Churchill Academy and Sixth Form

About the school

Churchill Academy & Sixth Form
Churchill Green
Churchill
Winscombe
Avon
BS25 5QN

Head: Mr Chris Hildrew

T 01934 852771

F 01934 853202

E churchill@churchi….n-somerset.sch.uk

W www.churchill-academy.org

A state school for boys and girls aged from 11 to 18.

Boarding: No

Local authority: North Somerset

Pupils: 1473

Religion: None

Ofsted report

School report Ofsted raising standards improving lives

Churchill Academy

Churchill Green, Churchill, North Somerset, BS25 5QN

Inspection dates   14-15 July 2015

Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection:   Not previously inspected as an academy

This inspection:  Outstanding   1

Leadership and management   Outstanding   1

Behaviour and safety of pupils   Outstanding   1

Quality of teaching   Outstanding   1

Achievement of pupils   Outstanding  1

Sixth form provision    Outstanding   1

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is an outstanding school.

  • The headteacher provides outstanding leadership for this rapidly improving academy. He has ensured that all senior and middle leaders have the skills and determination necessary to hold staff robustly to account and insist on the highest quality education for all students.

  • All members of staff have very high expectations for students' achievement. Examination results at GCSE and A level have been much higher than average since the academy opened.

  • Teaching is outstanding. Teachers use their very strong subject knowledge to plan lessons that engage students in learning and motivate them to achieve their best.

  • The academy's robust systems for tracking and monitoring students' progress ensure that all groups of students achieve very well. Any underachievement is quickly identified and support is swiftly provided for any student who needs it.

  • Disadvantaged students receive expert care and guidance which help them to achieve at least as well as others in the academy. The gap in attainment between this group and the others has closed.

  • Disabled students and those who have special educational needs make excellent progress because their needs are accurately identified and they are given highly personalised and effective support.

  • The curriculum has been expertly designed to enable students to study subjects that interest and motivate them to achieve the highest standards.

  • Additional enrichment activities extend students' love of learning beyond the classroom and enable students to develop their leadership, team and social skills through a broad range of sporting and cultural events.

  • The promotion of students' spiritual, moral, cultural and social development is outstanding and permeates all aspects of the academy's work. Students are welcoming of difference and exceptionally well prepared for life in modern Britain.
  • Students' behaviour in lessons and around the academy is exemplary. Students are keen to learn and their pride in their academy is evident in the quality of their work and in their high regard for members of staff.

  • Safeguarding is a high priority for the academy. Students feel very safe when at the academy and this view is endorsed by almost all parents.

  • Governors use their professional skills and experiences to hold academy leaders strongly to account. This ensures the highest quality teaching and outstanding outcomes for students.

  • The sixth form is outstanding. Students make excellent progress and act as highly positive role models for younger students.

Information about this inspection

  • Inspectors observed 39 lessons, 21 of which were jointly observed with members of the academy's leadership team. Inspectors also conducted a number of shorter visits to classrooms to observe the work of teaching assistants.

  • A separate work scrutiny was conducted to review the quality of students' work in their books and the impact of teachers' marking on students' progress.

  • Inspectors held meetings with the headteacher, senior and middle leaders, teachers, groups of students and governors, including the Chair of the Governing Body.

  • Inspectors scrutinised a range of documentation. This included the academy's self-evaluation and development plans, records of students' achievement, behaviour and attendance records, and the academy's policies for child protection and safeguarding.

  • Meetings were held to evaluate the effectiveness of the academy's safeguarding procedures.

  • Inspectors observed students' behaviour when moving between lessons and during social times.

  • Inspectors took account of the 163 responses to the online questionnaire, Parent View, the academy's own survey of the views of parents, and four comments from parents which were received during the inspection. An inspector also held a telephone conversation with a parent and met with another parent.

  • Inspectors also took account of the 90 responses to the Ofsted questionnaire for members of staff.

Inspection team

  • Caroline Dearden, Lead inspector   Additional Inspector
  • Marian Prior  Additional Inspector
  • Christopher Doel   Additional Inspector
  • Michele Chilcott    Additional Inspector
  • Muriel Ann Cusack    Additional Inspector

Full report

Information about this school

  • Churchill Academy is larger than the average-sized secondary school. It has a sixth form.

  • The school converted to become an academy school in August 2011. When the predecessor school, Churchill Community Foundation School and Sixth Form Centre, was last inspected by Ofsted in May 2010, its overall effectiveness was judged to be good.

  • The majority of students are of White British heritage.

  • The proportion of disabled students and those who have special educational needs is above average.

  • The proportion of students supported by the pupil premium is below average. The pupil premium is additional government funding for disadvantaged students who are known to be eligible for free school meals or who are looked after by the local authority.

  • A small number of students attend alternative education off site at Weston College and Cannington College.

