Cox Green School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy and safe. Pastoral support is a strong focus.

The school has a clear antibullying policy. Staff address bullying when it is reported. Despite this, some pupils and parents do not have confidence in how the school deals with bullying.

Recent efforts to improve communication to parents and pupils about precisely what constitutes bullying and the consequences of it are ongoing.

The school is calm and orderly. Staff and pupils know routines well.

Relationships tend to be positive. However, low-level disruption in lessons is common, predominantly in key stage 3. Here, teachers' expectations are not high enough and pupils' learning is freq...uently interrupted.

This is not the case in key stages 4 and 5 where pupils' focus is strong and their learning is improving.

Pupils and staff are rightly proud of the large range of clubs provided at lunchtime and after school. Sports clubs are plentiful, such as climbing, handball and basketball.

Many pupils take on positions of responsibility, such as becoming prefects or joining the school council. Sixth-form students relish the opportunities to be sports leaders and many take part in the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme. This teaches them vital organisation and leadership skills.

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

The curriculum is ambitious and, in some subjects, provides pupils with the knowledge and skills they need. However, there is variation within and across subjects. In some subjects, such as history and art, the curriculum is sequenced precisely.

Teachers support pupils to learn crucial knowledge and skills effectively. As a result, pupils achieve well in these subjects. In other subjects, the curriculum is not implemented as intended, particularly during key stage 3.

Not all teachers have the knowledge and skills they need to ensure that pupils learn as effectively as they should. Here pupils' misconceptions are not addressed and teachers do not systematically check that pupils have remembered key knowledge before they move on.

Recent changes to the structure of key stage 4 means that more pupils have access to a broad suite of subjects in the English Baccalaureate.

The school has increased the range of alternative, appropriate options in key stage 4 and the growing sixth form. Students choose from a variety of vocational and academic subjects that prepare them well for future study, apprenticeships or work.

The school provides strong support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

Staff know pupils' needs and provide appropriate adaptations to help them learn well. Support for those who have fallen behind in reading is effective. Pupils receive targeted help from expert staff.

This means they catch up quickly. All staff receive training to promote successful reading skills. However, the school's expectations of disadvantaged pupils are not high enough.

For these pupils, systems to help those who have fallen behind are not rigorous enough. This means that these pupils do not remember crucial knowledge and skills to help them to be successful.

The school's focus on improving behaviour has reduced suspensions.

While incidents of pupils being removed from lessons has increased, pupils receive appropriate support to modify their behaviour and refocus on learning. The school provides valuable support in the 'Hub'. Expert staff get to know pupils well and this creates positive relationships between staff and pupils.

Families appreciate the support they receive. The school has a strong focus on improving pupils' attendance. Attendance is good in the sixth form, particularly in Year 12.

Students are highly engaged in their learning and take pride in belonging to the improving sixth form.

Personal development is a strength of the school. The well-designed personal, social and health education programme ensures that pupils know how to keep themselves healthy and safe.

Pupils learn vital age-appropriate knowledge about relationships, citizenship, protected characteristics and what it is like to grow up in modern Britain. The school actively promotes equality and diversity. Pupils told inspectors proudly that, difference is accepted.'

Wednesday well-being' in tutor time encourages pupils to view mental health positively. Careers information, education, advice and guidance is strong and led by knowledgeable staff. All pupils receive support to plan for their next steps in education, employment or training.

Staff, including early career teachers, feel that leaders support them well and consider their workload carefully. Trustees know the school well. They offer appropriate support and commitment to the school.

However, the trust does not hold the school to account with sufficient rigour. The school and the trust do not keep a precise enough check on the effectiveness of the school's own policies and procedures in practice. The school's evaluation of some aspects of its provision is too positive.

The monitoring processes require sharpening, therefore.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Not all teachers check what pupils know or remember effectively.

As a result, gaps or misconceptions in pupils' knowledge and understanding are not addressed as well as they should be. The school needs to ensure that all teachers accurately identify gaps and misconceptions and adapt their delivery of lessons to rectify these. ? The school has not ensured that their ambition for pupils who are disadvantaged, particularly pupils who are eligible for free school meals, is being enacted robustly enough.

This means that the achievement gap between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged pupils is not being narrowed. The school must ensure that sufficient support is given to disadvantaged pupils to enable them to catch up and keep up with their peers. ? Some staff do not address low level disruption in lessons, particularly in key stage 3.

This means that pupils often experience disruption to their learning. The school must ensure that all staff are trained to recognise and address low level disruption and that there is consistent application of the school's own behaviour management policies. ? While there are processes in place to address bullying effectively, some pupils and parents are not confident that bullying is dealt with effectively.

The precise identification and accurate recording of incidents is not as robust as it should be. This means that some pupils and parents do not have faith in the school to deal with bullying effectively enough. The school needs to ensure that parents and pupils understand and trust that bullying is dealt with effectively and improve how records are maintained to reflect this.

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