The Judd School

Brook Street

Tonbridge

Kent

TN9 2PN

Head: Jon Wood

T 01732 770880

F 01732 771661

E enquiries@judd.kent.sch.uk

W www.judd.online/

A state school for boys aged from 11 to 18.

Boarding: No

Local authority: Kent

Pupils: 1,150; sixth formers: 249 (87 girls)

Religion: None

The Judd School

Brook Street, Tonbridge, TN9 2PN

Inspection dates                        6-7 May 2015

Previous inspection:	Outstanding	1
Overall effectiveness
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.

Information about this inspection

• ■ Inspectors undertook 33 lesson observations and two learning walks focused on students supported by the pupil premium and progress in the sixth form. Nine lessons were jointly observed with senior members of staff.
• ■ Inspectors looked carefully at a range of students' work in English, mathematics, science and music, focusing on students' attainment, progress and assessment.
• ■ Meetings were held with the headteacher, senior leaders and middle leaders, as well as three members of the governing body and a representative of the local authority.
• ■ Inspectors met with groups of students from Key Stage 3, Key Stage 4 and the sixth form. Further discussions took place informally with students in lessons and during breaks.
• ■ Inspectors analysed documents, including school policies, safeguarding documentation, governors' minutes, lesson observations and anonymised records on staff performance.
• ■   The views of 182 parents from the online questionnaire, Parent View, were taken into account, along with one letter and one email. Inspectors also received 50 questionnaires completed by members of staff.

Inspection team

Paul Metcalf, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

Mark Davies Additional Inspector 

Angela Podmore Additional Inspector 

Janet Simms Additional Inspector 

Full report

Information about this school

• ■ The Judd School is a voluntary aided school supported by the Skinners' Company. It is an average-sized 11 to 18, boys' selective school, with approximately 50 girls joining each year in the sixth form. The school advertises specialisms in music and English and science and mathematics.
• ■ The majority of students are White British, with smaller numbers of Indian and Other White students. The proportion of students from minority ethnic groups is above the national average and those who speak English as an additional language is in line with the national average.
• ■ The proportion of students supported by the pupil premium is well below the national average. Pupil premium is additional funding for those students who are known to be eligible for free school meals and those who are looked after. There are no students eligible for the Year 7 catch-up premium.
• ■ The proportion of disabled students and those who have special educational needs is below the national average. One student attends an off-site local authority provision.
• ■ The school meets the government's current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for students' attainment and progress from Key Stage 2 to Key Stage 4.

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• ■ Improve the consistency in teachers' marking and feedback so that students know exactly how to improve their work, strengthen their learning and deepen their understanding.

Inspection judgements

The leadership and management             are outstanding

• ■ The headteacher and his senior leaders provide very strong leadership and direction to this traditional school. The headteacher's commitment and vision are shared by other senior and middle managers.
• ■ Procedures for checking on the quality of teaching and holding all to account for students' progress are robust. Middle leaders take a full part in this process and are, in turn, held to account for the quality of teaching and learning within their areas of responsibility. Teachers share good practice. Training focuses on the school's priorities and is at the right level for each individual teacher.
• ■ The tracking of students' progress across the school is regular and effective in ensuring that all groups achieve extremely well. These checks help leaders to identify any student who is falling behind and provide additional support where necessary. Regular reporting ensures that parents are kept informed of their child's progress.
• ■ Courses of study promote academic rigour and success across all subjects. While the school has a strong record of success in mathematical and scientific subjects, leaders ensure that there is an appropriate balance of other subjects through the provision of options and extra-curricular activities.
• ■ The school works very well to promote equality of opportunity and tackle discrimination. Students' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is supported exceptionally well across the school. This is especially evident through the house and prefect systems, which actively advocate and encourage students' responsibility and involvement in activities, both in and out of the classroom.
• ■ The school ensures that students are prepared extremely well for life in modern Britain through lessons, assemblies and other activities. Students recognise the importance of citizenship, tolerance and respect for other people and other faiths. They spoke positively about opportunities to be involved directly in democracy in action', including mock elections reflecting the political and democratic processes of the United Kingdom.
• ■ There is a strong emphasis on promoting literacy in other subjects. Students are given many opportunities to practise their writing and speaking across a range of subjects. They are actively encouraged to read and the library is an inviting place. Students' use their numeracy skills particularly well in science and economics. Careers guidance and support are very strong and ensure that students are very well prepared for their future careers and university choices.
• ■ Additional funding is used very well. Counselling, extra tuition and financing for trips and activities improve students' performance. Disadvantaged students perform well above national averages and gaps in the performance of disadvantaged students and their peers are negligible, thus confirming the success of the school's approaches.
• ■ Safeguarding arrangements meet current statutory requirements. All staff follow safeguarding procedures and have received relevant training. Safety arrangements have been thoroughly overhauled and staff now have a greater awareness of health and safety requirements across a range of subjects. The school carefully checks the progress, attendance, behaviour and safety of the student educated elsewhere.
• ■ There is a strong working relationship between the school and the local authority, which has provided ongoing with teaching. Strong links have been established with other boys' selective schools and the school supports similar schools in the collection and analysis of assessment information.
• ■ A very large majority of parents who responded to the online survey said they would recommend the school to another parent. The overwhelming majority felt that their child was safe and happy at the school. A large majority of parents agreed that their child made good progress and the school was well led and managed.
• ■ The governance of the school:
• - Governors are highly skilled and have a very secure understanding of the school through regular visits and informative presentations and reports from school staff.
• - They understand very well how to use published data and other available information to compare the performance of the school against others locally and nationally.
• - Governors manage the finances of the school extremely well. They are rigorous in making sure that the school achieves best value for money.
• - They are very aware of how additional pupil premium funding is used to support the small number of disadvantaged students.
• - Governors have a great awareness of the quality of teaching and how performance management is ensuring that teachers' pay progression is linked to students' progress. They know what the school would do to tackle any underperformance.

