Shuttleworth College

134994 Unique Reference Number Lancashire Local Authority 298617 Inspection number 27 °28 February 2008 Inspection dates Mark Williams HMI Reporting inspector

p.1

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

p.1

Secondary Type of school Community School category 11 °16 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 793 School The governing body Appropriate authority Mrs Linda Gauton Chair Mr Andrew Mackenzie Headteacher Not previously inspected Date of previous school inspection Kiddrow Lane School address Burnley Lancashire BB12 6LH 01282 777705 Telephone number 01282 775054 Fax number

p.1

11-16 Age group 27 °28 February 2008 Inspection dates 298617 Inspection number .

p.1

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.

p.2

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.

p.2

Introduction

The inspection was carried out by one of Her Majesty’s Inspectors and three Additional Inspectors.

p.3

Description of the school

Shuttleworth College is a smaller than average size secondary school serving an area with some high levels of socio-economic disadvantage. The school was established in August 2006 following local authority reorganisation. It opened for students in the buildings of a former school in September 2006. It will move to a new site in September 2008. Nearly all students are of White British heritage. The proportions of students eligible for free school meals and with learning difficulties and/or disabilities are higher than the averages for England. This is the college’s first inspection.

p.3

Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 11 Inspection Report: Shuttleworth College, 27 °28 February 2008

p.3

Grade: 4

In accordance with section 13 (3) of the Education Act 2005, HMCI is of the opinion that this school requires special measures because it is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the persons responsible for leading, managing or governing the school are not demonstrating the capacity to secure the necessary improvement. The college has been operating in very difficult circumstances since it opened. The move to the current building has been fraught with difficulties including high levels of staff absence and problems with recruitment. The college’s first set of examination results at Key Stage 3 and at GCSE confirm poor rates of progress and standards that are well below average. Low attendance rates and the poor attitudes and behaviour displayed by a significant minority of students present serious barriers to learning that college leaders are not removing quickly enough.

p.4

Grade: 4

Systems and strategies to improve rates of progress in students’ learning and personal development were introduced in September 2007. In the main, these have not had time to make an impact on students’ achievement. However, the college has secured a significant reduction in the number of exclusions and the overall rate of attendance has improved as a result of targeted support and guidance. Some improvement has also been made in the quality of teaching, but this has not yet had the necessary impact on learning; there is still too much teaching that is poor. While most students behave well, are polite and appreciate what the school does to support them, too many do not. This inhibits their learning and personal development. Leadership and management are unsatisfactory overall. Leaders and managers are unclear about what they expect their plans for improvement to achieve. As a result, staff throughout the

p.4

Grade: 4

college do not understand fully the purpose of the plans and their individual roles and responsibilities in meeting the objectives set. Furthermore, the lack of clear success criteria means it is difficult to measure the impact of improvement plans on students’ learning and personal development. The college’s systems for assessing and recording what students have achieved are not used consistently. Leaders do not have a clear view about which departments are using this information. Governors are only beginning to hold the school to account and there are a number of areas where statutory requirements are not fully in place. The college does not provide satisfactory value for money. While the college is judged to be inadequate in most areas of its work, it provides a satisfactory curriculum and satisfactory levels of care, guidance and support. The curriculum is appropriate with alternative courses for students unable to access the full range of GCSEs and effective

p.4

Grade: 4

‘homebase’ provision in Year 7. The support provided for students with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, and for other vulnerable young people, is both sensitive and effective.

p.4

What the school should do to improve further

■ Increase significantly the rate of students’ progress to raise standards.

p.4

What the school should do to improve further

■ Eliminate unsatisfactory teaching and increase the proportion that is good.

p.4

What the school should do to improve further

■ Use assessment data consistently across the college to identify and tackle underachievement.

p.4

What the school should do to improve further

■ Continue to improve students’ attendance and behaviour.

p.4

What the school should do to improve further

■ Identify clear success criteria in college improvement plans. 4 of 11 Inspection Report: Shuttleworth College, 27 °28 February 2008 ■ Improve the quality of monitoring and evaluation to assess accurately the impact of actions taken on students’ learning and personal development. ■ Ensure all statutory requirements are fully in place.

p.4

Grade: 4

The school acknowledges that students make poor progress in their learning overall and, as a result, standards are too low. Students’ achievement across the school is further hampered by poor literacy skills. National test results in English, mathematics and science at the end of Year 9 in 2007 were well below the national average. Nearly all groups of students made significantly less progress than expected from their very low starting points. Results at GCSE in 2007 were equally disappointing. Only 30% of students gained five grade A*- C passes and only 26% achieved this with English and mathematics. A number, however, gained alternative qualifications, for example the Certificate of Personal Effectiveness. Current standards of work and rates of student progress are correctly evaluated by the college as inadequate and indicate that results are likely to be poor again this summer. Some students with learning difficulties

