Adroddiad Hunan-arfarnu Ysgol Uwchradd Cathays High School Departmental Self-evaluation 207-18 Report
2017-18 Adroddiad Hunan-arfarnu Ysgol Uwchradd Cathays Self-evaluation Report
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Adroddiad Hunan-arfarnu Ysgol Uwchradd Cathays High School Departmental Self-evaluation 207-18 Report
Table of Contents
Aspect Page Judgements Judgements 2016-17 2017-18???? Cohort features from PLASC 2017-18 3 Overview of strengths and areas for improvement 4 1.1 Standards and progress overall 7 Excellent Excellent/ Good with excellent features- to be decided 1.2 Standards and progress of specific groups 18 Good with Good with Excellent Excellent features features 1.3 Standards and progress in skills 22 Good Good 2.1 Wellbeing 26 Excellent Excellent 2.2 Attitudes to learning 30 Good Good 3.1 Quality of teaching 32 Good Good 3.2 The breadth, balance and appropriateness of the curriculum 35 Good Excellent? 3.3 Provision for skills 37 Good Good 4.1 Tracking, monitoring and the provision for learning support 40 Excellent Excellent 4.2 Personal development 43 Excellent Excellent 4.3 Safeguarding 44 Excellent Excellent 5.1 Quality and effectiveness of leaders and managers 46 Excellent Excellent 5.2 Self-evaluation processes and improvement planning 47 Excellent Excellent 5.3 Professional Learning 49 Excellent Excellent 5.4 Use of resources 50 Excellent Excellent
Cathays High School Key Facts 2017-18
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Adroddiad Hunan-arfarnu Ysgol Uwchradd Cathays High School Departmental Self-evaluation 207-18 Report
FSM 30.5 3 yr average Functionally Illiterate on entry 30% 36.6; 36.0; 33.6; 30.1 29.9 31.5 (203/644) SEN Total 24.4% Down by Pupils from Minority Ethnic Backgrounds 79.1% 8.2% SEN Statemented 3.7% Down by 3% Arrivals from outside the Cathays catchment area 72% SEN School Action Plus 4.6% Up by 1% Mobility 2017-18 36.2% SEN School Action 16.2% Down 6.8% Looked After Students all years 32 EAL 71.5% Asylum Seekers 25 EAL Below Competent in English 43.9% Number of home languages 71 Teaching staff (full time equivalent) 64 Percentage living in WIMD areas 33% Support staff 51
Cohort Features PLASC 2017-18
Female Male Total Year 7 65 74 139 Year 8 68 61 129 Year 9 61 61 122 Year 10 75 65 140 Year 11 54 60 114 Year 12 35 63 98 Year 13 49 57 106 Total 407 440 847
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Adroddiad Hunan-arfarnu Ysgol Uwchradd Cathays High School Departmental Self-evaluation 207-18 Report
Overview of Key Strengths and Areas for Improvement
1 Standards: 1.1 Standards and progress overall; 1.2 Standards and progress of different groups; 1.3 Standards and progress in skills Strengths Areas for Improvement KS3 KS3 CSI Level 5+ in English, Mathematics and Science 84% Non-core achieving level 5+ Level 7 outcomes in English and Mathematics Progress in lessons KS4
KS4 Level 2+ similar to last year at 44.7% 5A*-A 19% (Highest for our FSM grouping) FSM outcomes in most indicators need improving further Level 1 (5 A*-G) - 100% as last year Czech/Slovak Roma Capped 9 Increase in Level 2 (C grade or higher) Maths to 57.5% highest ever English Level 2 down to 52% from 58% Improvement in Level 2 Science to 51.5% High U or X grades in Double Science Increased Capped 9 score of 379 (Highest for similar schools) % FFT on or above in majority of non-core 92% of pupils achieving 9 qualifications A*-G or equivalent SA+ outcomes % of pupils who achieved Level 1 through GCSEs only Positive upward trend in grade distribution more B grades than D Reduction in U grades and increase in subjects showing no U grades Low numbers / % of U grades in Maths and English Small gender gaps in almost all measures WBQ Foundation/National & SCC F & N outcomes are high % on/ above FFT in core subjects, RE and Welsh improvements (larger cohorts)
A2 A2 A*-B improvements A*-C decrease A*-E Improvements BTEC ALPs QI overall ALPs QI (1) top 10% of schools across England and Wales BTEC Health and Social Care L3; BTEC Sport L3 both need improving. T-Score (3) & 3 Year T-Score (3) 79.1% of pupils on/ above ALPs target has increased and ALPs grade 2 Biology (8), Business Studies (8), Chemistry (9), Dance (9) Further Maths (1), History (2), ICT (3), English (4), Maths (4)
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Adroddiad Hunan-arfarnu Ysgol Uwchradd Cathays High School Departmental Self-evaluation 207-18 Report
Prior attainment of this cohort is lowest ever AS AS A-B and A-E improvement and reduction in the number of U grades A-C reduced ALPs Quality Indicator (QI) score 0.97 and grade (4)- improved year on year grade Improve the reduction in U grades further (8) 2015, grade (6) 2016, grade ( 5) 2017. Biology (8), Chemistry (7), Physics (8), Dance (9) all need improving Red Teaching & Learning grade (4) Art (1), Dance (2), ICT (2)
2 Wellbeing and attitudes to learning: 2.1 Wellbeing; 2.2 Attitudes to learning Strengths Areas for Improvement Wellbeing Wellbeing Attendance 94.4% 2016/17 and 94.0 in 2017/18 A few disengaged pupils display poor behaviour at times Behaviour of most pupils and low rates of FTEs over the past 3 years Attitudes to Learning relative to other schools Pupil input into teaching and learning Attitudes to Learning Independent learning skills of a minority of pupils Pupils voice Pupil engagement in lessons Pupil involvement in OOSHL 3 Teaching and Learning Experiences: 3.1 The Quality of Teaching; 3.2 Breadth of the Curriculum; 3.3 Provision for Skills Strengths Areas for Improvement Teaching Teaching Working relationships between nearly all teachers and pupils Deeper questioning skills of a minority of staff Behaviour management Accuracy of teacher assessment – especially PPGs for few staff Range of teaching methods Interesting and engaging resources Breadth of the Curriculum Clear learning objectives Most teachers’ subject knowledge Activities for targeted pupils at lunchtime Many teachers questioning Implementation for pilot activities around the Donaldson’s areas of Level of challenge and differentiation in most lessons for pupils of lower learning ability is good Consistent use of C and I system by pupils and staff Clear and helpful teacher feedback on strengths and areas for Skills improvement Planning for progression in literacy and numeracy skills needs to be consistent across the school
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Adroddiad Hunan-arfarnu Ysgol Uwchradd Cathays High School Departmental Self-evaluation 207-18 Report
Consistently high quality use of success criteria to frame self and peer- Implementation for the provision for digital literacy need to continue to be assessment a focus Consistently purposeful pupil response to marking, which leads to Spoken Welsh outside of the classroom improvements Oracy skills for a minority of pupils Partnership working with Teaching Assistants Breadth of the Curriculum Flexibility and often bespoke nature of curriculum, including a number of additional qualification taken from Year 10 onwards. Planning of curriculum provision at KS4 has improved for different groups of pupils from the Capped 9 strategy Summer timetable provision Extent of out of school hours learning opportunities, especially for younger pupils Skills Provision for pupils with weak literacy and numeracy skills Provision for literacy is a strength 4 Care Support and Guidance: 4.1Tracking, monitoring and provision for learning support; 4.2 Personal Development; 4.3 Safeguarding Strengths Areas for Improvement System of baseline assessments and target setting Tracking system and relentless focus on pupil progress Develop and nurture belonging, resilience and growth mind-set for our Use of tracking information for pupil progress across all subjects by most vulnerable and non-matched pupils leaders Range, flexibility and extent of support available to pupils, a significant minority of whom have significant needs Community engagement and parental learning Support for new arrivals and EAL pupils Best practice recognised by external organisations Effectiveness of work with external agencies Clear and effective systems and procedures for dealing with inclusion and wellbeing issues Tracking and monitoring of attendance and behaviour Provision for ASC pupils Restorative approach to behaviour management is a developing strength Arrangements for writing and reviewing IDPs
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Adroddiad Hunan-arfarnu Ysgol Uwchradd Cathays High School Departmental Self-evaluation 207-18 Report
5 Leadership & Management: 5.1 Quality and effectiveness of leaders and managers; 5.2 Self-evaluation processes and improvement planning; 5.3 Professional Learning; 5.4 Use of resources Strengths Areas for Improvement Clear direction and a strong vision shared by all Ensuring that all RSLs are supported in the new staffing structure Leadership has led to sustained improvements in important indicators Ensuring the effectiveness of the new meeting structure Increased leadership capacity in the school Learning environment improvements Effectiveness of many meetings at all levels Improving parental involvement in self-evaluation processes Analysis and use of data by senior leaders Consistency in application of policies and procedures Governors are well informed and challenge and support well Well-established, regular and calendared self-evaluation activities Clear links between SER and SDP Effective SER and SDP has led to improved outcomes Use of internal and external focused and departmental reviews Staff and governor involvement in SE processes SLT and departmental meetings are strategic and focused on standards and strategy Leaders’ understanding of departmental performance through bi-annual departmental reviews (Year 1 completed) shows an improvement in their understanding – see departmental review action plans. Use of data to hold individual teachers to account has been achieved by departmental head’s reporting to SMT on outcomes and progress and through RSL KS4 and 5 leading SMT link meeting with line managers. Improvements in the use of pupils in the self-evaluation process by monthly focus group sessions with pupils. Opportunity for professional learning underpins the school ethos.
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Adroddiad Hunan-arfarnu Ysgol Uwchradd Cathays High School Departmental Self-evaluation 207-18 Report
1 Standards 1.1 Standards and progress overall Cathays High is position number 1 within the Family of 11 schools. This means that it has been judged to be the most ‘challenged’ school in the Family. This positioning means that we would be expected to be performing in about 11th position.
Standards Key Stage 3 Standards at Key Stage 3 are good overall. (See pages 2-3 of the Data Analysis booklet and CSC data pack) Standards are excellent over time for Key Stage 3 Core Subjects and CSI Level 5 +
CSI Level 5+ 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 School 76.56 79.66 79.17 81.08 84.40 Target 75.63 76.15 84.44 School (exc. LRB) #N/A 80.00 78.95 #N/A 85.05 LA 81.51 83.40 86.59 86.19 87.32 CSC 80.28 83.57 86.75 87.89 88.76 Wales 81.02 83.90 85.89 87.37
The percentage of students achieving L5+ in CSI was the highest ever in 2018 with 84.4%. BMQ 231122 over past six years, top 50% of schools for past three years The school is one of the highest above the line on the modelled outcomes chart in the AWC data set 2017
L5+ English - Standards in English at KS3 over the past 5 years are good overall for L5+ and excellent in 2018. In 2018 level 5+ is 89.9% our highest ever for English. In previous years this has been BMQ 3 despite L5+ being 81.3% in 2016 and 81.98% in 2017. L5+ Maths - Standards in Maths at KS3 over the past 5 years are good overall at level 5+ and excellent in 2018 with 89% Level 5 + Our previous highest ever was in 2017 at 88.29% which is up over 4pp on 2016.
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Adroddiad Hunan-arfarnu Ysgol Uwchradd Cathays High School Departmental Self-evaluation 207-18 Report
L5+ Science - Standards in Science at KS3 have improved significantly over time with a similar level to 2016-7 of 91.7% Level 5 + and are now good overall. In the previous four years standards had been adequate. Previously in 2017 Science L5+ was 91.89 and in BMQ 1 (BMQ1 threshold 90.37%)
KS3 Level 6+ Core Subjects- Standards for L6+ in the core subjects in 2017-18 is good overall L6+ English is similar to last year with 43.1% Level 6 and was BMQ 2 which is Excellent overall
L6+ Maths is 56.9% lower than last year where it increased significantly to 74.77% and was in BMQ 1, but is still high overall
L6+ in Science 2018 at 50.5% is similar to last year with 53.2% and in BMQ 1 so good overall
KS3 Level 7+ Core Subjects are Excellent overall (See CSC data pack)
Standards in the non-core subjects at Level 5, 6 and 7 are only adequate in comparison to the LA and CSC in terms of raw outcomes, but in terms of progress, in Year 9 they are good with 7 out of 12 non-core subjects showing improved expected progress scores over the year since the pupils were in Year 8.
