Greenshaw High School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Throughout the school, including the sixth form, pupils thrive. They receive an exceptional standard of education.

The school's purposeful 'Big Ideas' curriculum and academic rigour enable pupils to excel. Staff and pupils aim for excellence. They achieve it.

Pupils develop a rich body of knowledge and achieve very highly. They are active participants in their learning and consistently demonstrate high levels of focus. Staff and pupils are proud of the role they play in this flourishing school.

Leaders have established a strong and inclusive ethos of care which underpins warm and trusting relationships. Pupils strive to meet the school's high expectations in ...all aspects of school life. Pupils show high levels of respect for staff and their peers.

They report that bullying is very rare. As a result, the school is a calm, safe and friendly place to be.

Pupils appreciate the support and encouragement they get from staff.

Pupils know there is always someone they can turn to for academic or personal reasons. The purposeful start to the school day sets pupils up for success and ensures that not a moment is wasted. This supportive environment helps to shape pupils to become confident, articulate and kind.

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

The curriculum has been carefully sequenced so that knowledge and skills build logically over time. It is highly ambitious. The school has precisely identified what they want pupils to know.

This means that teachers and pupils know what is being taught and how this builds upon previous learning. This helps pupils develop their understanding and deepen their knowledge step by step.

Pupils receive consistently high-quality teaching that stimulates their curiosity and engagement in all subjects.

Teachers have very good subject knowledge. They explicitly teach pupils the vocabulary they need to access high-quality texts. Teachers skilfully use highly effective questioning to draw out pupils' prior learning and to deepen and challenge their thinking.

They use this information to adapt lessons. As a result, pupils and students typically achieve very well in their GCSE and A-level examinations.

As pupils progress through the school, they become increasingly expert in the subjects that they study.

In sixth-form lessons, students discuss and debate ideas and apply knowledge to different problems and contexts. The high-quality resources provided by teachers support the consistent curriculum delivery. Staff ensure that there is enough time for pupils to repeatedly practise what they have learned.

For example, in English, pupils apply what they know when writing confidently about different language techniques. This high-quality work can be seen consistently across the school.

The school provides exceptional support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

The specially resourced provision for pupils with SEND (specially resourced provision), specifically speech, language, and communication needs, is highly effective. Staff across the school are well informed about pupils' specific needs. Expert staff ensure those pupils at the earlier stages of reading, including pupils with SEND, get the targeted support they need to become fluent readers.

Reading is well promoted in school, for example as part of the tutor reading programme.

The school has a well-considered approach to securing regular attendance from pupils. As a result, pupils and students across the school attend very well.

From the moment pupils join, typically in Year 7 or Year 12, they quickly settle in. Pupils' attitudes to learning are exemplary. They are extremely well prepared for lessons and listen to their teachers intently.

Any disruption to learning is incredibly rare. There are effective pastoral systems in place to support any pupil who may need it. Leaders are tenacious in their work to ensure that all pupils are safe and happy.

Personal, social, health and economic education is delivered well, and pupils explore fundamental British values and equality of opportunity. Pupils know how to keep themselves safe online. They learn about different religions and cultures.

The school equips students in the sixth form with the social experiences that help prepare them for the future, for example through the student leadership programme, leading assemblies and being sports coaches. Pupils and students receive detailed careers information, mock interviews, and visits to higher education establishments. Across the school, a new enrichment programme has been introduced which pupils are beginning to take part in.

This includes activities after school and a breakfast club. This means that the take-up of these wider opportunities is not consistently strong across the school.

Leaders' high ambition for each pupil is shared by everyone working at the school.

They ensure that the school's priorities are evidence-based and impactful. Staff enjoy high-quality professional development which is often supported by the trust. Staff feel very well supported by leaders and are proud to work here.

Those with responsibility for governance and the trust have a clear and accurate view of the school. They provide effective support and challenge to school leaders.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Some aspects of the school's provision for extra-curricular activities have only recently been introduced. This means that there is not a constantly strong take-up by pupils outside of the sixth form. The school should ensure that the opportunities provided encourage as many pupils as possible, including disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND, to take part and therefore benefit from the wider provision in place.