004 were above average and students achieved well. In 2005 standards dropped to be in line with the national average, as a result of the more diverse nature of the intake. The school modestly assessed teaching and learning to be satisfactory; however inspectors judged both to be good. The good academic and vocational curriculum meets students' needs well and is enhanced by a good variety of enrichment activities, such as Young Enterprise. Students have positive attitudes, though some do not make best use of independent study time. Students' performance is regularly reviewed and challenging targets set. They receive good support when making career choices but find the step between

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Grade: 2

Years 11 and 12 difficult. They make a very good contribution to the school and the wider community with their voluntary work. 2 Inspection Report: Allerton High School, 5 December 2005 to 6 December 2005

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What the school should do to improve further

• Make marking and assessment procedures more effective, so that they show clearly what students need to do to improve. • Share the existing good practice in teaching to increase the range of activities in all lessons so that students sustain good learning for longer.

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Grade: 2

Students enter the school with broadly average attainments. In Year 9 in 2005, they gained above average results overall in the Key Stage 3 National Curriculum tests and achieved well. Over the last 3 years, there have been fluctuations in the national test results reflecting the different attainments of students taking the tests each year. However, from their starting points, students generally make good progress and achieve well. The school analyses its performance data well and acts on weaknesses. For example, in science, where progress was not as good as in English and mathematics, there are plans to strengthen the subject. Students continue to do well and this results in general certificate of secondary education (GCSE) results that are above average. The school exceeded its GCSE targets in both 2004 and 2005. Progress was particularly good in ICT, mathematics and business studies. However, in the last two years students have achieved less well in science,

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Grade: 2

religious education and German. Their progress has been hampered in part by some staff absence, which has caused students to lose some continuity in their learning. All groups of students achieve equally apart from a small number of lower attaining students, particularly girls and students with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, who did not make progress in 2004 in line with the similar students. Achievement is at its best where teaching is good and when clear targets are shared with students and acted upon. Students benefit from the school's specialist status in the development of their ICT and enterprise skills.

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Grade: 2

Personal development is good throughout the school. This is largely due to an ethos that values each individual and the outstanding personal and social education programme. As a result, students develop very good understanding of themselves and the world in which they live. Students work together harmoniously. Race relations are outstanding. Several students said that they never think about racial issues within the school, as these 'just do not exist'. The school has received national recognition in this field. The integration of students from the speech and language unit is a further good example of the inclusive nature of the school. Most students like school and have positive attitudes. The school's behaviour policy encourages the majority of students to behave well, although a small but significant 3 Inspection Report: Allerton High School, 5 December 2005 to 6 December 2005 minority do not. Most students attend regularly and levels of unauthorized absence

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Grade: 2

are below average. Students develop skills that are relevant to the world of work through, for example, the extensive use of ICT and work experience. They say they feel safe in school. Students' understanding of how to live healthily is developing well but the promotion of healthy eating could be improved. Students contribute well to the community with high participation rates in charity work. Most students have the confidence, through the opportunities given them, to express their views, for example in the school council.

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Grade: 2

Inspectors confirm the school's judgement that teaching is good overall. Very good relationships within school enable teachers to manage most behaviour effectively and to motivate students. They enhance this by making good use of ICT, which has come with specialist school status. Where learning is best, a brisk pace and a good range of activities engage students with differing learning styles, and promote their independent learning. Teachers set tight time scales, and make good use of data to maintain the right level of challenge. In spite of this, some students drift off task in the one-hour lessons, where more frequent reviews are needed to repeat and evaluate how much students have learned. Where the quality of the learning is less than good, tasks are not sufficiently adapted to suit students' differing abilities, and higher attaining students are not challenged quickly enough. Students with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and those for whom English is

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Grade: 2

an additional language (EAL) are taught well and make good progress, except where teacher absences have led to disruption. Good progress has been made with the development of assessment since the last inspection. Work is marked regularly and carefully. However, there is inconsistency in the system teachers use to identify targets to help students to improve. Too many targets relate to work habits rather than skills or levels of understanding. Consequently, some students do not understand what they need to do to progress to the next level or grade.

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Grade: 2

The school has improved its curriculum since the last inspection. It goes beyond National Curriculum requirements by providing carefully designed courses to meet different needs. There are basic skills courses for the lowest attaining students and real work place experiences for students who are less motivated by traditional subjects. An increasing emphasis on vocational courses, practical learning, and the use of ICT, are all designed to engage a wider variety of students, though the full impact of this is still to be seen. All students start GCSE examination courses early in Year 9 in ICT and religious education. Minority subjects such as Jewish studies and minority ethnic 4 Inspection Report: Allerton High School, 5 December 2005 to 6 December 2005 languages are offered to meet students' needs. Students find the guidance on career and course choices helpful. The very effective provision for personal, social and health

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Grade: 2

education develops students' skills, which promote their safety, health, and self esteem. The popular range of extra curricular activities includes a strong emphasis on the school's enterprise specialism. The school is now working to draw these different strands together to enhance the impact even more effectively on students' personal development.

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Grade: 2

Provision for care, guidance and support is good with some outstanding features, such as the provision for students requiring literacy support, the personal and social education programme and procedures to cater for students with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. There is good support for refugee students and for students whose first language is not English. Pastoral care at all levels is good, including the sixth form. The school pays close attention also to students' academic progress by the use of data and reviews. Policies and procedures for child protection and health and safety are in place. There are effective links with a wide range of outside agencies. The school uses fixed term exclusions frequently as part of its behaviour policy. The school is a harmonious, multi-racial and multi-faith community and responds well to its diverse range of needs. Mentors and teaching assistants are used effectively to

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Grade: 2

enhance teaching and learning. Students from Key Stage 4 and the sixth form support newcomers to the school, run homework clubs, work with vulnerable learners and help to resolve arguments and conflict.