The behaviour and safety of pupils            are outstanding

Behaviour

• ■ The behaviour of students is outstanding. Students adopt very positive attitudes towards their studies. They are enthusiastic learners and show a real curiosity and thirst for knowledge, as well as a drive to extend their understanding. Their positive attitudes have a significant impact on their progress in lessons and over time.
• ■ Behaviour around the school site is calm and orderly. Students are exceptionally polite and courteous towards each other, staff and visitors. Any instances of low-level disruption are very well managed by staff. There were no permanent exclusions this year and fixed-term exclusions were very low in number. Students say that the outstanding behaviour during the inspection was typical of behaviour over time.
• ■ Attendance is above average and the amount of time lost to long periods of absence is low and reducing. There are rigorous systems to monitor attendance and quickly respond to any individual issues. Punctuality to school and to lessons is excellent.
• ■ Students appreciate and value the high esteem in which the school is held in the community. They are proud of the reputation of the school and their part in maintaining that reputation. The school is kept clean and tidy. Students wear their uniform with pride.
• ■ The behaviour of the student attending an alternative course off site is regularly checked.

Safety

• ■ The school's work to keep students safe and secure is outstanding. Students know what to do if they have any concerns. They say that they feel extremely safe and that they are well supported by the school. The overwhelming majority of parents responding to the online survey agreed that their child felt safe at school.
• ■ Incidents of bullying and racism are rare, but dealt with very effectively when they do occur. Students have a very good awareness of different kinds of bullying including cyber, racist and homophobic bullying. Students have an exceptional understanding of how to keep themselves safe, including when they are using social media.
• ■ House assembles, extra-curricular activities and the personal, social, health and economic programme ensure that students have many opportunities to celebrate different cultures and develop British values of citizenship, tolerance and respect.
• ■ All adults working in the school have had appropriate safeguarding training. Child protection procedures are understood and supported through regular training. Health and safety arrangements have been thoroughly overhauled, especially in design and technology, physical education and science.
• ■ The safety and welfare of the student attending an alternative course off site are very carefully checked.

The quality of teaching                        is outstanding

• ■ The school, with support from the local authority, has worked tirelessly to raise the quality of teaching. As a result, over time, teaching is outstanding and students continue to make excellent progress in English and mathematics, as well as across all of their subjects.
• ■ Lessons are typically characterised by high expectations, strong subject knowledge and activities that challenge students to deepen and extend their learning further. Teachers know their students very well and use this knowledge to encourage, support, engage and challenge the learning of individual students in the class.
• ■ Teachers enjoy strong and supportive relationships with their students, which inspire and motivate them. Structured and effective questioning helps to assess knowledge and encourage students to extend their understanding and develop their reflective skills. Student responses are used well to adapt teaching and decide when to move the learning on.
• ■ Lessons are very well planned and work is at the right level for all students. This means that students, including the most able and those who are disabled, disadvantaged or who have special educational needs, make outstanding progress from their different starting points. Teaching prepares students very well for the next stage in their education.
• ■ Marking is regular, but feedback to students on how to improve their work varies, with good examples noted in languages but practice more patchy elsewhere. Much feedback is offered verbally to students, but written targets, explaining exactly what students need to do to improve and develop their work, are not always offered. Students do not always act upon the feedback offered by their teachers.

