The Bulmershe School SEF · Web viewYear 12 data has remained at a Grade 7 for 2 years despite Biology and Photography moving from Blue grades to Black and Red respectively. At AS

The Bulmershe School SEF 2013 results

School Context

The Bulmershe School is a mixed 11-18 community school with a PAN of 240 per year group. There are 153 in the sixth form. Emma Reynolds, current Headteacher, came into post in January 2013, following the retirement of the previous incumbent after 15 years’ service.

STUDENTS

The percentage of students known to be eligible for free school meals over the last six years is 29%.The school population has significant low roll stability 82% compared to national 92% . The school receives many mid-phase, cross boundary admissions, with no prior attainment data. The circumstances of almost all of the mobile students admitted make them vulnerable.

The school takes from over 30 primary schools across Reading and Wokingham; transition procedures are a key focus for the school moving forward.

43% of students are from minority ethnic groups, over 41 languages are spoken by our school community. Trends indicate a significant increase in % of students who do not speak English as a first language rising to one in four students in current year 8.

SEND needs are 42% in key stage three year groups and our boy:girl ratio trend is has gradually moved to a much higher proportion of boys in these lower years.

The prior attainment of students in key stage three and four is significantly below national averages with a significantly greater proportion of students falling into the lower band of prior attainment and numbers in this lower prior attainment group increasing in the lower school. The profile of students over time shows increasing levels of need as the school’s roll is falling.

STAFFING

The school is fully staffed although consistent staffing remains a challenge in this area due to high living costs and managing the financial consequences of a falling roll.

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The school is part of the Wokingham Federation which consists of seven Secondary schools. The Federation has one of the largest consortiums of teacher training through Schools Direct.

There has been a significant development in the way data is used to ensure every teacher provides a learning experience suitable to enable every individual to progress.

The leadership team has been fully staffed from Easter 2013 and each member has clear roles and responsibilities for school improvement. The line management system has been simplified and restructured which means that systems of communication, monitoring and intervention are having a greater impact.

STUDENT GROUPING

The school sets in English, maths, and science from Year 7. In other subject areas where there are sufficient numbers for more than one class, setting is used wherever possible. Each lesson lasts for 60 minutes giving a total of 25 hours teaching time throughout the week to follow the national curriculum.

CURICULUM

In KS4, two pathways are offered – one with a vocational strand, the other comprises academic GCSEs. The curriculum has been reviewed with more emphasis on providing focus on basic skills in KS3 to ensure the gap is narrowed for the increasing number of lower ability students joining us. Stretching the more able has resulted in some subjects, for example separate sciences, beginning in year 9.

The school EAL provision has been recognised as a centre of excellence and planning is in place to support local schools with transition programmes for EAL students.

The school houses a resource unit for dyslexic students which is staffed by a fully qualified teacher and currently caters for 5 students. The school places individual students in alternative provision as appropriate and works closely with local providers to identify those students who would best benefit from off site work.

The school offers a wide range of extra-curricular opportunities which includes booster sessions, sporting activities, and music and drama performances. In addition, a number of our students undertake externally certified activities such as the Duke of Edinburgh Award and Sports Leader awards. Following very successful take up, the school has been identified as a National Citizen Service (NCS) Champion school; this will mean a significant number of key stage four and five students will benefit from a full programme of residential community projects. The school provides for a range of activities in the community and houses a nationally acclaimed table tennis club, a highly regarded gymnastics club and a very popular footballing centre for local children.

Overall Effectiveness: Grade 2

Summary

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The school has been through considerable upheaval over the last year with a new Headteacher, revised governing body and the start of a significant new build. During the last 12 months achievement has been its primary focus with the result that achievement is meeting expected student outcomes. The gap is narrowing between identified groups and pupil premium is being targeted for maximum but personalised impact. Teaching is mainly good and where it requires improvement is being rigou addressed. There is a positive ethos and the community is building confidence in the school at its heart. Students leave Bulmershe ready and well qualified to enter the next stage of their lives, be it at 16 or 18.

