Chosen Hill School Inspection report Unique Reference Number 115763 Local Authority Gloucestershire Inspection number 326266 Inspection dates 3–4 June 2009 Reporting inspector Anne Looney HMI This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005 under pilot arrangements; it was also deemed a section 5 inspection under the same Act. Type of school Comprehensive School category Foundation Age range of pupils 11–18 Gender of pupils Mixed Number on roll School (total) 1,407 Sixth form 251 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Mr David McTeer Headteacher Mrs Sue Turner Date of previous school inspection 16–17 November 2005 School address Brookfield Road Churchdown, Gloucester Gloucestershire GL3 2PL Telephone number 01452 713488 Fax number 01452 714976 Email address [email protected] Age group 11–18 Inspection date(s) 3–4 June 2009 Inspection number 326266 Inspection report: Chosen Hill School, 3–4 June 2009 2 of 12 © Crown copyright 2009 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated. 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. Inspection report: Chosen Hill School, 3–4 June 2009 3 of 12 Introduction This pilot inspection was carried out at no notice by two of Her Majesty’s Inspectors and three additional inspectors. The inspectors visited 27 lessons, and held meetings with governors, staff and groups of students. They observed the school’s work, and looked at the school’s self-evaluation and planning documents, policy documents and students’ work. The inspection team reviewed many aspects of the school’s work. It looked in detail at the following. Whether all groups of students in the school make good progress. Whether the school’s curriculum and care, guidance and support meet the needs of all students. The quality of the teaching and the specific features of teaching which promote enjoyment and help students make the best possible progress. How effective all senior and subject leaders have been in monitoring and evaluating the quality of the school’s work. Information about the school Chosen Hill is a large, popular school with 1,407 students on roll, including 251 in the sixth form. The school has had specialist technology school status since 1997 and launched a second specialism in languages in 2008 after it achieved high performing specialist school status. The school is situated on the outskirts of Gloucester and recruits students from over 40 feeder primary schools. The proportion of students entitled to free school meals is well below the national average as are the proportions of students who are from minority ethnic groups or who speak English as an additional language. The proportion of students with a statement of special education needs is above the national average. Inspection report: Chosen Hill School, 3–4 June 2009 4 of 12 Inspection judgements Grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Overall effectiveness 1 Capacity for sustained improvement 2 Main findings Chosen Hill School is an outstanding school which ensures its students make good progress and attain high standards but also become fully rounded individuals by the time they leave. Students at the school are courteous, attentive in class, considerate of their peers and consistently mature and thoughtful. They are excellent ambassadors for the school in their contributions to the wider community outside the school. Students benefit as a result of the outstanding curriculum on offer. Despite the fact that the curriculum was judged to be outstanding at the time of the last inspection the senior leaders have not been complacent. Review has been regular and rigorous to ensure that the curriculum moves with the times but also becomes increasingly personalised to meet the needs of all students. The school supports all students extremely well to ensure they can make the best of the opportunities provided. Students with learning difficulties and/or disabilities receive particularly well-targeted support. The overall quality of teaching is good. There is some outstanding teaching which really stimulates the students and involves them actively in their learning and the assessment of what they have learned. This high quality of teaching is not yet consistent across the school. The senior leaders are aware of the need to raise the standard of all teaching to that of the best and have established good systems to monitor teaching and identify strengths and areas for improvement. They are making good use of stronger subject leaders to improve practice across other areas and are supporting teachers well with targeted professional development. The school is particularly well led by the headteacher who has a clear vision for the school focused sharply on improving students’ learning. The headteacher has driven the school forward and made exceptionally good use of partnership activity through the specialisms, with Initial Teacher Education and with local schools to extend the opportunities for the students and enhance their learning. The governing body makes a highly significant contribution to this drive. The vision for the school is shared well throughout the school although there is some variability in the Inspection report: Chosen Hill School, 3–4 June 2009 5 of 12 effectiveness of the middle managers in monitoring, evaluation and improvement planning. The school has good capacity for sustained improvement. What does the school need to do to improve further? Improve the frequency of outstanding teaching by: - planning carefully to meet the needs of, and extend, all students - building into lessons more opportunities for collaborative, creative and independent learning - ensuring students are more actively involved in reflecting on their learning and their progress. Ensure consistency of rigour in the way middle managers monitor the work of their subject areas, evaluate impact on students’ progress and plan for improvement. Outcomes for individuals and groups of pupils 1 Students’ overall achievement is outstanding. All students show an interest in their work and are knowledgeable about how well they are doing. Their outstanding behaviour and attendance contribute significantly to how well they succeed. Students apply themselves well in lessons but, as they themselves say, they learn better in lessons that really engage them and which are active and varied in style. Attainment is high, as GCSE results have been consistently significantly above the national average. The school has regularly exceeded the challenging targets set and its own detailed monitoring system indicates that it is on track to do so this year as well. There has been a big upward trend in the percentage of students achieving five or more higher GCSE grades including English and mathematics: in 2008 this was 19% higher than in other schools nationally. Results in English have been exceedingly high and this is reflected in the quality of teaching, learning and assessment in that subject throughout the school. The progress students make over their time in Chosen Hill is good and there is no significant difference in the progress made by different groups. Students with learning difficulties and/or disabilities are well supported by the individual learning mentoring which secures their good progress. All students say that they feel safe at the school and report that the little bullying there is, is managed very well by the school. Relationships between students are of high quality and students with disabilities are equally involved in the extent to which they contribute to school life outside the classroom. Students’ ability to Inspection report: Chosen Hill School, 3–4 June 2009 6 of 12 reflect on issues is very well developed and they exhibit a strong sense of what is right and wrong. They have a secure understanding of world and international issues but their understanding of multicultural Britain is slightly more limited because of a lack of first-hand experience. These are the grades for pupils’ outcomes Pupils’ attainment1 1 The quality of pupils’ learning and their progress 2 The quality of learning for pupils with learning difficulties and/or disabilities and their 2 progress How well do pupils achieve and enjoy their learning? 1 To what extent do pupils feel safe? 1 How well do pupils behave? 1 To what extent do pupils adopt healthy lifestyles? 1 To what extent do pupils contribute to the school and wider community? 1 Pupils’ attendance1 1 How well do pupils develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to 1 their future economic well-being? What is the extent of pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development? 1 How effective is the provision? The overwhelming majority of teaching is effective in ensuring that students learn well and make good progress. Teachers have excellent subject knowledge and have high expectations of their students. Lessons are well planned with structured activities designed to build up students’ knowledge and skills. Learning objectives, whilst routinely shared with classes, are not always made explicit in terms of what students will learn by the end of the lesson. There is good use made of new technologies such as the virtual learning environment and video conferencing to extend learning opportunities. Some excellent teaching was observed by inspectors in English, science, drama, history and music. These lessons provided extensive opportunities for students to work collaboratively in groups or pairs or to learn independently. Questioning was probing and the teachers’ use of supplementary questions to really get students to think was very effective.