INSPECTION REPORT MILLOM SCHOOL Millom LEA area: Cumbria Unique reference number: 112388 Headteacher: Mr L J Higgins Reporting inspector: Bill Stoneham 27407 Dates of inspection: 31st March – 3rd April 2003 Inspection number: 254233 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: Comprehensive School category: Community Age range of students: 11-18 Gender of students: Mixed School address: Salthouse Road Millom Cumbria Postcode: LA18 5AB Telephone number: 01229 772300 Fax number: 01229 772883 Appropriate authority: Governing Body Name of chair of governors: Professor Colin Richards Date of previous inspection: March 1997 Millom School - 3 INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM Subject Aspect Team members responsibilities responsibilities 27407 Bill Stoneham Registered inspector Business Information about the studies school The school’s results and students’ achievements How well students are taught Leadership and management What should the school do to improve 19743 Ann Taylor 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? 11508 Chris Griffin Team inspector English English post-16 8341 William Wimshurst Team inspector Mathematics Mathematics post-16 18542 Gerald Griffin Science Biology post-16 8682 Martin Trevor Design and technology Design and technology post- 16 31765 Ian Hume Information and communication technology 11720 Philip Winch Modern foreign languages Citizenship 30457 David Evans History Millom School - 4 15462 Clifford Blakemore Geography How good are curricular and other opportunities? 4689 Monica Christian Art and design 30072 Joseph Skivington Music Spiritual, moral, social and cultural Religious development education 2141 John Oxley Physical education Physical education post- 16 20119 Anthony Bell Special educational needs The inspection contractor was: Serco QAA Herringston Barn Herringston Dorchester Dorset DA2 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 Millom School - 5 REPORT CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION 7 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 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 ANNEX: THE SIXTH FORM 12 PART B: COMMENTARY HOW HIGH ARE STANDARDS? 15 The school’s results and students’ achievements Students’ attitudes, values and personal development HOW WELL ARE STUDENTS TAUGHT? 19 HOW GOOD ARE THE CURRICULAR AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED TO STUDENTS? 21 HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS STUDENTS? 24 HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS 26 HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED? 28 WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER? 31 SEN ASSESSMENT 32 PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS 33 PART D: THE STANDARDS AND QUALITY OF TEACHING IN AREAS OF THE CURRICULUM, SUBJECTS AND COURSES IN KEY STAGES 3 AND 4 40 PART E: THE STANDARDS AND QUALITY OF TEACHING IN AREAS OF THE CURRICULUM, SUBJECTS AND COURSES IN THE SIXTH FORM 62 Millom School - 6 INTRODUCTION In this report efforts have been made to minimise the use of shorthand notations, though some have been used. Throughout the report, the notation ICT refers to information and communication technology. SEN is used to denote students who have special educational needs and SENCO refers to the special needs co-ordinator. An LSA is a learning support assistants and an IEP is an individual education plan. PHSE refers to the school’s programme for personal, health and social education. In the sixth form section of the report, comparisons to national averages are based on data for the academic year 2000/2001. When the report was published national comparative data for the academic year 2001/2002 was not available for sixth form education though it had been published, and is used in this report, for Years 7 to 11 inclusive. Millom School - 7 PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL Millom School is a popular and growing specialist technology college serving the small town of Millom and a large part of rural West Cumbria, a sparsely populated region. Parts of the catchment area are economically disadvantaged and other parts are still recovering from the effects of the 2001 foot and mouth disease epidemic. The school is smaller than average. There are 723 students on roll, including 72 sixth formers. The numbers of boys and girls attending the school are very similar. The students are mainly of white UK origin; less than one per cent of students are from other backgrounds and there are very few students for whom English is an additional language. The proportion of students identified as having special educational needs is broadly average, but the proportion with a Statement of Special Educational Needs is above average. Students’ attainment on entry to the school varies widely but, overall, is below average. HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS This is a very good school. Students in Years 7 to 11 achieve very well and the achievement of sixth formers is good. Teaching and learning in all years, including the sixth form, are good. Leadership and management of the school are very good and the school provides good value for money. The cost effectiveness of the sixth form is also good. The principles of best value are thoroughly understood and they are applied very well. The school has recorded a good level of improvement since the last inspection. For the school to improve further, some of the advances it has made need to be fine-tuned in order to improve effectiveness further. What the school does well · The very good leadership of the headteacher, other members of the senior management group and the governing body, in establishing a clear educational direction for the school. · The leadership and management offered by many heads of department. · The quality of teaching and learning in many lessons, including the sixth form. · Achievement is very good; during their time in the school, students make significantly greater progress than students nationally. · The very good provision made for spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and the impact this has on personal development and relationships. · The very good provision made in design and technology. What could be improved · Although standards in ICT are above average and achievement is good, more consistent opportunities need to be provided for students to use ICT as a tool to help their learning. · The more consistent use of assessment information to improve the students’ knowledge of grade criteria, their target grades and what they need to do to achieve them. 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 previously inspected in March 1997. A good level of improvement has been recorded since this date. The quality of teaching and learning has continued to improve and the majority of lessons are now good or better. This reflects the school’s commitment to raising standards by monitoring and evaluating its work. Good progress has been made against the key issues for development identified in the previous inspection. Standards at the end of Year 9 in the core subjects of English, mathematics and science have risen at least in line with the national pattern and GCSE results at the end of Year 11 and A level results at the end of Year 13, have improved. The school has met or Millom School - 8 exceeded its suitably challenging targets. In relation to its income, the school has continued to show good value for money and it is on course to meet its current targets. STANDARDS The table shows the standards achieved by students at the end of Year 11 and sixth form students at the end of Year 13 based on average point scores in GCSE and A-level/AS-level examinations. compared with Key similar Performance in: all schools schools well above average A above average B 2000 2001 2002 2002 average C below average D GCSE examinations C B A A* well below average E A-levels/AS-levels B B N/A Results in the 2002 National Curriculum tests at the end of Year 9 were above average in English in comparison to all schools, while in mathematics and science they were average. When compared to schools having a similar proportion of students eligible for free school meals, results in English and mathematics were well above average and in science they were average. The results in English and mathematics, in particular, when considered against the students’ standards on entry to the school in Year 7, are significantly better than expected and show that the students achieve well during their first three years in the school. At the end of Year 11, the average points scored in GCSE examinations has been increasing and, in 2002, results were well above average.