Sub criterion Main strengths Impact Areas for developmentAchievement and attainmentGrade 2

Attainment is positive and above national averages despite the schools roll being below average on entry

Gap between PP and non PP in 5A*-C (E/M) reduced from 35% to 17%SEN achievement raised by 15% from 2012- 2013

Further reductions in gap between pupil premium and non pupil premiumMaths, Business Studies and Computing require close support to improve performanceSEN ( school action and school action +) improved attainment

Behaviour and safetyGrade 2

Simplified behaviour for learning systemsHouse system used for rewardsPersonalised attendance interventions for all students and for PP students

Vast improvement in external exclusions over the past 9 months compared to previous periodsLowering numbers of removals from lessonsImproving attendance outcomes for key groups

Attendance and punctuality for PP and PA groupsMore emphasises on rewards and celebration across the whole school

TeachingGrade 2

A very well qualified staff, almost all lesson delivered by subject specialist.Good use of aspirational targets ( 4 levels progress)Seating plans identify key groups and support differentiationSharing teaching strategies aimed at participation and independent learning

12% rise in standards over the past three years

More focus on marking and feedback including time to reflect and respondMore use of differentiation across the schoolMore risk taking by staff to engage students in their own learning

Leadership and Management Leadership team hold clear roles and Managers share and disseminate school Talent management of staff for

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Grade 2 responsibilitiesHeads of department are held accountable for outcomes and weaker colleagues are beginning to understand their duty and having difficult conversationsSystems of lesson moderation and sharing good practice are in placeCommunication systems are strongerUnderstanding of use of data is robust

visionLines of accountability are clear- leadership is distributedUnderstanding of ‘good’ teaching is shared across the schoolGovernors have self- reviewed leading to a more streamlined, efficient body from January 2014 which will hold the leadership team to account.

succession planning

Raising all managers to at least good

SMSCGrade 2

Student led peer mentoringCharity work is actively promoted by students on all levels; focus on regeneration of school siteDelivery of personal development by a discrete team and in gender groups

Few racial incidentsRegeneration project is visually evident around schoolFewer lunchtime behaviour incidents

Whole school review ofContinue to develop lunchtime activities and ensure bad language is challenged

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1. Achievement and Standards: Overall Grade 2.

What are we saying about ourselves

Where’s the evidence? Achievement KS4 trends What does this mean we have to do?

Taking account of their different starting points, the proportions of students who make or exceeded expected progress compares very favourably with national averages. Therefore results demonstrate strong progress and good achievement

Grade 2- good

Key stage 4 2011 2012 2013 National 2012

% students 5A*-C GCSE

53% 77% 70% 79%

% students 5A*-C GCSE (E/M)

53% 66% 62% 58%

% students 5A*-G GCSE

96% 97% 97% 95%

% students 5A*-C GCSE (E/M) – gap%

2011 2012 2013 National 2012

G and T 94%(17)

95%(23)

100%(23)

94%

Pupil premium

46%(19)

33%(27)

47%(50)

39%

Further improve attainment and progress of pupil premium students

Further improve outcomes in year 11 A*-C (EM) for FSM, Action and action plus students

Raise standards of achievement at KS5

Increase outcomes of most able by increasing A/A* to above national average

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SEN 9.5%(19)

5%(18)

22%(23)

N/A

EAL 56%(46)

57%(46)

63%(46)

56%

Progress :key stage fourKey stage 4 2011 2012 2013 National

2012% students making expected progress(3 levels) in English

66% 67% 85%

% students making expected progress in Maths

60% 64% 73%

Overall summary The performance of some individual subjects and groups is noteworthy:

Separate sciences performed well; significant increase in higher grades especially Physics English ( 75.7%) and Maths ( 72%) continue to perform above the national average for A*-

C Increase in number of A*/A grades despite this cohort being below in number of higher

ability students

Close gap between male and femalesRaise achievement of white British males

Raise standards and progress in:

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Gap between pupil premium and non premium students (5* A* E/M) significantly closed to better than national average

Gap between SEN and non SEN closed significantly

Business Studies French History Technology

Current progress at key stage four is strongStudents in the current year 11 are making good progress towards the whole school targets

Cohort Pupil premium

SENA

SENP

SENS

EAL G and T Target whole cohort

% students 5A*-C GCSE

46% 73% 14.3% 0 65% 100%

% students 5A*-C GCSE (E/M)

33.3% 0% 14.3% 0 50% 100% 66%

% students 5A*-G GCSE

100% 99% 100 100 100 100

% students making 3 levels progress in English

58.8% 80 40 100 68.4 100

% students making 4 levels progress in English

23.5 40 20 75 36.8 82.4

%students making 3 levels progress in Maths

48.5 60 20 0 78.9 88.2

% students making 4 levels

21.2 0 0 0 57.9 70.6

What are we doing to secure these results:

Small groups intervention sessions on a weekly basis in Maths

6* per year data tracking and subsequent Raising achievement plans (RAPs) chart progress

A much greater awareness of the use of data shared in whole staff meetings and middle leadership meetings

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progress in maths

Key stage five: progress from 2012 to results 2013

Overall Standards:

Key stage 5 have had increasing numbers on roll over the last three years, there are 194 on roll in the Sixth Form (October 2013). Retention of students from Year 12 to 13 is lower than the national average and is an area for development in 2014 (6 th Form DIP). The A*-E for A2 in 2012 was 96.6%; this was broadly in line with the national however, AS was below the national which is supported by the L3VA data (L3VA 2013). The percentage of A*-B being awarded remains a focus area. (PANDA 2012) and we confidently predict A*-A will be significantly above our school target in 2014.

