Rednock School

About the school

Rednock School

Kingshill Road

Dursley

Gloucestershire

GL11 4BY

Head: Mr David Alexander

T 01453 543618

F 01453 545 639

E admin@rednock.gloucs.sch.uk

W rednockschool.org.uk

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

Boarding: No

Local authority: Gloucestershire

Pupils: 1146

Religion: None

Ofsted report

Rednock School

Inspection dates 19-20 November 2014

Previous inspection:

Overall effectiveness Good

This inspection: Leadership and management Good

Behaviour and safety of pupils Good

Quality of teaching Good

Achievement of pupils Good

Sixth form provision Good

Requires improvement Requires improvement

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.

  • Leadership and management are good, driven by the enthusiasm and inspirational vision of the headteacher. He is supported by a committed senior leadership team who have helped drive the school's improvement.

  • The headteacher and his team are committed to the idea that every student matters and that it is crucial that they are given every support to succeed.

  • Governors are effective and ensure that the school is challenged as well as supported in order to drive improvement.

  • The focus on improving teaching through effective training is working well and as a result achievement is good and all groups of students are now making better progress and benefit from the changes.

  • Students make outstanding progress in English and good progress in mathematics.

  • Behaviour is good. Students understand and value the improved behaviour systems and the support they receive from the staff.

  • The school's work to keep students safe is outstanding. Students know about different kinds of risk, including when using the internet, and how to keep themselves safe. Any bullying is dealt with highly effectively and as a result they feel very safe in school.

  • Students take a pride in their school. Their attitudes to learning are positive and they show respect for their teachers and to each other.

It is not yet an outstanding school because

The sixth form requires improvement because some students do not always achieve as well as they should in their AS studies. This is because they do not always have the academic support to develop the skills they need to succeed in their studies.

There are still a few inconsistencies in teaching so some students, particularly the more able, are not challenged enough to do their best.

Information about this inspection

  • Inspectors observed students' learning in 40 lessons, and made short visits to a number of other lessons. Eight lessons were jointly observed with senior staff.

  • Inspectors looked at a range of evidence, including the school's documents on safeguarding students, the school's view of its own performance and improvement plans. They also looked at information about attainment and progress, and records of the quality of teaching, behaviour and attendance.

  • Inspectors spoke to students in lessons and looked at their books. In addition, a wide range of students' books were scrutinised in different subjects and year groups.

  • Students were observed at breaks and lunchtimes, inside and outside the school as well as during an evacuation as a result of a fire alarm.

  • Discussions were held with the Chair of the Governing Body, a local authority representative, senior and subject leaders and groups of students about their views of the school.

  • Inspectors considered the 231 responses to Parent View and parents' written comments. The 80 questionnaires returned by staff were also considered.

Inspection team

Moazam Parvez, Lead inspector

Additional Inspector Joseph Skivington

Additional Inspector  Helen Owen

Additional Inspector  Nigel Sheppard

Additional Inspector  Nigel Pressnell

Information about this school

  • Rednock School is a larger than average-sized mixed 11-18 school.

  • Students of White British heritage form 95% of the school and there is a very small number who speak English as an additional language.

  • A small number of students attend a one-day-a-week course at Stroud College.

  • The proportion of disadvantaged students known to be eligible for the pupil premium (additional government funding for looked after children and students known to be eligible for free school meals) is well below average and forms about an eighth of the school population.

  • The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs is slightly above the national average.

  • The school, through its science specialism, supports a network of primary and secondary schools in developing science teaching and learning.

  • The proportion of students known to be eligible for the Year 7 catch-up funding is below average. This is funding for students who did not achieve the expected levels in English or mathematics at the end of Key Stage 2.

  • The school meets the government's current floor standard, which sets the minimum expectations for students' attainment and progress.

What does the school need to do to improve further?

  • Raise attainment and accelerate progress in the sixth form by making sure that:

  • - students in the sixth form are given the support they need to develop the necessary learning skills which will enable them to succeed.

