Inspection Report Stanwell School 2015
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A report on Stanwell School Archer Road Penarth Vale of Glamorgan CF64 2XL Date of inspection: May 2015 by Estyn, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate for Education and Training in Wales During each inspection, inspectors aim to answer three key questions: Key Question 1: How good are the outcomes? Key Question 2: How good is provision? Key Question 3: How good are leadership and management? Inspectors also provide an overall judgement on the school’s current performance and on its prospects for improvement. In these evaluations, inspectors use a four-point scale: Judgement What the judgement means Excellent Many strengths, including significant examples of sector-leading practice Good Many strengths and no important areas requiring significant improvement Adequate Strengths outweigh areas for improvement Unsatisfactory Important areas for improvement outweigh strengths The report was produced in accordance with Section 28 of the Education Act 2005. Every possible care has been taken to ensure that the information in this document is accurate at the time of going to press. Any enquiries or comments regarding this document/publication should be addressed to: Publication Section Estyn Anchor Court, Keen Road Cardiff CF24 5JW or by email to [email protected] This and other Estyn publications are available on our website: www.estyn.gov.uk © Crown Copyright 201X: This report may be re-used free of charge in any format or medium provided that it is re-used accurately and not used in a misleading context. The material must be acknowledged as Crown copyright and the title of the report specified. Publication date: 15/07/2015 A report on Stanwell School May 2015 Context Stanwell School is an English-medium mixed 11 to 19 comprehensive school with foundation status situated in Penarth, Vale of Glamorgan. There are around 2,000 pupils on roll, of whom around 470 are in the sixth form. These figures represent an increase since the time of the last inspection when there were around 1,830 pupils on roll. The school serves the communities of Penarth and Sully and it also attracts around three in every ten pupils from outside the catchment area. Around 6% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, which is well below the national average of 17.5%. Just over 4% of pupils live in the 20% most deprived areas of Wales. Pupils entering the school represent the full range of ability. Around one in 10 have a special educational need. This figure is lower than the national average of 20.1%. Roughly 1% of pupils have statements of special education needs, which is below the national rate of 2.4% in Wales as a whole. Approximately one in ten pupils is from ethnic-minority backgrounds other than white British. A small proportion of pupils receive support to learn English as an additional language. Less than 1% of pupils speak Welsh fluently. The headteacher has been in post since 2011. He is supported by two deputy headteachers and three assistant headteachers, all of whom have been in post for at least three years. The individual school budget per pupil for Stanwell School in 2014-2015 means that the budget is £3,889 per pupil. The maximum per pupil in the secondary schools in the Vale of Glamorgan is £4,569 and the minimum is £3,889. Stanwell School is eighth out of the eight secondary schools in the Vale of Glamorgan in terms of its school budget per pupil. 1 A report on Stanwell School May 2015 Summary The school’s current performance Excellent The school’s prospects for improvement Excellent Current performance The school is excellent because: Performance at key stage 4 has been very strong over many years The progress made by pupils from key stage 2 to the end of key stage 4 in the level 2 threshold including English and mathematics and the average wider capped points score is significantly better than expected In the sixth form, pupils’ performance is well above that seen in similar schools Performance by pupils eligible for free school meals is well above the average achieved by this group of pupils nationally and in similar schools More able pupils achieve exceptionally well Pupils make rapid progress in developing their knowledge, skills and understanding Pupils display well-developed thinking skills and respond effectively, displaying purpose, resilience and creatively when solving problems Pupils’ behaviour and engagement in learning are exemplary Pupils’ social skills are extremely well developed Prospects for improvement The school’s prospects for improvement are excellent because: Senior leaders articulate a very clear vision for the school that is embraced and respected by the entire school community The school’s resolute focus on excellence has delivered outstanding academic outcomes as well as developing pupils who behave exceptionally well and display notable maturity The school’s exceptional ethos and physical environment contribute significantly to a very strong learning culture that exists across the school The school has a strong track record of securing success against its challenging goals National, regional and local priorities, such as literacy, numeracy and raising the attainment of pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds, are addressed systematically and effectively Extensive and well-established partnerships with a range of schools and agencies impact positively on pupils’ development in and beyond the school The school manages its resources exceptionally well 2 A report on Stanwell School May 2015 Recommendations R1 Meet statutory requirements for the curriculum at key stage 4 R2 Improve the overall evaluation and use of findings from lesson observations and work scrutinies and sharpen the monitoring of in-class support for pupils with additional learning needs What happens next? The school will draw up an action plan that shows how it is going to address the recommendations. Estyn will invite the school to prepare a written case study, describing the excellent practice identified during the inspection. 3 A report on Stanwell School May 2015 Main findings Key Question 1: How good are outcomes? Excellent Standards: Excellent Over the last four years, performance at key stage 4 has been very strong. In 2014, the headline indicator that includes English and mathematics is well above modelled expectations. This has been a consistent feature for many years. Likewise, performance in the core subjects of English and mathematics has been very good over time with further improvements in both subjects in 2014. Performance in science has been more variable, although it has also increased well in 2014. Progress made by pupils from key stage 2 to the end of key stage 4 in the level 2 threshold including English and mathematics and the average wider capped points score is significantly better than expected. At key stage 3, the proportion of pupils achieving the core subject indicator has increased steadily over the last three years. In 2014, performance is above modelled expectations and places the school in the upper half of similar schools based on free-school-meal eligibility. At key stage 4, the performance of girls is overall marginally better than that of boys. The gap in performance is most notable in English, although this has reduced in recent years due to the improving performance of boys. At key stage 3, gender differences in performance are generally minimal, although boys’ standards in writing are weaker than those of girls. At key stage 4, performance of pupils eligible for free school meals is very good and is well above the average achieved by these pupils nationally and in similar schools. At key stage 3, the performance of pupils eligible for free school meals has improved well over the last three years. In 2014, it is well above the national average for these pupils. Pupils with additional learning needs and those for whom English is an additional language generally make expected progress across headline indicators that include English and mathematics. At both key stage 3 and key stage 4, more able pupils achieve very well. This is a particular strength of the school. The proportion of pupils staying on in full time education after Year 11 is well above the national average. In the sixth form, during the last five years, nearly all pupils have achieved the level 3 threshold. Pupils’ performance in the average wider points score has been very strong over recent years and their performance is well above that of similar schools. In most lessons, pupils make rapid progress in developing their knowledge, skills and understanding. Overall, they complete a substantial amount of work across subject areas. They display a thorough recall of previously learnt work and apply this readily into new areas of learning or when solving problems. When faced with challenging problems, they show well-developed thinking skills and respond effectively, displaying purpose, resilience and creativity to find solutions. In a minority of lessons, pupils show an exceptional insight into their work and make superb progress. In particular, they use sophisticated vocabulary when constructing 4 A report on Stanwell School May 2015 arguments, and are able to summarise information and evaluate their work and that of their peers highly effectively. In a very few lessons, pupils do not make as much progress as they should. This is largely due to the lack of stimulating and challenging activities set by teachers. Most pupils contribute extremely well to classroom discussions. They express their thoughts clearly and confidently using well-chosen language. Their listening skills are particularly well developed and they follow instructions and carry out tasks with minimal support. Most pupils demonstrate well-developed reading skills and work competently with a wide range of different texts across subject areas. Many pupils produce well-constructed pieces of extended written work in English and in other subjects.