Insert percentage increases as bullet points

At Level 2, student success in vocational learning again exceeded the national by a 15.9% margin and the school achieved 100% retention on these courses (QSR Reports 2011-12).

Overall Progress:

ALPS (2013) rated A2 Value Added as a Grade 5 which is an improvement on ALPs 2012 where a Grade 6 was given. Year 12 data has remained at a Grade 7 for 2 years despite Biology and Photography moving from Blue grades to Black and Red respectively. At AS level, students in some subjects have made ‘Below Average’ progress, Music, Product Design and Sociology have been removed from the curriculum. English is the only subject to achieve above average Value Added at AS and A2 Level (L3VA 2013). Overall, the school’s value added for A2 is broadly in line with the national but at AS is below average and a focus for improvement (L3VA 2013).

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There is a need to stabilise the three year trend and establish and upwards movement of ALPs grades. This has begun at A2 and streamlining the curriculum at AS will produce the desired outcome.

Current Progress:

Due for analysis November 2013. Early indicators suggest that attendance is at 93% and the departmental monitoring system has been used consistently for year 12 and 13. ALPs monitoring reports will be used as an internal measure to help analyse progress.

2. Quality of Teaching: Overall Grade 2

The impact of teaching on progress and attainment over time in most subjects areas is good

1. Teaching in most subject areas is usually good with examples of outstanding teaching; internal observations indicate that 83% of teaching is good or betterWhere less than good teaching is observed, the coaching programme is applied to bring about improvementOver % of parents who responded to surveys are confident that their child is being well taught

2. Teachers plan and teach lessons and sequences of lessons that deepen students’ achievements and understanding. These lessons are well matched to students individual needsAll schemes of work have been revised to include differentiated activities for more able, SEN, EAL cohortsLesson planning focused on outcomes; what students are expected to learnLesson observations and learning walks note that lesson objectives are shared with students in almost all lessons and that they are referred to by most students in most lessons

3. The quality of formative and summative marking has improved since the introduction of a renewed marking and feedback policy in summer 2013. Teachers assess students learning and progress regularly and increasingly accurately.

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Lesson observations, analysis of students work have noted that marking is more frequent and results; students are aware of their target grades and how to improveWork scrutiny have noted that standard marking procedures are giving students a more consistent message about their progressStudents know their targets and these are displayed in their books, enabling them to track progress over the yearThe use of self and peer assessment is common throughout most subject areas and built into the whole school marking policy

4. Teachers have high expectations of student progress.There has been a marked improvement in using data to inform planning to ensure work matches the needs of all learners, with best practice modelled in English and PE.The expected targets of students is places at four levels of progress; indicating high expectations

5. A whole school drive on written assessment, has led to far more consistent practice across the school.For example, the school has invested considerable training time in the effective development of literacy across the curriculum, focusing on extended writing, question deconstruction and ‘talk like an expert’. A regular work scrutiny routine further evidences an increasingly coherent approach to literacy across the curriculum at all key stages, with students enjoying the opportunity to showcase their extended writing in subjects beyond English; this will lead to more confidence when dealing with terminal assessment demanding longer responses of students

6. There is a whole-school approach to course planning involving long term (programme of study), medium term (scheme of work) and short term (individual lesson) plans for all courses, including the sixth form and this includes an assessment framework. These plans tie formalised assessments into the school’s regular and robust data tracking processes. This has been effective in improving consistency of practice and increasing the robustness of the data reported to students and parents.

7. Improvements in the quality of teaching have also been achieved as a result of focusing professional development and training opportunities on teaching and learning, at whole-school, departmental and individual levels. Moderation of lesson judgements has been delivered at leadership and whole school level so staff’s understanding of what makes a good lesson is deepened

8. The school has embraced the new Teachers’ Standards and reviewed the appraisal system; the revised process requires all teachers to have an objective relating to the quality of their teaching, where the minimum standard is consistently good. A new lesson observation template has been introduced to compliment the

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new standards and to focus on the revised judgements on the quality of teaching. Evidence shows that this new template has contributed to improving the quality of teaching through closer-targeted feedback to teachers.

