Blue Coat Church of England School and Music College

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

The Blue Coat vision is for pupils to 'live life in all its fullness'. Leaders and teachers work to realise this vision.

Pupils benefit from this and are happy at school. There is a cohesive and vibrant school community. Pupils enjoy memorable and rich experiences.

Their positive experience of education means they are proud of their school. Attendance is high. Pupils and staff share strong values of care, hard work, respect, integrity, servanthood and togetherness (CHRIST).

They understand the importance of living their lives guided by these values. Leaders have built an inclusive community. Staff are very proud to work at the school.

Pupils' safety ...has high priority. Pupils know how to keep themselves and others safe. Behaviour is good in lessons.

School staff deal well with bullying, which is rare.

There are high expectations for pupils' achievements. Academic outcomes are strong.

Pupils all take part in extra-curricular and enrichment activities. There are plentiful opportunities to volunteer and give back to the community. Many pupils relish these.

Music and drama are high profile. Many pupils take part in school productions. For instance, all pupils in Year 7 performed in the musical 'Joseph and his Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat' in the past year.

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

The headteacher leads by example and models the school's values. Staff and pupils respect her. Staff morale is very high.

Leaders and teachers share a moral purpose. They work together to provide the best opportunities for pupils. Leaders value academic success equally alongside pupils' personal and spiritual development.

These three aims support the curriculum. They also inform the many extra-curricular and enrichment activities offered, and many pupils relish these opportunities. Pupils who are initially reluctant to get involved are successfully encouraged by staff to do so.

The curriculum covers a broad range of subjects in depth. Subject leaders have created ambitious curriculum plans. They are clear about the knowledge and skills that pupils have to learn and practise.

Teachers have strong subject knowledge. They know how best to share this with pupils. Lessons follow a common structure.

This helps pupils as they develop their knowledge over a series of lessons.

The majority of teachers skilfully assess pupils' understanding. Pupils are frequently asked to recall what they have learned before.

This helps them to remember more over time. Pupils benefit from this. In a minority of subjects, this practice is less well developed.

Occasionally, pupils do not know exactly what they have done well and what they need to improve. This means that, in some instances, new knowledge is not known in detail before moving on. Reading has a high priority across the curriculum.

Pupils who have fallen behind in reading improve quickly.

Leaders have worked tirelessly to develop the provision for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), and there has been significant improvement. Effective training means that teachers know how best to support pupils with SEND.

Teachers meet their needs securely in lessons. Specialist SEND staff also support pupils effectively on a one-to-one basis.

Pupils' attitudes to learning are very positive.

Classrooms are typically calm, orderly and productive. Teachers meet pupils at the door and welcome them. Most pupils respond to this by working hard throughout lessons.

Teachers deal well with any off-task behaviour that does arise. However, at times, pupils disrupt lessons by arriving late. This is particularly an issue at the start of the day and after breaktimes.

Leaders are working to improve punctuality, but strategies have not yet had the desired impact for some pupils.

School leaders place a high priority on providing personal development opportunities. The CHRIST values inform these opportunities.

Pupils value the breadth of activities and events that are available. They know that 'living life in all its fulness' means more than simply attending lessons. There are extensive pupil leadership opportunities.

Lots of pupils attend trips and visits related to different subject areas. The programme designed by leaders nurtures pupils' interests and develops their characters. Careers provision is strong.

Pupils have useful exposure to the world of work. These experiences inform their ambitious plans for life after school.

Sixth-form students receive an outstanding education.

They follow ambitious programmes of study. Students aim high and successfully achieve exciting destinations when they leave school. Students value the many opportunities they have to develop their leadership skills.

Governors are knowledgeable and committed. They check and challenge leaders' work, as well as providing support. Staff feel very well supported by leaders and greatly value the training they receive to continually improve their work.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Staff at Blue Coat receive in-depth training about safeguarding. A large number of leaders are experts in this aspect.

This results in a vigilant culture of safeguarding at the school. Staff know how to identify pupils who need additional support. Pupils receive useful information about how to keep themselves safe.

This means they feel safe in school and know how to look after themselves in other situations.

Any concerns are swiftly followed up. School leaders work closely with parents and external agencies.

Prompt actions address any concerns. All staff understand their shared responsibility to look after pupils. Situations are not left unresolved.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Some pupils are not punctual to lessons. This means they miss valuable learning time, and the start of lessons is sometimes disrupted for others. Leaders need to ensure that their strategies to improve this issue are clear and are implemented consistently by all staff in order to ensure that pupils attend promptly at the start of the day and to every lesson.

• In a small number of subjects, the planned assessment opportunities are not precise enough to enable teachers to check pupils' understanding in lessons and at curriculum end points. This means some teachers do not systematically check that pupils' understanding is secure before they move on to the next stage of the curriculum. Leaders should ensure that assessment across the curriculum accurately enables teachers to check pupils' level of understanding.