Guiseley School

108085 Unique Reference Number Leeds LEA 277898 Inspection number 15 May 2006 to 16 May 2006 Inspection dates Ms Susan Wareing HMI Reporting inspector

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

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Fieldhead Road School address Secondary Type of school Guiseley Community School category Leeds, West Yorkshire LS20 8DT 11 to 18 Age range of pupils

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01943 872315 Telephone number Mixed Gender of pupils 01943 872287 Fax number 1330 Number on roll Mrs H Adams Chair of governors The governing body Appropriate authority Mr David Lowe Headteacher 15 May 2006 Date of previous inspection

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Inspection number Inspection dates Age group 277898 15 May 2006 - 11 to 18 16 May 2006 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 one of Her Majesty's Inspectors and four Additional Inspectors

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Description of the school

The school is a larger than average mixed 11-18 comprehensive school with a sixth form of over two hundred students. The school draws students from a range of social and economic backgrounds, with a balance towards the more advantaged. Most students are of white British heritage. Attainment upon entry is above the national average and the proportion of students with learning difficulties and/or disabilities is below average. The school has specialist technology status.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 1 Inspection Report: Guiseley School, 15 May 2006 to 16 May 2006

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Grade: 2

Inspectors agree with the school that it provides a good education for students. The school is well led and managed and the headteacher and senior leaders have a clear sense of purpose. They also have an accurate view of the school's strengths and weaknesses. Standards are well above average and students achieve well. However, achievement in science is not as good as that in English and mathematics. Achievement in the sixth form is good. Students' personal development is good. They enjoy coming to school and behave well. They make an effective contribution to the school and the wider community, for example through the active School Council and regular charity fundraising. Initiatives to improve teaching, learning and assessment have led to good teaching overall but the good practice is not yet consistent across all departments. Science is a weaker subject. Stronger departments include English, mathematics and design and technology.

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Grade: 2

The curriculum is good. It meets all learners' needs effectively and take-up of the wide range of extra-curricular activities is good. Care, guidance and support are good and make a valuable contribution to students' progress. The school has successfully tackled all key issues identified in the last inspection. Staff, parents, governors' and students' views contribute to the school's improvement planning. This is of satisfactory quality but the effectiveness of improvements are not sufficiently based on the students' performance. Target-setting systems for individual students are robust. However senior leaders do not analyse the performance of students frequently enough to identify trends and take action where needed. New appointments and partnerships fostered by the school's specialist technology status have strengthened the school's capacity to improve. Governors know the school well and hold it to account effectively. The

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Grade: 2

The sixth form provides a good education for its students. About two-thirds of Year 11 students stay into the sixth form, and over 90% continue their studies into Year 13. Standards are above average and students make good progress and enjoy sixth form life. Teaching is good overall with some outstanding examples of independent learning and self and peer assessment. Assessment is robust and integral to the good pastoral and academic support and guidance which students appreciate. The school cooperates with other sixth forms and makes imaginative use of technology to offer a broad curriculum of both academic and vocational subjects. The diverse aspirations of students are met increasingly effectively. Students participate actively in the wide range of enrichment activities including mentoring programmes which offer opportunities to take responsibility for others. The leadership and management of the

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Grade: 2

sixth form are good. Rigorous systems are in place to ensure that students are well prepared for the next phase of their personal and academic development. 2 Inspection Report: Guiseley School, 15 May 2006 to 16 May 2006

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What the school should do to improve further

• Raise the level of achievement in science • Make management planning more effective by: - basing evaluation of effectiveness more on the outcomes for students; and - analysing trends in the performance of students more frequently and taking action on the findings.

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Grade: 2

Achievement and standards are good overall. Attainment on entry to the school is above average. Standards reached at the end of Year 9 in the national tests are well above average, except in science, and students make good progress overall. In 2005, test results in English improved significantly and represent very good progress. In mathematics the results fell slightly but remained well above average. In science just above average results reflects only satisfactory progress. By the end of Year 11, standards are also well above average. GCSE results have risen steadily over the past three years. Almost all students leave with at least five GCSE grades and approximately three quarters of students achieve five or more higher grades. The proportion of students achieving at least five A* to C grades including mathematics and English improved significantly in 2005, and the proportion of students achieving A*-C grades in mathematics was exceptionally high in both 2004 and 2005.

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Grade: 2

Students achieve particularly well in mathematics, English literature, geography, music, design and technology, history and business studies. In 2005 students made less progress in science. The school has put in place effective actions to tackle this variation, including new appointments which are beginning to show an impact on students' achievement. These outcomes represent good progress over the five years from Year 7 to Year 11. Pupils of different abilities, including those with learning difficulties and disabilities meet challenging targets and make good progress; higher attaining boys make very good progress.

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Grade: 2

Personal development and well being, including the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of students, are good. Students enjoy their education and attendance is above average. A comprehensive personal social health and citizenship education programme and lessons which encourage reflection on ethical and moral issues contribute to students' good moral development. The active School Council and regular fund raising initiatives for charity give opportunities for students' social development and make an effective contribution to the school and the wider community. For example, older students are keen to act as peer mentors to support younger students. Students increasingly take up healthy food options, and participate in the good range of extra-curricular sports. A wide range of extra-curricular activities including school 3 Inspection Report: Guiseley School, 15 May 2006 to 16 May 2006 productions, sports activities and visits abroad, promote students' cultural development

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Grade: 2

effectively. Spiritual development is satisfactory. Behaviour is good and students say that bullying is rare but effectively dealt with when it occurs. Students' economic well being is developed through the school's effective work in literacy and numeracy and improved ICT provision. The PSHCE programme develops students' economic awareness and they receive good advice and guidance on options that allows almost all students to progress to their preferred further study, training or employment.

