Bohunt Farnborough

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Too many pupils say they do not feel safe here. Pupils told inspectors bullying is common. Homophobic bullying occurs frequently.

Pupils often do not report bullying as they think it will not be addressed by staff. Parents and pupils have not had confidence in the systems and processes designed to address bullying until very recently.

Leaders have not made sustained improvements to this school over a long period of time.

However, some staff have high expectations for pupils to do well in lessons. Leaders have attempted to improve attendance, but too many pupils remain persistently absent. Pupils and staff told inspectors truancy is common.

Some pupil...s regularly miss lessons, and staff are not meticulous in completing registers. This potentially puts pupils at risk of harm, as they are unaccounted for while not at school or not in lessons.

There are some features of the school that are welcomed by pupils.

There are opportunities for pupils to take part in clubs and trips. Some have already restarted since the pandemic, and these are relished by pupils. Pupils are eagerly anticipating a trip organised by the languages department.

The recently appointed headteacher has a clear plan for making rapid improvement. However, this is not yet embedded and does not yet address some areas of concern.

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

The curriculum is broad and ambitious.

Very recent changes are gradually improving things. Subject leaders have planned a thorough curriculum that gives pupils the knowledge, skills and understanding to progress well. Pupils achieve well in some lessons.

However, there is still inconsistency that leaders have not yet addressed. The curriculum is not yet taught well enough across all subjects. Pupils told inspectors their lessons are often disrupted by the behaviour of some pupils.

Not all staff apply the schools' behaviour management system consistently well.

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are not achieving as well as they could. Leaders know the needs of the pupils with SEND well, but they have not yet equipped staff well enough to adapt learning to their needs.

Assessment is used effectively in some subjects, for example in modern foreign languages. Here, staff use retrieval tasks to check that key knowledge and skills are learned and understood by pupils. Staff in other subjects do not always check for understanding before they move on.

Leaders ensure that pupils who have fallen behind with their reading are identified promptly. A small number of staff are trained in delivering a reading catch-up programme. Some pupils who take part in the programme make progress and learn to read fluently.

However, the programme is not yet making sufficient impact for the majority of pupils who are behind in their reading. Many pupils still need significant support. The organisation of the programme prevents some of the pupils from catching up quickly.

The learning is not always matched to the pupils' needs. For example, some pupils spend too long drawing characters from books rather than focusing on reading skills.

In some lessons, inspectors noted respectful relationships between pupils and staff.

Pupils behave better in some lessons, for example in English, history and modern foreign languages, than in others. However, in some subjects, especially where non-specialist teachers deliver the curriculum, pupils are often not challenged and some quietly disengage. Not all staff consistently apply the whole-school behaviour management system.

Some subjects have their own system to manage behaviour which leaders are not aware of. Some staff feel that leaders do not support them consistently with behaviour management issues.

The provision for the wider personal development of pupils is improving.

Recent curriculum developments in personal, social and health education (PSHE) enable a dedicated team of staff to deliver an improved curriculum. Pupils learn about healthy relationships, different types of families and life in modern Britain. They study different faiths in religious education and learn about respect and different cultures in PSHE.

The new curriculum is planned to promote character development, resilience and independence, but this is not yet embedded. Careers guidance for pupils is strong. Pupils receive support to help them plan future study and possible career options.

They really value their work experience opportunities.

Leaders have had insufficient oversight of the important priorities needed to improve the school. The monitoring and evaluation of policies and practices are not embedded, so leaders are often unaware of where weaknesses are.

For example, attendance procedures are not a high enough priority for leaders and staff. Governors have not consistently held leaders to account or provided enough challenge to drive improvement. The recently appointed headteacher has made significant impact in the short amount of time she has been in post.

Staff feel refreshed and invigorated by the new leadership. Leaders and staff recognise that there is a lot of work to do to improve the school but are positive about the future. They feel their workload is considered when work is scheduled for them.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are not effective.

Leaders do not possess an accurate enough understanding of how to deal with reports of concerns. They do follow their own school policy or statutory guidance in ensuring that pupils are protected from risk of harm.

Record-keeping is not accurate or detailed enough. Records lack precision, omit detail about leaders' actions and are incomplete in some cases examined by inspectors. As a result, pupils could be at risk of harm.

There are opportunities in the curriculum for pupils to learn how to stay safe. For example, in the PSHE curriculum, pupils learn about online safety and cyber-bullying.

Regular training by external agencies ensures staff are aware of how to identify and react to signs of abuse.

Staff know whom to report their concerns to. Most staff are trained in the new online system for reporting concerns, but not all.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Too many pupils do not feel safe at school.

Leaders have not done enough to tackle abusive language and homophobic bullying. Pupils lack confidence in leaders' ability to deal consistently with bullying. Furthermore, pupils often do not report bullying for fear of making it worse.

Leaders must ensure that staff are equipped to deal effectively with bullying and that a consistent approach is understood by pupils. ? Leaders have not followed statutory guidance when they receive safeguarding concerns reported to them by members of staff. Record-keeping is not thorough or detailed enough to enable leaders to ensure that pupils are protected from harm.

Leaders must take action to ensure that record-keeping is comprehensive and follows statutory guidance. ? Leaders do not yet have sufficiently robust systems and processes in place to manage attendance at school or combat lesson truancy. This potentially puts pupils at risk of harm.

Leaders must ensure that all pupils are accounted for every lesson and every day. Leaders must ensure that staff are diligent in completing lesson registers, amending them if pupils arrive late and alerting the appropriate personnel if a pupil is missing from their lesson. ? Pupils are not yet benefiting from recent curriculum thinking and developments.

In some subjects, especially where staff are non-specialists or temporary, staff are not yet sufficiently well trained to deliver challenging enough material to support and engage pupils. Leaders must ensure that all staff, including those who teach out of specialism or are covering for absent colleagues, are equipped with effective strategies to teach an engaging and stimulating curriculum. ? Leaders, including governors, have not provided rigorous or systematic oversight of systems and processes designed to improve the school.

For example, some subjects do not use the whole-school behaviour management system. This results in inconsistencies of practice across subjects and undermines the whole-school systems. Leaders, including governors, must ensure a rigorous monitoring and evaluation process is embedded to support and challenge policies and practices at all levels.

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