Drayton Manor High School

Drayton Manor High School Inspection report

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101942 Unique Reference Number Ealing Local Authority 286231 Inspection number 22 °23 March 2007 Inspection dates Christopher Russell HMI Reporting inspector

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

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Comprehensive Type of school Community School category 11 °19 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 1558 School 367 6th form

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The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs A Jinman Chair Sir P Singh Headteacher 16 September 2002 Date of previous school inspection Drayton Bridge Road School address London W7 1EU

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020 8357 1900 Telephone number 020 8357 1901 Fax number

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11 °19 Age group 22 °23 March 2007 Inspection dates 286231 Inspection number .

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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 two Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

Drayton Manor High School is a larger than average comprehensive school. Many students who attend the school are from black or minority ethnic backgrounds and many have English as an additional language. The proportion of students with learning difficulties and disabilities is close to the national average. In September 2006 the school was designated as a specialist school for humanities.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 11 Inspection Report: Drayton Manor High School, 22 °23 March 2007

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Grade: 2

Drayton Manor High School provides a good standard of education. The standard of education in the sixth form is outstanding. Care, guidance and support are outstanding. Staff know students well and students feel very well supported by the school. This nurturing environment helps ensure that students' personal development and well-being, and their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development are outstanding. The atmosphere is excellent, especially considering the school's rather cramped conditions. Students' behaviour in lessons and around the school is exemplary and the vast majority have excellent attitudes to learning. Achievement and standards are good. Standards at all key stages are consistently much higher than national averages. Students make good progress during Key Stage 3 and satisfactory progress during Key Stage 4. Sixth form students make outstanding progress. The school's curriculum has developed extensively in recent years, particularly in Years 10 and

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Grade: 2

11. It is now outstanding. This provision meets the needs of students well. However, as many of the changes to the curriculum are quite recent, they are yet to make a full impact on examination results. There is a broad range of activities outside of lessons which students enjoy and which make a very positive contribution to their personal development. Teaching and learning are good and there is some outstanding teaching. However, there is some inconsistency in the quality of teaching and learning across the school. The school is well led and managed. The headteacher has a strong, clear vision and has successfully established an outstanding ethos in the school. Senior leaders form a strong and effective team. The school has extensive processes in place to review the school's effectiveness and to plan for the future. These have had a very positive impact on many aspects of the school's work, particularly the outstanding care, guidance and support and excellent post-16

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Grade: 2

provision. Senior leaders have a thorough understanding of the school's strengths and weaknesses, although they sometimes slightly overestimate the quality of some aspects of the school's work. Appropriate action is being taken to support further improvement and the school is well placed to improve in the future. However, leadership and management are good rather than outstanding as the actions of leaders and managers have yet to result in consistent progress across the school.

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Grade: 1

The sixth form is outstanding. Students make excellent progress from their starting points, leaving with results that are consistently above national averages. The sixth form is exceptionally well managed by a dedicated and committed team, led by an excellent head of sixth form who has a clear vision for the future. The curriculum meets the needs of students very well and there is an excellent range of extra-curricular activities, which are very popular with students. Teaching and learning are excellent and the school provides outstanding care, guidance and support to sixth form students. As a result, students' personal development and well-being are outstanding. Sixth formers are listened to, and the school acts on suggestions made by them in school council and in questionnaires. The needs of each student are taken fully into account and no one is overlooked. Students who move from Year 11 in the school are prepared very well for entry into the sixth

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Grade: 1

4 of 11 Inspection Report: Drayton Manor High School, 22 °23 March 2007 form. Those who arrive from other institutions are given full support and settle quickly. A key feature of the sixth form is the opportunity it provides for students to take responsibility for younger students in well-structured programmes such as peer mentoring and reading support.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Ensure that students are able to make greater progress at Key Stage 4 • Extend the school's best practice in teaching and learning so that more lessons are of the highest quality.

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Grade for sixth form: 1

Achievement and standards are good. Students enter the school in Year 7 with standards slightly above the national average. The school's results in the Key Stage 3 tests have been consistently above national averages in recent years. In 2004 and 2005 results indicated that students made outstanding progress during Key Stage 3. In 2006 students made good rather than outstanding progress from their starting points in Year 7. The overall progress that students make between Years 7 and 11, particularly during Key Stage 4, has fallen slightly from a high point in 2004. The students who took GCSE examinations in 2006 made satisfactory rather than good progress from their starting points on entry to the school, although results still exceeded national averages. The proportion of students attaining 5 or more higher grades including English and mathematics in particular was very high. Students enter the sixth form with a broad range of abilities. They make outstanding progress

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Grade for sixth form: 1

from their starting points to achieve results that are above average. The progress that students make places the school in the top 10% of all sixth forms. Students with learning difficulties and disabilities (LDD) are very well supported and also make good progress.