9. The ‘TeachLearn+’ group, led by our Teaching and Learning coordinators , has whole school representation and membership. The group focuses on identifying and sharing outstanding practice, embedding the non-negotiable of teaching and learning and diagnostic marking and introducing and leading new innovations such as progress charts and the development of independent working skills. The group has successfully delivered whole staff training sessions on topics such as Independent Learning and showing progress and these sessions have been very well received and impact is being reviewed.

Areas for improvement

Improve assessment and marking systems further to embed consistent practice across the whole school Improve independent learning with focus on student engagement not mentioned above Continue to develop strategies to share outstanding practice Meet target of 90% good or outstanding lessons observed Embed the strategy for moving RI to secure Good Embed strategy for ensuring numeracy is embedded across the school

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Behaviour and safety of students: Overall Grade 2.

We consider the behaviour and safety of students to be good because:

1. A large majority of students arrive at lessons ready to learn. They get straight down to work and concentrate for the full duration and are keen to tackle difficult problems. The uncommon low-level disruption which does occur is associated with teaching that does not fully engage students.

2. Over the last 6 months the school has launched a revised behaviour system in order to ensure the systematic and consistent management of behaviour; the impact is being regularly monitored in order to ensure preventative work can be planned for those students who regularly disrupt lessons. The system is clearer and swifter to remove students who disrupt leaning; the inclusion team has been redeployed to ensure more preventative work happens before students disrupt lessonsPercentage of lesson disrupted by behaviour running at 1% per week

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3. There are evidenced marked improvements in behaviour over time for individuals and groups with particular needs.; see case studies

4. In a Spring review of behaviour, the vast majority of students said they felt entirely safe and described themselves as usually happy in school. Parents’ results revealed that the school has reason to be happy with many of its activities and that their children feel safe at school; see file

5. The school has opened an isolation room where students can be sent to reflect if needed and also to be internally excluded. Use of the internal exclusion room has meant that students remain in school learning during their sanction. The school also has a cooperation agreement with two other schools in the Local Authority in order to send students who have been internally excluded. Current data demonstrates a marked drop in external exclusions since January 2013 when compared to the same period last year; Local authority data shows a remarkable drop over the past term.Rates of permanent exclusion last year were slightly above the national average by 0.23%. ; the grounds for all PEX were serious and fairly judged

6. Links with the community are important to our school. Where things go wrong beyond the school gates, the community police have also been used to support students and parents in these instances as issues have often started from the community and have been brought into school.

7. The personal development programme is delivered on a weekly cycle and addresses issues such as bullying and social exclusion. The school is proud of its ethos of social integration and actively pursues opportunities to celebrate diversity and culture. This means that students are confident when helping peers new to the school integrate into school life. Curriculum opportunities such as our citizenship curriculum delivers excellent results ( Raiseonline 2012).

8. Attendance has shown continuous improvement over the last three years, moving from 91.6 in 2009 to 93.7% in 2012 although there is still work to be done in this area. Punctuality to school has improved over the past two years due to an increased rigour of tracking and monitoring . The incidence of persistent absenteeism has reduced year on year to 8.7% in 2012 but this figure is still above the national average by 1.8%.

9. The percentage of student enrolments classed as persistent absentees has increased from 8.7% to 12%. The school has identified a clear link between absenteeism and pupil premium students; we know a proportion of our pupil premium students absent themselves from school. The school has developed personalised strategies to address these issues; interviewing each student to find out what the obstacles are and addressing problems- for example with transport or young carers.

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10. The school has recently piloted a programme of meeting parents of students in year 11 whose attendance is below 90%. For each of the students their attendance and grades increased over the half term. One student improved their attendance by 2%. The feedback from parents was very positive. Due to the success of this programme all year groups are now completing these meetings.

Areas for improvement

Drive up attendance of all groups to national averages with particular evidence on pupil premium Reduce the incidence of low level disruption by ensuring teaching engages all students Build capacity of RI teachers to manage behaviour for learning Further improve the personal development and citizenship course to foster awareness of e-safety. Raise the profile of the Houses to contribute to community cohesion Reduce the rate of fixed-term and permanent exclusions through the consistent approach towards behaviour management.

