Guiseley School
Fieldhead Road
Guiseley
Leeds
West Yorkshire
LS20 8DT
Head: Mr Paul Clayton
T 01943 872315
F 01943 872287
A state school for boys and girls aged from 11 to 18.
Boarding: No
Local authority: Leeds
Pupils: 1365
Religion: Does not apply
School report
Fieldhead Road, Guiseley, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS20 8DT
Inspection dates 6-7 November 2013
Overall effectiveness
Previous inspection: Good 2
This inspection: Good 2
Achievement of pupils Good 2
Quality of teaching Good 2
Behaviour and safety of pupils Outstanding 1
Leadership and management Outstanding 1
■ Students achieve well and make at least good progress from their starting points across all key stages in the vast majority of subjects. The percentage of students attaining five or more GCSE A* to C grades, including English and mathematics, has been consistently above the national average and rose further in 2013.
■ All groups of students, including those who receive pupil premium funding, disabled students and those with special educational needs, make at least good progress. Gaps in attainment between different groups of students are narrow and closing further.
■ The leadership of the headteacher, senior leaders, subject leaders and governors is outstanding. They are relentlessly ambitious for their students to be successful, both academically and personally. As a result of their hard work, good achievement and good quality teaching have been maintained and several features of the school are outstanding. There is not a shred of complacency to be found.
■ Behaviour and safety are outstanding. Relationships are good-humoured and students show their maturity in the respect they show for one another and the pride they have in their school. Students have very positive attitudes to learning. They have a thirst for knowledge that is quenched regularly by the good and improving quality teaching they receive. The well-matched curriculum also caters for their needs and aspirations exceptionally well.
■ Students' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and their physical well-being are supported very effectively. This contributes greatly to their success within a highly cohesive learning community that is becoming increasingly a ‘thinking school'.
■ Inspectors observed 52 part-lessons, some of which were joint observations with members of the senior leadership team. They also visited a number of tutorial sessions.
■ Meetings were held with three student groups including a sixth-form group, school leaders and staff, and representatives of the governing body and local authority. The lead inspector also held a telephone conversation with a parent.
■ Inspectors discussed lessons they had seen with teaching staff. They observed the school's work and attended an assembly. They scrutinised students' work, progress data, evaluation and development documents, information about how the school cares for and protects students and staff, and records related to behaviour and attendance.
■ The inspection took account of 93 responses to the online (Parent View) survey submitted prior to and during the inspection, together with questionnaires completed by 53 staff.
■ Guiseley School is a larger than average-sized 11 to 18 secondary school.
■ The proportion of students eligible for the pupil premium, which provides additional funding for specific groups, including looked after children, students known to be eligible for free school meals and children of service families, is much lower than average.
■ The proportion of disabled students and those with special educational needs supported through school action is also low, as is the proportion of students supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs.
■ Most students are of White British heritage.
■ The number of students who join or leave the school part way through their education is much lower than the national average.
■ The proportions of students from minority ethnic groups and those that speak English as an additional language are below national averages.
■ A very small number of Key Stage 4 students receive part of their education off-site at Meanwood Valley Farm, Hunslett Boys' and Girls' Club and Leeds City College.
■ The school exceeds the government's current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for students' attainment and progress.
■ Standards have risen since the previous inspection. All students, including disabled students and those with special educational needs, achieve well and make good progress in their learning from their starting points on entry to the school. By the end of Year 11, the attainment of all groups is well above national figures. The proportion gaining the highest GCSE A* and A grades is high, which reflects the good and often outstanding progress made by the more-able students. In 2013, over a third of students gained these highest grades.
■ The proportions of students meeting and exceeding the nationally expected rates of progress in English and mathematics are consistently above national figures for nearly all groups of students. Students entering the school with very high attainment do particularly well. However, a proportion of students who enter the school with broadly average attainment does not always do as well as their classmates but still make good progress. This was confirmed by lesson observations and scrutiny of work.
■ Pupil premium funding is used effectively to help those known to be eligible for this funding to catch up with their learning. At the end of Year 11, the gap between the attainment in English and in mathematics of students eligible for free school meals and others is less than one grade and is closing year on year.
