Dronfield Henry Fanshawe School
Green Lane
Dronfield
Derbyshire
S18 2FZ

Head: Miss Teresa Roche

T 01246 412372

F 01246 412885

E enquiries@dronfie….derbyshire.sch.uk

W www.dronfield.…rbyshire.sch.uk

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

Boarding: No

Local authority: Derbyshire

Pupils: 1777

Religion: None

Dronfield Henry Fanshawe School

Green Lane, Dronfield, Derbyshire S18 2FZ

Inspection dates	17-18 November 2015
Overall effectiveness	Outstanding
Effectiveness of leadership and management	Outstanding
Quality of teaching, learning and assessment	Outstanding
Personal development, behaviour and welfare	Outstanding
Outcomes for pupils	Outstanding
16 to 19 study programmes	Outstanding
Overall effectiveness at previous inspection	Requires improvement

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is an outstanding school

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

■ Share more widely with all staff the outstanding teaching practice that is common at the school so that:

• -  all teachers use the skills of effectively questioning pupils so that they have to think deeply about their learning and are always challenged to improve

• -  pupils have more opportunities to further develop their existing skills of reflecting on their learning to enable them to make even more rapid progress.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management is outstanding

• ■ The headteacher is a quite exceptional and inspirational leader. She has created a school where the values of care, compassion, tolerance and respect flourish alongside those of high aspirations and expectations of success for all. Every pupil is known as an individual and relationships between all the people in the school are outstanding.

• ■ The headteacher models, at all times, the valuing of every member of staff and every pupil and this permeates down through the senior leadership team to all members of staff and pupils. Parents cannot speak highly enough of her leadership. Comments from staff included: ‘The headteacher's communication skills are phenomenal' and ‘The pupils are hard-working, focused and aspirational, which is filtered down from the top'.

• ■ The headteacher and the senior leadership team have clarity of vision and know exactly where improvements need to be made. This is informed by outstanding use of performance management information. Every detail of pupil and staff performance is analysed on a regular basis to ensure that nothing is left to chance and, where interventions are needed to secure improved outcomes for pupils, they happen swiftly and effectively.

• ■ The leadership of subjects is outstanding. Leaders have successfully improved outcomes through well-informed use of information about pupils' progress and ensuring that all teachers are held to account for the outcomes of the pupils that they teach.

• ■ The leadership of teaching and learning is outstanding and is at the heart of the rapid improvements that have been and continue to be made in all aspects of the school. Teachers receive high-quality training and development appropriate to the stage of their careers and their identified needs. Teaching is monitored regularly, good practice identified and any concerns quickly addressed. Performance management systems are rigorous.

• ■ Staff appreciate the excellent training and support that they receive to enable them to improve their teaching. There is very well-planned and well-structured support for teachers new to the profession.

• ■ Pupil premium funding and Year 7 catch-up funding (additional funding to help low-attaining pupils catch their peers up) have been used extremely successfully. As a result, disadvantaged pupils make better progress in English and mathematics than their peers nationally. The school has had considerable success in accelerating progress for Year 7 pupils eligible for catch-up money through extra lessons and resources.

• ■ The curriculum is outstanding and offers a vast range of opportunities for pupils to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills in all aspects of their education. Senior leaders constantly review the curriculum to ensure that it is meeting pupils' needs, local needs and statutory expectations.

• ■ There are numerous opportunities for pupils to take part in activities at lunchtime and after school. These opportunities provide strong support for pupils' learning in other subjects and make a positive contribution to pupils' outstanding personal development and welfare.

• ■ Outstanding links exist with primary schools to make sure that pupils have a smooth transition to the school in Year 7. One parent wrote that she had witnessed her child, ‘who was doubtful of his own abilities grow into a confident, articulate and mature young man' during his first year at the school.

• ■ The outstanding provision for pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, including the promotion of British values, is pivotal to the ethos of the school. Pupils have a very good understanding of the cultural influences that have shaped their own heritage. There is a volunteering programme at the school and this has high levels of participation. There are numerous opportunities in and out of lessons for pupils to develop spiritually and morally. This is a happy, cohesive, supportive and outward-looking school where children flourish.

• ■ The school's open culture and promotion of the values of tolerance and respect run through everything that happens. It is recognised and articulated by pupils. Pupils know that any derogatory remarks or discriminatory behaviour would not be tolerated. The school recognises the need to protect pupils from extremism and radicalisation and has put a programme of training in place for staff so that they are aware of their duties related to this.

■ The governance of the school

• —  The governance of the school is outstanding. Governors know the school extremely well and articulate clearly the strengths of the school as well as areas that could be improved.

• —  Governors show exceptionally good understanding of information about the overall performance of pupils and staff and use this to determine which areas of school improvement they will particularly focus on each year.

