Oxclose Community School Inspection report Unique Reference Number 108864 Local Authority Sunderland Inspection number 356440 Inspection dates 1–2 December 2010 Reporting inspector Andrew Johnson HMI This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Secondary School category Community Age range of pupils 11–16 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 983 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Mrs Linda Williams Headteacher Mr Tony Cunningham Date of previous school inspection 2 April 2008 School address Dilston Close Oxclose Village, Washington Tyne and Wear NE38 0LN Telephone number 0191 4195120 Fax number 0191 2193780 Email address [email protected] Age group 11–16 Inspection dates 1–2 December 2010 Inspection number 356440 Inspection report: Oxclose Community School, 1–2 December 2010 2 of 13 The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) regulates and inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children's services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report 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. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 1234 234, or email [email protected]. 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Inspectors observed the school's work, and looked at its self-evaluation process, development plan, lesson observation records, policies, safeguarding procedures and minutes of various meetings. Inspectors also analysed 307 questionnaires received from parents or carers, 278 from students and 62 from staff. The inspection team reviewed many aspects of the school's work. It looked in detail at the following. The progress students make in English, mathematics and science. The quality of teaching and learning, particularly in Key Stage 3. The impact of care, guidance and support on all groups of students. Information about the school Oxclose is a specialist Performing and Visual Arts community school attended by students who live mainly in the Washington area. The roll has grown since the previous inspection and is now around the national average. The school hosts a resourced provision for pupils with physical and medical difficulties which has 12 places. A relatively high number of students attending the school are in the care of the local authority. The vast majority of students come from a White British background. There are higher than average proportions of students known to be eligible for free school meals, and of students with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The school has gained many national awards including Healthy School status, International Schools Award, Arts Mark Gold Award and Investors in People Award. The school leads on the development of the Creative and Media Diploma for the local authority. Inspection report: Oxclose Community School, 1–2 December 2010 4 of 13 Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms Inspection judgements Overall effectiveness: how good is the school? 2 The school's capacity for sustained improvement 2 Main findings Oxclose has improved since the last inspection and is now a good school. Students start with average levels of attainment in a broad range of subjects including English, mathematics and science. On leaving, an above average proportion gain good grades in GCSE qualifications, including English and mathematics. Students behave in a mature and sensible way around the school and are keen to learn, with almost all groups making good progress in lessons. They enjoy coming to school; for example, the inspection took place in poor weather conditions but despite this, large numbers of students and staff were determined to attend. Overall, levels of attendance have improved and are now around average. The care, guidance and support students receive are outstanding. This means they feel safe and very few are excluded from school. Students are very well equipped for the next stage of their education. Most take action to improve their health by participating regularly in physical activities. The active school council makes a positive contribution to the community. This is an inclusive school that welcomes students with a wide range of abilities and needs. Students celebrate this and it enhances their good social and moral development. They respect each other's needs, interests and values. Teaching is good and in the great majority of lessons students develop good understanding and skills across a wide range of subjects. In the best lessons, teachers carefully match learning objectives and tasks to their assessment of studen ts' progress, so that students consolidate and extend their understanding. However, in a small minority of lessons, students spend too long working at one pace on the same topic. In particular, a few more-able students lose interest as a result of this approach and do not always reach the very highest grades at GCSE. The school's good curriculum is broad and has been strengthened significantly by its specialism in Visual and Performing Arts. Students are successful in a large number of subjects in Key Stage 4, particularly in the wide range of vocational options. In Key Stage 3, the curriculum has improved but it is not as imaginatively adjusted across all subject areas to meet students' needs and interests. Senior managers are committed to bringing about improvement to all outcomes and have a good track record. They provide effective leadership, self-evaluation is accurate and as a result, the school has a good capacity to improve. Communication with parents and carers is excellent, including those who are reluctant or unsure about approaching the school. The headteacher is held in high esteem by all and has been very effective in creating a climate to ensure the school's continuing improvement. The governing body provides effective support and ensures that the school complies with statutory requirements, including those to safeguard students. However, its interrogation of middle leaders' progress reports is sometimes not thorough enough and as a result, they are not fully and Inspection report: Oxclose Community School, 1–2 December 2010 5 of 13 Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms systematically involved in evaluating the school. Good partnerships underpin the school's work, particularly in its specialism. The school uses very effective strategies to ensure groups of students who may be subject to discrimination are treated fairly. Differences in the rates of progress made by particular groups of learners are reducing, although there are subjects where the trend is not as consistent. The observation of lessons usually leads to accurate evaluation of the quality of learning. However, there are some inconsistencies in the abilities of middle leaders to come to consistently accurate judgements on the quality of teaching and use this as part of the self-evaluation process. The school makes a good contribution to promoting community cohesion based on a clear analysis of the value it can add to its community. This is achieved through the school's extended provision. The school provides good value for money because outcomes for individuals and groups of pupils are good and the management of finances and resources are strong. What does the school need to do to improve further? Improve how some teachers use assessment to support learning by: ensuring lesson plans are used more effectively to identify personalised objectives for different groups of learners ensuring data on progress is used to set the appropriate level of work, especially for more-able students. Ensure leadership and management is consistently effective by: enhancing the skills used by middle leaders when observing lessons enabling the governing body to be more challenging in its evaluation of the work of middle leaders ensuring departmental self-evaluation includes a comparison of attainment and progress, across all groups of students. Outcomes for individuals and groups of pupils 2 Results in GCSE examinations and vocational qualifications are consistently above average and have improved over the last three years. Although no groups of students have under- attained in comparison to national averages, there are few subjects with an above average proportion of students gaining the highest grades at GCSE.