  • The academy meets the government's current floor standards which set the minimum expectations for students' attainment and progress in English and mathematics by the end of Year 11.

What does the school need to do to improve further?

Inspection judgements

The leadership and management        are outstanding

  • The headteacher's vision for the academy to provide the highest standards of education for all students is fully shared by staff and governors. Standards for students at both GCSE and A level have been above the national average since the academy opened.

  • Senior leaders are highly effective. They undertake thorough and accurate checks on the work of the academy, together with the headteacher and governors. These ensure that they carry out measures to tackle the identified areas for development quickly and meticulously. Teaching and educational opportunities for students are, therefore, of the highest quality and students' behaviour is outstanding.

  • Senior leaders have taken highly effective action to develop middle leaders' skills and determination so that they can hold staff to account robustly and insist on excellent provision for all students. Faculty leaders commented that ‘a clear shift has taken place from senior leaders directing middle leaders, to middle leaders being a force for change within the academy'.

  • Middle leaders work together as a team exceptionally well. They anticipate where further improvements are necessary; they develop and consistently carry out policies which ensure that the academy sustains outstanding outcomes for students.

  • The academy's systems for tracking students' progress are exemplary and enable leaders to hold teachers fully to account for students' achievement. All staff have been trained to use the information to identify any students who are underachieving and to provide additional support quickly to help them catch up.

  • The leadership of teaching is outstanding. Senior leaders, middle leaders and governors regularly check the quality of teaching; training is expertly matched to both the academy's identified areas for improvement and teachers' individual development needs.

  • The access coordinator provides outstanding leadership of the academy's use of the pupil premium to ensure that all disadvantaged and vulnerable students receive the care, support and guidance they need to be successful learners. This is just part of the academy's work to ensure equality of opportunity for all students. Highly effective use of the pupil premium has resulted in the closure of the gap in attainment between disadvantaged students and others in the academy.

  • The curriculum underpins the work of the academy to promote equality of opportunity. It has been expertly designed to include subjects which motivate and inspire students to achieve their best. Students benefit from exemplary careers advice so that they all can make appropriate academic or work-related choices. This means that students are very well prepared for their next steps and the number not in education, training or employment when they leave the academy is very small.

  • The opportunities for students to be involved in additional enrichment activities include the annual activities week for students in Years 7, 8 and 9, work experience for students in Year 10, sporting and cultural events. These activities help students to develop their social, teamwork and leadership skills very well. Financial assistance and provision of a ‘late bus' mean that those who would find it difficult to attend these activities are effectively supported to participate in all aspects of academy life.

  • The strong relationships and frequent communication between the school and alternative education providers enable leaders to ensure that the progress, behaviour and attendance of students attending part of their education off site are at least as good as others in the school.

  • The academy commissions support from an external school improvement consultant. The advice provided is used very well by academy leaders to check the impact of the academy's work to sustain excellent standards of teaching, achievement and students' behaviour.

  • Relationships between the academy and parents are highly positive, especially for students whose circumstances make them vulnerable. The vast majority of parents would recommend the academy to other parents.

  • The promotion of students' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is exceptionally strong. Students benefit from a broad range of opportunities to learn about British values such as democracy, equality, the rule of law, and diversity. This means that they are welcoming of difference and that discrimination is not tolerated. Students are well prepared for life in modern Britain.

  • Safeguarding is a high priority for the academy and all safeguarding requirements are met. All staff receive frequent safeguarding training.

  • The governance of the school:

  • - Governance is outstanding. Governors have a broad range of professional skills and expertise which they use meticulously to check the work of the academy and to hold leaders to account for the quality of teaching and the achievement of students. As a result, outcomes for students have been above the national average since the academy opened.
  • - A specifically trained group of governors reviews teachers' performance. The se governors ensure that the evidence provided by the headteacher in relation to pay recommendations is robust, accurate and fair. This means that salary increases are only awarded when the quality of teaching is strong enough to secure good outcomes for students. Governors know how the school would deal with any underperformance and have supported the headteacher to make difficult staffing decisions when the quality of teaching has not been good enough.

  • - Leaders provide governors with detailed reports about students' achievement. Governors have received training which enables them to scrutinise the data and to have an expert understanding of how well students are progressing. They are able to compare the academy's performance with that of other schools accurately. Governors have a very good understanding of how the pupil premium is spent and its impact on the achievement of disadvantaged students.

  • - Governors are fully involved in the academy's evaluation of its own work. They hold meetings with staff and use their views to identify areas for further development. Governors also undertake frequent visits to the academy to monitor the impact of teaching on students' achievement and to observe learning in the classroom.

  • - Governors oversee the academy's financial resources very well. Falling numbers of secondary school age students in the local area, and the change to sixth form funding, have placed financial pressure on the academy. Governors sensitively and effectively supported the headteacher to make the staff changes necessary to avoid a financial deficit.

