Local authority Havering

Inspection number 397452

Inspection dates 23-24 May 2012

Lead inspector Paul Metcalf

Fax number 01708 456995

Email address contact@thecampionschool.org.uk

Age group 11-18

Inspection date(s) 23-24 May 2012

Inspection number 397452

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Introduction

 

 

 

 

 

 

Additional Inspector

Additional Inspector

Additional Inspector

Additional Inspector

This inspection was carried out with two days' notice. Inspectors spent over 13 hours observing teaching and learning in 26 lessons, taught by 26 teachers of which 5 were joint observations with senior leaders. There were no responses to the on-line Parent View survey to use in the planning of the inspection. Inspectors held meetings with staff, students and members of the governing body. They observed the school's work and looked at a range of documentation including assessment data, safeguarding documentation, minutes of governors' meetings, and external reviews of the school. They also analysed responses to inspection questionnaires completed by 96 parents and carers, and others completed by students and staff.

Information about the school

The Campion School is an average sized 11 to 18 voluntary aided Catholic school for boys, although girls are admitted into the sixth form. The proportion of students who are from minority ethnic heritages (predominantly Black African) is above average, although the proportion of those who speak English as an additional language is below. The proportion of students known to be eligible for free school meals is well below average. Similarly, the proportion of disabled students and those who have a statement of special educational needs or who are supported at school action plus is well below average. The school meets the government's current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for attainment and progress. The school has specialist science status and became an academy on 1 August 2011.

Inspection judgements

 

 

Achievement of pupils	2
Quality of teaching	2
Behaviour and safety of pupils	2
Leadership and management	2

Key findings

• ■   This is a good school. It is not yet outstanding because teaching is not yet outstanding. Students achieve well and attain academic standards which are higher than the national average. Disabled students and those who have special educational needs also achieve well. The sixth form is good but inconsistent over time. There is a strong sense of respect and tradition which is shared by all members of the school community.

• ■   The large majority of teaching is good and in a few lessons it is outstanding. Teaching across the school is never less than satisfactory. Most teachers plan well-structured lessons, have high expectations, ask perceptive questions and make use of real-life opportunities and co ntexts . In satisfactory lessons the pace of learning is slower because teaching does not cater for the spread of ability. Assessment is good and feedback detailed, but students do not always respond to teachers' marking and advice.

• ■   Behaviour is good both around the school and in lessons. Students exhibit positive attitudes to their learning and enjoy harmonious and supportive relationships with one another. The overwhelming majority of parents and carers say that their child feels safe at school. Incidents of bullying are rare and any that do occur are dealt with quickly and effectively. The attendance of students is above national averages.

• ■   Leaders at all levels demonstrate a commitment to improving students' achievement and the outstanding curriculum contributes to this well. The headteacher clearly articulates his vision for the school and he is ably supported by his leadership team and, increasingly, middle managers. The leadership and management of teaching and learning are good. Self-evaluation accurately identifies the school's strengths and priorities for improvement, but monitoring needs to be more rigorous.

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• ■ Increase the proportion of outstanding teaching by:
•  
• - sharing the outstanding practice that already exists across the school to secure greater consistency and conformity
•  

• -   ensuring that the needs of different groups of students are met through the provision of appropriate challenge and support

• -   providing opportunities for students to respond to teachers' marking and advice.

• ■ Improve the monitoring and evaluation of teaching through more regular observations leading to specific targets for improvement.

Main report

Achievement of pupils

Students enter the school with attainment that is typically above average. By the end of Key Stage 4, they achieve well and attain examination results that are significantly above national averages. An overwhelming majority of parents and carers say their child makes good progress and inspectors agree. Achievement in mathematics has been strong over a sustained period of time, whilst achievement in English is improving rapidly. Disabled students and those who have special educational needs make good progress. Black African students and the small number of students who are known to be eligible for free school meals make similar progress to their peers. Students in the sixth form make good progress and achieve well. This is particularly true for Black African students. Retention rates are above the national average.

In lessons, students are keen to learn and collaborate fully with their peers, especially where pair and group work are encouraged. In most lessons seen during the inspection, students made good progress. Students demonstrate secure knowledge when questioned about what they have learned and they acknowledge the increased focus on the quality of teaching and the promotion of literacy skills. Reading, writing, communication and mathematical skills are well supported in lessons, with an increasing focus on developing all aspects of literacy across the curriculum. This focus is contributing to students making good progress as evidenced in a Year 9 mathematics lesson where key words were highlighted and subject specific vocabulary, relating to the names of different polygons, was discussed.