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Grade: 2

Leadership and Management are good in the main school and the sixth form. The leadership provided by the headteacher is outstanding; it gives an inspirational vision for the future development of the school and promotes a good ethos for learning. The headteacher is ably supported by a committed and increasingly effective team of senior managers, who work well together. Management is good and procedures and policies are comprehensive. Effective use of performance data is made to set targets and is shared appropriately with teaching staff to support the tracking of students' progress. However, the monitoring of marking and whole school procedures for assessment are not sufficiently rigorous in informing students consistently well what they need to do to improve. Performance management procedures are in place and the school monitors teaching and learning effectively. The school's self evaluation procedures are good and identify

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Grade: 2

strengths and areas for development accurately. Procedures for the induction of newly qualified teachers, a key issue for improvement at the last inspection, are now thorough 5 Inspection Report: Allerton High School, 5 December 2005 to 6 December 2005 and effective. The school has undergone a period of significant numbers of lengthy staff absences, all of which have been beyond its control; this has been managed well to minimise the impact, such as by re-organising the timetable for some subject areas. However, this continues to be a problem and a threat to students' progress and standards. The governing body fulfils its responsibilities well and is committed to the success of the school. It knows the school well, is supportive of the headteacher but, when necessary, is prepared to offer challenge. 6 Inspection Report: Allerton High School, 5 December 2005 to 6 December 2005 .

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Grade: 2

set out in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 7 Inspection Report: Allerton High School, 5 December 2005 to 6 December 2005

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Inspection judgements

16-19 School Overall Key to judgements: grade 1 is outstanding, grade 2 good, grade 3 satisfactory, and grade 4 inadequate

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Inspection judgements

2 2 How effective, efficient and inclusive is the provision of education, integrated care and any extended services in meeting the needs of learners? 2 2 How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? NA NA The quality and standards in foundation stage 2 2 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation Yes Yes The capacity to make any necessary improvements Yes Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection

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Inspection judgements

Achievement and standards 2 2 How well do learners achieve? 2 2 The standards 1 reached by learners

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Inspection judgements

2 2 How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners 2 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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Inspection judgements

Personal development and well-being 2 2 How good is the overall personal development and well-being of the learners? 1 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 2 The behaviour of learners 2 The attendance of learners 2 How well learners enjoy their education 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 2 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 2 The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community How well learners develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being

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Inspection judgements

The quality of provision 2 2 How effective are teaching and learning in meeting the full range of the learners' needs? 2 2 How well do the curriculum and other activities meet the range of needs and interests of learners? 2 2 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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Inspection judgements

Grade 1 - Exceptionally and consistently high; Grade 2 - Generally above average with none significantly below average; Grade 3 - Broadly average; Grade 4 - Exceptionally low.

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Annex A

Leadership and management 2 2 How effective are leadership and management in raising achievement and supporting all learners? How effectively leaders and managers at all levels set clear direction leading to improvement and promote high quality of care and education How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets, through quality assurance and self-review How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can How effectively and efficiently resources are deployed to achieve value for money The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities Yes Yes The adequacy and suitability of staff to ensure that learners are protected

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Annex A

The extent to which schools enable learners to be healthy Yes Learners are encouraged and enabled to eat and drink healthily Yes Learners are encouraged and enabled to take regular exercise Yes Learners are discouraged from smoking and substance abuse Yes Learners are educated about sexual health The extent to which providers ensure that learners stay safe Yes Procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements Yes Risk assessment procedures and related staff training are in place Yes Action is taken to reduce anti-social behaviour, such as bullying and racism Yes Learners are taught about key risks and how to deal with them The extent to which learners make a positive contribution Yes Learners are helped to develop stable, positive relationships Yes Learners, individually and collectively, participate in making decisions that affect them Yes Learners are encouraged to initiate, participate in and manage activities in school and the

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Annex A

wider community The extent to which schools enable learners to achieve economic well-being Yes There is provision to promote learners’ basic skills Yes Learners have opportunities to develop enterprise skills and work in teams Yes Careers education and guidance is provided to all learners in key stage 3 and 4 and the sixth form Yes Education for all learners aged 14–19 provides an understanding of employment and the economy

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

As you know, I and four colleagues recently inspected your school. Thank you for the friendly welcome we received and helping us to find our way around. Your comments were very helpful in enabling us to make our judgements. Allerton High School is a good school. We were particularly impressed with how well you all got on with each other regardless of race or creed. The PSHE course you follow is outstanding. We think your headteacher is leading the school extremely well indeed and your teachers and other staff take good care of you and support you well. We thought your behaviour in lessons and around school was good but sometimes a small number of you made life difficult for other students and teachers. Most of you are making good progress as a result of the good teaching you receive in the majority of your lessons. The school tries hard to meet your needs and we were pleased to see a range of subjects such as Jewish studies and community languages being

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

offered. The school's status as a business and enterprise specialist school is being used well to provide you with very good ICT resources and a wide range of vocational options, especially for the older students. In order to make your school even better, we are asking your teachers to make sure the marking and assessment of your work tells you clearly what you need to do to improve and to make sure there is sufficient variety of activities in every lesson to keep you concentrating for the full hour of your lessons. You have a very important role to play in the continuing future success of the school and we wish you all well for the future.

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