The achievement of pupils                    is outstanding

• ■ Students join the school with levels of attainment well above national averages. The proportion attaining five or more GCSEs at grades A* to C, including English and mathematics, was well above average. Attainment in the vast majority of subjects was also well above national averages. All students entered early for GCSE mathematics in Year 10 achieved an A* grade. This did not hold back the most-able students.
• ■ On the basis of their attainment on entry, progress is outstanding. The performance of students across a range of subjects, including English, mathematics, science, languages and humanities, places the school in the top 5% of all schools nationally. The proportion of students making and exceeding expected progress in English and mathematics is well above that for students nationally.
• ■ The achievement of disadvantaged students is outstanding and well above the national average, with little difference between their performance and that of their peers over time. There are no gaps between these students and other students nationally. In 2014, all of these students gained at least five A* to C grades at GCSE, including English and mathematics. The English and mathematics GCSE results of disadvantaged students were similar to their peers and the difference in their progress was negligible.
• ■ The achievement of disabled students and those who have special educational needs is similarly outstanding as a result of the support which these students receive from their teachers and their peers.
• ■ The most-able students also achieve exceptionally well as a result of the additional challenge and support which make them think more deeply about what they are learning.
• ■ There is no difference in the performance of students from different ethnic groups, or those who speak English as an additional language, and their peers. They all do extremely well.
• ■ Lesson observations and school information gathered during the inspection confirm that attainment remains high, and students (including the one educated elsewhere) make outstanding progress from their respective starting points. The very large majority of parents responding to the online survey agreed that their child made good progress at the school.

The sixth form provision            is outstanding

• ■ The leadership and management of the sixth form are relatively new and suitably focused on the development of academic rigour. This matches the excellent pastoral support which students receive. The introduction of supervised study periods and the use of information to identify and support underachieving students are recent changes which are very much appreciated by students.
• ■ The sixth form includes boys and girls, with approximately one third of students joining the sixth form from other schools. These students settle down quickly and integrate well. Students receive very good impartial careers advice and most students proceed to university with 72% gaining entry to top performing universities, including a high proportion gaining places at either Oxford or Cambridge.
• ■ The behaviour and safety of students are outstanding. Sixth-form students make a significant contribution to the life of the school by setting a very good example and acting as mentors to younger students. Their consistently high levels of commitment and determination support their high levels of attainment. Students have a secure awareness of health and safety issues and a sensible assessment of risk.
• ■ Sixth-form students have a very good understanding of British values, including a strong sense of right and wrong, and respect for others. There are numerous opportunities to discuss issues around democracy and personal liberty. Students greatly value the opportunities to be involved in extra-curricular activities, including visits to many other countries contributing to their understanding of other cultures.
• ■ The quality of teaching and learning is outstanding. Teachers' subject knowledge is a particular strength and this is very much appreciated by students. Relationships are strong and high expectations were evident in all lessons. The quality of questioning was a particular strength of sixth-form teaching, ensuring that students' thinking, knowledge and skills were suitably developed and challenged.
• ■ Achievement in the sixth form is outstanding. In 2014, students' performance in AS- and A-level examinations was significantly above national averages, representing very good progress on the basis of their starting points and the additional demand of taking four A levels. Recruitment and retention rates are very high. All students in the sixth form have a GCSE grade A* to C in English and mathematics. Data provided and lessons observed confirm that achievement in the sixth form is outstanding.
• ■ The sixth form fully meets the current standards for 16 to 19 study programmes.

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	118843
Local authority	Kent
Inspection number	463980

This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. The inspection was also deemed a section 5 inspection under the same Act.

Type of school	Secondary
School category	Voluntary aided
Age range of pupils	11-18
Gender of pupils	Boys
Gender of pupils in the sixth form	Mixed
Number of pupils on the school roll	1,035
Of which, number on roll in sixth form	338
Appropriate authority	The governing body
Chair	James Leahy
Headteacher	Robert Masters
Date of previous school inspection	25 April 2007
Telephone number	01732 770880
Fax number	01732 771661
Email address	enquiries@judd.kent.sch.uk

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.

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