Priorities for Improvement To further improve the % of L5+, 6+ and 7+ in all non core subjects through our focus on all pupils making at least one level of progress per year throughout KS3
Key Stage 4 2017/18 Standards at Key Stage 4 are excellent (National Categorisation 1 in 2016 and 2017). BMQ 1 for Level 1; level 2; Level 2 including; English L2. Maths L2; % A/A*; Best 8 capped 8; Capped 9; in 2017 BMQ 1 for Level 1; level 2; Level 2 including; Science L2 Maths L2; % A/A*; Best 8 capped 8; Capped 9; in 2018 We are above the LA and Welsh averages for L1, 5 A*/A, Capped 9 and best 8.
Overall KPI 2018 Diff on Indicator 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2016 5 A*-A N/A N/A N/A 9 14.2% 19% 5.2%p
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Adroddiad Hunan-arfarnu Ysgol Uwchradd Cathays High School Departmental Self-evaluation 207-18 Report
Level 2 inc EM 32% 43% 45% 48.5% 47.8% 45% -2.8%p Level 2 55% 70% 72% 79% 59.3% 61% 1.7%p Level 1 92% 92% 89% 98% 100% 100% 0%p CSI 32% 43% 44% 45% 42% 44% 2.0%p N/A N/A N/A N/A Capped 9 343 379 36 points
Pupils leaving without 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 qualifications English Lang A*-C 54% 59% 56% 44% 58% 51.46% -6.54%p Best Maths A*-C 41% 45% 47% 53% 55% 57.28% 2.28%p Best Science A*-C N/A N/A N/A 38% 47% 51.46% 4.46%p WBQ F&N N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 96.1% N/A WBQ N N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 45% N/A SCC F&N N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 100% N/A
5A*-A Standards for this measure continue to be excellent at 19% an increase on last year (14.2%) The highest in comparison to similar schools 3rd in the family and well above the family average of 10.9% and Welsh average of 18.0%
Level 2 Threshold inc Eng and Maths The standards in L2+EM is good as we have more or less maintained our consistent performance despite a more rigorous performance measure with 44.7%. BMQ 2014-2018 2, 2, 3, 1, 1 The school is well above the line in the AWCD modelled expected performance chart with 3 other schools and 4.1% above our modelled outcome. The school is placed 7th in the Family for L2EM in 2017, only just below the family average of 46.2% Core Subject Indicator (CSI) (A*-C in English, Maths and Science combined)
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Adroddiad Hunan-arfarnu Ysgol Uwchradd Cathays High School Departmental Self-evaluation 207-18 Report
Standards for the CSI at KS4 are good at 45%, and higher than last year BMQ 2014-18 - 2, 2, 2, 1, 1 The school is placed 4th in the Family for the CSI in 2018, above family averages. Level 2 Threshold Standards for the L2 Threshold are good at 59% in 2017 and good at 61% for 2018. BMQ 1 in 2017 and 2018 The school is placed 5th in the Family for L2 in 2018, above family averages. Level 1 Threshold Standards for the L1 Threshold are excellent for 2016-17 and 2017-18 at 100% 2017 and 2018 results at 100% are the best ever for the school and represent a significant improvement on 2016 results. BMQ 1 for 2017 The school is placed equal 1st in the Family for L1 in 2017 and 2018 and above all averages for LA and Wales.
Capped 9 - Excellent Standards for the Capped Points Score (C9) (348) are excellent in 2016/17 and equally excellent at 379 for 2017/18, BQ1 and 1st in the family and above all averages family, LA and wales.
English Standards for English Language L2 are excellent over time. Although A*-C 51.5% is not our highest for language this is high compared to similar schools A*-C we have consistently been in the top quartile for our BMQ group and in BQ2 for 2018 The school is placed 9th in the Family for English L2 in 2018 and just below the family average of 55.4%.
Mathematics Standards for Maths at KS4 are now excellent overall, with the school’s best ever results this year at 57.5%. The school has been in quartiles 2, 2, 3, 1, 1 for the past five years respectively, just missing out on BMQ 2 by 1%p in 2016, and in BQ1 for 2017 and 2018 The school is placed 4th in the Family for Maths L2 in 2018 and equal 1st in the Family for L1 in Maths and above the family average. Science Standards for Science at KS4 are now good with the best science now at 51.5% in line with English and maths The school was in quartile 3 last year due to in part as we were only entering pupils for GCSE and not BTEC, we are now in BQ1 for science
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Adroddiad Hunan-arfarnu Ysgol Uwchradd Cathays High School Departmental Self-evaluation 207-18 Report
The school is placed 4th in the Family for Science L2 in 2018 which is good.
KS4 Non-Core Subjects outcomes have improved in all subjects except Business
KS4 WBQ Results 2018 are excellent
100% of pupils could achieve the WBQ with 82.5% achieving the National SSC and 17.48% achieving the Foundation SSC. Of the National 10.68% achieved a Distinction; 19.42 a merit and 52.43 a Pass at P2. This is a big increase on last year with 45% of pupils achieving the National WBQ (no distinctions; 20%- merit; 14%- P2) and 36% of pupils achieving the Foundation WBQ.
Early Entry Results 2018 Year 10 are good at this stage and the highest outcomes to any previous year group
English Literature unit 1 48.1% Mathematics Numeracy 39.7% Science Double Award 41.7% and separate sciences 58%; 38% and 50%
Priorities for Improvement Improve the L2+ threshold through new intervention strategies in English by ensuring all pupils achieve above 220 boundary. Reduce the U and X grades in Science
Key Stage 5 2017-18 Level 3 Results 2018 Note – the school has an inclusive Sixth Form which offers ESOL, L1, L2 and L3 courses and which allows students to re-sit year 12 if that is in their best interests. Therefore, students are included in the calculations if they are doing AS subjects and the WBQ even though they are in year 12 and unable to complete their courses until the following year. They are then not included in the calculations for the following year, despite the fact that they have gained a significant number of points. As a result, the SSSP and AWC reports for the Sixth Form do not reflect the actual achievement of Sixth Form pupils.
A Level Results 2018 were good due to improvements below:
A*-B improvements A*-E Improvements
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Adroddiad Hunan-arfarnu Ysgol Uwchradd Cathays High School Departmental Self-evaluation 207-18 Report
ALPs QI (1) T-Score (3) & 3 Year T-Score (3) 79.1% of pupils on/ above ALPs target has increased and ALPs grade 2 Further Maths (1), History (2), ICT (3), English (4), Maths (4) Prior attainment of this cohort is lowest ever
Priorities for improvement: A2 A*-C BTEC ALPs QI overall BTEC H&SC L3 BTEC Sport L3 Improve ALPs scores for: Biology (8), Business Studies (8), Chemistry (9), Dance (9) AS results 2018 are still adequate even though there has been an improvement in: A-B and A-E improvement and reduction in the number of U grades ALPs QI score 0.97 and grade (4)- improved year on year grade 8 2015, grade 6 2016, grade 5 2017. Red Teaching & Learning grade (4) Art (1), Dance (2), ICT (2)
Priorities for improvement: A-C because it has reduced Improve the reduction in U grades further Improve ALPs scores in: Biology (8), Chemistry (7), Physics (8), Dance (9)
Level 3 Threshold Standards for Level 3 Threshold are good and were improved on last year with 91% Standards have improved in the level 3 threshold where students achieve 2 or more A levels at age 17 with to 86% in 2017 from 88% in 2016 These are significant increases on 2015 at 68% and 2014 at 77% being the previous year’s respectively. Priorities for Improvement Improve the L3 threshold further to 100%
KS5 WBQ Results are Excellent
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Adroddiad Hunan-arfarnu Ysgol Uwchradd Cathays High School Departmental Self-evaluation 207-18 Report
WBQ Result 2018 % A+ 37.5 % B+ 78.13 % C+ 96.88 % D+ 100
Welsh Language Evaluation Overall standards for Welsh are good KS3 standards are good, KS4 standards are good, use of Welsh by pupils outside of Welsh lessons is improving
KS3 L5+ has improved significantly over the past five years from 52% in 2010 to 73% in 2017 and 72.12% in 2018. GCSE
Standards in Welsh at GCSE are now good with A*-C rising to 37.7% and A*-G increasing to 97.4%
Skills Speaking and listening Item level data shows that pupils’ oracy skills good. Over 50% of pupils in Year 10 achieved C + in Unit 1 of the new GCSE exam. Many pupils speak confidently and explain their views clearly. Most of these pupils use full sentences and offer extended responses. A minority of pupils lack confidence when speaking in public and tend to offer short and underdeveloped answers. Many pupils listen well to each other and teachers and follow instructions efficiently. A very few do not listen well. Reading Many pupils have strong basic reading skills - they extract factual information easily and read fluently and with meaning on the whole. A few pupils have well developed higher-order reading skills, such as inference and deduction, but a few have weak higher order reading skills. Writing A few pupils can extended their writing and complete work of a very high standard. Many pupils write coherently and structure their writing sensibly. Many produce extended pieces of good quality writing. A few pupils write very short responses.
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Adroddiad Hunan-arfarnu Ysgol Uwchradd Cathays High School Departmental Self-evaluation 207-18 Report
Many pupils’ spelling, punctuation and grammar is accurate on the whole, though EAL issues often cause problems with basic spellings and sentence structure. Most pupils use paragraphs appropriately and many use punctuation accurately. Many pupils use subject-specific terminology accurately and appropriately. A few pupils have difficulty using subject-specific terminology in the appropriate context and tend to confuse terms. Most pupils make good progress in their literacy skills in this subject .
Standards in Welsh lessons and books In the best lessons and books o teachers question pupils skilfully using a range of appropriate techniques and probe pupil understanding thoroughly o teachers use assessment information gained before and during the lesson (e.g. from questioning, mini plenaries, monitoring) to adapt the lesson and respond constructively to pupils’ needs o teacher comments are very specific, clearly linked to success criteria and the development of skills, highly personalised and lead to clear improvement o pupils are involved in setting challenging learning targets o teachers plan regular, effective and structured opportunities for pupils to respond meaningfully to assessment (DIRT) In many lessons and books o teachers plan a few opportunities for effective pupil response to assessment (DIRT)
Priorities for Improvement Increasing the amount and quality of opportunities to speak Welsh around the school.
PROGRESS in LEARNING OVERALL is excellent In most lessons Most pupils recall prior learning well Many pupils, including those with ALN, make good progress in relation to their age and ability Many pupils acquire new knowledge and skills and apply these confidently to new situations In a very few lessons A few pupils have difficulty recalling prior learning A minority of pupils do not make appropriate progress in relation to their age and ability
In PM lesson observations 81% of lessons were judged good or better for pupil progress which is similar to the past two years and In PM work scrutiny 96% of teachers achieved good or better for achievement and progress.
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Adroddiad Hunan-arfarnu Ysgol Uwchradd Cathays High School Departmental Self-evaluation 207-18 Report
In lesson observations, the engagement of students in the lessons was good or better in nearly all lessons (91%) which is the similar to 2017 and 2016. Relationships and behaviour, were not formally judged in 2017 but almost all lessons had good or better behaviour. SMT learning walks provide evidence of good behaviour in almost all lessons.
Progress from KS2 to KS3 in the CSI is excellent with nearly all pupils making expected or more progress (Table from CSC data pack 2018) This is also the case for English, Mathematics and Science separately.
CSI Much lower than Lower than expected Higher than expected Much higher than expected progress progress Expected Progress progress expected progress 0 2 41 34 10
School 0.0 2.3 47.1 39.1 11.5
LA 0.9 5.1 36.3 49.4 8.2
CSC 0.9 3.7 36.3 51.9 7.3
2018 progress in Reading and Numeracy
Progress in NRNTs was excellent overall for the pupils that had prior data.( See data booklet P23) In Year 7 91.6% of pupils made consistent or higher progress in procedural, with 98.3 for reasoning and 96.7% for reading which is excellent. In Year 8 100% made progress in procedural and reasoning with 94.7% in reading which is excellent. In Year 9 98.9% made progress in procedural and numeracy with 96.7% in reading which is excellent
Key Stage 4 progress
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Adroddiad Hunan-arfarnu Ysgol Uwchradd Cathays High School Departmental Self-evaluation 207-18 Report
We are above expectation in nearly all indicators based upon 78 pupils
Key Stage 4 2017/18 matched with 78 pupils from KS2 (compared to 103 pupils in PLASC) show excellent progress Progress is excellent for Level 1 at 100% and a significant value added of 6.9pp on model 1 expectations and 8.1pp on model 2b L2+ is 1.8pp higher than model 1 expectation and 11.5pp above the model 2b expectation despite the 2017 performance indicator being a more rigorous measure of performance than that which the FFT estimates are based upon.