• —  Members of the governing body have a wide range of skills, expertise and experience. They make sure that their strengths are used to challenge and support effectively the headteacher and senior leaders so that the school continues to move forward.

• —   Governors are frequent visitors to the school and attend a number of meetings as a group, in committees and with staff at the school at which they hold senior leaders to account for the impact of their work.

• —  Financial management is sound and governors monitor the spending of pupil premium and Year 7 catch-up money rigorously so that they are clear that it is being spent effectively and is having a positive impact on pupil outcomes.

• —   Governors ensure that they carry out all their statutory duties, including those related to safeguarding. They have robust systems in place to ensure that no members of staff are rewarded for poor performance.

• ■ The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. School leaders ensure that they have extensive policies and procedures in place to keep pupils safe. Staff are trained regularly and detailed records are kept. Excellent communications with parents, especially through the school's website, ensure that they are kept fully informed and advised on all matters related to safeguarding.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is outstanding

• ■ Teachers have very high expectations of the pupils in their classes. They know them extremely well and know how well each of them is doing in their subject and whether or not they are on track to achieve their challenging targets. Teachers plan their lessons so that activities challenge pupils of all abilities to make outstanding progress in a wide range of subjects.

• ■ Teachers have additional time allocated each week to enable them to pay particular attention to meeting the needs of disadvantaged pupils so that they can help them to make outstanding progress. This is effective in ensuring that they make outstanding progress in a range of subjects.

• ■ Pupils love the challenge of learning. They ask searching questions of their teachers and are very keen to deepen their knowledge, skills and understanding so that they make outstanding progress across a range of subjects.

• ■ Teachers show excellent subject knowledge and offer very precise advice to pupils about how to improve their work. They are very skilled at checking regularly on pupils' learning during lessons and intervene quickly to address any misconceptions. This ensures that each pupil has grasped the concepts and content that they need to in their lessons. Pupils respond with eagerness to advice from their teachers and make outstanding progress as a result.

• ■ Teachers are highly skilled at developing pupils' reading, writing and communication skills as well as their skills in mathematics across a range of subjects. Some excellent examples of extended writing were seen in the humanities subjects.

• ■ Teachers expect pupils to present their work neatly and pupils take obvious pride in the work in their books and folders and in the homework that they do.

• ■ The school has a very clear homework policy which contains explicit guidance on how and why teachers should set homework and how much homework should be set for each year group. This is followed by all teachers and homework is set and marked regularly. Pupils are very clear about the expectations to complete homework and know that it is helping them to increase their progress in a range of subjects.

• ■ Teaching and learning make a strong contribution to pupils' personal development. Pupils are encouraged to work on their own and in groups and to offer support to each other in their learning. They universally respond well to everything that they are asked to do by their teachers, which is helping to ensure that they make outstanding progress in their learning. For example, when challenged to develop a character in a drama lesson, pupils performed scenes with real passion, intensity and creativity showing total focus on their learning.

• ■ Parents receive frequent valuable information about their child's progress, attitudes, well-being and contribution to the school. This makes a positive contribution to their outstanding progress.

• ■ Nearly all teachers are highly skilled at questioning pupils to ensure that they fully understand what they are learning. They give them time to think about their answers and improve them which means that they are making rapid progress. There are a very few teachers who are not as skilled in asking searching questions and pupils do not always respond in detail showing a depth of understanding.

• ■ Pupils' work is marked and assessed regularly according to the school's policy and expectations. Pupils are given helpful advice on how they can improve their work and make even better progress. Pupils are given opportunities to reflect on this advice and respond. Nearly all teachers expect extended responses to their feedback and pupils in their classes respond very well to this. A very few teachers do not encourage lengthy reflections from pupils on their work and pupils do not always learn from their mistakes.

Personal development, behaviour and is outstanding welfare

Personal development and welfare

• ■ The school's work to promote pupils' personal development and welfare is outstanding.

• ■ Pupils report that they feel happy and safe at school and they articulate a real pride in their school.

• ■ Pupils have outstanding attitudes to learning. The school is calm and pupils concentrate at length and work purposefully in their lessons. They are keen and eager to make progress, actively engage with all learning activities and show great resilience when they make mistakes. Pupils are universally supportive of each other in their lessons and around the school and co-operate fully with adults at all times.

• ■ Pupils report that bullying at the school is not a concern but they are confident that if there were any bullying, it would be dealt with quickly and effectively.

• ■ Pupils are highly respectful and tolerant of each other and the staff at the school. They know that derogatory comments are not acceptable and would not be tolerated. No examples of any disrespectful or inappropriate comments were heard during the inspection.