Quality of teaching

The quality of teaching is good and sometimes outstanding, with the very best teaching observed in mathematics, science and history. Teachers throughout the school, including the sixth form, have high expectations, very strong subject knowledge and a secure awareness of examination requirements. Relationships are positive, teachers use praise to good effect and students enjoy their lessons and relish a challenge. Disabled students and those who have special educational needs are well supported by teachers, teaching assistants and their peers.

Outstanding lessons seen were characterised by high levels of challenge, exacting questioning and a repertoire of teaching strategies resulting in tremendous interest, enthusiasm and engagement. Most parents and carers feel their child is well taught and students say they learn a lot. In the best lessons, teachers use their passion for the subject to engage students and actively promote their spiritual, moral, social and cultural awareness.

Teaching makes good use of real-life opportunities and contexts. For example, in a Year 9 classics lesson, there was a good discussion about the similarities and differences between ancient and modern Olympic games, providing a very informative and topical focus for the lesson. Similarly, in a Year 13 business lesson, students were fully engaged in planning a fundraising event which they had previously discussed with the school bursar prior to sharing ideas with the class and receiving useful feedback from their peers.

However, in the very small minority of lessons where learning was satisfactory, teacher talk dominated so that opportunities for students to actively participate in the lesson were missed. In these lessons, teachers did not always plan tasks to meet the needs of individuals so that the most able were not sufficiently challenged and the least able found the work too demanding.

Marking is regular and mostly supportive, although there is inconsistency in its usefulness as students are not always encouraged to follow up on advice. In the best marking, teachers and students develop a learning dialogue which supports students' progress well. Students are well aware of their target grades and understand specifically what they must do to progress. Improved tracking and record keeping are having a positive impact in quickly identifying students who are in danger of underachieving, so that intervention can be arranged including extra sessions and additional support.

Behaviour and safety of pupils

Behaviour is good both around the school and in lessons. Discussions with students confirm that this is typical of behaviour over time. Respectful relationships between staff and students are evident in lessons and around the school. Relationships are harmonious between younger and older students. In particular, sixth form students set a good example to others with their maturity and the way they take on roles of responsibility, such as peer mentoring younger students. Students told inspectors that behaviour is usually good, but on rare occasions when low-level disruption does occur, it is dealt with quickly and effectively by teachers.

Students are punctual to lessons. The overall attendance of students is above national averages and the percentage of students who are persistently absent is below average as a result of robust procedures for monitoring absence. These include first day calling, home visits, attendance panels and close links with families to reduce absence during term time due to family holidays.

Students are kept very safe and this is confirmed by questionnaires and discussions with students. This is strongly endorsed by the overwhelming majority of parents and carers. While students explained that incidents of bullying, including cyber, prejudice and emotional, are very rare, a few students explained that the behaviour of a very small minority of students made them feel uncomfortable on occasions. Overall, students value the high levels of care and support they receive, commenting positively on the approachability of teachers. One parent summed this up well in their comment that, ‘The strong Catholic ethos and values that the staff and the head promote help foster strong self-worth and a sensitivity to others.'

Leadership and management

The headteacher and other senior leaders are ambitious for the school and work purposefully to drive improvement. This drive is shared by middle leaders who are beginning to make a greater contribution to school improvement and student achievement. Governors have a range of skills and professional expertise which they use to support and encourage the school. The headteacher has continued to build upon the strengths identified in the last inspection as well as address areas for improvement. Attainment in science has risen considerably as a result of more stable staffing and a greater focus on using and applying science. Recent changes in the leadership of English have resulted in attainment that is increasing rapidly with a much greater focus on literacy across the curriculum.

Improvements in the monitoring and tracking of students' work have ensured that gaps in performance are quickly closed and any discrimination is tackled decisively. The leadership and management of teaching and learning are good as a result of the renewed focus on teaching, including learning walks and peer observation. However, lesson monitoring, especially by middle leaders, could be more rigorous. Safeguarding procedures are robust with a comprehensive single central record in place and appropriate systems for appointing new staff. Most staff feel that the school makes appropriate provision for their professional development and that they are increasingly held to account for student outcomes. All staff who responded to the questionnaire said they were proud to be members of the school community.

Parents and carers show confidence in the school, as exemplified in the statement on one questionnaire which stated, ‘The school is very supportive and seeks to work in partnership with pupils and parents.' The curriculum is outstanding as it is uniquely tailored to meet students' needs, abilities and aspirations. The extensive extracurricular programme is well attended and highly regarded. Contributions to the community, discussions on ethical issues, talks about social justice, opportunities to reflect and extensive charitable work contribute considerably to students' social, moral and cultural development as well as their spiritual development, which is enhanced by an awareness of other religions, the sensitive support provided by the chaplaincy and the school's Catholic ethos.