Alps Key Stage 5 Progress Data A2 Significant progress has been made at A2 showing that we are Qi1 for A Level provider quality (puts us in the top 5% of schools in England and Wales ),(See ALPs data packs/ Data booklet)
Progression to University Over the past four years, including in 2017, all Year 13 students who chose to go to university (100%) gained a place. Priorities for Improvement Continue with regular student progress meetings which focus on targeted students. These meetings involve the Senior Management Team, the Head of Year 11 and the Heads of Department of the core subjects. Improving the accuracy of PPG and subject specific interventions. % of pupils in non core FFT is variable and needs more consistency
1.2 Standards and progress of specific groups Standards overall for groups of learners are good with excellent features Girls and Boys standards (See page 4-5 and 16 of the data booklet and trend graphs from the CSC data pack 2018)
Standards for the difference between boys and girls outcomes in KS3 are excellent in that there is a negligible difference between the two for all levels in English, Mathematics and Science. It is only mathematics Level 7 where we have 9 percentage points in favour of boys at Level 7. The table below shoes the performance of boys v girls for the CSI level 5. However outcomes for boys in Level 5+ writing needs improving. Our boys and girls exceeded their targets in all three core subjects. Boys exceeded their CSI target in Level 5+ (see CSC data pack) Performance Gaps 2018 2018 KS3 CSI 2016 2017 2018 Family 2018 LA 2018 CSC Wales
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Adroddiad Hunan-arfarnu Ysgol Uwchradd Cathays High School Departmental Self-evaluation 207-18 Report
Boys 78.00 71.15 84.91 85.18 85.81 Girls 80.43 89.83 83.93 89.50 91.74 Gap -2.43 -18.68 0.98 - -4.32 -5.93 - Level 5+ 2018 Gender Analysis
Eng - Oracy Eng - Reading Eng - Writing Boys Girls Boys Girls Boys Girls School 88.68 82.14 86.79 83.93 69.81 89.29 School (exc. LRB) 90.20 82.14 88.24 83.93 70.59 89.29 LA 88.90 93.00 87.54 94.09 81.52 90.65 CSC 88.71 94.46 87.73 94.60 81.00 91.88 KS4 Gender difference is insignificant and is therefore excellent In 2018 there was little significance in performance of boys and girls in nearly all indicators except Capped 9 and 5A/A* which was in favour of boys In 2017 Year 11 boys outperformed girls in all indicators except English Language. These were not significant differentials except in best Maths where boys were 11% points better at C+. In 2016 girls outperform boys in all indicators, however this is most statistically significant for boys achieving A*-C English. There is no particular pattern of underachievement over the years as in 2013 and 2014 it was the other way around. Priority for improvement Continue to improve boys writing in KS3 Improve outcomes for more able girls.
Standards for FSM pupils are good overall FSM/Non-FSM Pupils KS3 (See data booklet and CSC data pack 2018)
KS3 CSI 2016 2017 2018 LA CSC eFSM 73.33 60.70 80.65 70.81 72.45 nFSM 81.54 87.50 85.92 91.49 92.39 Gap -8.21 -26.80 -5.27 - -20.68 -19.94 -
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Adroddiad Hunan-arfarnu Ysgol Uwchradd Cathays High School Departmental Self-evaluation 207-18 Report
The difference between FSM and non FSM is only -5.27 % points in favour of non FSM for the CSI this is significantly better than LA and CSC differences. Differences at all other levels are similar to LA or CSC averages. In KS3 FSM pupils exceeded their target in all core subjects and CSI.
FSM/Non-FSM Pupils KS4(See data booklet page 26/27)
Standards for FSM pupils have been variable over the past 5 years, with the high in 2014. For Level 1 standards are excellent over the past two years with 100%, but for Level 2 including it is variable depending on the cohort. In 2018 L2+ was only 30.8% and in 2017 it was 37.8% and above all local and national averages. In most indicators FSM pupils are doing well. Priorities for Improvement To improve the performance of FSM pupils in English maths and science to come in line with non-FSM
MAT Pupils standards Standards for MAT pupils are good with excellent features MAT Pupils KS3 – standards are good for the core subjects at Level 7
MAT Year 11 is excellent with the highest ever 5 A*/A percentage of 17.5%
13 pupils achieved 10 or more A*/A grades Standards for MAT pupils in lessons and books are good overall All MAT pupils are challenged in most lessons and make good progress In a very few lessons there is not enough challenge for MAT pupils. Written work from MAT pupils is excellent as evidenced in work scrutinies, however a minority from Year 11 MAT lacked confidence in speaking and expressing their ideas.
Standards for SEN pupils are good over time.
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Adroddiad Hunan-arfarnu Ysgol Uwchradd Cathays High School Departmental Self-evaluation 207-18 Report
Standards for SEN pupils at KS3 are good and have improved for SA+ and SA in 2017 compared to 2016. In 2018 there have been further improvements for statemented and SA. Level 5+ for SA+ decreased slightly in 2018, further improvements are needed here. (see data booklet P22)
Standards for SEN pupils at KS4 are excellent for achieving Level 1. Capped 9 and 5A*/A In all other indicators standards have decreased slightly( See data booklet P25) Standards for SEN pupils in lessons and books has improved (See SLT WS evidence)
Priorities for Improvement Improve standards for SA+ in KS3 Continue to improve the outcomes of SEN pupils in L2+ and Level 2.
Ethnic Groups (See CSC data pack targets section) Standards for pupils from all ethnic groups other than Czech-Slovak Roma are good. Standards for Czech-Slovak Roma pupils are adequate. Minority Ethnic (ME) Groups KS3 78.3% ME pupils achieved the CSI in 2018 which was above target. 79% of ME pupils achieved CSI in 2017 and improvement of 2pp on 2016 (77%) and 21pp on 2015 (58%) 81.9% gained 5+ in English in 2018-19; 91.6% achieved maths and science L5+ in 2018 all core subjects are above targets for ME pupils. 63% of Czech- Slovak Roma pupil achieved the CSI in 2018 a big improvement on 2017 with only 25% of Czech- Slovak Roma pupils 85% (22/26) of WB achieved the CSI in 2018 similar to last year with 88% of WB pupils. For WB FSM pupils 60% (6/10) achieved the CSI which is less than last year and is a concern for this year group. Minority Ethnic Groups KS4 78% of ME achieved the L2+ in 2018 the best ever for the school (36/46) 100% of ME pupils achieved L1 threshold. Again in 2018 ME pupils outperformed WB in the 5A*-As measure with only 4 WB achieving this out of 18 pupils. 100% of Czech/ Slovak Roma pupils achieved the L1 threshold in 2017 and 2018. For the first time 8.3% achieved L2 and L2+ which is an achievement, but we still need to address this further. 50% of White British students achieved the L2+ in 2018/19, which is an improvement of 3pp on 2017 where it was the best ever for the school.(10/20) 100% WB FSM gained the L1 threshold and there was an improvement in the number of pupils that achieved L2+ from 1 to 2 out of 9 which good, but is a continuing concern for WB FSM pupils, however 7 out of 9 achieved the WBQ.
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New Arrival Pupils’ Progress –KS3 Movement from Induction/Partial to mainstream was at 54% with 77% within one or two weeks of target. The pupils who needed extra time have now moved out to mainstream and are being monitored by ALN and receiving Literacy Interventions. Priorities for Improvement Continued focus on improving attendance and outcomes for leaners from Czech-Slovak Roma community. Development of provision appropriate to meeting the needs of identified learners from this community. Ensuring that more WB FSM pupils achieve the L2+ (WBQ National) measure in 2019. LAC Pupils KS4 2018- there were no LAC pupils in Year 11 in 2018
1.3 Standards and progress in skills – Include ESOL and induction progress/Lessons and books Overall standards for skills are good Standards for literacy are good overall. Outcomes for English at KS3 are good overall for L5+ with 85% for reading and oracy. This is an increase on last year when it was 81%, which is 3pp up on 2016 and writing at 79% is another increase on last year with 77.5% and 9.5pp up on 2016. Our focus on improving extended writing is showing improvements in outcomes, but there is still work to do to bring it in line with reading and oracy.
Literacy skills in lessons and books Speaking and listening Most pupils listen attentively The majority of pupils speak confidently and explain their views competently A minority of pupils are reluctant to speak in public and tend not to answer in full sentences as eveidenced in Sig group learning walks Reading Many pupils read well for meaning and have strong basic comprehension skills Many pupils skim and scan appropriately A minority of pupils display strong higher order reading skills A few pupils have difficulties with basic reading skills Writing Many pupils write confidently in a variety of forms Many pupils write mainly accurately
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A few pupils have difficulty writing accurately and at length Most pupils are able to produce extended written pieces of good quality examples of this can be seen in English and History.
Basic Skills – Literacy Rainbow Reading (See Literacy interventions report June 2018)
Year Total Achieved No progress Functionally functional Illiterate KS3 literacy from original group 2016-17 (366) 84 (23%) 23 (28%) 3 (3%) 2017-18 (400) 51 (12%) 16(46%) 5 (10%)
From baseline testing less pupil were classed as functionally illiterate in 2017/18 than in 2016/17, due to the progress in that year; of the 35 that started interventions in September 16 became functionally literate only 5 did not make progress in their English Lessons and will require further intervention next year.
English Literacy Skills outcomes in Year 9
English AT % 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2018 Oracy 81 78 86 78 67 85.32 Reading 76.6 82 86 77 71 85.32 Writing 77.5 66 75 69 72 79.82
Most pupils achieve Level 5+ in Oracy and Reading by the end of year 9. Many pupils achieve level 5+ in writing by the end of year 9 which is good. Outcomes for English at KS4 were excellent in 2017 and in 2018 were good.
Numeracy skills in lessons and books Standards for numeracy are good overall Most pupils understand the four basic rules of number and a majority apply them well A few pupils have difficulties with basic number skills as evidenced in the progress procedural scores for 2018, however this is mainly Year 7 where 9.4% only made lower than expected progress in basic numeracy for the pupils with prior data.
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Standards in Maths at KS3 are good with most pupils achieving Level 5+ in KS3 and in KS4 are they are good with more than half achieving C grade or higher in GCSE mathematics.
Numeracy Progress in interventions for 2016/7 to 2017/18 (See Numeracy SMT feedback June 2018)
Year Starting % of Big Maths Group Number Functionally progress Numerate average steps
Y7 2016 30 39% 4 Y7 2018 14 52% Y8 2016 20 10% 6 Y8 2018 17 23% Y9 2016 22 10% 5 Y9 2018 17 26% Overall 72 22% 5 50 58%
Significant progress has been made in numeracy interventions this year. All pupils on interventions make progress and by using the Big Maths resource, we are able to track this.
Digital Skills Standards for ICT are good overall Standards in ICT at KS3 are still adequate, with only 78% of pupils gaining L5+ in 2018, however this is an improvement on last year’s score of 75%. Evidence from work scrutiny interviews with pupils show that digital skills are developing with the tutorial sessions on Mathswatch and across the curriculum pupils speaking of using iPads to research, of creating power points to make presentations and using laptops in English to re draft work. Plans that have started in the summer term include: 10 digital leaders have been recruited from current Year 7. They will follow the Childnet Digital Leaders programme. A one-year course which will allow them to become certified on line safety experts. They will then be responsible for peer training, internet safety day ETC. https://www.childnet.com/our-projects/childnet-digital-leaders-programme
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Lunchtime code clubs following Code UK programme https://www.codeclub.org.uk/ Digital leaders to write a digital learning strategy
Digital Literacy in tutorials A digital literacy programme will be set up for yr7, 8 form tutors to use during ICT tutorials.
In Year 11 for the past few years all pupils gained a qualification in ECDL (European Computer Driving Licence) equivalent to a GCSE at Level 2, which is excellent. New Arrival Pupils’ Progress- KS4/5
ESOL skills are excellent
100% of pupils passed one element of ESOL (Reading, Writing, or S&L) 98% of pupils passed two or more elements of ESOL 87% of pupils passed one or more whole qualifications 56% of pupils passed two whole qualifications.
We have improved from 47% full pass rate in 2016, and 63% in 2017 to 87% in 2018.
