Colmers School and Sixth Form College

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have high expectations for everyone at Colmers School. Most pupils behave well in lessons and at social times. They are friendly and courteous.

Pupils feel safe and know that there is always an adult to talk to. Staff deal with bullying when it occurs. However, low-level misbehaviour disrupts some lessons.

Sometimes, unwanted behaviour is not managed well enough and therefore is repeated.

Leaders have set the right priorities. They have planned a broad and ambitious curriculum for pupils, and make sure that staff follow it.

Staff adapt the curriculum well to meet the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) wh...en appropriate. Nonetheless, they sometimes move on when pupils have not learned and remembered what they should.

Pupils learn to respect different cultures and traditions.

They are very well supported to gain insight into a broad range of work and employment opportunities, and the school holds the Quality in Careers standard at gold level. Pupils take good advantage of a wide range of after-school clubs and activities.

There is a good atmosphere in the sixth form.

Students learn well, and are confident and articulate. They value the high-quality support that they receive.

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

Leaders have ensured that pupils follow an ambitious and well-planned curriculum.

The sequence of work in each subject means that pupils are able to build on what they already know. They study all the subjects in the national curriculum, although few pupils choose to continue with a modern foreign language at key stage 4. Leaders have made reading a priority, and pupils read widely in lessons.

Staff identify weaker readers, and help them to catch up.

Teachers have secure subject knowledge. In general, they plan the day-to-day learning for pupils so that pupils follow the curriculum that leaders have put in place.

However, in the main school, teachers often choose activities and materials that do not help pupils to learn everything that they intend them to. In these cases, pupils do not remember the key knowledge in enough depth and detail.

Pupils with SEND follow the same curriculum as their peers, and generally learn well.

Leaders identify their additional needs accurately, and provide clear guidance for staff on how best to meet them.

Teachers check on what pupils are learning in class, but they do not do so consistently. As a result, teachers are sometimes unaware of the lack of depth and gaps in pupils' knowledge.

They move on to the next planned topic without ensuring that pupils' grasp of the key knowledge is secure. Over time, in many subjects pupils do not learn as well as they should.

Leaders have set out clear policies and procedures to manage pupils' behaviour.

They have trained staff on how to implement these, although some do not do so consistently. Most pupils behave well in lessons, and they are frustrated when some low-level disruption creeps in. Conduct between lessons and at breaktimes is generally orderly.

A few pupils linger in corridors and are late to lessons.

Although it is beginning to improve, the rate of suspensions is too high. The actions that staff take to help pupils who have been suspended to understand the consequences of their poor behaviour are sometimes ineffective.

As a result, the attitudes of these pupils are slow to improve.

Pupils develop a good understanding of personal safety, relationships and social issues as part of a well-planned personal development programme. They are taught about a diverse range of cultures, and learn to respect different groups of people and their views.

Pupils have the opportunity to take up leadership roles, for example as agents of change or prefects. Sixth-form students support younger pupils with reading or extra-curricular sport. The careers programme is a strength of the school.

Pupils, including those in the sixth form, receive wide-ranging and impartial advice.

Senior leaders have rightly prioritised the design of a new curriculum and then its implementation. They check on the progress of their plans, and adapt them accordingly.

Leaders have met significant staffing challenges arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Leaders at all levels have a keen desire to improve. They make use of research, and look for good practice.

Less experienced staff receive effective support when they join the school. Staff say that leaders take their workload into consideration. Governors hold leaders to account and provide effective oversight of the school.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Pupils learn about the risks that they may face, including those originating online. Leaders make sure that staff are well trained in safeguarding, so that they know how to identify pupils who may be at risk.

They keep the staff updated about issues that might pose a threat. Leaders support vulnerable pupils effectively. They work well with other agencies that protect children.

The school maintains the necessary safeguarding records. Leaders make the right checks on the staff who join the school.

Pupils know that there is always someone to talk to.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Teachers sometimes do not choose activities and materials that ensure that pupils focus on important knowledge. As a result, pupils do not learn in the depth and detail that they should. Leaders should ensure that teachers have the expertise to devise well-considered sequences of learning that enable pupils to know and remember what leaders intend.

• Leaders have not ensured that teachers use assessment in the classroom to consistently good effect. Teachers are sometimes unaware of the gaps and misconceptions in pupils' knowledge, and do not adapt their teaching accordingly. Leaders should make sure that teachers know how to use the school's approaches to formative assessment, and adopt them consistently.

• A few teachers do not implement the school's behaviour policy consistently. As a result, pupils become unsure about what consequence they can expect and sometimes think that they have been treated unfairly. Leaders should ensure that all staff have the expertise to apply the behaviour policy consistently.

• Some pupils who have been suspended or spent time in internal isolation do not receive the right support to prevent them from repeating unwanted behaviours. Consequently, they may offend again, and repeat consequences are too high. Staff should provide these pupils with the best possible guidance and support on how they can avoid any further misbehaviour.