pdf Section 3 inspection report - Ofsted

appropriate basis for school improvement. The monitoring and evaluation of
teaching have improved. During this inspection senior managers conducted joint
lesson observations with HMI; lessons were graded with appropriate
professionalism but there was some misunderstanding of the relationship between
the quality of learning and the quality of teaching.
The roles of the leadership team are clearly delineated; half-termly departmental
reviews provide a useful focus for reviewing the school’s progress. Some middle
managers have an improved understanding of their responsibility and are growing
in confidence in their role; however, there is undue variation in the quality of
leadership and management in departments. Senior staff are more visible in the
public areas at the change of lessons; however, there are key areas of the school
that are inconsistently or ineffectively supervised. This is having a direct impact on
punctuality to lessons. The school needs to take a strategic approach to
addressing the persistent problems related to punctuality; similarly, the
identification of areas of potential disruption needs a more proactive approach. As
reported previously, the school does not comply with the statutory requirement to
conduct an act of collective worship. Tutor group periods consistently fail to
provide opportunities for the pupils to reflect on spiritual, moral, social or cultural
issues.
The governance of the school is satisfactory. The work of the governing body is
conducted through an appropriate committee structure. The governors have
appointed an experienced headteacher to lead the school from September 2005.
The pupils’ attitudes and behaviour were at least satisfactory in 34 lessons and
good in 13. In lessons where the teachers had high expectations, the pupils
behaved well, took responsibility for their work and worked productively. A
significant proportion of pupils did not actively engage in the work with interest and
concentration, except when lessons were well managed and the teaching increased
their curiosity and imagination. The pupils’ lack of positive response was directly
linked to the quality of teaching; when the school’s procedures were not applied
the pupils exploited the situation. The school’s attempts to tackle poor behaviour
in lessons are starting to have a positive effect. The isolation room and
individualised group work with disaffected Year 8 pupils have led to a significant
reduction in poor behaviour.
The overall rate of attendance, at 88 per cent, remains well below the national
average for secondary schools. Unauthorised absence remains high as does the
rate of truancy in the afternoon. An appropriate rewards system has been
introduced to improve attendance but punctuality is still unsatisfactory. The rate of
exclusion has decreased significantly; there has been 50 fixed term and one
permanent exclusion so far this year. HMI conducted a discussion with a group of