Alderman Peel High School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

All pupils are known well and cared for in this small, friendly and supportive school. Pupils enjoy school life. They are kind to one other.

Pupils say, 'We are like one big friendship group.'

Behaviour is good. Pupils are polite and well-mannered.

Most attend school regularly. They feel safe and say, 'Bullying does not happen here.' Pupils respond well to the high expectations staff have of them.

They value the rewards given for working hard, wearing the correct uniform, having the right equipment and helping others. Pupils wear their badges for achievement and for leadership in school and in the community with pride.

Pastoral care is a re...al strength.

If pupils have concerns or need someone to talk to, 'the hub' is the place to go. It also provides a haven for the most disadvantaged pupils. Caring and supportive staff help pupils to feel safe, grow in confidence and become more independent.

Pupils' personal development is prioritised. Most pupils engage in the exceptional range of well-planned extra-curricular clubs, trips and residential visits provided. They take responsibility for running clubs and events, working in the community, caring for younger pupils and the local environment.

What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Leaders and governors are ambitious for pupils, staff and the school. The school has grown, and is increasingly popular with parents within and beyond the local area. The school welcomes pupils of all abilities and enables them to achieve well.

Leaders have designed an ambitious curriculum to provide pupils with a broad choice of subjects and qualifications. Subject leaders have implemented suitably sequenced curriculum planning and regular assessments. This ensures the needs of all pupils, including the most disadvantaged and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), are met.

Staff embrace the many opportunities for further training and development. Leaders ensure that staff's workload remains manageable. Staff work together to follow the detailed curriculum plans so that pupils build on what they have already learned and make good progress.

Subjects which are strengths include English and mathematics, and several foundation subjects. Science still needs further development. Leaders recognise what needs to be done to achieve this.

The teaching of reading is suitably prioritised. All pupils read by themselves every day, and those who find reading challenging are provided with the help and support needed.

Staff build good relations with pupils.

They plan learning that motivates pupils to learn. Knowledge is taught in chunks, to help pupils understand and remember what they have studied. Adults use short quizzes and regular assessments to check pupils' understanding.

However, some expectations of how pupils should present their work are not consistently shared. Pupils' work can often be untidy or left unfinished. Some of the information shared with teachers about the needs of pupils with SEND lacks precision.

Strategies to enable pupils to learn well are not always clearly identified or applied. Leaders do not check that this information is used consistently.

Expectations of pupils' behaviour are high.

Classrooms are calm and orderly. Records show that few incidents of poor behaviour occur. Pupils with social, emotional and behavioural needs gain from the personalised learning and good-quality care provided in the hub.

The curriculum is modified to enable some pupils with SEND to develop essential skills in communication and independent living. They learn together in small nurture groups until they are ready to return to main lessons.

The self and society curriculum, which includes personal, social and health education, and citizenship provides pupils with the opportunity to talk in informed ways about personal matters and different relationships and form their own views about British society.

There are established partnerships in the community which give all pupils, including the most disadvantaged, a broad range of experiences, and enable them to become active citizens.

Pupils enjoy the range of leadership opportunities. They are enthusiastic about the excellent range of enrichment activities provided, including the opportunities to take responsibility, lead others and contribute to school life.

Careers education is firmly established. Records show that all Year 11 pupils progressed on to further education, training or the workplace.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

There is a strong culture of safeguarding in the school. Pupils are taught how to stay safe. Staff are well trained.

They understand their responsibilities to keep pupils safe and take prompt action if they see signs of pupils at risk of harm. Electronic procedures enable all staff to promptly share concerns about pupils with the team of designated leaders for safeguarding. Child protection records indicate that leaders respond quickly and follow up concerns systematically.

The single central record shows that all the necessary checks are made when appointing staff to work with children.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Information shared with teachers about the learning needs of some pupils with SEND, and what can be done to help them learn effectively, lacks precision. Not all the recommended strategies are clearly identified or used consistently.

Leaders do not check that this information is used systematically by staff in lessons. Leaders should ensure that the quality of information about all pupils shared with teachers is suitably precise, and that all staff understand how to make full use of this information to inform their planning of learning for, and teaching of, pupils with SEND. ? The school's agreed expectations of how pupils should present their work have lapsed.

Across a range of different subjects, too much work is untidy or left unfinished. Leaders should remind all staff about the agreed expectations listed on the front of pupils' books. They should scrutinise pupils' books routinely to check that staff in all subjects are applying these agreed expectations consistently.