Churchill Community College

Churchill Community College Inspection report

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108641 Unique Reference Number North Tyneside Local Authority 309752 Inspection number 5 °6 March 2008 Inspection dates Gillian Salter-Smith 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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Secondary Type of school Community School category 11 °18 Age range of pupils Mixed Gender of pupils Number on roll 973 School 85 6th form The governing body Appropriate authority Ms Tracey Booth Chair Mr David Baldwin Headteacher 1 October 2004 Date of previous school inspection Churchill Street School address Wallsend Tyne and Wear NE28 7TN 0191 234 7200 Telephone number 0191 234 7201 Fax number

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11-18 Age group 5 °6 March 2008 Inspection dates 309752 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 four Additional Inspectors.

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Description of the school

Churchill Community College is an averaged sized school with a small sixth form. Many students come from areas of significant social deprivation and an above average proportion of students are eligible for free school meals. Most students are from White British backgrounds. Of the few students from minority ethnic backgrounds, a small number are in the early stages of learning English. A well above average proportion of students are identified as having learning difficulties and/or disabilities. There are a small number of looked after children and asylum seekers. The college has had specialist status for sport since 2003, and was re-designated in July 2007 with geography as a second specialist subject. The college has Full Service Extended School Status and it hosts a behaviour and education support team.

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Key for inspection grades

Outstanding Grade 1 Good Grade 2 Satisfactory Grade 3 Inadequate Grade 4 3 of 12 Inspection Report: Churchill Community College, 5 °6 March 2008

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Grade: 2

This is a good school. Students make good progress and achieve well because the college offers a supportive environment and teaching is effective. Well focused action initiated by leaders and governors has brought about improvements in attendance, behaviour and many areas of provision. As a result, students’ progress has accelerated, particularly in Years 10 and 11. Most students are on track to meet or exceed their challenging targets for academic success at age 14 and 16. Standards have been rising over the past three years and, for students currently in college, are broadly average. Students achieve particularly well in physical education and sport (PE). In the 2007 results for students aged 16 there was too much variation between subjects. Good teaching is characterised by very supportive relationships between staff and students. Staff from the specialist subject have led improvements in teaching and learning effectively.

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Grade: 2

However, consistency has not yet been achieved in the effectiveness of teachers’ planning or their marking. The vast majority of students enjoy college and are well motivated to learn. The college goes to great lengths to support students, particularly those who face difficult circumstances in their lives or who are in danger of losing interest in their education. Excellent use is made of the many agencies and partnerships with other education or training providers to find the right support for individuals. The curriculum is continually being expanded to accommodate students’ needs and is especially well tailored to students’ needs in Years 10 and 11. Overall, parents are supportive of the college’s work and many appreciate the efforts the college makes to care for and guide their children. Students’ personal development is good. The college is a harmonious environment where students feel safe and behaviour is good. Students make an outstanding contribution to their

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Grade: 2

own and the local community. Many take on sports leadership roles and responsible roles in democratic groups within the local community. Students have a good understanding of how to stay healthy. Students are well prepared for the next stage of their education and the proportion of students not taking up further education, training or employment at age 16 or 18 is small. Specialist status is making a very strong contribution to improvements across the college. The headteacher and senior leaders have a secure understanding of strengths and weaknesses and plan appropriately to secure improvement. However, not all subject leaders have fully developed the skills needed to take responsibility for raising standards. Effective leadership has brought about improved standards and demonstrates a good capacity to improve further.

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Grade: 3

The overall effectiveness of the sixth form is satisfactory. Students’ achievement in examinations is satisfactory, given the modest attainment of some at GCSE. Results for both AS and A-level examinations in 2007 varied considerably between subjects but were broadly average and showed improvement from the previous year. Almost all students successfully completed their A-level courses and were able to fulfil their higher education or career ambitions. The college works closely in conjunction with another local school and a further education college to provide a reasonable range of academic A-level courses together with a few vocational qualifications. 4 of 12 Inspection Report: Churchill Community College, 5 °6 March 2008 However, a significant minority of students do not continue from AS level into A2 and so further alternatives to A-level are planned to ensure a closer match to students’ needs and capabilities,

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Grade: 3

which are wide and varied. Teaching and learning are satisfactory. Students have positive attitudes to learning and are keen to succeed. Their performance and progress is closely monitored and effective support is provided to help keep them on track. Students enjoy being in the sixth form. They say they feel well supported by their subject teachers and their tutors, particularly when planning their future education choices. The personal development of students is a substantial strength and they participate enthusiastically in the many opportunities to enrich their studies, notably by helping younger students or by acting as sports’ leaders or coaches. They gain in confidence as they move through the sixth form and feel strongly that their views matter to the college and are given full consideration.

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What the school should do to improve further

■ Improve examination results and reduce the inconsistency between standards in subjects in national assessments at age 16. ■ Achieve greater consistency in the effectiveness of teachers’ planning and the usefulness of the teachers’ marking of students’ work. ■ Develop the skills of subject leaders so that they take greater responsibility for raising standards.