■ Because students join the school with above-average literacy and numeracy levels, only a few are eligible for the Year 7 and 8 catch-up funding. Leaders carefully monitor students' literacy levels on entry, and students' higher-order literacy skills such as evaluation and empathy, along with their oracy skills, develop very well. Students' reading skills continue to grow throughout their time in school as they read a wide range of books. Students are very articulate and keen to express their views and opinions.
■ The school is continuing to enter the vast majority of students early for English GCSEs and mathematics because they rightly evaluate that it is in the best interest of their students. This is justified by the high success rates and that students, including those more-able, achieve to their potential. Take-up for sixth form courses is high.
■ The good quality of teaching combined with students' excellent attitudes to learning contribute to students' good levels of progress and outcomes in examinations across a wide range of subjects. Their spiritual, moral, social and cultural awareness is extremely well developed. Consequently, students are highly confident and very well-prepared for further study, training or employment beyond school. The school promotes and checks that all students have equal opportunity to do well.
■ Students build well on their GCSE success and their attainment in the sixth form is above average; the proportion gaining the higher A* to B grades at A-Level, AS-Level A to B grades and the average point scores are above average and show a rising trend since the previous inspection.
■ Students make good progress and attain very well because of the good and occasionally outstanding quality of teaching they receive over their time in school. Although the quality of teaching has improved since the previous inspection, and none is inadequate, there remains a small proportion that requires improvement.
■ Teachers have very high expectations and use their secure subject knowledge to plan lessons which are intellectually challenging and academically robust for the students. Teachers are supported effectively by additional adults. In the majority of lessons, the pace of learning is brisk and students' attitudes to learning are exceptional. Relationships between students and staff are excellent and result in highly focused learning in most lessons.
■ In the best lessons, teachers are passionate about the subject and this shines through in the way in which they present a variety of tasks for students to complete. Teachers skilfully question and challenge students at a brisk pace in order to deepen students' understanding and accelerate their learning. Students are encouraged to be active participants and develop their understanding by collaborating with each other, as well as working independently when required. In these lessons, teachers intervene promptly to ensure that students understand clearly what they need to do in order to improve their work and achieve their ambitious targets.
■ In the small number of less effective lessons, students are given insufficient opportunity to work things out for themselves. In these lessons, the pace of learning and level of challenge suffer and students do not make as much progress as they are capable of. This occasionally occurs when teachers spend too much time explaining things which students already understand.
■ The vast majority of students want to be challenged in the lessons and in most cases they are. However, on a few occasions, teachers do not plan lessons that meet the needs of all students in the class. Consequently, in these lessons, some students find the work too easy while others find it beyond them. Students say that in these lessons they do not make as much progress.
■ The quality of marking is mostly good but not as consistent as leaders would like it to be. Some marking is of a very high quality and ensures that students know exactly what they need to do to improve. For example, in a Year 11 physics lesson students responded to the teacher's marking by refining their answers and redrafting their work to incorporate the key points for improvement. As a result of these personalised targets, all students made rapid and sustained progress. Many teachers encourage students to take responsibility by involving them in selfassessment of their own work. A small number of teachers focus more on congratulating students for completing work rather than helping them improve. On occasions, students are told to complete work but this is not then checked by the teacher.
■ The quality of teaching in the sixth form is of a similar standard to that in the main school and results in students achieving well over time. Teachers have excellent subject knowledge and make sure that students discuss their work regularly so they become independent, critical learners.
■ The adults of Guiseley School say that they are privileged to work with such excellently behaved and delightful students. Staff, parents and students are overwhelmingly positive about both behaviour and safety in the school. Students behave exceptionally well towards one another and towards staff and other adults. They are polite, respectful and highly considerate. The school's strong ethos and values of giving respect in order to get respect underpin this.
■ Students' exemplary attitudes to learning are of an equally high standard across all subjects. They concentrate exceptionally well in lessons and try to do their very best at all times. The vast majority displays a genuine love of learning, taking the initiative and questioning maturely when there is something that they do not understand. A great strength is in the way that students take responsibility for their own learning, working well both independently and collaboratively. The outcome of this can be seen in their well-presented work and their determination to succeed. In approximately 95% of the lessons observed during the inspection, behaviour was judged to be good or better with 40% of lessons having outstanding behaviour.