  • Improve teaching and so raise achievement by ensuring that:

  • - the most able students are challenged more consistently in all subjects so that they make better progress and more achieve the higher GCSE grades

  • - standards are improved in the few subjects where they do not attain good results.

Inspection judgements

The leadership and management             are good

  • The headteacher and senior leaders are very effective in communicating their very high expectations to parents, staff and students. One parent wrote to say: ‘I am very impressed with the ethos of the school and the values the head (teacher) holds and instils in the school community.'

  • The senior leadership has correctly identified areas where teachers have underperformed and put in effective programmes of support. This has led to teaching and achievement in the school improving rapidly.

  • Middle leaders are fully involved in evaluating teaching in their own departments and correctly evaluate the strengths and areas for improvement. Subject leaders and their teams are benefiting from greater sharing of good practice through initiatives such as ‘nutshell' and ‘nutshell plus'.

  • The school very carefully tracks the progress of students on a regular basis. They use the ‘Rapid Attainment Plans (RAP) to provide appropriate support and challenge so that most manage to reach their targets. This has been very effective in bringing about the recent improvements in the school.

  • The curriculum is effective, broad and balanced and meets the needs of all students and prepares them well for life in modern Britain. The school ensures that all students are treated equally and that it fosters good relationships and does not tolerate any discrimination.

  • Students are given clear guidance and careers information and they are generally well prepared for the next stage of their lives in education and employment.

  • There is a rigorous approach to the development of the spiritual, moral, social and cultural skills of students, both in and out of lessons. The school makes good use of external resources such as Chelsea's Choice Theatre to tackle difficult issues such as child sexual exploitation, sexting and the impact of poor self-image among some groups of students.

  • The school has also used strategies, for example visits to mosques and overseas trips to countries such as India, to highlight the multicultural nature of Britain to a predominantly White British student body.

  • The school has a strong relationship with the local authority and has received very good support in helping to improve teaching and raise achievement. Senior and middle leaders ensure that any additional government funding is used to good effect.

  • Disadvantaged students supported by the pupil premium make equally good progress as others in the school. This was achieved through targeted spending on dedicated staffing with a particular focus on improving achievement in English and mathematics.

  • Funding received to help those students who enter Year 7 with lower than expected levels of attainment in literacy, particularly reading, enables them to make good progress.

  • The school has clearly linked pay to performance. Some teachers eligible for progression through the pay scale did not receive a pay increase.

  • The school's leaders have an accurate view of its strengths and they know what needs to be done to improve further.

  • The attendance, progress and behaviour of students attending off-site training are rigorously monitored. A teaching assistant accompanies them to the college and a senior leader visits the college every two weeks to monitor students' progress.

  • The science outreach coordinator has supported the school in becoming a centre for professional development in science teaching. The school has a team of sixth form science, technology, engineering and mathematics ambassadors who deliver enrichment workshops to primary and secondary students. This both develops the leadership skills of the students and improves the quality of experience of all students in the school.

  • The school has acted swiftly to redress the dip in attainment seen in the examinations at the end of Year 12. An assistant headteacher with strategic responsibility for the sixth form has been appointed and has put in place effective measures to ensure that new entrants to Year 12 are given the correct guidance and support to ensure that they follow the courses that are right for them. Better systems are now in place to track the progress of these students and to step in when any show signs of falling behind.

  • Leadership and management are not yet outstanding because the changes implemented by the new sixth form coordinator have not yet had enough time to show themselves fully in students' attainment or progress.

 The governance of the school:

  • - The governing body is effective in carrying out its statutory duties.

  • - Governors oversee the performance management process for teachers, including that of the headteacher. They are clear on the link between pay progression and performance.

  • - Governors have a clear understanding of the performance of the school and the impact of teaching on students' achievement.

  • - Governors have a clear picture of the finances at the school and have recently recruited a governor with a commercial background to support the school in this area. They monitor closely the expenditure and provision of pupil premium funding as well as the impact of this funding on students.

  • - The governing body ensures that the school meets statutory requirements for safeguarding.