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Grade: 2

Teaching and learning are good. Teachers have good subject knowledge and are generally skilled in managing students' behaviour, so that relationships between teachers and students are positive. Teachers plan effective lessons with good pace that secure the interest of learners. Work is well matched to students' needs, including those with LDD. In the most effective lessons teachers present work in a very clear and lively manner which enthuses students by demonstrating the relevance of the topic. For example, in a drama lesson students interpreted the role of the Greek chorus in a modern context and this led to very good progress. Teaching and learning have been the focus of much staff training. In a number of lessons the outcome of this was very evident in its impact on students' achievement. However, there remains some inconsistency in the quality of teaching so that, for example, the school's assessment

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Grade: 2

policy is not yet consistently in place across departments. Stronger departments include English, mathematics and design and technology. Science is a weaker subject.

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Grade: 2

The curriculum is good. The range of vocational and academic courses is varied and the school matches these closely to students' needs, including those with LDD. The arts and humanities subjects are strengths of the school alongside the specialist subject of technology. Improvements to the curriculum ensure that Year 10 pupils now receive their physical education entitlement. Pupils value the good guidance that they receive on issues relating to their health and safety. Good quality work-related education is offered to a small number of students in Years 10 and 11. There is good provision to strengthen pupils' personal development. The school provides a very good range of clubs and enrichment activities and there is a good level of participation in these. Gifted and talented pupils have an opportunity to assist in the school's liaison with primary schools and the "Hidden Talent" programme provides extra-curricular

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Grade: 2

enrichment not only for those identified as gifted and talented, but to encourage other students to discover their strengths. 4 Inspection Report: Guiseley School, 15 May 2006 to 16 May 2006

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Grade: 2

Arrangements for child protection and risk assessment are effective, with all relevant staff appropriately trained. Most parents feel that their children are well looked after in school. The peer mentoring scheme and the Childline in Partnership with Schools scheme offer support and guidance from older students to younger and more vulnerable students. Parents appreciate the work of staff learning mentors with vulnerable students. Lunchtime games clubs are much valued by these students as a quiet refuge. The school's improved use of student tracking systems in individual subjects ensures that students know their targets and what to do in order to improve. Arrangements for the guidance and support of pupils with learning difficulties and disabilities have been strengthened and contribute to the good achievement of these pupils. However, the analysis of information on pupils' progress is not yet frequent enough to give the

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Grade: 2

school a strategic overview of achievement across the school in order to plan its interventions as effectively as it could.

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Grade: 2

The school is well led and managed. The headteacher and senior leaders have a clear sense of purpose and an accurate knowledge of the school's strengths and weaknesses. The school has made a considerable investment in professional development for staff. This is seen in the positive impact in some subjects of new initiatives in teaching, learning and assessment. This good practice is not yet consistently embedded in all departments, for example in science. The school has recognised this variation in the performance of departments and has put in place a departmental review system which offers an effective means of both supporting middle managers and holding them to account. New heads of department have been appointed in a number of subjects and are raising students' achievement. Target-setting for individual pupils is robust but senior leaders do not yet have frequent enough information to give them a strategic

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Grade: 2

overview of students' achievement which could help them to plan more effectively to tackle any underperformance. Improvement planning draws on the views of staff, parents, students and governors. The school knows what it needs to improve but its measurement of the progress of new initiatives is not sufficiently clearly based on the impact on students. The school has made good progress on all key issues from the last inspection. This, together with the effective community partnerships promoted by the school's specialist technology status, demonstrates its capacity for further improvement. Governors understand the work of the school well and hold it to account rigorously. 5 Inspection Report: Guiseley School, 15 May 2006 to 16 May 2006 .

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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. 6 Inspection Report: Guiseley School, 15 May 2006 to 16 May 2006

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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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Overall effectiveness

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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Achievement and standards

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

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Achievement and standards

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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Personal development and well-being

2 2 How good is the overall personal development and well-being of the learners? 2 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 2 The behaviour of learners 2 The attendance of learners 3 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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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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The quality of provision

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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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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Leadership and management

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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Leadership and management

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

Following our visit to inspect your school we would like to tell you about the things we found out. Guiseley School is a good school which helps you to reach good standards and achieve well. That is why many of you choose to stay on into the sixth form where your standards and progress are also good. However, we found out that some of you have not been making such good progress in science as in English and mathematics. Teaching overall is good and we saw some lessons that showed you particularly well how relevant the topic was for the world that you live in now. Other lessons were less interesting because they gave less opportunities for you to share your ideas in groups and pairs and talk about your learning. Teachers offer you good advice on options so that almost all of you progress to the further study, training and employment of your choice when you leave the school. We found that the study support and guidance and the enrichment activities that you get are good. You

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

told us how much you value taking responsibility for others, especially for younger students. That is why so many of you are involved as peer mentors and in the Childline in Partnership with Schools Scheme. Those of you who have used that support told us how much it helped you to feel happier in school and sometimes also to improve your work. The school has made a lot of improvements since the last inspection. For example, the school has worked hard to improve its teaching. Most of you now leave school with a recognised ICT qualification and you are more aware of how much progress you are making and of what you need to do to improve further. We are also pleased that Year 10 pupils now have more time for PE. We think that the school should now make sure that: - standards and achievement in science improve. - you have more opportunities to work in groups and pairs to share ideas and talk about your learning.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

- senior leaders use information about your progress more frequently to plan further improvements in your learning. I would like to thank those of you who talked to the inspectors to let us know what you think of the school. We found this very helpful. I would like to wish you all every success for your future at Guiseley School.

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