Thinking Skills/Physical /Creative skills
Outcomes for creative skills in KS3 are excellent with 92% achieving level 5+ in Art, 90% in Music, 91% in DT and 88% in Drama. Outcomes for physical skills are excellent in KS3 with 87% achieving level 5+ in PE and 5 pupils achieving GCSE Dance in Year 9. GCSE PE results were excellent with 87% C+. Participation in out of school sports clubs is high with the introduction this year of the Cathays basketball Academy. Participation in the Lead Creative schools programme for 25 year 8 pupils has resulted in them all being able to create an animation based upon collaboration with science and music. This fed in to strong progress in science and English levels and greater awareness of thinking skills based on the creative habits of mind that is used in this Welsh Government programme. 25 pupils had their poems published and each received a copy of the book of poems. 25 pupils were involved in the Sherman Theatre Shakespeare project and performed Macbeth at the theatre. Most pupils have good physical skills in most practical lessons and in unstructured time.
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Priorities for Improvement Implementation of more strategies for the Safe Ty /iclass/Extended Opps class provision for those with very low levels of literacy and numeracy. Improving a minority of pupils’ speaking and listening skills as evidenced in learning walks Continue to Improve pupils’ extended writing skills especially boys. Implement the Digital Action plan which includes the development of Google Classrooms Develop an approach evaluate creative thinking and physical skills.
2 Wellbeing and Attitudes to Learning 2.1 Wellbeing Attendance over time is excellent and compares very well with that of similar schools and modelled outcomes.
Attendance has reached 94.0% this year, this is our second highest attendance with 94.4% last year. This is likely to be good or excellent in comparison to national benchmark quartiles and likely modelled outcomes. 2012-2018 – 90.5%, 91.8%, 93.3%. 91.7%, 93.3% 94.4%, 94.0% BMQ 111211?, above modelled outcomes for the past six years. Boys’ attendance – 93.7%, a decline of 0.8pp from 2016-17 Girls’ attendance – 94.2%, a decline of 0.1pp from 2016-17 FSM pupils’ attendance – 92.0%, a decline of 0.5pp on 2016-17 Attendance for KS3 improved from 92.9% in 2015 to 94.2% in 2016 to 95.3% in 2017 but declined to 93.6% in 2018. The biggest fall has been in Year 8. Attendance for KS4 has improved from 90.6% in 2015 to 92.4% in 2016 to 92.9% in 2017 to 94.4% in 2018. This is an excellent feature. Czech Slovak-Roma attendance rose from 80.7% in 2015, 84.5% in 2016 to 87.9% in 2017 but declined to 86.6% in 2018. White British and FSM attendance stands at 89.0% which is only 0.5 pp down on 2016-17 Persistent absenteeism has reduced significantly over the last 4 years. 77 students in 2015, 45 students in 2016, 24 in 2017 and 33 in 2018. In 2017, 14 of the 33 students who were persistent absentees were non-matched. The school is in quartile 1 for attendance and quartile 1 for persistent absence in the Schools National Categorisation system for 2016-17 Punctuality Punctuality to school is good and improved in 2016-17. Lates reduced from 3.98% (late as percentage of present marks) in July 2015, 2.7% in 2016 to 2.5% in 2017 and remains at 2.5% in 2018. Behaviour, engagement and attitude 25 | P a g e
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Behaviour in general is good but a few pupils display poor behaviour at times. A very few vulnerable pupils display challenging behaviour. Nearly all of these are non-matched students. The school regularly takes in pupils with behaviour issues from other schools and many of these improve their behaviour and attendance whilst at Cathays High. (see report on FAP admissions and non-matched) Exclusion data reflects the good behaviour of nearly all pupils. There have been no permanent exclusions in the last four years (2014-17). There low numbers of Fixed Term Exclusions and a significant reduction over time, however there has been a rise to 29 in 2017/18. There were only 6 FTEs in 2017, which is extremely low compared to other Cardiff schools. The current rate of 7.3 per 1000 pupils is well below the national average. FTEs – 6 in 2017, 4 in 2016, 29 in 2015, 41 in 2014, 49 in 2013. 19 of the 26 excluded students were in KS4. 10 of these exclusions were related to 2 incidents at either end of the school year. 18 of the exclusions were for boys and 8 for girls. Our largest groups were Czech Slovak Roma (11) and White British (6). 8 students had a long history of complex needs and were on PSPs and 10 of the 26 were for students who joined us late from other schools. 3 students were excluded on 2 occasions. Behaviour Support Base data shows that both the number of pupils using the BSB and the number of visits has reduced over the last 3 years, with a slight rise in 2017/18 to 99 pupils, In 2017, 81 students have been to the BSB. This compares to 104 in 2016 and 180 in 2015. (See report by GM to SMT in June 2018 for breakdown) Year 9 and Year 10 are the most frequent users of the BSB, although Year 10 was due to one or two specific incidents involving fighting. Behaviour around school in general – most pupils behave well around the school but a very few pupils behave poorly and are reluctant to engage in learning. Evidence from the Estyn learner survey (2017) found that around half felt that behaviour was not good in lessons. Our latest Wellbeing survey showed an improved outcome of 6pp. Follow up focus groups suggested that negative responses were mostly related to some instances of low-level disruption with non-school supply staff and the rare instances where we have had a fight at lunchtime. In response to this we visit all supply teachers every lesson and have increased the number of clubs and of paid staff on duty at lunchtime. Actions from the positive relationship group which has merged with the Staff Wellbeing group such as engagement walks, the second bell, ALN provision, consistency of staff and use of Sims to track and monitor behaviour have resulted in fewer incidents of low level disruption and improved provision for the few who do behave badly.
Behaviour is good or better in most lessons - Data from the school’s engagement walks shows that in almost all of the lessons visited students demonstrated good or excellent behaviour. A very few lessons demonstrated unsettled behaviour. In most lessons, all students settle quickly and begin their work in a timely fashion. Many students move around the school in orderly fashion. A few students were late to class. Nearly all pupils are well-behaved in nearly all lessons taught by the subject teacher. A few pupils are disruptive when taught by external supply teachers. Nearly all pupils are polite and courteous and have positive relationships with their peers and with adults.
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Engagement and attitude to learning are good or better in most lessons. Evidence from Lesson observations, engagement walks and specific learning walks showed: o 93% of Lesson observations were good or better for engagement in learning. o Most pupils are engaged in their learning and show a high level of interest in their work o Most pupils sustain concentration well Participation in learning o How seriously are pupils’ views taken- Estyn Survey July 2017 found that a majority of pupils felt their views were taken seriously and acted upon, Throughout 2018/2019, a range of pupil consultations will take place. o Pupil involvement in discussing their work took place in SLT led work scrutinies.
Priorities for Improvement Improve the attendance of Czech and Slovak Roma pupils and White British FSM pupils. Improve the behaviour of a very few pupils at break and lunchtime. Improve the behaviour of a very few pupils in identified lessons. Improve the transitions of students as they move around site between lessons. Reduce the instances of internal truancy of a very few pupils. Involving pupils more in making decisions about and planning their learning.
Keeping Healthy ( See OOSHL report in 2.1) Many pupils display positive attitudes to keeping healthy as evidenced in the school Estyn Survey. Pupil participation in physical activities is good with 74% participating in out of school clubs. Our SHRN survey (2018) shows that both boys and girls are above the national average for being active in and out of school. Attendance at out of school hours activities (many of which are sports related) is good and is consistent over time. In 2018 74% were involved in at least one out of hours activity. In 2017 76% of pupils attended at least one activity regularly similar to previous years, which is better than 64% in 2013-14. The highest attendance at OSHL activities this year was in Year 10 with 89% an increase on the same year group last year. All year groups had above 68%. KS3 attendance was 70%, whilst it was 80% in KS4. KS4 attendance at OSHL is a strength. FSM participation saw a slightly decrease this year with 70% of FSM pupils participated regularly in OSHL activities compared to 73.4% in 2017-18. FSM participation in Year 10 is the highest at 93%. Year 11 have also maintained a high rate which is higher than previous years of 65%. This is due to targeting KS4 this year and providing more activities that appeal to our older students as well as opportunities to compete in a large number of competitions. 38.7% (24/62) of Czech Roma pupils took part in at least one out of school activity this year. The best year group were Year 10 with 77.7% attending. The year group that needs most targeting is Year 9 with only 1 out of 13 participating. Overall attendance in clubs is a decrease on last year due to a limited number of community funds this year compared to last.
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Feeling Safe (including feeling physically and emotionally safe) (See Wellbeing survey summer term 2018) Most pupils feel safe in school, many feel they have someone to talk to if they are worried. Our PASS survey from July 2017 showed the school was in the green ‘high satisfaction with their school experience’ for nearly every aspect. Closer analysis highlighted some individual students to work with and key areas to develop. The Estyn Survey (July 2017) found that Many students felt that the school dealt well with bullying. A minority thought that we needed to do more work on this. Focus groups showed that this was around communication and perception. The school consults with a range of students on an ongoing basis and adaptations have been made to PSE lessons, assemblies and tutorials following feedback.
Ethos& Diversity The school has a strong ethos of “Opportunities for All” which is articulated by all in the school community and acted upon in all the school’s work. The school celebrates the diversity of its community and promotes its success as a multi-cultural and multi-faith community as a positive role model to the rest of society. The school celebrates the success of all pupils in a variety of ways. For example, The Cathays Eye magazine regularly features events, photographs and articles that celebrate our diversity and the Awards Evening includes awards which celebrate achievements relevant to different groups. We also run regular, rewards assemblies in all year groups that recognise success in both academic and extra-curricular areas. There is a strong emphasis on equality of opportunity and inclusion. This is communicated regularly and is also reflected in the school’s regular analyses of a wide range of data in relation to ethnicity, gender and FSM of pupils to identify those groups in need of greater support and targeting to improve achievement. For example, the school has been successful in working proactively to enable further integration of the Czech and Slovak Roma community into the mainstream school culture. The school has appropriate plans and policies to promote and support inclusion. Historically, the school has been very successful in providing effective provision for FSM pupils. Pupil survey results regarding the few who felt the school did not deal with bullying have reduced significantly, through in-depth focus groups identifying appropriate ways forward. A new Anti-bullying Policy was put in place and consulted upon through all pupil groups. The PSE curriculum has been updated recently to ensure anti-bullying remains and key focus.
Priorities for Improvement Increase participation in OSHL –particularly Czech Roma. Incorporate the findings of the wellbeing survey into planning Evaluate outcomes of wellbeing survey for students with FSM
2.2 Attitudes to Learning
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Most pupils take responsibility for their own learning, a few are less independent. Most pupils are involved in making decisions about what and how they learn, through the departmental reviews and SLT led work scrutiny and focus groups. The newly formed Student Leadership Team (SLT) has written an action plan for developing student mentoring, language mentoring, student tutoring, sports leadership for example. The School Council and the year and form councils are active and effective bodies which communicate effectively with the whole school community. School council meetings are run by the pupils and there is a well-established structure for feeding the views of form groups to the year council and then to the SC and to communicate the work of the SC back to the year and form councils. SC members present assemblies on their work and present to the SMT and the governing body. A range of different groups are represented on the school council including pupils from the ASC base and those from a Czech Slovak Roma background. The School Council has a growing influence on school life and decisions made, e.g. whole school policy development – e.g. It help revise the Positive Relationships Policy, they are involved in the appointments processes and attend governing body meetings and SMT meetings. The School Council gave evidence to the OECD on professional Learning for the OECD report that was published in 2017. A number of pupils have been elected to represent students on the Cardiff Youth Council and one on the UK Youth Parliament. Pupil participation both in pupil voice groups (other than the SC) that have a significant input into decision making and in other opportunities to voice their opinions is good. Pupils are involved in groups such as Peer Mentors, the Charity Committee, Sports Council. The school involves all pupils in voicing their opinions about life in school through pupil surveys such as the annual Estyn pupil survey, our own wellbeing survey and the PASS survey as well as thematic surveys, e.g. on healthy living. The school has been proactive in piloting the VOCALEYES programme and we have a strong student team that have led on training for the whole school and other partners in Cardiff. This programme gives a voice to all pupils and allows them to vote on what they want to see developed within the school. Many/most pupils are positive about the school respecting them and their backgrounds. The Estyn learner survey undertaken in July 2017 indicates that over 87% of pupils felt that way. The majority of pupils believed that staff treat them fairly and with respect but this is marginally lower than the national average. The SHRN survey results showed us to be above the national average for student ideas being taken seriously. Charity events are a regular feature in the school and are led by students and from June 2018 by the Student Leadership Team. Evidence from lesson observations and learning and engagement walks: o Most pupils show a high level of respect, care and concern for others o Most pupils are friendly and polite and interact well with adults - feedback from parents and visitors to the school is almost always positive. o Most pupils readily take on responsibility for their actions o Many pupils display suitable independent learning skills
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o Most work well with others in groups and pairs The 2017 PASS Survey indicates that 61% of pupils have a positive view of their learning capability. 66% of students reported positively about their confidence in learning. However, girls are less confident than boys about themselves as learners. The Estyn pupil survey found that most pupils feel they are doing well at school and that many feel the school teaches them to respect people from other backgrounds. Many pupils who experience emotional and social difficulties willingly access support services. For example, in 2017-18, 56 pupils accessed the Action for Children Counselling and Barnados services in school.