• ■ Pupils talk with pride about the ‘open culture' at the school where pupils can be who they are.

• ■ Staff work extremely hard to make sure that exclusions are as low as possible and these have reduced year on year. They think very creatively about solutions for those pupils at risk of exclusion and offer high levels of support and alternative lessons and placements for them.

• ■ The curriculum includes programmes to teach pupils about potential risks to them, for example when using the internet, and how to keep themselves safe and healthy. Pupils show a very good awareness of safety and are confident that they know what to do and who to tell if they or someone they know is at risk in any way.

• ■ Pupils receive outstanding careers advice. They are supported extensively to make informed choices about their futures and which courses will suit their academic needs and aspirations. This means that they are prepared exceptionally well for the next stage in their education, employment or training.

Behaviour

• ■ The behaviour of pupils is outstanding.

• ■ Pupils' behaviour in lessons and around the school is exemplary at all times. They show consideration for others and co-operate exceptionally well with each other and with staff, showing great respect, good manners and self-discipline. They are unfailingly helpful and polite.

• ■ Pupils respond well to the school's high expectations and value all that is provided for them. They respect their surroundings and there is no litter around the school or grounds. Pupils are eager to talk about their school and wear their uniform with immense pride.

• ■ Attendance is above the national average. The attendance of disadvantaged pupils and pupils with disabilities and those with special educational needs is improving rapidly. Pupils thoroughly enjoy coming to school and speak warmly of all the opportunities that the school offers them.

• ■ Pupils who attend alternative provision for part or all of their week benefit from programmes and courses that are well suited to their individual needs and interests. As a result, their attendance is good.

• ■ Pupils are always punctual to school and to lessons.

Outcomes for pupils                        are outstanding

• ■ Pupils of all abilities make outstanding progress in a range of subjects and in all year groups and this can be seen in the work in their books. They are keen and eager to learn and respond very well to the challenge of learning. Where progress in a very few subjects has lagged behind that in other subjects, senior leaders have taken swift and decisive action to improve outcomes with demonstrable positive impact.

• ■ Pupils achieved outstanding results in GCSE English and mathematics in 2015. The proportions of pupils making expected and better than expected progress in both subjects were higher than the national averages and represent outstanding outcomes. This was the case for pupils from a range of different starting points and followed a three-year trend of improvement.

• ■ The proportions of disadvantaged pupils making expected and better than expected progress in English and mathematics in 2015 were also higher than the national average. Disadvantaged pupils do better than similar pupils nationally and the gap between their achievement and the achievement of other pupils in the school is smaller than the gap nationally. This has been an improving trend over three years and represents outstanding progress for disadvantaged pupils.

• ■ Provisional GCSE results for 2015 show that attainment for all groups of pupils and pupils of all abilities is likely to be above the national average in nearly all subjects and has improved from the previous years. The proportion of pupils attaining the top grades is also the highest that the school has achieved.

• ■ Pupils with disabilities and those with special educational needs make outstanding progress from their individual starting points because of the excellent support that they receive, the rigorous tracking of their progress and the timely, highly personalised interventions to help them catch their peers up.

• ■ Year 7 catch-up money (additional funding to enable low-attaining pupils to catch their peers up) has been used very effectively. Extra classes in English and mathematics have been created to focus on developing pupils' skills in reading, literacy and numeracy. Pupils in receipt of this funding in the last academic year made outstanding progress, often from very low starting points and relative to their particular needs.

• ■ More able pupils are being challenged to achieve at the highest levels across a range of subjects. Increasing numbers are achieving top grades in their GCSE examinations and more are making better than expected progress compared with similar pupils nationally.

• ■ Pupils show excellent abilities to discuss their learning with their teachers and with each other. They are able to express clearly what they are learning and the progress they are making. This is helping to ensure that they make outstanding progress.

• ■ Pupils are keen and eager readers. They regularly borrow books from the library and can discuss what they have read with enthusiasm. They know that reading widely helps them to make outstanding progress.

• ■ For the last two years, every learner has moved on to appropriate education, employment or training at the end of Key Stage 4. This figure is better than the national average and is the result of outstanding careers guidance and the school's exceptional work to ensure that all pupils progress on to appropriate courses for them.

• ■ Pupils who attend alternative provision for all or part of their week are appropriately placed on courses or work-related learning. The package of support that they receive from the school in conjunction with that of the alternative providers mean that they are accessing appropriate qualifications. They are making outstanding progress relative to their starting points.

16 to 19 study programmes are outstanding

• ■ The 16-19 study programmes are outstanding because of the variety and range of opportunities on offer which lead to outcomes that are above the national average in nearly all subjects and are continuing to improve rapidly. Leaders pursue excellence and routinely and rigorously monitor standards in all subjects. They take swift actions to secure rapid improvements should it be necessary.