■ There is a very small, but challenging, cohort of boys who are prone to behave less well than others. The school manages this minority exceptionally well. Consequently, the impact of this small number of students on the overall exemplary behaviour is minimal. Students say that their learning is rarely disrupted by others misbehaving.
■ Attendance is above the national average and is consistently so for all groups of students.
■ Students feel exceptionally safe in school. They have total confidence in the ability of adults to keep them safe. They are aware of bullying in all its aspects, and say that incidents are rare but if they do occur they are dealt with very effectively by the school. Detentions and exclusions are declining in number as the school's promotion of its values and beliefs creates a stronger school community. Staff know students as individuals and genuinely care for their well-being.
■ The headteacher drives school improvement with a relentless commitment and consistently reinforces the school's high expectations. He makes his presence known around the school and students say that he is always there, regularly popping up when least expected. He leads by example and has galvanised a team of high quality professionals who work in unyielding unison to make sure the school continually improves. Consequently, leaders and managers, including governors, are ambitious for all students and determined to create a ‘thinking school'. Complacency is not an option in this school.
■ As a result of effective performance-management systems, underperformance is tackled robustly and support plans are effective. Consequently, leaders have eliminated inadequate teaching. Teachers are keen to improve and the school focuses very effectively on developing them as professionals. Targets for teachers are related to students' achievement and linked closely to school priorities. The impact of these initiatives can be seen in the way that outcomes have improved since the previous inspection.
■ The school's checks on how well it is doing are rigorous and accurate. Leaders ensure that accountability is at the heart of everything that leaders do. In the joint lesson observations undertaken, school staff and inspectors agreed on every judgement. The school's evaluation of the quality of teaching accurately judges it to be good with some that is outstanding. The match of the school's evaluation of the quality of teaching and that of the inspectors was spot on.
■ The school manages its curriculum very effectively. There is a great continuity in the students' education with a clear expectation that students join the school to follow a seven-year programme, reflected well in the good progress they make through their school life. Courses are matched extremely well to the needs of students and they thrive on the wide range of social and cultural opportunities on offer. Students' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is promoted exceptionally well. There is a strong sense of social awareness that is generated by the school's mission to challenge and support everybody to think deeply and understand the bigger picture by getting involved in contributing to activities within and outside the school. The school's aim, to become a ‘thinking school', as a result of an area for improvement from the previous inspection, is seen in the broad curriculum matching students' needs and aspirations.
■ Leaders check thoroughly that courses are suitable and successful, including the provision of offsite education for the small number of students that access this. The nurture group is particularly effective in easing students into school life. One parent commented that her son has, 'really flourished' both academically and emotionally as a result of his time in the nurture group.
■ Leadership of the sixth form is effective and ensures that students achieve well.
■ The overwhelming majority of parents that responded to the Ofsted Parent View, is very pleased with the school. This was also backed up by the views of the staff that returned questionnaires.
■ The school maintains strong links with the local authority. It receives good quality support in relation to validating the accuracy of the school's data. The local authority regards the school as a ‘light touch' school. Consequently, the support required and provided is minimal.
■ The governance of the school:
- The governing body is well informed and supports and challenges leaders in equal measure. They ensure that they are well informed about how well the school is doing. Governors are very aware of how well students achieve compared to the national picture and about any particular differences between the performance of different subjects.
- Some governors visit regularly so they have a secure, first-hand knowledge of the work of the school, including the quality of teaching. They challenge the headteacher over what is being done to ensure that standards rise.
- Governors ensure the financial integrity of the school and check that salaries are linked to teachers' performance-management targets. They make evaluative judgements on whether or not a teacher should progress up the pay scale. They also ensure that the pupil premium funding is used to identify and meet the needs of individuals.
- Governors meet their responsibility in ensuring that safeguarding meets requirements.
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.
Unique reference number 108085
Local authority Leeds
Inspection number 429497
This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.
Type of school Secondary
School category Community
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 1,301
Of which, number on roll in sixth form 230
Appropriate authority The governing body
Chair Shirley Parks
Headteacher Paul Morrissey
Date of previous school inspection 18 May 2009
Telephone number 01943 872315
Fax number 01943 872287
Email address morrisp03@guiseleyschool.org.uk
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