The behaviour and safety of pupils            are good

Behaviour

  • The behaviour of students is good. Students conduct themselves in an orderly manner around the school and are welcoming, courteous and polite to visitors.

  • Students understand and like the new behaviour system which supports and rewards good behaviour in classes and around the school. They say that behaviour has improved significantly.

  • Relationships between students and staff are strong. Students say that adults are always available if they need help. They have full confidence that the community leaders and the community support officers are always there for them. One Year 11 student told inspectors: ‘This is a good school, you can easily talk to staff and they will help you.'

  • Attendance is improving and is broadly in line with the national levels. Persistent absence has declined.

  • The school's actions to reduce exclusions have been successful. Permanent exclusions have fallen to one and fixed-term exclusions have reduced significantly. Systems for managing internal exclusions are well established and effective.

  • Students' behaviour during break and lunchtime is good.

  • Students said in a few lessons a minority of students sometimes distract others and on the rare occasions when this does occur, the teacher deals with it effectively. This was supported by the observations of the inspectors.

Safety

  • The school's work to keep students safe and secure is outstanding.

  • Most parents agree that their child feels safe at the school and agree that it deals effectively with bullying. Students have an excellent understanding of how to keep themselves safe and of the risks associated with cyber-bullying and social networking. The students have taken responsibility for keeping themselves safe on the school site, for instance by creating and publishing pamphlets for their peers on how to keep themselves safe.

  • Students are in total agreement that bullying in any form is extremely rare but when it happens staff deal with it swiftly and effectively.

  • The school has dealt particularly effectively with the use of homophobic terms; as a result, students exhibit high levels of respect for each other's differences.

The quality of teaching                        is good

  • Teaching is good. Teachers have very good subject knowledge and enthusiasm for their subject so that they plan interesting activities which are successful in engaging students and promoting good understanding. For example in a Year 9 music lesson, the teacher skilfully led students through a number of ever more complicated activities which allowed them to perform an ensemble performance. This really captured the students' interest and they all made outstanding progress in their understanding of complicated rhythms.

  • Teachers have high expectations of behaviour and students respond with good attitudes to learning. Students work well with their teachers and one another, and respond well to support and advice. This

leads to good progress in lessons.

  • Teachers plan and set work which stretches and challenges most students in their learning. However, in some cases teachers do not use information about students' abilities to challenge the more able students to make rapid gains in their learning.

  • The new marking policy, based on ‘what went well' and ‘even better if', has been put in place and this has led to an improvement in the quality of marking. In classes where the new strategies are well embedded, students are able to reflect on how they can improve their work and so make faster progress.

  • There has also been a strong focus on helping students to assess their own work as well as helping to assess the work of their peers. A particularly good example of this was seen in a sixth form lesson where students were able to carry out a sophisticated review of each other's work with clear areas for improvements.

  • Literacy is promoted well in lessons and this is well supported by a reading initiative, where students are expected to read for ten minutes during the day.

  • Mathematics is taught well. Inspectors saw effective application of mathematics in science and technology. Teaching is consistently good or better in English and mathematics. As a result, students are making good progress and are being well prepared for the next stages in their education.

  • In the vast majority of lessons students were positively engaged, purposeful and ready to learn. Most students said they enjoyed the lessons and felt comfortably challenged and supported in making progress.

  • The school has implemented a comprehensive whole-school training programme to improve the quality of teaching. This focuses on supporting teachers to be more adventurous in their teaching by applying a wider range of styles to improve the quality of learning. This has been led by the ‘in a nutshell' group within the school.

  • Teachers use information about disadvantaged students and those who are disabled or have special educational needs to ensure that they make good or better progress. Other adults in the classroom are used well to support these students.

The achievement of pupils                   is good

  • Achievement is rising consistently as a result of improved teaching. Students make good progress overall in a broad range of subjects. Students' attainment at five A* to C GCSE grades, including English and mathematics, is above national averages for their starting points.

