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Inspection Report George Dixon International School INSPECTION REPORT GEORGE DIXON INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL AND SIXTH FORM CENTRE Edgbaston LEA area: Birmingham Unique reference number: 103559 Headteacher: Sir Robert Dowling Reporting inspector: John Ashton 4492 Dates of inspection: 13 – 16 January 2003 Inspection number: 252241 Full inspection carried out under section 10 of the School Inspections Act 1996 © Crown copyright 2003 This report may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that all extracts quoted are reproduced verbatim without adaptation and on condition that the source and date thereof are stated. Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the School Inspections Act 1996, the school must provide a copy of this report and/or its summary free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL Type of school: Secondary School category: Foundation Age range of pupils: 11 to 19 years Gender of pupils: Mixed School address: City Road Edgbaston Birmingham Postcode: B17 8LF Telephone number: 0121 434 4488 Fax number: 0121 434 3721 Appropriate authority: The governing body Name of chair of governors: Mrs S Wright Date of previous inspection: 20 – 22 November 2000 George Dixon International School - 3 - January 2003 INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM Subject Aspect Team members responsibilities responsibilities 4492 John Ashton Registered inspector Biology What sort of school is it? The school’s results and achievements How well are pupils taught? How well is the school led and managed? What should the school do to improve further? 10361 Frank Evans Sixth form co- Religious How well is the ordinator education sixth form led and managed? Drama How well students are guided and supported 9843 Sarah Drake Lay inspector Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development How well does the school care for it pupils? How well does the school work in partnership with parents? Provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social, and cultural development 5910 Peter Fletcher Team inspector Mathematics Numeracy Assessment 19056 Graham Leech Team inspector English Literacy 20380 Neville Pinkney Team inspector Science Staffing Chemistry George Dixon International School - 4 - January 2003 12885 John Hunt Team inspector Information and How good are the communication curricular and other technology opportunities offered to pupils? 31129 Jeff Pickering Team inspector Art and design Learning resources 32211 Brendan Geoghegan Team inspector Design and Accommodation technology 31008 Pauline Rourke Team inspector Geography Special educational needs 30794 Gillian Murray Team inspector History 29178 John Connor Team inspector Modern foreign languages, French and Spanish 20189 Jagat Nagra Team inspector Modern foreign languages, Urdu and Panjabi 31660 Marianne Young Team inspector Music Citizenship 30800 Betty Colley Team inspector Physical Careers and work education experience 20081 Scott Fellows Team inspector English as an additional language Educational inclusion and race equality 27082 Geoff Henshall Team inspector Business education The inspection contractor was: George Dixon International School - 5 - January 2003 Nord Anglia School Inspection Services Strathblane House Ashfield Road Cheadle Stockport SK8 1BB Any concerns or complaints about the inspection or the report should be raised with the inspection contractor. Complaints that are not satisfactorily resolved by the contractor should be raised with OFSTED by writing to: The Complaints Manager Inspection Quality Division The Office for Standards in Education Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE George Dixon International School - 6 - January 2003 REPORT CONTENTS Page PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT 8 Information about the school How good the school is What the school does well What could be improved How the school has improved since its last inspection Standards Pupils’ attitudes and values Teaching and learning Other aspects of the school How well the school is led and managed Parents’ and carers’ views of the school ANNEX: THE SIXTH FORM 13 PART B: COMMENTARY HOW HIGH ARE STANDARDS? 17 The school’s results and pupils’ achievements Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT? 23 HOW GOOD ARE THE CURRICULAR AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED TO PUPILS OR STUDENTS? 