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Grade for sixth form: 1

The personal development and well-being of students and their social, moral, spiritual and cultural development are outstanding. The behaviour of the vast majority of students is exemplary. Attendance is somewhat higher than the national average and is improving. Students report that they enjoy school a good deal and value the wide range of activities offered to them inside and outside the classroom. They also value the way in which teachers and other students are polite and considerate towards them. Students feel safe in school and incidents of bullying are rare and quickly dealt with. They know whom to turn to if they have a problem. Students make healthy choices about what to eat and drink, and many take full advantage of the sports options available to them. Students make an outstanding contribution to the community by taking responsibility for others and by initiating activities to help the wider

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Grade for sixth form: 1

community. They are excellent ambassadors for the school. Students develop an excellent range of skills for employment and future economic well-being. 5 of 11 Inspection Report: Drayton Manor High School, 22 °23 March 2007

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Grade for sixth form: 1

The quality of teaching and learning is good, meets the needs of students well and results in good progress in lessons. In the best lessons there are a variety of well considered learning activities and students know exactly what is expected of them. Teachers' classroom management and their relationships with students are excellent. When given the opportunity, students work well together in pairs or small groups, contributing much to their enjoyment of the lesson. In an outstanding Year 11 ICT lesson, a well-planned sequence of activities developed very purposefully and offered challenge to the full range of ability in the group. The teacher circulated well and the use of constructive praise and criticism made students aware of their capabilities and what they needed to do to improve the quality of their work. In some lessons the work is not always matched closely enough to the learning needs of all

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Grade for sixth form: 1

students. Consequently, some finish rather quickly because of the lack of challenge and not all students make the progress of which they are capable. There are occasions when teachers do not summarise what has been learned very well, nor do they involve students sufficiently in evaluating their own progress.

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Grade for sixth form: 1

The curriculum is outstanding. It meets the needs of all students well and supports their outstanding personal development and good achievement. Much excellent curriculum development has occurred recently, although these changes are yet to make a full impact on students' achievement. The curriculum offers very good breadth and balance and is enhanced by an exceptionally wide range of extra-curricular activities. These include whole year group activities, visits and a comprehensive range of sporting opportunities. The school's specialist status has enabled it to develop the curriculum well and extend opportunities further. The citizenship, careers and work related learning programme is particularly effective in supporting students' personal development as they move through the school. ICT is used very effectively to support teaching and learning across the curriculum. The school meets the needs of students with learning difficulties and other disabilities very

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Grade for sixth form: 1

well by offering a variety of accredited options and specialist courses. This enables them to make good progress in their learning. Those identified as being gifted and talented are also very well catered for.

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Grade for sixth form: 1

The care, guidance and support of students are outstanding. The school provides exceptional support for students' physical and emotional needs. Arrangements for safeguarding students 6 of 11 Inspection Report: Drayton Manor High School, 22 °23 March 2007 are rigorous and are regularly reviewed. Vulnerable children are looked after very well and are happy and settled at school. Those with learning difficulties and disabilities and those with English as an additional language are exceptionally well supported and their needs are fully addressed. Students are encouraged to aim high. They receive good academic guidance and are clear about how well they are doing and what steps they need to take to improve. Excellent links with outside agencies also make a very useful contribution to the quality of care, guidance and support.

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Grade for sixth form: 1

Leadership and management are good. The headteacher and his senior colleagues form a strong and effective team and provide clear direction for the school. Well developed structures and processes ensure that the school runs calmly and smoothly. Governors have a good understanding of the work of the school and provide effective support and challenge to the school's leadership. Although still in its early stages, the school has made a very good start to its work as a specialist school. The school has very well developed systems for self-evaluation and planning across the school. These involve detailed consultation with staff, students, parents and others, and the thorough analysis of a range of other relevant information. This helps to inform leaders' picture of strengths and weaknesses across the school and gives them a good understanding of what needs to be done to improve further. Monitoring of teaching and learning by senior and middle

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Grade for sixth form: 1

leaders is extensive and supports the identification of targeted support through appropriate professional development opportunities. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: Drayton Manor High School, 22 °23 March 2007 .

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Grade for sixth form: 1

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 8 of 11 Inspection Report: Drayton Manor High School, 22 °23 March 2007

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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

1 2 How effective, efficient and inclusive is the provision of education, integrated care and any extended services in meeting the needs of learners? 1 1 How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? 2 2 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 1 2 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

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

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Achievement and standards

1 2 How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

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well-being of the learners?

The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 1 The behaviour of learners 2 The attendance of learners 1 How well learners enjoy their education 1 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 2 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 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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range of needs and interests of learners?

1 1 How well are learners cared for, guided and supported?

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range of needs and interests of learners?

Grade 1 - Exceptionally and consistently high; Grade 2 - Generally above average with none significantly below average; Grade 3 - Broadly average to below average; Grade 4 - Exceptionally low. 9 of 11 Inspection Report: Drayton Manor High School, 22 °23 March 2007

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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 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, including staff, are deployed to achieve value for money The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities Yes Yes Do procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements? No Does this school require special measures? No Does this school require a notice to improve? 10 of 11 Inspection Report: Drayton Manor High School, 22 °23 March 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Thank you for your help and for taking the time to talk to us during the recent inspection. I am writing to you to tell you about our main findings. We judged the school to be good with some outstanding features. We judged the sixth form to be outstanding. We were particularly impressed by your behaviour and attitudes to learning. The atmosphere around the school was excellent. We were also extremely impressed by the way in which the school cares for you and helps you to develop as young people. Many of you spoke enthusiastically about the support that staff provide. The school helps you to achieve well. The curriculum has developed very well, particularly at Key Stage 4. This helps ensure that you are able to follow the right courses, helping you to achieve as much as you possibly can. We saw many good or outstanding lessons during the inspection and we could see that you respond positively to good teaching and enjoy learning.

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

We have asked the school to work on this area, so that even more lessons are similar to the best. Although results are still a lot higher than in most schools, students didn't achieve quite so well in their GCSEs last year. We have asked the school to ensure that you are able to make as much progress as possible between Years 7 and 11. We were very impressed by the school's sixth form. Students do very well and make progress in their learning that is very good and better than in almost all schools. The headteacher and other senior staff clearly know how to improve the school even further over the coming years. The inspection team wish you well for the future. Yours faithfully Christopher Russell HMILead Inspector 11 of 11 Inspection Report: Drayton Manor High School, 22 °23 March 2007

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