Canons High School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders aspire to provide all pupils with a broad education within an inclusive environment.

Pupils enjoy being part of a diverse school community, where they all feel valued.

Pupils know that their teachers care about their education and want them to succeed. They said that teachers go out of their way to support them, even outside of lesson time, for example, if they seek extra help to understand the work.

This is indicative of the strong working relationships that pupils and sixth-form students enjoy with adults in this school.

The vast majority of pupils behave well. Pupils are safe.

There is a large team of pastoral and pupil welfare st...aff. Pupils thus have many adults they can turn to should they have any worries or concerns. Staff investigate and deal with any allegations of bullying or sexual harassment, for example, in an effective manner.

Pupils are taught a wide range of topics aimed at supporting them in leading meaningful and successful lives. For example, as they progress through school, they are taught about how to form healthy relationships and consent. In the sixth form, students are taught about managing their finances and how to identify online scams.

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

The school's curriculum is ambitious. It offers pupils and sixth-form students a wide range of subjects, both academic and vocational.

In the past few years, leaders have worked on developing and improving their curriculum thinking.

In most subjects, the changes and improvements are well established. Leaders identify what knowledge they want pupils to learn, step by step and in a logical manner. Teachers have expertise in their subjects.

They set suitable activities, use appropriate resources and plan regular recall activities. They check on pupils' learning often. They identify and address specific gaps in pupils' knowledge.

As a result, pupils build and remember long-term key knowledge.

In some subjects, well-considered changes have only recently been introduced. They are beginning to have a positive impact.

In a few subjects, however, leaders overly focus on general teaching strategies and have not paid enough attention to planning a well-sequenced curriculum. They have not identified what exact knowledge they want pupils to master. In these cases, pupils are not achieving as highly.

Leaders want all pupils to be confident readers. They now assess pupils' decoding ability and fluency. They provide bespoke support to those who are behind in their reading.

While this work is at an early stage, this extra support is beginning to help pupils to get back on track with their reading.Leaders identify, assess the needs and plan appropriate support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). They share information and strategies with teaching and support staff on how best to support these pupils.

In addition, a number of pupils are at the very early stages of speaking English as an additional language (EAL). Leaders also give guidance to staff about how to support these pupils. Support for these pupils and those with SEND usually means that they gain the same knowledge as their peers.

In both cases, however, there are a few instances when staff do not act on leaders' guidance. They do not make the necessary adaptations to their teaching or resources to fully meet pupils' needs. When this occurs, these pupils disengage and do not learn as successfully.

The proportion of pupils who study the subjects required to qualify for the English Baccalaureate accreditation is low. Leaders hope to increase these numbers in the future as they raise pupils' aspirations.

Pupils benefit from a comprehensive, impartial careers guidance programme.

This helps them to make suitable choices for their post-16 education. Year 12 students have opportunities to attend work experience. Most students who leave the sixth form continue into higher education or apprenticeships.

Pupils are generally attentive in class. Teachers deal with occasional low-level disruption effectively. Learning gets back on track quickly.

Sixth-form students use their free time to study independently as they are very keen to succeed. These positive attitudes help pupils to gain new knowledge.

The school has a mainly calm atmosphere during social times.

However, there is a very small group of pupils who join the school with high levels of challenging behaviours. Leaders take a `fresh start' approach. They put in place strategies to try and help these pupils settle in and behave sensibly.

It is, however, a slow process, and some of these pupils still struggle to manage their behaviour. For example, they can become involved in incidents of fighting. Staff intervene quickly when this happens and take suitable follow-up actions with the pupils concerned.

Nevertheless, these incidents still make some pupils feel uneasy.

Pupils have opportunities to take part in enrichment activities. For example, there are astronomy, chess and sporting clubs.

Pastoral care supports pupils in many ways. This includes helping pupils in taking care of their mental and physical health. Staff and students are currently collaborating in researching the effectiveness of the school's work on equality and diversity.

Pupils are also taught about risks and how to stay safe, for example, when using social media.

Staff said that their workload is reasonable. Many feel that senior leaders are approachable and care for staff welfare.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

The safeguarding and pupil welfare teams work closely together to support pupils' safety and well-being. Staff have regular training and updates.

They know how to recognise concerning behaviours or signs that pupils may be at risk and report these. Pupils needing help receive internal support, such as from designated support staff and the school counsellor. Leaders also make timely referrals to external agencies as appropriate.

There are secure practices in place to vet applicants' suitability to work with pupils before they are appointed to work in the school.

Leaders are alert to risks that pupils face and how these might change over time. For example, leaders are currently running a borough-wide research project, involving pupils and staff at this school, on the use of and access to vaping.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In a few subjects, leaders have not identified precisely what key knowledge they want pupils to know and remember. This means that pupils do not build up secure subject knowledge over time. Leaders should ensure that, across the subjects, they identify precisely what they want pupils to know and remember and make sure that teaching supports pupils to recall this knowledge confidently.

• In a few instances, leaders and teachers do not make suitable enough adaptations to teaching and resources to support pupils with SEND or EAL. As a result, those pupils do not learn as successfully as they could because their needs are not being met fully. Leaders should ensure that staff have the knowledge and skills to provide effective adaptive support for pupils with SEND or EAL.

• A very small group of pupils display extremely challenging behaviours, especially during social times. This sometimes results in fights and makes some other pupils feel uncomfortable. Leaders should refine and ensure greater implementation of their strategies to help these pupils modify and manage their behaviour.