Henry Beaufort School

116438 Unique Reference Number Hampshire Local Authority 290534 Inspection number 12 June 2007 Inspection date Valerie Pearson 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 °16 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 1001 School

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The governing body Appropriate authority Mr C Grove Chair Ms S Hearle (acting) Headteacher 14 May 2001 Date of previous school inspection East Woodhay Road School address Harestock Winchester SO22 6JJ

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01962 880073 Telephone number 01962 883667 Fax number

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11 °16 Age group 12 June 2007 Inspection date 290534 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 one Additional Inspector.

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Description of the school

Henry Beaufort School draws students from the north of Winchester and the surrounding countryside. It also attracts students from outside this area. The school has specialist school status in technology and humanities and is designated as a high performing school. It is a pathfinder school for modern foreign languages teaching. The school's provision includes a Hearing Impaired Unit for seven students. The proportion of students entitled to free school meals is well below average. There are a few students from minority ethnic groups and a similar proportion with a first language other than English. The school has been managing falling rolls during recent years. The school has the Healthy Schools, Education Extra and Intermediate International Schools awards. Henry's Kindergarten, providing full day care for 75 children, is managed by the school's governing body. The substantive headteacher is seconded to another school until September

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Description of the school

2007. During his absence the school is being led by an acting headteacher who is a deputy head at Henry Beaufort School.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 10 Inspection Report: Henry Beaufort School, 12 June 2007

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Grade: 2

Henry Beaufort School is a good school with outstanding features. Its commitment to doing the very best for every student lies at the heart of the outstanding care and support they receive from the school. As one parent wrote 'the school is excellent at supporting and encouraging children to do the best they can'. This is achieved through forging strong links with a range of partners and through the dedication of the staff. As one student commented 'the staff are always there for you'. Students' enjoy coming to school and have positive attitudes to their learning. They embrace opportunities to contribute to the life of the school and demonstrate extremely well their capacity to accept and discharge responsibilities. This is most evident in the valuable work of the school council. In its pursuit of excellence the school is outward looking and constantly seeking ways to improve. Its sharp focus on improving teaching and learning and considerable investment in staff training

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Grade: 2

have resulted in teaching that is good with outstanding features. Particularly important is the increasingly effective use of very good information on how well students are doing to plan appropriate learning activities. All of this means that students make good progress during their time in the school and attain standards that are consistently well above average. Students with hearing impairment, English as an additional language and special educational needs all make good progress because of the excellent support they receive. Students' achievement in English is strong across the school. The slower rates of progress and elements of underperformance in science and mathematics, however, are rightly highlighted by all members of the school community including students and parents. The school is acutely aware of the reasons for this and is implementing a range of appropriate strategies to address the issues. The focus on

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Grade: 2

mathematics is being successful and standards are rising. The impact in science is less pronounced and progress is being hampered by difficulties in staff recruitment. Securing and sustaining improvements in science and mathematics is properly the top priority for the school. Students' behaviour is good, although on occasions when teaching is insufficiently challenging, some students lose interest and distract others from their learning. The school's focus on ensuring that learning more closely matches individual students' needs led to the introduction of the two year Key Stage 3 and the three year Key Stage 4. The former is having a positive impact on student achievement in Year 8. The latter is effectively opening up different routes for students to pursue. The full range of opportunities the school planned, however, is not yet in place and it is rightly a priority to secure these in the curriculum.

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Grade: 2

The quality and standards of the nursery education in Henry's Kindergarten is outstanding. The headteacher sets a clear direction and high expectations in the relentless drive to secure the best possible education for all students. His commitment to this is outstanding. His leadership is dynamic and energetic and he is well supported by an effective and purposeful senior leadership team. The acting headteacher has maintained strong leadership and management of the school during his absence. The leadership of the school is appropriately challenged and supported by a very able and effective governing body. The school knows itself well and has an accurate picture of its strengths and areas for improvement. This self-knowledge is based on effective evaluation processes which have many outstanding features. The school has made good progress since the previous inspection and specialist school status has made a considerable impact on teaching and learning, standards in

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Grade: 2

4 of 10 Inspection Report: Henry Beaufort School, 12 June 2007 Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and on facilities and resources. The school is not complacent. It keeps striving to improve. The capacity for it to do so is very strong.

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What the school should do to improve further

• Improve students' progress and the standards they attain in science and mathematics. • Secure the full range of courses and opportunities for students in the new three year Key Stage 4 as detailed in the school's plans.

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Grade: 2

Achievement is good. Students' enter the school with standards that are slightly above average. They make good progress and by the age of sixteen reach standards that are consistently well above average. The national tests for fourteen year olds were taken for the first time in 2006 by students in both Years 8 and 9. Standards reached by students in Year 9 continue to be well above average and the school's thorough monitoring processes demonstrate the good achievement of Year 8 students. Students' progress and standards are particularly strong in English, humanities, textiles, food technology, electronics, religious studies, music, drama, and media education. Achievement in science and mathematics, however, is lower across the school. The school's effectiveness in tackling underperformance is reflected in its' success in improving standards in graphics and ICT. Targets are appropriately challenging and regularly met.

