Edmonton County School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

The school has a strong commitment to supporting pupils' academic success.

To achieve this, leaders have designed a curriculum that meets the needs of pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

High academic expectations are well matched by the school's support for pupils' well-being. Pupils feel safe and cared for here.

They settle quickly in lessons and respond positively to the school's expectations of conduct, particularly in the primary phase.

In the secondary phase, sports clubs are popular and some of the school's competitive teams are borough champions. Students in the sixth-form leadership team organi...se various events in school, including charity fundraising.

Pupils in the primary phase attend many clubs, including dancercise, computing, choir and athletics. The school involves parents and carers in their children's learning in the Reception Year through sessions such as 'stay and read' and 'stay and play'. The school also organises educational outings for pupils that deepen pupils' learning further.

The careers programme across the secondary phase is well organised. Pupils spoke positively about careers days, during which they learn about future career opportunities, which inspire their ambitions. From Year 8 onwards, pupils visit universities across England to raise their aspirations for the future.

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

Across the whole school, leaders have designed a curriculum that is comparable with the national curriculum in breadth and ambition. All pupils, including those who speak English as an additional language, build secure foundations in English and mathematics that support their achievement across all subjects. Additional sessions for pupils in Year 11 and in sixth form support pupils' academic achievement.

As a result, in the secondary phase, pupils make strong gains by the end of Year 11, as published outcomes show. Pupils in the primary phase achieve well in primary national assessments in reading and mathematics and in the Year 4 multiplication-tables check. Significantly more students proceed successfully on to further study at the end of the sixth form than is nationally the case.

Over a number of years, leaders have thought carefully across subjects about what pupils should know, and the order in which they should learn it. In the sixth form, the curriculum is broad and the school ensures that students study for the qualifications they need to support their future career aspirations. In the early years, leaders have ensured that the curriculum supports children's learning effectively in preparation for Year 1.

In the primary phase, there is still some work to do to clarify in detail what pupils should know in a few subjects. This work is supported by a full professional development programme, which many staff, including teachers at the beginning of their career, value highly.Leaders ensure that the needs of pupils with SEND are identified and that these needs are met in classes across the school.

Support for pupils with SEND is well planned and leaders work effectively with external agencies to support pupils with SEND where necessary.

Teachers have strong subject knowledge. For example, in physical education in the primary phase, specialist teaching supports pupils to learn to throw, move and use different strategies to be successful in team sports competitions.

Typically, teaching checks that pupils understand what they have been taught. Sometimes, when teaching moves on to introduce new learning without routinely checking pupils' recall of prior key knowledge, some pupils cannot recall what they have been taught. Where subjects have less curriculum time allocated in the timetable than others, the time available to revisit and reinforce pupils' learning is sometimes limited.

Pupils learning to read are appropriately supported. In the primary phase, leaders assess the impact of the reading curriculum regularly and provide timely and effective support for pupils who need extra practice to improve their fluency. In the secondary phase, support with reading is also provided for pupils who need it.

The school seeks to encourage pupils' love of reading and is taking steps to develop pupils' positive attitudes to reading further.

Recent training for those responsible for governance is helping them to support and challenge the schools' leaders effectively. Some aspects of trustees' and governors' engagement with staff, parents and the community are at the early stages of development.

Throughout the school, pupils' behaviour is typically calm and respectful during lessons. This enables teachers to focus on teaching the curriculum. In the primary phase, pupils follow routines readily.

Children's attitudes to learning are very positive in the Reception Year. Students in the sixth form are mature and reflective. At times, some staff did not feel as supported as they could be by leaders to uphold the school's high expectations of pupils' behaviour.

The school has successfully worked to improve pupils' attendance across the school since pupils returned to school after the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, attendance rates are rising to above average.

Pupils take part in a range of activities outside of classes.

The Duke of Edinburgh's Award has recently been introduced for pupils in the secondary phase and sixth form. All students in the sixth form take part in volunteering, for example through reading to younger pupils or providing younger pupils with support in curriculum lessons. Pupils in the primary phase are taught about the importance of eating healthy foods.

From Year 1, pupils are taught about personal finances.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.Staff are trained to recognise when a pupil may be at risk from harm.

They know and follow the processes that they should if they have any concerns. Leaders take action to ensure that pupils are safe. Occasionally, record-keeping does not reflect the full extent of the school's work when the school does not record some of the actions that it has taken to safeguard pupils' well-being.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Sometimes, processes to check the quality of the school's work, including systems that underpin safeguarding, are not equally rigorous. This limits the ability of senior leaders, members of the local governing body and trustees to identify the impact of actions taken and identify where further improvement is needed. Members of the trust should sharpen the processes of accountability to drive further improvement.

• In some foundation subjects, across both phases, teaching does not routinely check how well pupils recall what they have been taught. This sometimes affects how securely pupils connect new knowledge to their prior learning when they have gaps in what they remember. The school should ensure that teaching checks that pupils remember what they have been taught and addresses any gaps or misconceptions that are identified, before introducing new content.