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Grade for sixth form: 3

Students’ achievement is good. Students make good progress and build effectively from their below average starting point in Year 7 when many have weak literacy skills. Standards at age 14 and 16 are rising, especially in English and mathematics, and for current students are broadly average. Inspection evidence confirms that students in Year 11 and Year 10 are on track to reach their challenging targets. This represents a significant improvement on the 2007 results for Year 11, which were below average for many of the key national indicators and there was much variation in results between subjects. In 2007, girls did not achieve as well as boys at age 16 but there is no significant pattern from year-to-year. Students with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and those new to learning English make good progress because their needs are well met through the effective team work of teachers and support staff.

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Grade for sixth form: 2

Students' personal development, including their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, is good. Students value the way that their views are respected and that any problems are taken seriously and tackled swiftly. Some students spoke fulsomely about how the college had helped to ‘turn them around’. Most students enjoy their time at Churchill. Students feel safe and incidents of bullying are rare. Attendance in 2006-07 was close to national average and has improved again in the current year though there remain a small number of persistent non-attenders. Behaviour in lessons and around college is generally good. Some students and parents are concerned about the disruptive effect of a small minority of students, though the 5 of 12 Inspection Report: Churchill Community College, 5 °6 March 2008 college’s effective management of behaviour means this is only occasionally a barrier to learning.

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Grade for sixth form: 2

Students are aware of the need to live healthy lifestyles and the importance of healthy eating. There is a wide take-up of physical activities including popular early morning sports’ clubs and an ‘Active Lunch’ programme using the expertise of the college’s specialism in sports. Students have a good understanding of other cultures through well planned personal, social, health and citizenship days. Students make an excellent contribution to the college and the wider community. College council groups flourish and some students contribute well to local youth forums and panels. The input of student associate governors is welcomed by governors. Students’ improved literacy and numeracy skills and their mature attitudes to their community and the world of work prepare them well for their futures.

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Grade for sixth form: 3

Teaching and learning are good. Teachers use their good subject knowledge to plan well thought out progressive steps in learning. Supportive relationships are well established and help students to focus on their learning. Staff manage behaviour well so that students can work with good levels of concentration in most lessons. Students’ knowledge of their targets and whether they are on track to reach them raises their aspirations of what they can achieve. Students often use mark schemes to assess how well they have done and in this way are well prepared for assessments and examinations. In the strongest lessons students are challenged both by the activities that they are asked to do and they are given responsibility to decide when to move on to further challenges. In this way these students develop the ability to study and learn independently. There are inconsistencies in the quality of teachers’ marking and the effectiveness of planning.

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Grade for sixth form: 3

Some students receive detailed advice on what they need to do to improve a piece of work but not all marking provides this support. Not all planning uses the assessment information available to ensure a good level of challenge for every student. The specialist area is taking a strong lead in sharing the good practice that exists in teaching and developing skills further across all subjects.

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Grade for sixth form: 3

The curriculum meets students’ needs well. A wide choice of courses in Years 10 and 11, including a number of vocational courses, has helped many students to maintain enthusiasm for their education. Students’ response to the alternative educational provision, including working at the Outreach Centre, is very positive and they appreciate how it has improved their examination success. Well planned days that follow themes for personal, social, health and citizenship education support good personal development in all year groups. They are well supported by a number of agencies, including the National Health Service. Students feel they learn a lot on these days and recall them fondly. Despite the good amount of citizenship in which students are actively involved, their progress in this subject is not formally assessed. 6 of 12 Inspection Report: Churchill Community College, 5 °6 March 2008 The college offers a wide range of extra-curricular activities. Many of these involve sporting

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Grade for sixth form: 3

activity and opportunity for leadership, reflecting the specialist status. Activities on offer are as diverse as circus skills, ECO groups, an embroidery club and a steel pans club. Participation in the activities is good and helps raise students’ self-esteem. There are limited opportunities for accreditation in performing arts subjects. There are an increasing number of effective opportunities across the curriculum to help students to improve their basic literacy skills. This includes sixth form students working with younger pupils on developing their reading. The use of numeracy skills across the curriculum is at an early stage of development.

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Grade for sixth form: 2

The college works with a wide range of external agencies to provide very good care, support and guidance. Arrangements for safeguarding students and child protection meet current government requirements. Teachers and support assistants provide valuable support for students with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and those who find it difficult to adapt to the demands of college. Parents spoke warmly of this support. The ‘Out of College’ programme, particularly the Outreach Centre, is much appreciated by students and has helped reduce the number of exclusions significantly and improve students’ achievement. Systems for tracking students’ progress help to identify underachievement and support is put in place quickly. The academic targets agreed with students and parents are monitored and revised regularly. Frequent meetings of the staff team responsible for students’ care, support and guidance ensure that individual students are monitored closely and appropriate and timely

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Grade for sixth form: 2

support is arranged. The college has made strenuous and successful efforts to improve attendance and students’ behaviour. Health-related ‘drop in’ advice centres are popular with students and provide valuable support. Arrangements to support students as they move from Year 6 to Year 7 are comprehensive and appreciated by parents. Students are generally well prepared to make choices about the courses they take at age 14 and 16. However, some students who opt for AS courses at age 16 find they are not well suited to them and do not continue onto A2.