Preparation for life and the world of work Pupil voice evaluations of PSE, indicate a high level of satisfaction from pupils, with most saying that they enjoyed PSE lessons in the 2017 review. Many students indicate that they enjoy class discussions in PSE and that they are of a high quality. Data on NEETs for 2015-16 is 3.6% the lowest the school has ever had at KS4 and reduced further in 2016-17 down to 1.6% Priorities for Improvement Develop independent learning skills of a few students Continue to develop systems for acting on pupil voice feedback 3 Teaching and Learning Experiences 3.1 Quality of Teaching (needs a separate judgement) Good with excellent features In the best lessons, teachers: o plan highly differentiated work that enables pupils of all abilities to make significant progress o provide highly creative and innovative activities that engage all students and have a noticeable impact on progress o adapt the pace of learning skilfully according to the needs of the pupils o probe pupils understanding through purposeful questioning and develop pupils’ higher order thinking skills In most lessons, teachers: o use success criteria very effectively explicitly and consistently to structure valuable self and peer assessment that enables pupils to work independently and make progress o have positive working relationships with pupils o manage pupils’ behaviour positively, safely and effectively, using restorative approaches in the best examples o provide work that is suitably challenging for those of middle ability and who are more able and talented (differentiation) o plan well and have clear learning objectives o provide interesting and engaging resources o have good, up-to-date subject knowledge In many lessons, teachers:
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o have high expectations of all pupils o use a range of teaching methods which interest pupils, and stimulate and challenge them to achieve highly o model successfully o work in partnership with learning support staff effectively o provide work that is suitably challenging for pupils with SEN and those who are of lower ability (differentiation) o use questioning effectively to challenge and extend the learning of many students. In a very few lessons, teachers: o Do not plan lessons with sufficient independent learning o Do not establish effective learning and behaviour routines o Do not have a clear purpose to the learning Overview of Lesson Observations In 2017/18 48/54 staff were judged as good or better in PM observations this rose to 53/54 after a second round of observations. 88% (49) of teachers were judged as good or better in initial PM observations in 2016-17, this is higher than in 2015-16 with 86% (45) 22/54 (41%) were judged as excellent which is an increase on last year and due to the work and training on teaching and learning. 15 teachers (27%) were judged as excellent in 2016-17, this is same 2015-16. 6 were judged as less than good in 2017/18 (10%) 5 of these improved after a support plan to good or better, only one remains in a support plan. In 2016/17 7 teachers, (14%) were judged as less than good in 2016-17. 6 teachers were judged as adequate and 1 teachers judged as unsatisfactory. There are support plans in place for these teachers. All 7 teachers improved with 6 teachers becoming good or better. There are very robust systems to support staff to improve their teaching. In 2017/18 5 teachers were either Teach first, GTP or NQT and all have successfully completed their year’s training.
Written feedback ASPECT EXCELLENT GOOD ADEQUATE UNSATISFACTORY NOT APPLICABLE total Achievement and Progress 19 28 2 49 Teacher Feedback 18 30 1 49 Self/peer Assessment 18 23 7 1 49 DIRT 19 22 7 1 49 Literacy Development 11 31 3 4 49 Cymraeg Cathays 19 16 9 3 2 49 Homework 7 30 12 49
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In 2017/18 we have seen an improvement in feedback with 47/49 (96%) achieving good or better in progress and achievement. 93% of teachers achieved a good or excellent judgement for the first round of the work scrutiny process in 2016-17, which is higher than 90% in 2015-16 (rising to 96% after intervention and by the second round). In SLT led work scrutinies most teachers’ regularly and accurately assessed the pupils and provided specific feedback for improvement. In 2017/18 only 2 teachers were judged as adequate as above for achievement and progress an improvement on last year were there were 4.
Quality of assessment in books and lessons In the best lessons and books o teachers question pupils skilfully using a range of appropriate techniques and probe pupil understanding thoroughly o teacher comments are very specific, clearly linked to success criteria and the development of skills, highly personalised and lead to clear improvement o pupils are involved in setting challenging learning targets o teachers plan regular, effective and structured opportunities for pupils to respond meaningfully to assessment (DIRT) In most lessons and books o teachers question pupils well using a range of appropriate techniques and probe pupil understanding thoroughly o staff and pupils effectively use the C and I system of assessment to identify strengths and areas of improvement, both in written and oral feedback o teacher comments are clear and useful, with helpful and specific advice for improvement often linked to skills - subject specific and literacy where appropriate. o teachers plan opportunities for effective pupil response to assessment (DIRT) that meets or exceeds the school’s minimum standard. o teachers use assessment information gained before and during the lesson (e.g. from questioning, mini plenaries, monitoring) to adapt the lesson and respond constructively to pupils’ needs. o most pupils regularly review their own learning well and understand their progress o teachers use assessment information (from questioning, circulating, marking) well to plan and adapt lessons and work effectively to best meet the needs of pupils o self and peer assessment is valuable and of high quality, is usually linked clearly to success criteria and is used for a purpose In a very few lessons and books o Teachers do not use assessment information (from questioning, plenaries etc) well enough to gauge pupil progress and understanding, adapt lessons or to plan next steps o self and peer assessment is not linked well enough to success criteria o teacher questioning is not well planned or probing enough and many pupils are not questioned o self and peer assessment is not effectively linked to success criteria and is therefore superficial and of limited value and/or has little purpose
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o there is limited, superficial or no pupil response to assessment (DIRT) Moderation There are thorough systems in place to ensure the validity and reliability of assessments at KS3 across most departments, this is particularly strong in Maths, English, Science and Welsh at KS2-3 At KS4 and KS5 the systems to ensure the accuracy of assessment are in place and in 2016-17 results there was an improvement in the correlation between PPG accuracy and outcomes. Reports to parents Parents receive regular worthwhile written reports on their child’s achievement and progress in school, at least every half term as well as a detailed annual report which includes pupil self-assessment; parents also have opportunities to get verbal feedback through Parents’ Evenings and Family Interview evenings. A few parents have signed up to Sims Online to keep a regular check on the progress of their children. Priorities for Improvement Further develop differentiation in those few lessons where it has been identified Ensure the response to feedback (DIRT) is consistently seen in all lessons and books Further develop higher order questioning skills. (Linked to oracy in standards) Engage parents further through identified pupils being allocated to specific staff in family interview evenings 3.2 The breadth and balance and appropriateness of the curriculum The school offers a fully inclusive, broad and balanced curriculum that is challenging, engaging and stimulating - through the mainstream curriculum, flexible off-timetable days, out of school hours programmes and the ‘Summer Timetable’. The curriculum meets National Curriculum requirements and includes RE and the LNF. The school endeavours to provide a creative curriculum, an example of this is the Lead Creative Schools programme with Year 8 pupils who participated in a science/music/animation project over the year. With one pupil producing work at undergraduate level. This project is being extended in to a second year. The school offers a wide variety of additional qualifications in addition to traditional GCSEs to meet the needs of all learners including the most vulnerable. The strategic use of gained time through the ‘Summer Timetable’ enables the school to provide a very flexible, targeted and often creative timetable for pupils in the last half term. For example, year 10, 11 and 6th Form pupils have timetabled revision sessions immediately prior to specific exams whilst other year groups have day trips to local places of interest or day ‘challenges’ or blocks of time to complete projects or coursework. There was no study leave for year 11 pupils until after the last GCSE – their timetable included subjects that they had not yet sat exams in yet. The curriculum caters well for the specific needs of individual pupils. For example, New Arrival and ASC pupils have specialist provision which dovetails into mainstream provision when appropriate for each pupil. All pupils have opportunities to complete qualifications in their home language and lessons are provided for a few languages such as Arabic. Identified pupils with low reading verbal reasoning scores have some
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provision in a specialist class or a combination of mainstream provision and intervention. Pupils who have difficulties with mainstream provision are provided with a bespoke curriculum involving internal and external provision. MAT pupils take qualifications early and there is a detailed programme of enrichment activities for them. Schemes of work build well on pupils’ prior knowledge and cater effectively for the many pupils who arrive throughout the school year and from many different primary schools and countries. Early entry for examinations provides valuable opportunities for MAT pupils to gain accreditation and for all pupils who are entered for the examinations to gain multiple opportunities to gain vital qualifications. Arrangements for grouping and setting pupils are effective and work well in enabling core subjects like English and maths to re-arrange groupings when appropriate. Smaller classes are used successfully in key subjects to provide more support for vulnerable and targeted pupils. The curriculum meets the Learning and Skills Measure and the requirements of Learning Pathways 14-19. For example, in year 11, pupils can choose from a choice of 45 different ‘A’ level subjects and BTECs across our partnership provision. The school works effectively to provide individual learning pathways for pupils based on choice and need. All pupils have a free choice of KS4 options during Year 9 and the option columns are based on the choices made by pupils. The school has been successful over time in ensuring that nearly all pupils in this highly mobile community gain qualifications; none left without a qualification in 2016, 2017 and in 2018. KS4 pupils who have difficulty succeeding in mainstream classes are identified in Year 9 and Year 10 and provided with a suitable programme tailored to their individual needs throughout KS4. This involves in-school provision for GCSEs or equivalent qualifications, PSE and vocational provision at college. This has ensured a high level of engagement with compulsory schooling. The school provides a very wide range of engaging out of school hours learning activities (OSHL) for pupils, these include a range of 5X60 activities such as table tennis and basketball, music and drama clubs, a creative writing club run by students from Cardiff University, Arabic club etc. In addition, there is a wide range of trips and other enrichment activities during school time including the Duke of Edinburgh Award, trips abroad, the Carnegie Award, the school production, careers fairs, the school Eisteddfod, STEM activities etc. Sporting equipment has been provided at lunch time to engage more pupils in physical activity. The school is now a basketball academy for all year’s groups with high participation in all year groups. The school is proactive in targeting specific groups of pupils to get involved in OSHL activities. The school employs a Community Learning Manager who identifies and organises opportunities and who tracks and targets pupil involvement. She has been particularly successful in increasing the participation rates of Czech Slovak Roma pupils and FSM pupils, although further improvements are needs to reach targets. The school re qualified for the Careers Wales Quality mark due to the plans and provision for Work Related Education. Priorities for Improvement – Development of Skill Area projects across the AOLEs (See Skill Area Development plans for 2018/19) 3.3 Provision for Skills
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Literacy The school has a well-developed range of whole-school literacy strategies which are applied effectively in many lessons, such as: Tactical Writing and strategies for developing extended writing. Due to the context of school, it has invested heavily over time in resources and training to improve literacy. The positive impact of this is evidenced by very strong outcomes in English over time. The school has a well-established and clear focus on developing literacy. The school has concentrated in turn on developing reading, oracy and, in 2015-18, writing. The comprehensive and successful induction/partial programme for New Arrivals concentrates on literacy skills to help the pupils improve their English to a level that enables them to be fully integrated into all mainstream classes within 12 weeks. Inset in 2017/18 focused on extended writing has resulted in a more consistent approach to developing pupils writing skills, such as using structure strips. The provision for literacy across the curriculum is effective as evidenced in lessons and books and outcomes at KS3 and KS4 English, the new literacy policy includes progression routes for each year group, to ensure further consistency with the application of the policy a launch will take place in the September INSET. A literacy policy ‘on a page’ was created in 2017-18 and shared with all staff. Numeracy Numeracy strategies in maths lessons are effective. Numeracy has developed further this year with tutorial sessions in computer rooms where pupils work on Mathswatch activities. Numeracy intervention programmes have developed further this year and are more refined. Provision has been evaluated and we are now using the most appropriate resources, as can be evidenced in the increased number of pupils’ becoming more functionally numerate. The provision for numeracy across the school is effective as evidenced in lessons and books and GCSE mathematics outcomes in Year 11, however, a more consistent approach is needed by consistent application of the new numeracy on a page policy. Digital 100% of pupils in year 11 achieved ECDL time is created to achieve this in tutorials and out of school hours provision. Pupils develop their I.T. skills through use of iPads that are booked out by teachers for specific tasks. There is greater use of mobile devices within lessons for planned activities. Laptops are booked out for research and re drafting work. Digital literacy: Digital skills have been audited and there are now after school session for staff to improve their ICT skills and a comprehensive plan to incorporate Google classrooms and pupil digital leaders across the school to improve the provision for digital skills. Thinking and wider skills including physical and creative skills is a strength All students study the WBQ qualification in KS4. We have been successful in being selected as a Lead Creative school for 2017-19 which has improve pupils’ creative skills for a form group of Year 8 pupils and the will be further extended in 2018-19. The annual school production, the Sherman Theatre Shakespeare project, Presentation Evening, the Christmas Concert and the Spring Concert all allow the pupils to develop their performing arts skills. Provision in art, performing arts and PE allows almost all pupils to in KS3 to make progress in these creative and physical areas.