26 HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS? 31 HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS 34 HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED? 35 WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER? 40 PROVISION FOR PUPILS WITH ENGLISH AS AN ADDITIONAL 42 LANGUAGE PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS 43 PART D: THE STANDARDS AND QUALITY OF TEACHING IN AREAS OF THE CURRICULUM, SUBJECTS AND COURSES IN KEY STAGES 3 AND 4 50 PART E: THE STANDARDS AND QUALITY OF TEACHING IN AREAS OF THE CURRICULUM, SUBJECTS AND COURSES IN THE SIXTH FORM 85 George Dixon International School - 7 - January 2003 PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL George Dixon International School is an inner city, 11-18, mixed sex, comprehensive school in Birmingham. There are 950 pupils on roll, which is a 34 per cent increase in just the last two years. It draws pupils from much further afield than its immediate locality of Ladywood, largely from areas of severe social and economic disadvantage towards the city centre. Boys outnumber girls by a ratio of three to two. The pupils are from a very wide range of ethnic and cultural backgrounds. At least half of them have English as an additional language, a proportion which is increasing almost daily. Well over 100 of these pupils are at an early stage of English language acquisition. Twenty nine different languages are spoken by pupils at the school. Presently, the main home languages are Urdu, Panjabi, Somali, Farsi, French, Albanian, Arabic and Dutch. Many of these pupils are asylum seekers or refugees, most recently from Somalia, fairly recently from Eastern Europe (Kosovo), and earlier still from the Indian sub continent. Over 50 per cent of pupils, three times the national average, are eligible for free school meals. There are 135 pupils on the school’s register for pupils with special educational needs, including ten in the sixth form. As a proportion of the school’s roll this is at the national average, but is almost certainly an underestimate. This is because there are numerous pupils awaiting assessment as the school struggles to cope with such a large influx of new pupils, and also a large turnover of pupils. Twenty-two pupils, including two in the sixth form, have statements of special educational needs, a proportion that is a little above the national average. Increasing numbers of students, 130 at present, attend the widening range of sixth form courses. HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS George Dixon is a truly international, thoroughly multicultural school. This is both a strength and a challenge. Some aspects of its work are outstanding. Leadership is inspirational and, in consequence, the morale and also the expectations of all who work and study in the school are higher than they have been for many years. Attainment remains low because many pupils either have special educational needs or they are at an early stage in their mastery of English. The achievement of pupils, however, is better than might be expected, because the quality of teaching they receive is so good. The school gives satisfactory value for the funding it receives. What the school does well Standards at the end of Year 9 are improving faster than standards nationally. In 2002, standards in mathematics and science at the end of Year 9 were above average compared to schools with similar proportions of pupils eligible for free school meals. The quality of teaching and learning is good throughout the school. The school’s leadership and management are very good overall, that of the headteacher is outstanding. Pupils’ and parents’ attitudes to the school are very positive, and relationships are excellent. The monitoring and development of teaching, and the arrangements for recruiting and inducting new teachers, are very good. The provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is excellent. Pupils with special educational needs are well provided for. The procedures for promoting good behaviour, and the resulting racial harmony it produces, are very good. The inclusiveness of the school is excellent. Every pupil is very well cared for and all are explicitly valued. What could be improved GCSE standards compared to all schools nationally have fallen in the last three years and are now very low. Higher attaining pupils, including those who are gifted or talented, are not challenged sufficiently in some George Dixon International School - 8 - January 2003 subjects. Some aspects of the school’s provision for pupils with English as an additional language need strengthening. The provision for music, and for information and communication technology across the curriculum, is weak. Some features of the accommodation are poor. One or two aspects of financial management need strengthening. The areas for improvement will form the basis of the governors’ action plan. HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION The school was removed from special measures in November 2000 since when it has made good improvement in the issues listed at that time. Sustained efforts have been made to improve pupils’ progress and to raise their attainment, with more success so far in the national tests at the end of Year 9 than in the GCSE examinations in Year 11. The quality of teaching is much improved, the result of a wider range of teaching strategies, including varying tasks to meet the needs of most individual pupils. At the moment, however, the highest attaining pupils and those who are gifted or talented are not challenged enough. Systematic attention has been given to developing pupils` speaking, listening and writing skills. The teaching of mathematics in particular is much improved.
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