INSPECTION REPORT OAKWOOD SCHOOL Horley LEA Area: Surrey
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INSPECTION REPORT OAKWOOD SCHOOL Horley LEA area: Surrey Unique reference number: 125273 Headteacher: Mr Andrew Thompson Reporting inspector: Anthony Shield 3569 Dates of inspection: 26 – 30 November 2001 Inspection number: 199461 Full inspection carried out under section 10 of the School Inspections Act 1996 © Crown copyright 2002 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: Comprehensive School category: Community Age range of students: 11 - 16 Gender of students: Mixed School address: Balcombe Road Horley Surrey Postcode: RH6 9AE Telephone number: 01293 785363 Fax number: 01293 786465 Appropriate authority: Governing Body Name of chair of governors: Mr. P. Hawksley Date of previous inspection: March 1998 Oakwood School – Page 3 INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM Team members Subject responsibilities Aspect responsibilities 3569 Anthony Shield Registered What sort of school is it? inspector The school’s results and students’ achievements How well are students taught? How well is the school led and managed? What should the school do to improve further? 9970 John Acaster Lay inspector Students’ attitudes, values and personal development How well does the school care for its students? How well does the school work in partnership with parents? 15268 John English Team inspector Mathematics 23393 Brian Dower Team inspector English 22691 Ray Woodhouse Team inspector Science 20247 Roger Parry Team inspector Special Educational Needs Equal Opportunities 15606 Christine Hill Team inspector Art 31779 Vivian Harrison Team inspector Design and Technology 18638 Chris Shaw Team inspector Information and How good are the Communication curricular opportunities Technology offered to students? 4647 Judy Evans Team inspector Physical Education 31705 John Mason Team inspector Music 10759 Katherine Barrett Team inspector History 27666 John Dockrell Team inspector Modern Foreign Languages English as an additional language 12566 Barbara Jones Team Inspector Geography 1578 Maureen Sinclair Team Inspector Religious Education Oakwood School – Page 4 The inspection contractor was: Serco QAA Ltd. Herringston Barn Herringston Dorchester Dorset DT2 9PU 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 Oakwood School – Page 5 REPORT CONTENTS Page PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT 7 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 Students’ 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 PART B: COMMENTARY HOW HIGH ARE STANDARDS? 11 The school’s results and students’ achievements Students’ attitudes, values and personal development HOW WELL ARE STUDENTS TAUGHT? 14 HOW GOOD ARE THE CURRICULAR AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED TO STUDENTS? 17 HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS STUDENTS? 21 HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS? 23 HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED? 24 WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER? 28 PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS 29 PART D: THE STANDARDS AND QUALITY OF TEACHING IN AREAS OF THE CURRICULUM, SUBJECTS AND COURSES 33 Oakwood School – Page 6 PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL Oakwood School is a mixed comprehensive school for students aged 11 – 16, situated in Horley in the south-east of Surrey. The school’s intake represents a good social and academic balance, although some students come from economically advantaged homes. At around seven per cent, the proportion of students eligible for free school meals is below average. There are 1506 students on roll, with slightly more boys than girls in most years. Numbers on roll have been increasing rapidly. Attainment on entry overall is average although the percentage of students with special educational needs is above average, with 381 students on the register of special educational needs; this represents around 29 per cent of the school roll. Most of these are for learning or behavioural difficulties. Forty-four of these have Statements of Special Educational Need. The school houses a small unit for students with dyslexia. The overwhelming majority of students are of white UK heritage, with relatively small numbers from other ethnic groups. Seventeen students have English as an additional language, and five of these are at an early stage of acquisition. In common with many schools in the area, the school experiences high levels of staff turnover, but was fully staffed at the time of the inspection. HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS This is a good school in which above average standards are promoted by good teaching. All students achieve well in relation to their prior attainment. The headteacher’s strong leadership has successfully promoted a culture of high expectations and good levels of achievement. He is well supported by his governors and staff, who work with high levels of commitment to secure and maintain high standards in all areas of the school’s work. The school provides good value for money. What the school does well · Improving standards at all levels are the consequence of good teaching which is enabling students to achieve well. · The inspirational leadership of the headteacher is setting high expectations and giving a clear sense of direction and purpose. · The commitment of staff and the very good quality of relationships throughout the school community is encouraging students to have positive and enthusiastic attitudes to learning. · The broad curriculum, particularly in Years 10 and 11 which provides very well for the range of students’ abilities and aptitudes. · Very good procedures are in place for the monitoring of students’ academic and personal development because of the effective work of heads of year and form tutors. · The very good opportunities provided through extra-curricular activities for students to extend and enrich their learning. What could be improved · The rigour with which the school’s policies are implemented and monitored to ensure greater consistency and assurance of quality throughout the school. · The consistent use of information and communication technology in some subjects. · The use of short-term learning targets to enable students to understand the progress they are making and how they might improve. The school has considerably more strengths than weaknesses. The areas for improvement will form the basis of the governors’ action plan. HOW THE SCHOOL HAS IMPROVED SINCE ITS LAST INSPECTION Overall improvement since the last inspection in March 1998 has been good. The school has made strong improvements in GCSE performance, considerably faster than the national trend. Improvements in national test results at the end of Year 9 have been less marked but results are improving. The quality of Oakwood School – Page 7 teaching has improved and in particular the percentage of good and better teaching is higher than at the time of the last inspection. Key issues from the previous inspection have been satisfactorily addressed, including the requirements to improve provision for information and communication technology (ICT) and special educational needs. Some aspects of the quality of the accommodation are better but more remains to be done. STANDARDS The table shows the standards achieved at the end of Year 11 based on average point scores in GCSE examinations. compared with Key similar Performance in: all schools schools * well above average A above average B 1999 2000 2001 2001 average C below average D GCSE examinations C B B D well below average E * similar schools are those with a similar proportion of students eligible for free school meals. In 2001, the school’s test results at the end of Year 9 were below average in English, and average in mathematics and science. In recent years results in mathematics have improved steadily, those in science have remained constant, while the results in English have varied from year to year. Despite the below average results in English, inspectors found no evidence of below average standards amongst these students. A number of English papers were submitted for re-marking and results were upgraded. Overall the performance in tests has held steady over recent years and the average points score for all subjects has not improved as fast as the national average. The school’s GCSE results of 57 per cent of students gaining five or more A* to C grades in 2001 were above the national average. Although comparison with schools with a similar proportion of students eligible for free school meals suggests that achievement is below average, the achievement of students in relation to their prior attainment at the end of Year 9 was at least satisfactory. In addition, inspectors found very little evidence of any underachievement of students in GCSE courses. The percentage of students who achieved five or more GCSE grades A* to G was also above average. Students of all levels of attainment make at least satisfactory progress through Years 10 and 11, and both boys and girls do equally well. Results at GCSE have been improving strongly and at a faster rate than the improving national trend. Students in 2001 did not quite meet the challenging targets set for them by the school.