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Thinking skills have been developed this year through the introduction of using Bloom’s Taxonomy for lesson planning and questioning. This will be further developed in 2018/19. We are one of the top performing schools in terms of pupils gaining top grades in the WBQ qualification, in the ALPs report all pupils exceeded expectation for KS5. All KS5 students study all ESW through WBQ provision. The school provides a range of activities outside of conventional lessons which develop cross-curricular skills. These include space days, energy days, university days for MAT pupils, as well as a wide range of summer timetable activities. The school was successful in its bid to be a Lead Creative school for 2017/9, due to its provision for creative skills such as in performing arts, photography, art, clubs, visiting specialists /speakers. Provision for sport/dance is wide ranging with the school providing opportunities for a wide range of sporting teams and entry to a wide number of competitions throughout the year. Welsh language skills There is good provision for W2L GCSE - all pupils take Welsh Full Course at the end of Year 11, with the exception of those new to the UK and the very few disapplied pupils. The time allocation for Welsh at key stage 3 has been increased to enable all pupils to follow the full GCSE course by the end of KS4. The school promotes the Welsh dimension well, e.g. through use of Welsh in lessons and assemblies, the annual Eisteddfod, increasingly popular trips to Llangrannog established in the last 3 years, use of Welsh contexts and topics in all subjects, the signing of Welsh songs in assemblies, Welsh signage, collaboration with other schools such as Cym Rhymni etc. All teachers use Welsh when taking the register and to greet and praise pupils. Improvements have taken place through introduction of the house system and visits to Welsh speaking schools, however conversational Welsh needs to improve across the school. Priorities for Improvement Improved co-ordination of provision for skills; Increased focus on pupils’ progression in skills. Whole-school provision for numeracy to be improved at tutor time with more focus on procedural skills in classrooms in KS3. Development of digital skills across the curriculum through the digital leaders and Google classrooms. Improve conversational Welsh further across the school. 4 Care Support and Guidance 4.1 Tracking, monitoring and the provision for learning support Assessment data and tracking There are clear processes and procedures and a set calendar for assessing progress of students which are consistently followed by all staff.
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There is an effective system for baseline assessments and target setting. All pupils, regardless of time of arrival, have a baseline assessment in all subjects and in reading, spelling, numeracy and non-verbal skills. Aspirational targets are then set for all pupils and target sheets are used in all subjects. There is a rigorous and robust tracking system which involves pupils, staff and parents and which is used to identify underachievement and progress. There is a strong focus on pupil progress. Effective use is made of the SIMS system to centrally track the attainment and progress of all pupils and specific groups. This has been especially effective in the Super core rap meetings where identified pupils from Level 1 or level 2 are identified and tracked. Tracking information on pupil progress is used well at departmental level, for specific groups identified by SMT and individually at Super Core Rap meetings for Year 11 students, developments in this area include the Head of Year 11 being involved in the academic monitoring of the whole year group. More recently in SMT meetings with Head’s of Year have set up problem solving activities around identified pupils around their pastoral and academic progress. This will be developed further in 2018-19. Parents, the community and local employers The school offers specific guidance to parents on how they can contribute to their children’s progress at school and support their learning. Useful initiatives include family interviews and the ‘Bring a parent to school day’. The school achieved an Inspire award for adult learning which has engaged parents’ to improve their ability to speak English and gain a number of qualifications. Sims online has engaged a minority of parents and it enables them to keep up to date with the children’s attendance and homework. Social media has developed well this year with all communications going out through Twitter, Facebook and The School Website. Community groups such as the Grange town Hub ( See AJW’s report in SMT Docs) Cardiff commitment and the Alumni groups have worked with different groups within the school. Outside agencies The school has extensive and wide-ranging partnerships with outside agencies. These are crucial in enabling the school to successfully meet the needs of learners and have a positive impact on pupil outcomes. For example, partnerships with the LA’s attendance team and organisations such as Action for Children and Barnardo’s have been important in improving attendance figures. Partnerships with businesses such as Vinci have provided pupils with valuable opportunities and support from Vinci staff to the school. The school has developed a strong alumni group and utilises this group to support our MAT and vulnerable students. The school has strong strategic partnerships with external voluntary and community groups, such as Switched on, Support for Families, The Amber Project, Team Around the Family, police liaison, youth mentoring, the Behaviour Support Service, Fire Service, YOS, NSPCC, Prevent and the VAP team. These make significant contributions to supporting pupils, particularly those who are vulnerable. The school has developed effective partnerships with a number of universities including Cardiff University and Cardiff Metropolitan University. The school benefits considerably from the involvement of University student tutors in the provision for pupils at risk of disaffection.
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Partnerships with universities provide important and useful support to pupils, particularly those in the Sixth Form. Cardiff Met and the University of South Wales provide regular workshops to pupils. Access schemes at Cardiff and Oxford universities have supported individual and groups of learners well, enabling pupils to go on to study at those institutions and others. The school has developed a number of effective sporting partnerships and now link withTribal Basketball, Cardiff Met and Cardiff City. These partnerships provide support for both boys and girls. The SEREN network is used with our MAT pupils. ALN Effective systems are in place to identify and monitor the additional learning needs of the significant number of ALN learners through the ANR procedures. Pupils with ALN are given access to all areas of the curriculum and all trips and extra-curricular activities. If necessary, the school funds additional support from TAs for this. All students are entered for GCSE qualifications. They may study a range of additional qualifications such as: SWEET, ECDL and IFM. The restructuring of the ALN team in 2015-16 enabled us to provide more specialist support for a range of students on the ANR. We continue to review the structure of the team to meet the changing and complex needs of our cohorts. The school offers a range of different support programmes to pupils according to their needs. These include specialist classes, withdrawal and support in and out of lessons. The nature of the support given to individual pupils is regularly reviewed and changed when necessary. Pupils with ALN spend much of their time in mainstream classes. TA support facilities this. Pupils receive the appropriate long and short term support as identified in statements and through the Additional Learning Needs register. All IDPs have recently been reviewed and updated in line with new ALN legislation. Evidence for IDPs is gathered from students, teachers and TAs. For students with statements, parents are closely involved in the IDP process. All TAs are trained to deliver literacy and numeracy interventions. These are focussed on developing functional skills. A comprehensive programme of professional learning is embedded in the team. Members of the team regularly share best practice with staff in the school. There is a comprehensive range of support for pupils with BESN. HOY are closely involved in the co-ordination of this support, which has been strengthened by provisions such as ‘Safe Ty’. The progress of all ALN pupils is reviewed regularly and reported to SMT. The ALN on a Page document provides a useful summary for all staff. All assessment, recording and reporting procedures satisfy statutory requirements. Partnerships with Parents and carers are strong. The ALN department works very closely and successfully with a range of outside agencies, including the Educational Psychology Service. There are HLTA posts within the team with clear roles and responsibilities. Literacy and Numeracy Interventions
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The school provides well-organised and flexible provision for pupils who are not yet functionally literate or numerate. This provision is of a high standard. The progress of pupils on these programmes is tracked and monitored very closely and regularly reported to SMT. There are strong systems for identifying pupils who have literacy or numeracy needs. These include testing across the school at the beginning of each academic year, testing all pupils on entry to the school, careful tracking during the school year (e.g. of pupils who are not making progress) and teacher referrals. (See section on provision for skills 3.3 and outcomes for skills 1.3) New Arrivals and EAL Provision for new arrivals and pupils with EAL is excellent. (Also see section 1.3 outcome for skills and 3.3 provision for skills 3.3) New Arrivals to the UK have immediate specialist support tailored to meet their needs depending upon their level of language acquisition and key stage of entry to the UK. There are valuable arrangements for baseline assessments that are carried out using the CATE criteria to establish the level of English on entry. Progress is monitored formally every 6 weeks through re-testing. There is an effective small group Induction/Partial Integration class for arrivals in KS3 who are new to English. Nearly all pupils make enough progress to move out of these classes within 12 weeks. In KS4 the expectation is for pupils joining at the beginning of Year 10 from outside the UK, with little or no English, to make sufficient progress to make full integration by the Spring term. In KS5 a similar package of provision is available that allows for suitable learning pathways to be available for students to gain further qualifications. Tailored packages of provision ensure that all new arrival pupils leave with qualifications, even when they arrive late in Year 11, and most achieve some GCSEs, though this is not always possible due to the time limited nature of GCSE courses and the dates of arrival of some students. Progression and achievement is good with a number of the New Arrivals in Year 11 achieving GCSE grades in Maths, Science and Community Languages. Almost all teaching for New Arrival groups was found to be good or better in the observed lessons. Pupils’ evaluations indicated that almost all pupils settled well into Cathays High School on the whole in KS3, 4 and 5 using results from follow up interviews with pupils after a month of starting school. ASC (Autistic Spectrum Condition) The school has a Specialist Resource Base (SRB) on for children and young people on the Autistic Spectrum. The base provides high quality care and guidance for these pupils. The SRB enables these learners to access specialist resources, support and rooms when necessary but also to integrate with their peers as much as possible. This is a vital function of the SRB at the school, and has been very successful since its inception. Pupils from the SRB have IDPs, which are reviewed regularly. Their progress is monitored and tracked against social skills development and against their academic progress. ASC pupils tend to achieve very well and there are many individual success stories. This is because of the excellent provision and support they are given. For example, two students have successfully secured places in a local college having achieved more that 9 GCSEs each. On entry, one of these students was unable to write his name and the other displayed extreme high anxiety and aggressive tendencies.
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Programmes of study are tailored to meet the specific needs of these children and many pupils stay in school until they are 19. The ALN review outlines the progress with this, where all target are SMART and person centred. The SRB provides opportunities for all students to achieve qualifications .
MAT There is substantial support for MAT students and a clear MAT strategy. This includes extra- curricular and early entry GCSE, AS and A Level courses, for example, History, Photography, Dance and Maths. Numerous extra-curricular opportunities and opportunities to meet outside speakers, Alumni and business leaders. Strong outcomes for MAT pupils reflect the effectiveness of the provision for them. All MAT pupils identified take part in a support programme established with a team of MAT champion teachers and under the guidance of our Year 13 SLT, some of whom lead on MAT provision.
Provision for specialist services The school works successfully to provide highly effective specialist services, information and guidance to all pupils. The Inclusion and Wellbeing team work very successfully with a wide range of external agencies including social services, educational psychologists, Barnardo’s, CAMHS, BAWSO, the Police, Youth Offending Team, Support 4 Families, Families First, The Amber Project, EWO etc. The school provides a very wide range of effective and flexible support and provision for pupils who have a very broad range of needs, some of which are very complex, this includes: The Link ‘nurture’ provision, the Behaviour Support Base (BSB), bespoke timetables (including a combination of internal and external provision) for specific pupils, severe learning difficulties class (iclass), Curriculum Access, Calcella provision for interventions and alterative qualifications, New Arrivals provision, ASC base etc. The school invests heavily in support staff for inclusion and wellbeing and makes effective use of this resource – e.g. IWB officers/TAs run the BSB, Safe Ty, Pupil Reception, work as attendance officers and make regular home visits, run literacy and numeracy interventions etc. The effectiveness and suitability of this provision is regularly evaluated and adapted accordingly. Where there is no suitable provision, the school creates or finds appropriate solutions – e.g. for 2017/18 Y9a Extended Opportunities provision will be created to deliver further vocational programmes for the most vulnerable. There are clear and rigorous processes and procedures for monitoring attendance, punctuality and behaviour. These are applied consistently and well and monitored regularly, which led to a reduction in exclusions, lates and an improvement in attendance for 2016/17. In 2017/18, similar progress was made with attendance rates; however, exclusion rates have risen due in part to a larger number of pupils being admitted with more complex needs. The VAP assessment is one element to support the most vulnerable to becoming NEET. In 2017/18 the school’s VAP learning coach has worked with our most vulnerable pupils and has ensured the correct provision is in place for next year, reducing the likelihood of them being NEET.