p.5

Grade: 4

and/or disabilities are, because of recent intervention, making strides in their reading skills. However, progress for this group of students is unsatisfactory overall. In addition to generally weak literacy skills, a number of factors have contributed to the generally poor progress made by students. The quality of teaching is not good enough to support the rapid rates of learning that are needed to attain at least average standards. Low attendance disrupts the learning of too many pupils and the behaviour of some students is unacceptable and prevents others from learning. The college has introduced a number of strategies to tackle these obstacles to progress, for example in the ‘homebase’ learning in Year 7 and the mathematics intervention programmes in Year 10. However the impact of such measures has not been evaluated because college leaders do not have a clear view of what is expected from such programmes. Systems for tracking and recording student progress are in the early days

p.5

Grade: 4

of development. College leaders are not clear whether all departments make use of the information provided to identify and tackle underachievement effectively.

p.5

Grade: 4

Too many students have poor attitudes towards the college’s expectations and to learning. As a result, they do not make the progress expected. Attendance, although improved, and punctuality are cause for concern. Attendance for students in Years 9, 10 and 11, and for one class in Year 7, is well below average. This is a key factor in holding back progress. While most students report that they feel safe and enjoy being at college, their behaviour both in class and at breaks and lunchtimes is unsatisfactory. Although many students are well-mannered and willing to learn, too many lack enthusiasm. Through being over-boisterous and inconsiderate they prevent or disturb the learning of others too often. Last year, nearly 20% of students were excluded, mainly on a fixed-term basis. This year, there are far fewer exclusions. Students acknowledge the fairness of the behaviour policy but report that teachers are too inconsistent

p.5

Grade: 4

in applying staged consequences for inappropriate behaviour. Parental concerns about poor behaviour, expressed through the questionnaires, are justified. Students’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is unsatisfactory. Students are encouraged to adopt healthy lifestyles through a structured programme of citizenship and 5 of 11 Inspection Report: Shuttleworth College, 27 °28 February 2008 personal, social and health education. In practice, students do not. The unhealthy attitude of many to eating, for example, is demonstrated by their partaking of food and drink while walking or sitting around the corridors. Students’ responses to the opportunities afforded them are variable. The work of prefects is inconsistent with some fulfilling their roles with pride and determination. Others have no enthusiasm at all. The college council is developing. Students express their growing understanding of the needs of others through charity and fundraising

p.5

Grade: 4

events. While careers advice, work experience, and enterprise and vocational opportunities provide a useful foundation, weaknesses in basic skills limit the preparation of students for their adult lives.

p.6

Grade: 4

Although teaching is beginning to improve as a result of staff training, coaching and the sharing of good practice, these improvements are recent. They have not had time to have a real impact on learning. There is no consistent approach to the planning and structuring of lessons, the marking and assessment of students’ work or the management of behaviour in classrooms. Students’ progress in lessons is held back by a significant minority who have poor attitudes. In almost a quarter of lessons seen, where tasks were often not sufficiently challenging, behaviour was poor and the pace of work was too slow. As a result students did not make as much progress as they should have made. Where teaching is satisfactory, and sometimes good, behaviour is managed well. The best lessons are typified by a variety of interesting resources and activities which engage students’ interest. The result is that students work harder, enjoy learning and

p.6

Grade: 3

The curriculum is satisfactory. It is reviewed regularly and is appropriate to the needs of students. The school offers a range of academic, vocational and practical courses. Students who are unsuited to a full timetable of GCSE courses, who have learning difficulties and/or disabilities, or who are in danger of becoming disaffected, benefit from a range of alternative curriculum choices. These include courses in construction, food hygiene, first aid and personal finance. Students in Year 7 like the ‘homebase’ arrangements which allow them to develop their basic skills across a range of subjects with the same teacher. However literacy, numeracy and information and communication technology (ICT) skills are not as well developed across the rest of the school. There is insufficient provision for ICT in Years 10 and 11 and poor facilities limit the amount of time for physical education. Students are encouraged to develop workplace

p.6

Grade: 3

skills through a well-managed work experience programme and enterprise days. They enjoy participating in a range of extra-curricular and enrichment activities, particularly in sport and music.

p.6

Grade: 3

This area of the college’s provision is satisfactory. There is a genuine commitment to students’ welfare, and staff work hard to support students, regardless of their circumstances. Procedures for child protection are secure and understood by staff. Required checks for ensuring the 6 of 11 Inspection Report: Shuttleworth College, 27 °28 February 2008 suitability of staff to work with children are in place. Systems for risk assessment, including those for out of school visits, are thorough and well managed. Support for students with learning difficulties and/or disabilities, and for other vulnerable young people is both sensitive and effective. Staff link effectively with outside agencies to provide constructive, individual help for these students. Sound provision is made for those who find school a challenge or are at risk of exclusion, for example, through the student support centre and the inclusion base. Recent pastoral care arrangements, together with training and

