INSPECTION REPORT ESTON PARK SCHOOL Eston Middlesbrough LEA area: Redcar and Cleveland Unique reference number: 111723 Headteacher: Mr J Rogers Reporting inspector: Mr Graeme Clarke 1547 Dates of inspection: 25– 28 February 2002 Inspection number: 199481 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 pupils: 11 to 16 years Gender of pupils: Mixed School address: Burns Road Eston Middlesbrough Postcode: TS6 9AW Telephone number: 01642 466101 Fax number: 01642 466101 Appropriate authority: The governing body Name of chair of governors: Mr N Martin Date of previous inspection: March 1998 Eston Park School i INFORMATION ABOUT THE INSPECTION TEAM Team members Subject responsibilities Aspect responsibilities 1547 Graeme Registered What sort of school is it? Clarke inspector Equal opportunities; How high are the standards? – The school’s results and achievements. How well are the pupils taught? How well is the school led and managed? What should the school do to improve further? 19807 Keith Lay Pupils’ attitudes, values Osborne inspector and personal development; How well does the school care for its pupils? How well does the school work in partnership with parents? 12844 Michael Team English. Literacy. Saunders inspector 12183 Paul Team Mathematics. Numeracy. Ingram inspector 16786 Dr Team Science. Selwyn inspector Hodge 4689 Monica Team Art. Christian inspector 31831 Keith Team Design and technology. Watson inspector 11300 Barry Team Geography. How good are the Smith inspector curricular and other opportunities offered to pupils? 15971 Michael Team History. Pye inspector 1578 Maureen Team Information and Sinclair inspector communications technology. 24887 Yvonne Team Modern foreign languages. Salmons inspector 8360 Frederick Team Music. Peacock inspector 27226 Richard Team Physical education. Cribb inspector 16890 Maureen Team Religious education. Key Stage 3 strategy. Potter Inspector 20119 Tony Bell Team Special educational needs. inspector Eston Park School ii The inspection contractor was: Westminster Education Consultants Old Garden House The Lanterns Bridge Road London SW11 3AD 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 Eston Park School iii REPORT CONTENTS Page PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT 1 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 PART B: COMMENTARY HOW HIGH ARE STANDARDS? 6 The school’s results and pupils’ achievements Pupils’ attitudes, values and personal development HOW WELL ARE PUPILS OR STUDENTS TAUGHT? 10 HOW GOOD ARE THE CURRICULAR AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED TO PUPILS OR STUDENTS? 12 HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL CARE FOR ITS PUPILS? 16 HOW WELL DOES THE SCHOOL WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS 18 HOW WELL IS THE SCHOOL LED AND MANAGED? 19 WHAT SHOULD THE SCHOOL DO TO IMPROVE FURTHER? 24 OTHER SPECIFIED FEATURES 25 Key Stage 3 Strategy Special Educational Needs PART C: SCHOOL DATA AND INDICATORS 27 PART D: THE STANDARDS AND QUALITY OF TEACHING IN AREAS OF THE CURRICULUM, SUBJECTS AND COURSES 33 Eston Park School iv PART A: SUMMARY OF THE REPORT INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL Eston Park School is a mixed comprehensive school for pupils aged 11 to 16 years in the Eston area of East Middlesbrough. Most pupils come from primary schools in the locality. Attainment in the National Curriculum tests for the great majority of pupils, who join the school at 11, are well below national averages. The number of pupils has been rising, year on year and there are now 706 on roll. More than 98 per cent of pupils come from a white UK heritage. Three pupils do not have English as their first language, well below the national average. Almost a quarter of pupils have special educational needs (SEN) and nearly five per cent have statements of special need, which is well above the national average. The local area has many social disadvantages. This is reflected in the well above average proportion of pupils, 38 per cent, who have free school meals. The school benefits from being part of an Education Action Zone (EAZ) and from the support of the Excellence in Cities initiative. Parents are very supportive of the school and this year, for the first time, there were more applications than places for admission into Year 7. HOW GOOD THE SCHOOL IS Eston Park is an effective school that has made substantial improvements in a number of areas since the last inspection. More than 96 per cent of the teaching is satisfactory or better and nearly two thirds is good. The headteacher provides extremely effective leadership. The governors and senior management share the same strong commitment to improving the education offered by the school. They have set very challenging targets, and have the capacity to succeed. Although the standards of attainment last year in National Curriculum tests and GCSE examinations were well below average, pupils presently in school are making good progress and are achieving well. Academic standards are set to improve. The standards of pupils’ behaviour, personal development and relationships are very good. The school is inclusive in outlook and provides well for pupils with special educational needs. Financial planning is very good. Taking all this into account, and the very low standards on entry, the school is providing good value for money. WHAT THE SCHOOL DOES WELL · Demonstrates very good management of pupils, in and out of lessons. · Has very good arrangements for promoting good behaviour, leading to very high standards. · Promotes very good personal development and relationships. · Develops very constructive and effective relationships with its partner institutions, particularly primary schools. · Provides very good opportunities for pupils’ moral and social development. · Has very good arrangements for providing effective educational and personal support and guidance. · The headteacher and key staff provide very good leadership and management. · The governors very effectively give direction to the school as a result of their very good understanding of its strengths and weaknesses. Eston Park School 1 WHAT COULD BE IMPROVED · Standards of attainment, in core subjects of English, mathematics and science particularly. · The provision for numeracy throughout the curriculum. · The quality of provision in information and communication technology (ICT) and religious education (RE), including meeting statutory curriculum requirements. · Pupils’ autonomy and their responsibility for their own learning. · Attendance. · Library resources. 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 last inspected in March 1998, and has improved substantially since then. There has been significant involvement in local initiatives to develop literacy and numeracy. Provision for literacy development is good. The literacy strategy is evident in most departments and involvement in the Secondary Reading Partnership over the past two years has led to very good progress for pupils. However, many subjects do not yet use number work systematically to promote learning in their subjects. The home school liaison officer has undertaken assiduous work to improve attendance, but overall it is still below average. A coherent assessment and target-setting system is securely in place but teachers’ use of information from assessments to guide lessons needs further development. Clear progress has been made in ensuring that all pupils who can achieve success are entered in GCSE examinations. Provision for modern foreign languages is good. Sex education is integral to the effective personal, social and health education programme. However, changes to arrangements for information and communication technology (ICT) have not brought about improvements. Religious education (RE) provision still does not meet the requirements of the local agreed syllabus. Provision for spiritual, moral, social and cultural education is now good overall. Teaching quality is higher as a result of professional development focused on improvement. Fewer instances of unsatisfactory teaching occur and these are usually by non-specialists. STANDARDS The table below shows the standards achieved at the end of Year 11 based on average point scores in GCSE examinations. compared with Key Performance in: all schools similar schools