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In PSE at KS3, 4 and 5, a range of specialists are brought in to provide high quality care, support and guidance for topics such as sexual health, substance abuse, domestic violence, homelessness and financial management topics. For example, a speaker from the Bank of England was bought in to do a workshop with pupils. In PSE in Year 8 pupils start the SWEET qualification and will finish it by the end of year 9, this is to ensure Year 8 have a focus for their year. The school provides suitable guidance to pupils about option and career choices through specific lessons, guides to each key stage, off timetable activities and individual support through interviews with staff and Careers Officers, within the constraints of the support offered by Careers Wales. Family Interviews also provide valuable opportunities for pupils and their families to discuss individual progress; however more needs to be done to ensure all families attend. Guidance will be further improved in 2018/19 through the plans of the Student Leadership Team to take an active role in all Options Evenings. Monitoring of attendance and wellbeing has taken place through the HOY 11 attending all SMT meetings and the Super Core Rap meeting where particular pupils are discussed. More academic monitoring has taken place by HOY towards the end of 2017/18 in readiness for using the new IWB tracker with form tutors. Pupil surveys undertaken by in 2017 indicated that the Action for Children and Barnados Counselling services were very helpful to almost all pupils who took part. All pupils said that they found the counsellor easy to get on with and nearly all said that they would recommend the service to a friend.
Priorities for Improvement
Develop further strategies by Heads of Year to monitor the progress of their year groups. Develop the family interview process further so that it is more bespoke. Continue to embed the new ALN bill and prepare for the new ALN Code of Practice. . Student Leadership Team to present to parents guidance on making choices at 14 and 16. Improve provision for non-matched pupils that arrive in year 10 or 11 and ensure through an induction programme all pupils are able to realise their potential even if they do not start with us in Year 7, through the new Y9a extended Opps room or through Calcella interventions Refine iClass, Extended Opportunities and Safe ty provision. 4.2 Personal Development Personal and social development The school uses a range of internal and external counselling services very effectively and efficiently to promote mental and emotional health and wellbeing. These are well used by pupils, who report a high level of satisfaction with these services. Entry and exit surveys show that all pupils who use counselling services benefit. The school makes good use of suitable experts and professionals to enhance the school curriculum, particularly in PSE but also across all subject areas. These include the school liaison Police officer, BAWSO, representatives from local universities, Mindfulness trainers etc.
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All pupils in Year 8 are half way through the SWEET qualification and will complete it in Year 9, achieving a GCSE equivalent. The school proactively targets and provides support for groups of pupils who are vulnerable – this includes targeting FSM pupils to get more involved in OSHL activities and providing programmes for groups of pupils who are vulnerable to sexual exploitation, those who have anger issues and those who have low self-esteem. The IWB team carry out vulnerable pupil check-ins to ensure they are emotionally ready to start learning for the day. The school works particularly proactively with families from the Czech and Slovak Roma community, which has led to improvements in attendance and achievement for these pupils. This work was recognised by an Estyn best practice case study in Sept. 2014 and was presented to other Cardiff schools in May 2016 and to NSPCC in June 2017. This has led more recently to our first ever Czech Roma pupils to go to university. The school shared its best practice with ESTYN in July 2018 in a review of this provision across Wales. The school has effective measures in place to prevent and deal with bullying and harassment. The school provides many opportunities for pupils to voice their views, develop their advocacy skills and involve them in improving the school. These include the form, year and school councils (run by pupils), pupils having input to departmental area reviews and surveys and focus groups. The school has led the way by piloting the Vocaleyes platform and has now trained many other schools in Cardiff. This is a platform to get the views of pupils across a range of school improvement initiatives. The school has strong pupil leaders in the form of Head boy and girl for both key stages and a Deputy Head boy and girl. The act as ambassadors and support all school events. The school has a KS5 Student Leadership Team that regularly meets with the Headteacher to talk about school improvement and their role in it. They have produced their own action plan for 2018/19. Spiritual and moral development The school provides a wide range of interesting activities and opportunities for pupils to learn about different religions and reflect on their own viewpoints and imaginative opportunities for moral development; for example, through the PSE and RE programmes, morning tutorial sessions, weekly assemblies, mindfulness sessions and trips to local places of worship. Staff and pupils from the school were involved in creating materials to promote understanding between cultures which are used throughout Wales and the UK – e.g. ‘The True Meaning of Islam’ leaflet and the GOT project (prevention of radicalisation). The school provides valuable opportunities and suitable spaces for pupils of different faiths to pray in accordance with their chosen faith. This is particularly popular amongst Muslim students and Friday prayers are very well attended. The school meets the requirement for a daily act of collective worship well through moments of reflection in each year group assembly (twice weekly) and a structured moment of reflection in form tutorials (three times a week). Social and cultural development There is an extensive range of valuable opportunities which develop pupils’ social and cultural development very effectively; for example, the school Eisteddfod, foods from around the world events, Islamic relief events, trips (e.g. theatre, places of worship, castle, museum) Development of The Cathays Culture saw the school focus on three values:- Prepared, Respect and Pride Improvements in discussion and circle time are evidenced through observations and the tutorial review programme
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Priorities for Improvement Improving the OSHL programme for Czech Roma pupils Ensure the consistency around the Cathays Culture through a focus on Meet & Greet; Audible Consistency; Praise publically and reprimand privately.
4.3 Safeguarding The school’s arrangements for safeguarding meet statutory requirements and give no cause for concern. The school has robust and effective processes and procedures for safeguarding. The school follows the LA school safe recruitment procedures and all staff are DBS checked. All staff are well-qualified and suitably informed, according to their role, about child protection and safeguarding issues. The Designated Child Protection Teacher (DCPT) and four other senior members of staff are trained to the LA specified Safeguarding standard. HOY are trained in Child Protection and safeguarding. All new staff follow an induction programme in September or on arrival that covers child protection and safeguarding training. Supply staff and exam invigilators are given a summary of safeguarding procedures. There is annual update training for all staff. Clear posters on safeguarding procedures and photographs of the DCPT and deputy DCPTs are displayed throughout the school and reminder cards are given to all staff. The school uses My Concerns to manage all referrals and keep records in addition to secure paper files. The school deals well and appropriately with the very high number of Child Protection issues that arise – 80+ referrals between September 2017 and July 2018. The school has a detailed Safeguarding Policy and Procedures as well as procedures for staff on Safe Working Practices in Relation to Child Protection and procedures on physical intervention. Specific training on using restraint has been given to all relevant staff. Areas used for withdrawal are supervised at all times by suitably trained staff. Use of these areas is logged, monitored and reviewed regularly. The safety of pupils on school site is maintained well through all visitors having to sign in at Main Reception having to wear a photo lanyard to be identified as a visitor. This is the only entrance to school as all external gates and doors are locked during the day. 6th Formers are issued with a black lanyard to identify them as members of the school community. At the beginning and end of the day, and at lunchtime the external gates are staffed by members of the IWB team at all times whilst they are open. At 8.25a.m., break time, 1.05p.m., and the end of the school day; duty teams and lunchtime supervisors patrol the yard and buildings to ensure pupil safety. The school has played a lead role in Cardiff and nationally in developing educational programmes to prevent radicalisation. The school works well with leading members of the local community on these issues. The school has links to the Prevent Team in Cardiff and two members of staff have completed ‘Train the Trainer’ courses that enable them to train other staff to a high level. The introduction of the NET2 system means all pupils have to sign out at lunchtime with their cards, this means we have an accurate picture of the pupil who are off site from year 11-13. Priorities for Improvement
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Review the safeguarding policy annually Ensure all staff use My Concerns effectively 5 Leadership and Management 5.1 Quality and effectiveness of leaders and managers The headteacher and the senior leadership team provide effective leadership, clear sense of purpose and vision for the development of the school. Strong leadership has led to sustained improvements in nearly all indicators over the past four years. The school’s very strong vision of ‘Opportunities for All’ is shared effectively with the whole school community, it is articulated regularly and well-understood by pupils, staff, parents and governors. School leaders are firmly focused on the school’s strategic priorities as outlined in the new 3 year plan, through calendared activities throughout the year. These priorities clearly concentrate on achieving excellence across the school with –Excellent Leaders, Learners and Outcomes; Excellent Collaboration, Community and Culture; Excellent Teaching and Learning. Most leaders, especially at SMT and SLT level, communicate high expectations to those they line manage and support and challenge robustly through SMT meetings and through link meetings. A staffing re-structure in 2017/18 has resulted in new roles and responsibilities that are clearly defined and focused upon raising standards and collaboration. A team of 11 Raising Standards Leaders (RSLs) have been created and aligned with the Donaldson’s areas of learning and experience all supported by an appropriate number of Area Leaders. The leadership capacity of the school was increased further with the introduction of the Capped 9 posts to compliment the work of the senior team and to act as a link between departments (from Sept 2018 Skill Areas) and ensuring excellent outcomes. All staff roles are clearly linked to the school’s strategic priorities, particularly at leadership level; new roles and responsibilities are well- understood by nearly all staff. The SLT is well supported by an effective senior management team, which is 2018/19 will be extended to include all new RSLs. Middle leadership is a developing strength of the school. The TLR restructure will be further strengthen through a robust leadership development programme during SMT meetings. Most senior and middle leaders have developed their leadership skills well over recent years through involvement in focused reviews, paired lesson observations, work scrutiny, SLT led work scritinies with middle leaders, data training, leadership training, departmental reviews, and more systematic SMT link meetings. There is a structured system of line management for all staff, including support staff. The SMT link structure ensures consistency of approach from many middle leaders. The introduction of including the Raising Standards Leader and the Head of 6th form in all SMT link meetings ensures that all are held to account and any actions are acted on straight away.
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SLT monitoring of progress on key priority areas and pupils’ standards and progress is regular, rigorous and robust through centrally set calendared agendas for all meetings which focus clearly on standards and pupil progress. Most meetings are efficiently run and generate clear action points which are carried out and re-visited in the next meeting. SMT, year and form and link meetings are particularly effective. SMT and link meetings are successful means of securing accountability, tracking progress and sharing good practice. All departmental meetings have agendas set at the start of the year with a focus on pupil progress and teaching and learning. Nearly all leaders use data confidently and effectively to focus on pupil progress and improving standards. Senior leaders make extensive use of a wide range of rigorous data analyses to track progress and identify appropriate priorities for improvement. A very few leaders are less confident in their use of data. Challenging whole-school targets are set, as well as challenging targets for individual pupils, groups of learners, departments and year groups. Performance management processes are used effectively to improve staff performance, to identify and prioritise individual and whole-school training needs and to deal with underperformance. The school deals robustly with any instances of underperformance. Performance management targets are linked clearly to whole-school priorities and focus appropriately on improving teaching and learning and raising standards. The school has implemented a comprehensive range of successful strategies and interventions to meet national and local priorities, and these have positively impacted on provision and outcomes. These have been particularly successful in producing improvements in literacy and numeracy, especially for those judged as being below functional levels on entry to the school, and in outcomes for FSM pupils. The school’s work on tackling disadvantage has been shared widely, including at an Estyn conference, in an Estyn best practice guide, in the CSC best practice website in July 2015 and at a Capita conference in Sept. 2015. In 2017 we were a case study in the review of Healthy Relationships. ‘The following case study shows how Cathays High School in Cardiff provides a high quality programme of health and relationships education. The school ensures that provision is relevant to the needs of all pupils, including those from vulnerable groups.’ Priorities for Improvement - Implement the new TLR staffing structure to improve standards, teaching and leadership even further. 5.2 Self-evaluation processes and improvement planning Self evaluation processes There is a well-established culture of rigorous self-evaluation which is underpinned by regular and robust quality assurance activities and monitoring, e.g. through SMT meetings. This leads to the identification of suitable strategic priorities and challenging targets and directly informs improvement planning. Effective self-evaluation processes have led to improved outcomes over recent years, in nearly all achievement indicators. The school has a clear calendar of regular, valuable self-evaluation, quality assurance and monitoring activities which are applied consistently by nearly all leaders. These enable leaders to identify priorities for improvement, monitor the quality of provision and leadership and assess outcomes successfully. All senior leaders and most middle leaders thoroughly analyse, evaluate and monitor a wide range of data purposefully.