p.6

Grade: 3

support for staff, have resulted in a reduction in the use of exclusion as a sanction. Positive links with primary schools smooth the transfer of students into their new school. The newly introduced foundation arrangements for Year 7 are helping to sustain this positive start. Students receive useful guidance about their subject choices in Year 9 and their subsequent career opportunities in Years 10 and 11. However, academic guidance is underdeveloped. Systems for using data to set student targets are in place, but are not used consistently across the school. The college has put into place measures to improve attendance. While some year groups have poor attendance, there has been a significant improvement in attendance compared with the previous year. The college has taken action in response to students’ concerns about bullying, including introducing peer mentoring. While this has been appreciated, some students remain

p.7

Grade: 3

concerned about their personal welfare. The college acknowledges that too many students are not yet responding to its expectations, and that more work is required to ensure effective and consistent systems are in place.

p.7

Grade: 4

Leadership and management are unsatisfactory, overall. The headteacher has put much time and energy into establishing a new culture for Shuttleworth during the first year of the college’s establishment. However, he acknowledges that ‘much of last year was spent fire-fighting’. Progress on tackling key priorities has been hampered by significant changes to staffing, particularly the absence of leaders in English, mathematics and science. Systems and strategies to secure more rapid whole-college improvement have been introduced since September 2007 in line with the college’s improvement plan. However, although some actions show promise, the measures taken are not having a rapid enough impact on raising standards or in improving students’ personal development. College leaders do not have a clear overview of what the actions taken are expected to achieve. As a result, they recognise their evaluations do not

p.7

Grade: 4

always measure the impact of what has been undertaken. Governance is unsatisfactory overall. Governors have only recently begun to demand more information, ask more questions and hold the school to account for its performance. Statutory requirements are not fully in place in a number of important areas. The college’s leaders and managers are not demonstrating sufficient capacity to make the rapid improvement required to secure significant rates of progress in students’ learning and personal development. 7 of 11 Inspection Report: Shuttleworth College, 27 °28 February 2008 .

p.7

Grade: 4

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 8 of 11 Inspection Report: Shuttleworth College, 27 °28 February 2008

p.8

Inspection judgements

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

p.9

Overall effectiveness

How effective, efficient and inclusive is the provision of education, integrated care and any extended services in meeting the needs of learners? NA Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? 4 The capacity to make any necessary improvements

p.9

Achievement and standards

4 How well do learners achieve? 4 The standards 1 reached by learners How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners 4 How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress

p.9

learners?

4 The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development 4 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 3 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 3 How well learners enjoy their education 4 The attendance of learners 4 The behaviour of learners 4 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

p.9

and interests of learners?

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

p.9

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: Shuttleworth College, 27 °28 February 2008

p.9

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 4 How effectively leaders and managers use challenging targets to raise standards 4 The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation 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? Yes Does this school require special measures? No Does this school require a notice to improve? 10 of 11 Inspection Report: Shuttleworth College, 27 °28 February 2008

p.10

Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

29 February 2008 Dear Students, Inspection of Shuttleworth College, Lancashire As you are aware Shuttleworth College received its first inspection recently. We spoke with many of you and I want to thank you for helping us with the inspection. I am writing to let you know our findings. We were pleased to see some new systems in place to support those of you who struggle with college. These include the ‘Diamond’ group, the student support centre and the inclusion base. We were also pleased to see the reduction in exclusions and the overall improvement in attendance. We could see how students new to the college in Year 7 are helped to make the change from primary school. Several of you told us about how you feel well supported by the college. We saw some good examples of polite, well-mannered behaviour and some good lessons in which you were actively engaged in your learning. However, some of you told us that you are concerned about behaviour. We also saw some poor behaviour and attitudes

p.11

Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

which most of you find disappointing. As a result of our inspection, we have made the college subject to ‘special measures’. This is because too many of you are not making good enough progress in your learning or your personal development. We understand the college has faced many challenges with the move to its current site but there are a number of areas that we have asked the college to focus on to make improvements. We have asked the headteacher, staff and governors to:

p.11

Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ Help you to make better progress in your work so that you achieve as well as you should in your studies. ■ Ensure that teachers give you the right challenge and support in your lessons so that you can learn more easily and catch up on work that has been missed in the past. ■ Continue to work with you to improve the attendance and the poor behaviour of some students. ■ Identify the main priorities in plans to help your school improve and check the progress carefully to ensure that matters improve rapidly. ■ Ensure that the college meets all legal requirements.

p.11

Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

Inspectors will visit again at intervals to check the progress the school is making. We know many of you will want to help the college to achieve these things. We encourage you to do so, particularly by attending regularly, by behaving well and working to the best of your ability in your lessons. On behalf of the inspection team, my best wishes to you all, particularly as you move to your new building in September. Mark Williams Her Majesty’s Inspector 11 of 11 Inspection Report: Shuttleworth College, 27 °28 February 2008

p.11