4. Leadership and Management: Overall Grade 2.

This was assessed by Ofsted in 2012 as satisfactory. Using this Ofsted grade as a platform the school has made significant progress in developing leadership. Capacity to improve is excellent and in Spring a Kirkland Rowell survey shows an outstanding majority of staff, students and parents who describe the school as improving. A recent local authority review described the revised school leadership team as strong and robust with a clear sense of direction. Stakeholder views have been sought by the wider

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school community through the Kirkland Rowell questionnaires; results indicate strengths and areas for development; these have been fed into school improvement planning to address the main issues identified by previous inspections.

The leadership team is fully staffed from Easter 2013. A full review of roles and responsibilities means that the structure is clear, coherent and sharply focused. The team is adept in the use of data to monitor and plan interventions as evidenced by improvements in overall attainment. The school has recently recruited a school business manager; a post which is crucial for the operational success of the capital build project which is due to start on site in August 2013.

From January 2013 a cohort of middle leaders have followed a bespoke, differentiated training programme aimed at achieving consistency and driving forward school improvement. The programme includes: lesson observation, monitoring and tracking, data analysis, operational procedures and talent management.

The middle management team have some very experienced, outstanding members for example the Head of English and the Head of PE alongside less experienced members of staff. The PE department, for example, have been selected as a model for national standardisation exam procedures

Three middle leaders are being coached by experienced colleagues, one further middle leader is working with trainee teacher programmes. Project work such cross curricular language teaching has impacted on the school by making the very best use of the more experienced models of leadership to support those leaders who are less experienced and less effective as leaders.

The Headteacher has set up, in consultation with staff, a robust and efficient review system designed to share good practice and identify areas of the school for development. A review of the appraisal systems in line with LA policy has led to some innovative work linking lesson observation with teacher standards- ensuring a clear focus on staff performance and student outcomes.

Student progress shows significant increases in some areas with upward trajectory since 2011 Progress rates very high and attainment has now risen above national average even though attainment on entry remains low. Students are aware of their targets at all levels and actions needed to improve.

The Headteacher commissioned an independent safeguarding review in Spring 2013 which described the school’s systems as healthy and strong. Further work is planned on training Governors and associate staff. These are underway or have been completed.A local authority recent review on SEN has deemed support in class as good. However financial constraints will mean restructuring of the team to ensure provision remains robust.

Work on the student premium and catch up premium projects has gained momentum over the past term; clear planning has focused resources on key groups and areas been identified to raise standards and provide opportunities. Attendance has been identified as a clear area for development for FSM students; a project pilot developed with year 11 students, resulting in a 2% increase in attendance, has now been rolled out across the school.

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The school is staffed by a committed team who regularly give up time to develop student learning beyond the school day. Governors are well informed of progress and challenge any areas of underperformance. The chair of governors is on the National leader of Governance course and has initiated a self review of the full Governing body.

Student leadership is a valuable area of school life which has been identified as an area of real potential for our student body. A current team of school ambassadors are providing excellent role models for the school community and their work will be further developed across the wider school community in coming months. The House system is being revamped to contribute to community cohesion and SMSC.

Actions to raise standards of attainment at KS4 and in the Sixth Form include a re-designed curriculum offer which for current Years 10 and 12. In addition, Advice and Guidance in Years 9 and 11 has improved, leading to more appropriate course choices. A bespoke curriculum planned within the mainstream is delivered for individual SEN/D and EAL students including Lexus ( reading and literacy programme) ,IGCSE in English and college courses.

In the sixth form a new fully equipped IT room has been developed to encourage independent study and supervised study periods have been introduced into the curriculum to assist students in managing their learning time effectively. The Extended Project Qualification is now in its second year. It is targeted primarily but not exclusively at the more able, to provide additional challenge and nurture students’ academic curiosity. Leadership of the sixth form has been reviewed and revised; the team going forward have experience and clarity about the vision for sixth form.

Areas for improvement: Develop and sustain a robust focused leadership team to ensure school improvement priorities are robustly driven Review and streamline middle leadership roles and responsibilities so that all staff know and understand lines of communication and accountability Develop middle leaders and ensure accountability is understood by all leaders so that standards are raised across the school. Embed leaders understanding of systems of monitoring, personalising the curriculum through differentiation and the use and abuse of independent learning

systems to ensure teaching and learning show strong evidence of student participation and challenge Implement five year curriculum plan

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Documents

The Bulmershe School SEF · Web viewYear 12 data has remained at a Grade 7 for 2 years despite Biology and Photography moving from Blue grades to Black and Red respectively. At AS