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Senior leaders make effective use of first-hand evidence on the quality of teaching through (all paired) lesson observations and work scrutiny to share good practice and plan for improvement. Middle leaders are making increasingly effective use of this first-hand evidence in carrying out departmental reviews of their and other departmental areas. In general, judgements on quality and standards are sound and reliable (paired activities are used effectively to moderate judgements) and are used well to hold staff to account. The school makes increasingly effective use of both internal and external (by invitation) focused reviews on different aspects of standards or provision to judge standards and the quality of provision and to make changes based on recommendations. For example, the focus on improving oracy for 2018/19 due to feedback from a SIG Learning Walk by three other schools that identified a reticence in pupils giving extended answers. Most senior and many middle leaders have a clear, accurate and honest view of the school’s main strengths and weaknesses and use this to plan strategically for the future. All staff are involved in SE and DP processes through annual consultation on the SER and SDP and regular consultation on different aspects of school life and work through working groups, thematic reviews and staff surveys – e.g. the school’s vision, pupil behaviour, Cathays Culture, staff wellbeing. SMT, HOY and HODs are fully involved through the writing of year, area or departmental SERs and DPs and involvement in departmental reviews. Governors have specific meetings where they focus strategically on the SER and the SDP. Pupils are increasingly involved in SE processes and are consulted regularly through form, year and school council agenda items as well as through surveys and focus groups. Parents are consulted through questionnaires at parents’ evenings and family Interviews, more recently though the establishment of the school PTA this has opened up another way to consult with parents. An example of this was a complete change in the school uniform led by the pupils giving presentations to the Governing Body. There have been some improvement with getting views from parents through the SLG, however this was not as successful as anticipated and more work needs to go into improving this in 2018/19. The school has clear systems and guidance for SLT and Middle Leaders to undertake quality assurance activities with considerable rigour. Governors understand their roles well and are well informed about the performance of the school and the issues which affect it. They are well informed about departmental provision and standards through presentations from middle leaders, senior Leaders and pupils. GB are well informed about school data and have had in-house and external training in developing their understanding of key performance data. Governors regularly challenge the school on a variety of issues, for example, Budgeting, TLR restructuring, option choices, standards, arrangements for SLAs. The GB are given regular reports and updates by SLT (and other staff) about the work of the school, some of which are specifically requested by the GB. This enables the GB to hold leaders to account and act as a critical friend. The governing body operates an effective committee structure with delegated responsibilities for decision-making within statutory requirements. Clear policies and procedures are in place for the GB to exercise key duties. There are suitable arrangements in place to deal with complaints.
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Adroddiad Hunan-arfarnu Ysgol Uwchradd Cathays High School Departmental Self-evaluation 207-18 Report
Priorities for Improvement Improve pupils’ ability to give extended answers for a few. Improvement planning The new RSLs for September 2018 successfully delivered their vision and plans for the next three years to ensure excellence in all priorities. There are clear links between the SER and monitoring activities and school improvement priorities, departmental improvement priorities, whole school targets and performance management targets for teaching and non-teaching staff. Improvement planning at senior level is based on a strong understanding of the school’s strengths and weaknesses through robust self- evaluation processes. At middle leader level this has been developed further through departmental reviews. There are regular and effective processes for monitoring, evaluating and reviewing the SDP, e.g. through SMT meetings, middle leader link meetings and governors’ committee meetings. As a result, appropriate changes and amendments are made throughout the year. The SDP is costed and clearly identifies those responsible for actions and tasks, those monitoring and those evaluating. Success criteria are realistic, measurable, achievable and challenging. Actions are time bounded and timescales are realistic. Area development plans follow the same format as the SDP. Development plans are appropriately resourced and resources are often made available mid-year if plans need to be adapted or changed. Development planning at all levels prioritises the core business of the school – improving pupils’ standards and outcomes. Development plans are focused sensibly on standards, provision and leadership and there are clear and appropriate themes running through plans and linking these three aspects. Strategies to bring about improvement are sensible and well-researched. Plans combine well the introduction of new strategies with the embedding of ones already introduced. All staff, including support staff, are involved in actioning improvement plan strategies. Improvement priorities focus specifically on the needs of disadvantaged pupils, particularly eFSM pupils, Czech-Slovak Roma pupils and those with significant literacy and numeracy needs. However, as the school has a very high number of pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds, all priorities are focused on the needs of these pupils. Improvements in outcomes or sustained strong performance (in comparison with the rest of the country) for these pupils exemplifies the effectiveness of this work. The school has a sound support plan strategy for improving the performance of teachers and TAs identified as not achieving the required standards. In 2017-18 –6 moved from adequate to good/excellent in subsequent lesson observations; in work scrutiny 2 moved from adequate to good with support, Another member of staff’s unsatisfactory practice was identify through an SLT QA process and is in capability processes for 2018/19. The school has a strong record of securing improvement in key indicators at KS4, attendance, the range and quality of learning experiences, and the school climate as a whole. School to school planning There are effective transition links with the high number of partner primary schools. These enable pupils to make a smooth transfer to the school. The transition co-ordinator visits as many partner schools as possible and there are numerous beneficial opportunities for pupils and
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Adroddiad Hunan-arfarnu Ysgol Uwchradd Cathays High School Departmental Self-evaluation 207-18 Report
parents to attend visits and events at the school. The projected Year 7 numbers for 2018-19 are reported to be the highest ever at 165 (our admission number) with 26 on the waiting list. Where possible, the transition programme focuses well on continuity and progression in teaching and learning. Strategies to support the transition process include school staff teaching in the primary schools and appropriate arrangements for the moderation of teacher assessments. The school manages and assures the quality of collaborative courses well through formal visits. Effective partnership working has ensured that many KS4 pupils at risk of disaffection have been provided with suitable courses which have improved their attendance and enabled them to achieve qualifications. Significant improvements have taken place in further working with our partner primaries. More pupils are now coming from the Roath area. Involvement in SIG groups including the planning of joint Inset. IWB team have given presentations to other schools on developing restorative practices. Our challenge advisor brought five Headteachers from Pembroke to a session where we shared our strategies for school improvement. The school was successful in its bid to commission the running of the PRU and has been successfully working with the unit for the past year. Priorities for Improvement For RSLs to implement their planning priorities for the next academic year. 5.3 Professional Learning Continuous Professional Development The school’s philosophy is one where professional learning at every opportunity is at the heart of everything it does. The school has now trained 3 members of staff on the Outstanding Facilitators Programme. In total we have 6 members of staff OTP trained (Outstanding Teaching Programme) and intend to train all RSLs in the first term to be OTP trained. A joint INSET took place between Cathays, Fitzalan, Llantwit and Cunfig on all aspects of teaching and learning, staff in each school were able to select a programme that met their departmental or personal needs. TO develop this further in 2018/19 we will have a joint INSET with our primary schools to develop teaching and learning and leadership. The school has a structured and strong programme of continuous professional development which involves all staff. This is clearly linked to the school’s priorities and to most individual and departmental needs. All staff are well supported by continuous professional development through INSET, appropriate courses, the performance management process and the school’s professional development structure. In 2016/17 there was a particular focus on leadership with the establishment of Emerging Senior Leaders; Established Middle Leaders and Emerging middle leaders. In 2017/18 the focus has been on action research within departmental areas. Leadership will be a strong focus in 2018/19 through the RSL structure. Over the past 3 years most teaching staff and/or TAs have been involved in delivering staff INSET through carousel structures.
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Adroddiad Hunan-arfarnu Ysgol Uwchradd Cathays High School Departmental Self-evaluation 207-18 Report
All staff are involved in direct classroom observation through the paired lesson observation structure, action research groups in departmental teams and observation of TAs, the departmental review processes, learning walks and engagement walks. Membership of PiXL and more recently Leadership Matters has enabled all middle leaders to develop their leadership skills well through PiXL courses and approaches, though development of leadership skills at different levels still remains a key focus and will be developed further in 2018/19 through leadership training from Andy Buck. Performance Management The school has an effective and established performance management system which involves all members of staff, including TAs and support staff. PM targets are linked appropriately to whole-school priorities and individual CPD needs. All PM targets, CPD needs and reviews are collected centrally and reviewed by the DHT. There are effective systems for reviewing performance against PM targets, these take place twice a year. There is a strong system of support for staff not achieving their targets and examples of underperformance have been dealt with robustly. Professional Learning Communities within and beyond the school Many staff are involved in lesson study groups which in 2017/18 has been departmentally based and involves action research and evaluation of their own practice. Staff volunteer to be members of specific forums such Positive Relationships Group and the Teaching and Learning Group. The school has well-established and developing links with other schools and organisations which contribute positively to the school’s development. In 2017/18 headteachers from Pembroke visited us for a presentation on all aspects of our school improvement. The school is involved in a number of active SIG and SIGlet groups and CSC groups. For example, the English department have contributed to and gained from resources developed by the CSC English group; Food and Business departments have been involved in leading the CSC schools in implementing the new specifications; The Teaching and Learning SIG group took turns in carrying out learning walks in each school and this identified excellent practice and areas for development. The schools were Cynfig, Fitzalan, LlantwitMajor and Cathays High. Membership of the PiXL group has enabled the school to develop new and beneficial partnerships with PiXL partners and other schools in Wales and beyond. Adoption of key PiXL strategies has proved important in improving pupil outcomes. The Head of science and History is an associate to lead developments in science for Pixl schools. The school is an active member of CSC working groups for English, maths and science and of the SIG and SIGlet groups. The school has developed a number of beneficial partnerships with other schools. These include working with Cefn Hengoed, St Teilos, Mary Immaculate, Bishop of Llandaff, to learn from their good practice in a number of areas as well as sharing our own good practice. School staff regularly visit other schools to learn good practice and welcome visits from other schools. Priorities for Improvement Develop the quality of teacher further through developmental lesson observations for staff that have 3 or more good or better judgements. Train RSLs on the OTP programme in the first term. Refresh our leadership programme by starting the year with Training from Andy Buck from Leadership Matters.
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Adroddiad Hunan-arfarnu Ysgol Uwchradd Cathays High School Departmental Self-evaluation 207-18 Report
5.4 Use of resources The school is appropriately staffed and best use is made of staff time, expertise and experience. Few staff teach outside their subject specialism. All staff have opportunities to develop their skills. The school has a strong record of managing staff and financial resources effectively to support the diverse needs of the school community well, most especially in the past three years where falling rolls have impacted on the budget. However, the school has stayed in budget surplus despite the challenging times. The PM system is effective in identifying the development needs of staff. There are robust processes to ensure resources are targeted to meet school development priorities, all priorities are costed against PDG and the EIG. The school does not have a deficit budget and has made no redundancies. Financial and budgetary arrangements are good, as identified in the most recent audit report. All plans are carefully costed. More recent data for 2017-18 from the benchmarking wales website shows that we spend more money on teachers and teaching assistants per pupil than schools that have a similar SEN or FSM %, showing that we have kept class sizes smaller where possible. 17.18 Teaching per pupil spend o Cathays - £2,786 o School group size 2 schools - £2,626 o FSM group 3 schools - £2,714
17.18 TAs (I’ve included the ‘classroom staff’, ‘SEN support’ and ‘SRB unit’ categories) o Cathays - £862 o School group size 2 schools - £458 o FSM group 3 schools - £692
Over time, the school has made very effective use of the PDG, resulting in strong outcomes for FSM pupils. The school makes effective use of the MEAG grant to ensure pupils with significantly high levels of EAL make good progress and achieve qualifications by the end of their compulsory schooling. The MEAG grant does not fully cover the cost of the provision the school provides due to a significant reductions from April 2017. The school makes effective use of the EIG grant. Class sizes are carefully monitored in the 6th form to ensure value for money and staffing is reduced or provision is put into partnership arrangements where class sizes are too small. The school has, over the past 6 years, carried out significant improvements to the physical learning environment in 2017/18 refurbishments took place to pupil toilets. 50 | P a g e
Adroddiad Hunan-arfarnu Ysgol Uwchradd Cathays High School Departmental Self-evaluation 207-18 Report
Despite its age, the accommodation is well maintained (within budgetary constraints) and is sufficient for the numbers of pupils in the school at present. Toilet facilities are appropriate and regularly maintained and have recently been upgraded. The site is secure with a high fence all around. The grounds are well maintained. All pupils have access to all areas of the school provision and there is a clear ethos of recognising and celebrating diversity throughout the school. Commissioning arrangements to oversee the finance and leadership of the PRU started in 2017/18 with progress being made with identifying areas for bulk buying and economies of scale. The PRU is in budget surplus. Caretaker resources have been managed by our estates staff. The physical environment has no negative impact on standards. In view of the outcomes achieved by pupils, the school provides excellent value for money. Priorities for Improvement Implement the Premises Action Plan and the Health and Safety Plan which is ongoing. Continue to forge links with the council to ensure we are included in any asset renewal programme in the interim years before the new school is built. For 2019/20 the school will need extra classrooms to fit in the larger year groups coming through, initiate discussions with the LA.
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