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Grade: 2

Students' personal development, including their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, is good with outstanding features. They enjoy their education and become articulate and confident young people. Students' feel they are listened to and that their views on important matters are actively sought, welcomed and valued by the school. They make an outstanding contribution to the life of the school community particularly through the school council. Their views and contributions make a difference. Examples of this include their contributions to the school's teaching and learning policy, subject reviews and anti-bullying strategies. Students readily accept responsibilities, for example older students supporting younger students through the mentoring programme. The majority of students behave well and act safely and responsibly in lessons and around the school. They understand the importance of healthy living and are

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Grade: 2

increasingly choosing healthy lifestyle options. They develop successfully the skills necessary for their future well-being, including learning to work productively in teams.

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Grade: 2

The quality of teaching and learning is good with outstanding features. This reflects the school's investment in promoting high quality teaching. Particular strengths in the best lessons include accurate use of information on students' progress to target work appropriately to students' needs, using questioning effectively to extend students understanding and skills and employing a wide range of teaching and learning styles that actively engage students in their own learning. These, combined with the very good relationships between staff and students, secure creative learning and good progress. The school has a very accurate picture of where teaching does not 5 of 10 Inspection Report: Henry Beaufort School, 12 June 2007 reach the school's clear expectations. In this minority of lessons teaching is pedestrian and the learning activities do not appropriately challenge or stimulate students.

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Grade: 2

The curriculum is good. The school actively seeks ways to make it appropriate to the needs of individual students. This motivation drove the recent introduction of the shortening of Key Stage 3 to Years 7 and 8 and extending Key Stage 4 to include Years 9, 10 and 11. The resulting curriculum provides a good match to students needs. Students learning in modern foreign languages benefits from their experiences in primary school where teachers from Henry Beaufort School teach them French. In Key Stage 4 students follow routes designed to enable them to pursue qualifications at appropriate times and levels. The school recognises, however, that the full range of opportunities is not yet secured and that it is a priority to do so. Students particularly value the Learning to Learn (L2L) course which helps them to understand the ways in which they learn best. Students' learning is also enhanced through a good range of

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Grade: 2

extra-curricular activities including some excellent provision such as the homework club.

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Grade: 1

The quality of care, guidance and support is outstanding in the school and good in the kindergarten. The school is rightly proud of its pastoral care. There is an excellent focus on individual students and members of staff give generously of their time to help them. Very rigorous processes for tracking students' progress enable the school to identify quickly those students requiring additional support and to put in place effective strategies to support them. Students know their targets and what they need to do to meet them. The support to students with hearing impairment, English as an additional language, special educational needs and those who are gifted and talented are all great strengths of the school's provision. There are comprehensive child protection procedures. Students reported that they feel safe in school and that they are confident that any incidents of bullying are dealt with swiftly.

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Grade: 2

Leadership and management are good with outstanding features. The school has a thorough and detailed understanding of its strengths and areas for improvement. This accurate self-knowledge is based on rigorous evaluation processes which have many excellent qualities. The views of students, parents and carers and other key partners are systematically sought. Thorough and detailed analysis of students' progress and attainment, careful monitoring of the quality of teaching and learning and comprehensive subject and pastoral reviews all enable the school to pinpoint accurately what it needs to do next to bring about improvements. The school is working with determination to remedy issues in science and mathematics. Securing improvement through high quality training for all staff is embedded in the culture of the school. The school's focus on developing the skills of middle leaders is reaping benefits as

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Grade: 2

demonstrated in the excellent leadership of English, humanities and technology. 6 of 10 Inspection Report: Henry Beaufort School, 12 June 2007 .

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Grade: 2

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 7 of 10 Inspection Report: Henry Beaufort School, 12 June 2007

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Inspection judgements

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

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

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Achievement and standards

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

2 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 1 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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and interests of learners?

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

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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. 8 of 10 Inspection Report: Henry Beaufort School, 12 June 2007

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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 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? 9 of 10 Inspection Report: Henry Beaufort School, 12 June 2007

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

21 June 2007 Dear Students Inspection of Henry Beaufort School,Winchester,SO22 6JJ Thank you for the warm welcome you gave to me and my colleague during our recent visit to your school. We enjoyed meeting you and listening to your views about your work and the school. It is our judgement that your school is good with outstanding features. The school is committed to doing the very best for all of you and it gives you outstanding care and support. As one of you commented 'the staff are always there for you'. The school wants to make sure that the conditions are right for you to learn and we know that you particularly value the Learning to Learn (L2L) course which helps you to understand how you learn best. The school has very good systems to check how well you are doing and make sure your learning keeps on track. This, combined with your good attitudes to learning, helps you to make good progress and do

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

very well in your tests and examinations. You told us that you were not doing so well in science and mathematics as in other subjects. The school is very aware of this and is working very hard to improve how well you do in these subjects. It is the top priority and we have asked the school leaders to continue to focus their efforts on this. It is clear that you enjoy school. We were very impressed by the valuable contributions you make to the school community particularly through the work of the school council. Your views and contributions make a difference. Examples of this include your contributions to the teaching and learning policy, subject reviews and the anti-bullying strategies. You are also keen to accept responsibilities such as older students supporting younger ones through the mentoring programme. Your school is determined to keep improving. We agree with your school that making sure you

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

have the fullest range of choices in Years 9-11 is important to make sure that your courses meet as many of your needs as possible. Your headteacher is energetic and committed and he is well supported by some very able leaders and teachers. They are constantly seeking ways to improve the school and to make your time at Henry Beaufort happy and successful. Valerie Pearson HMI 10 of 10 Inspection Report: Henry Beaufort School, 12 June 2007

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