Guiseley School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Guiseley School has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy coming to this school. They feel at home in its respectful and kind culture. All pupils follow the same broad curriculum.

This includes those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils respond well to leaders' high expectations. Pupils are ambitious about their own futures and enthusiastic about their learning.

Teachers make sure that lessons are well designed and follow the curriculum plan. They consistently use school-wide strategies, such as 'Focus-5', so that pupils know what to expect in ...lessons. Pupils and students in the sixth form achieve well across most subjects.

Pupils want to do well. They take pride in their work and behave consistently well in lessons. Pupils' behaviour is excellent.

Pupils are polite and courteous towards each other and with visitors. They know that staff look after them well and care about them as individuals.

Staff provide a wide range of enrichment activities and encourage pupils to get actively involved.

This also includes opportunities for pupils to build their leadership skills and help others. Sixth-form students help younger pupils with their reading and volunteer to provide in-class support across the curriculum.

Pupils and students told inspectors how much they valued leaders' commitment to making everyone feel valued.

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

The school has a curriculum that is well designed and ambitious. Pupils study a wide range of subjects. Leaders consider all pupils' needs, including disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND.

As a result, most pupils and students in the sixth form make good progress through the curriculum. This is because their teachers ensure that lessons build up knowledge over time.

Teachers' subject knowledge is good.

The school has put a detailed programme of professional development in place. This helps teachers to improve the lessons that they teach. The school provides expert support and guidance, and opportunities, to share good practice.

Leaders consider teachers' workload and have put in support to reduce unnecessary administration.

Staff are ambitious for pupils with SEND. Leaders identify pupils' additional needs quickly.

Pupils with SEND benefit from a range of additional help, including specialist support from external agencies.

Teachers check pupils' learning to ensure that pupils have understood what they are learning. Teachers use this information to plan the next steps of learning.

However, some teachers do not ensure that pupils use their advice about how to improve their knowledge well enough. Pupils do not always know what they need to do to improve.

Reading is now prioritised across the school.

Leaders have identified essential vocabulary that pupils need to learn. The new approaches to reading are helping pupils read more confidently. Specialist teaching for the weakest readers helps these pupils develop their reading skills.

Increased opportunities to strengthen reading across the curriculum are required. This will help pupils learn subject vocabulary and develop good reading habits.

Pupils' behaviour in lessons is excellent.

There is a clear understanding of what leaders expect, and pupils want to succeed. They concentrate well and take pride in their work. Disruption to learning is rare.

Pupils are polite towards each other and conduct themselves sensibly when moving around the school.

In the sixth form, most students achieve well in a broad range of subjects and are well prepared for their next steps. After sixth form, high proportions of students enter further education, employment or training successfully.

Sixth-form students feel exceptionally well supported by their teachers.

All pupils and students across the school benefit from personal development provision that is noteworthy. This helps them to develop a strong understanding of how to keep healthy and safe, including age-appropriate advice about sex and relationships.

Pupils and students understand what 'being Guiseley' means and how they should behave both in school and in the wider community.

The extra-curricular opportunities that leaders provide to broaden pupils' and students' wider development are a strength of the school. Leaders ensure that pupils and students receive useful careers information, advice and guidance.

Across all year groups, pupils and students have the opportunity to engage with meaningful experiences of the world of work. They value these opportunities.

Leaders are ambitious to ensure that the school is inclusive and that there is a wide range of experiences for every pupil.

Staff feel well supported by leaders. Leaders and governors have a clear vision for the school. Governors are knowledgeable about the school.

They understand the current strengths and weaknesses. They bring a wide range of skills and experience to support leaders and hold them to account.

Staff said that they feel lucky to be part of such a special school community.

They feel valued and supported. They are proud to work at the school.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Sometimes teachers are not clear enough with the advice they give to pupils to improve their work. Pupils do not understand how to act on the guidance they receive. Leaders need to ensure that pupils receive, and act on feedback, in a way that helps them know what they need to do next.

• Leaders are aware that many pupils do not read fluently enough and widely enough, either in academic subjects or for pleasure on entry to the school. Strategies to improve reading fluency have been introduced but are at an early stage. Leaders should consider how all teachers ensure that all pupils read in their lessons and at home for pleasure.

Background

Until September 2024, on a graded (section 5) inspection we gave schools an overall effectiveness grade, in addition to the key and provision judgements. Overall effectiveness grades given before September 2024 will continue to be visible on school inspection reports and on Ofsted's website. From September 2024 graded inspections will not include an overall effectiveness grade.

This school was, before September 2024, judged good for its overall effectiveness.

We have now inspected the school to determine whether it has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at that previous inspection. This is called an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005.

We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school's work has improved significantly or that it may not be as strong as it was at the last inspection, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection. A graded inspection is carried out under section 5 of the Act.

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.This is the first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good for overall effectiveness in September 2019.