Glossary

What inspection judgements mean

Grade	Judgement	Description
Grade 1	Outstanding	These features are highly effective. An outstanding school provides exceptionally well for all its pupils' needs.
Grade 2	Good	These are very positive features of a school. A school that is good is serving its pupils well.
Grade 3	Satisfactory	These features are of reasonable quality. A satisfactory school is providing adequately for its pupils.
Grade 4	Inadequate	These features are not of an acceptable standard. An inadequate school needs to make significant improvement in order to meet the needs of its pupils. Ofsted inspectors will make further visits until it improves.

Overall effectiveness of schools

	Overall effectiveness judgement (percentage of schools)
Type of school	Outstanding	Good	Satisfactory	Inadequate
Nursery schools	54	42	2	2
Primary schools	14	49	32	6
Secondary schools	20	39	34	7
Special schools	33	45	20	3
Pupil referral units	9	55	28	8
All schools	16	47	31	6

New school inspection arrangements have been introduced from 1 January 2012. This means that inspectors make judgements that were not made previously.

The data in the table above are for the period 1 September to 31 December 2011 and represent judgements that were made under the school inspection arrangements that were introduced on 1 September 2009. These data are consistent with the latest published official statistics about maintained school inspection outcomes (see www.ofsted.gov.uk).

The sample of schools inspected during 2010/11 was not representative of all schools nationally, as weaker schools are inspected more frequently than good or outstanding schools.

Primary schools include primary academy converters. Secondary schools include secondary academy converters, sponsor-led academies and city technology colleges. Special schools include special academy converters and non-maintained special schools.

Percentages are rounded and do not always add exactly to 100.

Common terminology used by inspectors

Achievement:	the progress and success of a pupil in their learning and development taking account of their attainment.
Attainment:	the standard of the pupils' work shown by test and examination results and in lessons.
Attendance	the regular attendance of pupils at school and in lessons, taking into account the school's efforts to encourage good attendance.
Behaviour	how well pupils behave in lessons, with emphasis on their attitude to learning. Pupils' punctuality to lessons and their conduct around the school.
Capacity to improve:	the proven ability of the school to continue improving based on its self-evaluation and what the school has accomplished so far and on the quality of its systems to maintain improvement.
Floor standards	the national minimum expectation of attainment and progression measures.
Leadership and management:	the contribution of all the staff with responsibilities, not just the governors and headteacher, to identifying priorities, directing and motivating staff and running the school.
Learning:	how well pupils acquire knowledge, develop their understanding, learn and practise skills and are developing their competence as learners.
Overall effectiveness:	inspectors form a judgement on a school's overall effectiveness based on the findings from their inspection of the school.
Progress:	the rate at which pupils are learning in lessons and over longer periods of time. It is often measured by comparing the pupils' attainment at the end of a key stage with their attainment when they started.
Safety	how safe pupils are in school, including in lessons; and their understanding of risks. Pupils' freedom from bullying and harassment. How well the school promotes safety, for example e-learning.

This letter is provided for the school, parents and carers to share with their children. It describes Ofsted's main findings from the inspection of their school.

_rxXX.

Ofsted

raising standards improving lives

25 May 2012

Dear Students

Inspection of The Campion School, Hornchurch RM11 3BX

On behalf of the inspection team, I would like to thank you for the very warm welcome which you gave us when we visited your school recently. Particular thanks to those of you who completed questionnaires and gave up time to meet with us and share your experiences of the school.

You told us that you enjoy school, feel safe and learn well. You said that teaching is good and that you are supported in developing your numeracy and literacy skills. Certainly mathematics is a very successful subject at the school and we were pleased to hear that you feel that English is improving.

We judged that your school provides you with a good quality of education. You make good progress as you move through the school and achieve well in external examinations at the end of Year 11 and in the sixth form. The school is well led and managed. It makes an exceptional contribution to your spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

Teaching overall is good but we have asked your teachers to increase the proportion of outstanding teaching through more rigorous monitoring and by ensuring that the needs of all students are met in lessons. Assessment, including marking and record keeping, is good but you can help by responding to feedback from your teachers on how to improve your work.

Once again, thank you for your valuable contribution to the inspection, and very best wishes for your future success and happiness.

Yours sincerely

Paul Metcalf

Lead inspector

Any complaints about the inspection or the report should be made following the procedures set out in the guidance 'Complaining about inspections', 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.