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Grade for sixth form: 3

Leadership and management are good. The headteacher is leading the college well. With the active support of the senior leadership team, he has accurately identified the strengths and weaknesses of the college. With the active support of the hard working senior leadership team a dynamic agenda for improvement has been put in place and staff are responding positively to increasing levels of accountability. Improving college performance is a key priority that underpins the well conceived development plan. Positive action is underway to tackle this, for example through closer monitoring of the work of subjects, strong tracking of students’ academic and personal progress, and improving curriculum provision. The impact of these and other planned initiatives can be seen in the steadily improving test and examination results. 7 of 12 Inspection Report: Churchill Community College, 5 °6 March 2008 Subject management is variable but is satisfactory overall. Not all subject leaders have developed

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Grade for sixth form: 3

the monitoring skills to enable them to fully recognise inconsistencies in teaching and standards. This has resulted in too much variation in results in examinations between subjects. Good training, support and professional development opportunities, often provided through the specialist subject area, are helping to strengthen self evaluation, subject review, and teaching quality. Governors know their college well. They are aware of what needs to be done to improve further and have a clear appreciation of their role in checking on the college’s progress. They are committed, strongly supportive and carry out their responsibilities effectively. The governors, headteacher and senior staff have a secure grasp of how things stand. Distinctive features, including the college’s specialist status, its extended provision and strong local partnerships are having a positive impact on students’ progress. Day-to-day management is very effective

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Grade for sixth form: 3

and the college runs smoothly. The college provides good value for money. Good use is made of the resources available despite limitations in some areas, such as accommodation for sport and PE. 8 of 12 Inspection Report: Churchill Community College, 5 °6 March 2008 .

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Grade for sixth form: 3

in the guidance 'Complaints about school inspection', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. 9 of 12 Inspection Report: Churchill Community College, 5 °6 March 2008

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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

3 2 How effective, efficient and inclusive is the provision of education, integrated care and any extended services in meeting the needs of learners? Yes Yes Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection 2 1 How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? 3 2 The capacity to make any necessary improvements

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Achievement and standards

3 2 How well do learners achieve? 3 3 The standards 1 reached by learners

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Achievement and standards

3 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 2 The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles 2 The extent to which learners adopt safe practices 2 How well learners enjoy their education 3 The attendance of learners 2 The behaviour of learners 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?

2 2 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. 10 of 12 Inspection Report: Churchill Community College, 5 °6 March 2008

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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 leaders and managers use challenging targets to raise standards 2 2 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 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? 11 of 12 Inspection Report: Churchill Community College, 5 °6 March 2008

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

7 March 2008 Dear Students Inspection of Churchill Community College, North Tyneside, NE28 7TN Thank you for making the inspection team welcome when we visited your college. It is important that we let you know how we evaluated your college and what we shall be reporting to your parents or carers. Your college has made many improvements in recent years and provides you with a good overall education. The specialist status for sport has been especially helpful in bringing about changes and in providing you with many worthwhile opportunities. Your contribution to the college and the wide community is outstanding. We were impressed with the numbers of you who take on responsible roles such as the college council or the Youth Forum. Those of you involved in sports leadership are doing a splendid job with so many young people. Relationships between staff and students are very good. Many of you benefit from the ways that the college finds to

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

help you sort out difficulties that you face in your lives that may be holding you back. The good choice of courses, particularly in Years 10 and 11, and the good teaching help you to achieve well. Your academic standards at age 14 and 16 are rising steadily. Those of you who stay on into the sixth form make a significant contribution to the life of the college. You benefit from a supportive atmosphere and gain satisfactory results. You are guided well when deciding what to do when you leave the college. Senior leaders and governors know what needs to be done to improve further and will be concentrating their efforts in the following areas:

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ to reduce the inconsistency in results between subjects for Year 11 students;

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Text from letter to pupils explaining the findings of the inspection

■ to ensure that you always have helpful guidance on how to improve when your work is marked; ■ to make sure that the work in all lessons is planned carefully to help every student make good progress; ■ to make sure that all leaders know what needs to be improved and are able to make improvements quickly. You can all help by continuing to attend college regularly and keeping well focused on your studies. We hope that you continue to enjoy your time at Churchill College and make the most of the many opportunities it offers you. We wish you well for your futures. Gillian Salter-Smith Lead inspector on behalf of the team 12 of 12 Inspection Report: Churchill Community College, 5 °6 March 2008

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