• ■ All learners take level three A-level courses and almost all progress to higher education when they leave. A wider curriculum offer is available at local colleges of further education. The school makes every effort to offer courses that learners wants to take, even if numbers are low. The numbers re-taking GCSEs in English and mathematics are very low.

• ■ Learners are confident, take their studies seriously and show outstanding attitudes to learning. They have high aspirations. They are supported by a highly committed staff team who provide them with excellent academic and independent careers advice as well as addressing their emotional and well-being needs.

• ■ Much of the teaching, learning and assessment is outstanding. Astute assessment procedures guide staff and learners and help learners to improve and make rapid progress. Teachers have excellent subject knowledge and set tasks that match learners' needs and abilities. Learners appreciate being challenged in their learning.

• ■ Learners speak warmly about the outstanding pastoral support and support for their academic progress that they receive. They recognise that they have access to high-quality experiences as part of the 16-19 study programmes.

• ■ Learners' conduct is exemplary. They are punctual, self-motivated and have excellent personal skills. They are outstanding role models in the school. The 16-19 study programmes are contributing to ensuring that learners leave the sixth form as confident, personable young people who can make a significant contribution to their community, wider society and Britain as a whole.

• ■ Learners feel safe and are kept safe.

• ■ Attendance is above the national average. Learners clearly enjoy their experiences and are extremely motivated to achieve highly. This contributes to their outstanding progress in a range of subjects.

• ■ The independent and impartial careers advice that learners receive is outstanding and is much appreciated by them. It is a strong contributory factor in the numbers of learners who move from Year 12 into Year 13, which is high. It also means that there were no learners who did not move into education, employment or training after they left the sixth form last year.

School details

Unique reference number 112969

Local authority Derbyshire

Inspection number 10001856

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

Type of school Secondary

School category Comprehensive/Voluntary controlled

Age range of pupils 11-19

Gender of pupils Mixed

Gender of pupils in 16 to 19 study programmes Mixed

Number of pupils on the school roll 1,779

Of which, number on roll in 16 to 19 study programmes 297

Appropriate authority The governing body

Chair Martin Brader

Headteacher Teresa Roche

Telephone number 01246 412372

Website www.dronfield.derbyshire.sch.uk

Email address headteacher@dronfield.derbyshire.sch.uk

Date of previous inspection 11—12 September 2013

Information about this school

• ■ Dronfield Henry Fanshawe School is a larger than average-sized secondary school.

• ■ The proportion of pupils supported by the pupil premium is lower than average. This is additional government funding for particular groups of pupils, including those known to be eligible for free school meals or in local authority care. These pupils are referred to as disadvantaged in this report.

• ■ The proportion of pupils with disabilities and those who have special educational needs supported by School Action is smaller than average. The proportion supported by School Action Plus or with a statement of special educational needs is also below average.

• ■ Nearly all of the pupils at the school are of white British origin.

• ■ A few learners in Years 9 to 11 access alternative provision through Chesterfield College for part or all of their week.

• ■ The school has a sixth form.

• ■ The school meets the government's floor standards, which set minimum expectations for pupils' attainment and progress.

Information about this inspection

• ■ Inspectors observed 50 lessons or parts of lessons and 12 of these were observed jointly with members of the senior leadership team. Inspectors also observed assembly time, mentor time, and break- and lunchtime.

• ■ Inspectors spoke to pupils from all year groups formally in meetings and informally at break- and lunchtime.

• ■ Several meetings were held with senior leaders, leaders responsible for subjects and teachers new to the profession. A telephone conversation was held with a representative of the local authority.

• ■ The lead inspector met with the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Governing Body and four additional governors.

• ■ Inspectors considered the results of an externally commissioned survey of the views of parents, staff and pupils. They looked at the results of the online survey, Parent View. They took account of emails and letters received by the school from parents as well as the online staff questionnaire and comments.

• ■ Inspectors took account of a complaint that had been received by Ofsted.

• ■ Inspectors observed the school's work and reviewed information about pupils' progress and attainment.

They looked at the school's improvement plan and its analysis of how well it is doing. They looked at the system of managing teacher performance and records of governing body meetings and a range of other policy documents, including those on the school's website. Inspectors considered the recent local authority review of the school.

• ■ Inspectors looked at samples of pupils' work across a range of subjects and year groups.

Inspection team

Ofsted Inspector Denise Newsome, lead inspector 

Any complaints about the inspection or the report should be made following the procedures set out in the guidance ‘Raising concerns and making a complaint about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted's website: www.gov.uk/government/publications/complaints-about-ofsted. 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.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted.

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, further education and skills, 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.

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk.

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