Glossopdale School and Sixth Form

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high expectations for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The aim is that pupils 'thrive' and show tenacity, hard work, responsibility, independence, vision and excellence.

Most pupils demonstrate these characteristics. Students in the sixth form talk about the positive and supportive environment they enjoy.

Pupils develop positive relationships with their teachers.

They feel safe. Pupils with SEND can access the 'Hive', a quiet space with extra adult support. Most pupils who expressed a view said that they are not worried about bullying.

They share concerns with staff and trust them t...o take effective action. A small number of pupils say they would not always share their concerns about bullying.

Pupils benefit from a range of wider opportunities.

They take part in football, netball and dance clubs. Over one hundred pupils are currently volunteering to raise money for a trip to Kenya where they will take part in community work. During the inspection, local primary schools visited to watch the school production of 'Frozen'.

Pupils develop their leadership skills by taking part in the school council. They organise bake sales for charity. Sixth-form students support younger pupils in lessons and welcome visitors at school events.

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

The school's curriculum is ambitious and has been carefully designed so that pupils learn about increasingly complex aspects of the subjects they study. There are opportunities for pupils to revisit prior learning. More pupils are opting to study modern foreign languages as a GCSE qualification.

This will increase the currently low number of pupils entered for the subjects that make up the English baccalaureate. In the sixth form, students study a curriculum that builds on what they have learned in years 7 to 11.

Teachers have secure subject knowledge.

They model thinking for pupils. Teachers help pupils to develop their subject-specific vocabulary. There are assessment systems in place to check pupils' understanding over time.

Some teachers do not rigorously check pupils' understanding in lessons. On occasion, they move learning on before all pupils have secured the knowledge they need.

Teachers consistently start lessons with tasks designed to help pupils recall previous learning.

In most subjects, these tasks and other strategies are successful in enabling pupils to recall the knowledge they have learned before. Pupils talk confidently about manifest destiny in history. They develop their ability to speak using different tenses in French.

Teachers do not use these opportunities for pupils to reflect on what have already learned successfully in all subjects. In these subjects, including in mathematics, some pupils struggle to recall their learning.

Sixth-form students develop their knowledge over time.

For example, they can share their understanding of linguistic techniques and poetry. Sixth-form students value the help their teachers provide, including personalised targets, that help them to get better at the subjects they study.

Reading is prioritised.

Pupils make good use of the library. Well-trained staff provide effective support to those who need help to become more fluent readers.

There have been significant changes to the provision for pupils with SEND.

These changes have resulted in more robust processes being in place to ensure that all staff know who pupils with SEND are and how to support them. Pupils with SEND benefit from personalised strategies to help them manage their emotions and access lessons.

Most pupils learn in calm classrooms.

Pupils and staff say behaviour has improved significantly. Pupils in the 'Thrive centre' value the help they receive to manage their behaviour. Some pupils say that, at times, lessons are disrupted in particular subjects.

Many pupils enjoy school and attend well. However, some of the most vulnerable pupils do not attend well enough. The school uses a range of strategies to remove the barriers to pupils attending school.

These strategies have helped to improve the attendance of some pupils. The school continues to prioritise attendance, working with parents and carers as well as wider agencies.

In morning meetings, 'beliefs and values' lessons and assemblies, pupils study topics related to their personal development.

They learn about respecting others and about the protected characteristics. Pupils contribute to the life of the school by becoming mental health champions. Pupils are less secure in their knowledge of British values and major world faiths.

They attend careers fairs to consider their options when they leave school. Sixth-form students develop their understanding of resilience and mental health. They value the information that they receive about their next steps.

Staff say that they enjoy working at the school. They say that working together and adjustments in the school's marking policy make their workload manageable. Staff have regular opportunities to develop their practice.

They learn from one another, as well as by hearing from external experts.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some subjects, teachers do not rigorously check pupils' understanding in lessons.

As a result, teachers do not always move pupils' learning on at the most appropriate point. Some pupils do not secure the knowledge they need to be able to access subsequent learning. The school should ensure that teachers know how best to check pupils' understanding so that they can address any misconceptions or gaps in knowledge before moving learning on.

• In some subjects, the strategies that teachers use to help pupils recall knowledge they have previously learned are not consistently effective. Where this is the case, pupils are not routinely able to remember what they have learned before. The school should ensure that there is consistency across all subjects in how teachers support pupils in their successful recall of previous learning.

• Some vulnerable pupils are persistently absent. As a result, they cannot access the good quality of education that the school provides. The school should ensure that these pupils receive the support they need to enable them to improve their attendance.