The behaviour and safety of pupils            are outstanding

Behaviour

  • The behaviour of students is outstanding. The highly inclusive culture of the academy is characterised by the exceptionally strong support and guidance offered to all students. Students know that staff care about them and want them to achieve their best.

  • The house system is valued by students. They appreciate the impact of mixed-aged tutor groups on providing opportunities for older students to help, support and act as positive role models for younger students. The house system also helps to promote highly positive relationships, based on mutual respect, between all members of the academy community.

  • Students show excellent behaviour in lessons. They arrive punctually, despite the considerable distance between different areas of the academy site. Students settle quickly to learning and are keen to engage in the activities teachers plan for them. They have a thirst for knowledge and routinely question their teachers and classmates to enrich their understanding. These qualities exemplify students' highly positive attitudes towards learning.

  • Students are proud of their academy, as shown by their welcoming behaviour towards visitors, their neat and tidy appearance, the high quality of their written work and the lack of litter and complete absence of graffiti around the site.

  • Around the academy, in lessons and at social times, students mix in socially and culturally diverse groups. They are exceptionally polite and courteous towards each other and towards staff.

  • Bullying of any kind is extremely rare, as are racist or homophobic behaviours. Students know who to go to for help if they need it and any incident of inappropriate or hurtful behaviour is quickly and appropriately dealt with by staff.

  • Systems for tracking students' attendance are rigorously implemented and any absence is quickly followed up. As a result, students' attendance, including that of those following alternative provision off site, is higher than average. Exclusions are very rare.

Safety

  • The academy's work to keep students safe and secure is outstanding. Leaders, including governors, have undertaken safer recruitment training to help them only employ people who would be suitable to work with children.

  • Leaders, including governors, conduct regular inspections of the academy site to ensure that it is a safe place in which to work and learn.

  • Students feel very safe when in the academy and when attending enrichment activities off site and out of lessons. This view is endorsed by almost all parents and staff. Risk assessments for all trips, visits and offsite provision are detailed and meticulously implemented.

  • All staff receive regular and detailed child protection training. Key personnel have received specialist training to enable them to identify the signs of child sexual exploitation, enforced marriage, female genital mutilation, domestic abuse, extremism and radicalisation. As a result, the academy has highly effective procedures to ensure that any student at potential risk of harm is swiftly identified and appropriately safeguarded. This includes the commissioning of support from external agencies where necessary.

  • Students have an excellent understanding of how to keep themselves safe in a range of situations, including use of the internet and social media. They are confident that they would be able to recognise potential grooming or sexting; they understand the risks associated with sexual activity and the consequences of substance misuse.

  • Students attending part of their education off site are kept very safe because school leaders are in regular contact with providers.

The quality of teaching                        is outstanding

  • Teachers have very strong subject knowledge which they use to question students skilfully during lessons. This enables students to make links between different aspects of the subject and to put right any misunderstandings. Teachers' questioning also challenges students to think deeply about what they are learning and to consider alternative views or solutions to problems. For example, as a result of searching questioning, in a Year 9 science lesson, students were able to debate the financial implications of developing new antibiotics.

  • Teachers know their students well. They understand individual students' needs and are able to put in place effective support to address any underachievement. Lessons are planned to include a variety of activities, which means that students undertake work at the right level. Learning activities also promote interest in the subject and motivate students to achieve very well. For example, in a Year 10 textiles lesson, students independently selected and rejected materials appropriately to develop and enhance their practical work.

  • Teaching assistants make a valuable contribution towards learning in the classroom. They have the skills to support students academically and to challenge them to think about what they are learning and to work things out for themselves.

  • Teachers have high expectations of students. This is shown by the way in which they support students to reach the challenging targets set for their achievement.

  • Students are expected to read widely across the full range of subjects and this helps them to gain very good academic understanding and to develop their confident, and accurate, use of subject-specific terminology. Students are taught to enjoy reading for pleasure during tutor time and the regular ‘drop everything and read' sessions.

  • The teaching of literacy, reading and mathematics across the academy is well developed. Students are very well prepared for their examinations; they are able to use statistical information to back up their ideas and also write at length and in detail. For example, work in Year 7 and Year 9 students' English folders shows that the students all apply a wide range of linguistic and literary techniques to produce work of a very high GCSE standard.

  • Teachers' verbal feedback to students is excellent and clearly helps them to improve and extend their work.

  • Teachers' marking indicates where students have made errors and shows them how to make corrections. However, not all teachers' marking consistently identifies the next steps in students' learning. Not all teachers provide opportunities for students to act upon the advice given. This means that, in a minority of cases, students' work is not as well presented or detailed as it could be.

    The achievement of pupils   is outstanding

  • The proportion of students attaining five or more GCSE grades at A* to C, including English and mathematics, has been significantly above the national average since the academy opened. The proportion attaining grade C or above in English and in mathematics has also been above average for the same period. In 2014, the proportion of students who subsequently made more than the expected progress in English and mathematics was above the national level.