  • Students join the school in Year 7 with levels of attainment broadly in line with national averages. In 2013, 70% of students achieved five A* to C grades including English and mathematics at GCSE, significantly above the national average of 60%. In 2014, this figure was 67.5%; which is 15% above the provisional national average of 52.6%. In mathematics, progress in 2013 was good overall and above the national average. Students achieved particularly well in English in 2013, and progress was significantly above the national levels. The results for 2014 indicate that students' achievements in both subjects have been maintained.

  • The Year 7 catch-up funding is effectively used so that almost all those who enter the school with below the expected standards in English and mathematics catch up by the end of the year.

  • Disabled students and those with special educational needs achieve well. From their different starting points, they make faster progress than similar students nationally. The school is very effective in ensuring equality of opportunity for learning for all groups of students through its rigorous checks on progress and targeted support.

  • In a few subjects, the most able students do not always achieve A* and A grades at GCSE so making less progress than they should. This is because some lessons do not provide enough challenge for these students and as a result they find the work too easy.

  • The achievement of disadvantaged students is improving and the gaps between the standards they reach and others in school are closing. Since 2012, the in-school gap for English has been reduced from nearly one GCSE grade to about a sixth of a grade and for mathematics it was one and a third of a GCSE grade and this has been reduced to less than a grade difference. These gaps are smaller than the national gaps, which are two thirds of a GCSE grade for English and almost one GCSE grade for mathematics.

  • Students attain above-average results in a number of subjects including English language and mathematics. Results improved in weaker subjects in 2014, particularly in resistant materials and other sciences.

The school's carefully thought out policy of entering a number of students early for English language, English literature and science in 2013, as part of an overall strategy to support these students, proved to be effective. This ensured that students were able to achieve the grades of which they were capable.

The sixth form provision

requires improvement

  • The sixth form requires improvement because the achievement of some students in Year 12 during 2013 was not good enough. Too many did not achieve a pass grade, particularly in mathematics, physics and psychology. The school has addressed this issue by rigorously tracking students' performance and through the introduction of regular and detailed assessments.

  • Students' achievement in the sixth form over three years indicates a rising trend, with attainment at the end of the sixth form in both AS levels and A levels being in line with the national figures.

  • The quality of marking and feedback is variable and so it does not support students in making good progress.

  • Teaching in the sixth form, particularly in Year 12, in the past did not enable students to develop the learning and study skills they need to succeed. This has now been addressed by the assistant headteacher who has strategic responsibility for the sixth form; he has established strategies to ensure students are being supported in preparing for post-16 studies.

  • The new assistant headteacher has implemented significant changes to resolve historical issues. This includes improved use of information to inform planning and the rigorous monitoring of teaching. Year 13 students told inspectors that while they felt ‘underprepared' for Year 12, they feel the focus is now much stronger and that the ‘work ethic has improved'.

  • The retention rates from Year 11 into the sixth form are affected by a number of selective schools in the local area who attract the most able students. However, the majority of students move on into Year 13 from Year 12.

  • Students are given effective independent careers guidance as well as support for applications to universities and employment in both Year 12 and Year 13 to prepare them for the next stage of their lives.

  • Attendance is in line with national figures.

  • Behaviour is good and students say they feel very safe in the sixth form and that they are very well supported. One student who recently arrived from overseas wanted inspectors to know about the exceptional help and support that was provided by the staff which enabled the student to settle into the school and a new culture very successfully.

What inspection judgements mean

School

Grade

Judgement

Description

Grade 1

Outstanding

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.

Grade 2

Good

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.

Grade 3

Requires improvement

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.

Grade 4

Inadequate

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

115758

Local authority

Gloucestershire

Inspection number

448999

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

Type of school

Comprehensive

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

1298

Of which, number on roll in sixth form

313

Appropriate authority

The governing body

Chair

Sally Winterbottom

Headteacher

David Alexander

Date of previous school inspection

4-5 December 2012

Telephone number

01453 543618

Fax number

01453 545639

Email address

admin@rednockschool.org.uk

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