  • Disabled students and those who have special educational needs make excellent progress from their individual starting points. This is because their needs are accurately identified and they benefit from exceptionally well-planned and sharply-focused support from highly skilled staff.

  • The most able students achieve very well. In 2014, the proportion achieving GCSE grades A* to C in all subjects was much higher than the national average for most able students. Almost all made more than the expected progress in both English and mathematics. Information provided by the academy shows the achievement of the most able students currently on roll to be similarly high.

  • In 2014, disadvantaged students did not attain quite as well at GCSE as others in the school. On average, they were one third of a grade behind in English and mathematics. Compared to other students nationally, students in this group were one third of a grade ahead in English and one third of a grade behind in mathematics.

  • Disadvantaged students currently on roll are making outstanding progress because they receive carefully-targeted support to address any academic, emotional, physical or welfare-related issues they may be facing. In all year groups the achievement of disadvantaged students is at least as good as others in the school. The gap between their attainment and that of the others has been closed.

  • The Year 7 catch-up funding is used very well to enable students joining the school with low levels of literacy and numeracy to make rapid progress. All these students make at least one level of progress in English and mathematics by the end of Year 7.

  • Those students who receive part of their education off site make the same outstanding progress as their peers. This is because their courses are very well matched to their needs, talents and future career choices.

  • In 2014, a small number of students were entered early for their GCSE examinations in mathematics. This did not limit the potential of the most able, as all achieved grades A* or A.

    The sixth form provision    is outstanding

  • The leadership of the sixth form is outstanding. Leaders routinely use the information about students' progress and achievement to evaluate the quality of the provision and to make sure that the range of subjects on offer meets the needs, aspirations and talents of all students. Consequently, retention from Year 11 into the sixth form and from Year 12 into Year 13 is very high.

  • The systems for tracking students' achievement in the sixth form are the same as those used in the main school. This means that teachers are adept at recognising quickly any underachievement and acting effectively to tackle it. As a result, in 2014, students made outstanding progress at both AS and A level. Academy data and students' work seen by inspectors suggest that outcomes for both qualifications will be at least as good in 2015.

  • Teaching in the sixth form is outstanding. Teachers have expert subject knowledge, which they use to challenge students and to support them to reach the very high targets set for their academic achievement. For example, Year 12 and Year 13 students' mathematical work showed that students developed fully reasoned responses, based on evidence, to very challenging and academically demanding problems.

  • The information, guidance and careers advice provided for students are exceptional. Governors and other professionals act as specialist sixth form tutors. They support students to make appropriate choices for their futures, including for academic higher education, for the development of work-related skills or for employment. These tutors also help students to prepare for life as young adults living away from home or independently for the first time.

  • Sixth form students enjoy being members of the academy. Their attendance is very high and all feel exceptionally safe and well cared for.

  • Sixth form students are excellent role models for younger students because of their exemplary behaviour and the way in which they are integrated into academy events. They also act as mentors for students whose circumstances make them vulnerable; this includes students who would find the transition from primary to secondary school difficult to manage.

What inspection judgements mean

School   Grade   Grade 1

Judgement   Outstanding

Description

An outstanding school is highly effective in delivering outcomes that provide exceptionally well for all its pupils' needs. This ensures that pupils are very well equipped for the next stage of their education, training or employment.

School   Grade   Grade 2

Judgement      Good

Description

A good school is effective in delivering outcomes that provide well for all its pupils' needs. Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education, training or employment.

School   Grade   Grade 3

Judgement     Requires improvement

Description

A school that requires improvement is not yet a good school, but it is not inadequate. This school will receive a full inspection within 24 months from the date of this inspection.

School   Grade   Grade 4

Judgement    Inadequate

Description

A school that has serious weaknesses is inadequate overall and requires significant improvement but leadership and management are judged to be Grade 3 or better. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors.

A school that requires special measures is one where the school is failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the school's leaders, managers or governors have not demonstrated that they have the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors.

School details

Unique reference number   137000

Local authority   North Somerset

Inspection number   448700

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

Type of school   Secondary

School category   Academy converter

Age range of pupils   11-18

Gender of pupils   Mixed

Gender of pupils in the sixth form   Mixed

Number of pupils on the school roll   1,474

Of which, number on roll in sixth form   330

Appropriate authority    The governing body

Chair   Ian Poole

Headteacher   Barry Wratten

Date of previous school inspection   Not previously inspected as an academy

Telephone number   01934 852771

Fax number   01934 853202

Email address   churchill@churchill-academy.org

Any complaints about the inspection or the report should be made following the procedures set out in the guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted's website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk.

You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child's school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when and as part of the inspection.

You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk, or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) regulates and inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children's services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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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