Hebburn Comprehensive School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

This is a welcoming school. Leaders are passionate about providing pupils with the best experiences they can. Relationships between pupils and staff are positive.

Pupils enjoy coming to school. Most pupils enjoy their learning and experiences and so they attend school regularly.

Leaders have carefully planned the curriculum.

Some pupils do not always get the support they need to do as well as they could. As a result, some pupils receive a better quality of education than others.

Pupils are polite and friendly.

They feel well looked after by caring staff. Pupils told inspectors that they feel safe in the school. Pupils say that bullying is no...t common.

Inspectors' evidence supports this view. Pupils have confidence that if bullying did occur, then staff would deal with it. Inspectors found that pupils behave well in lessons.

Leaders offer pupils activities outside of their lessons. They encourage them to take part in a range of extra-curricular activities. These include musical productions, drama events and sporting activities.

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

Leaders have planned an ambitious curriculum for all pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The sequence of lessons in mathematics, for example, is carefully planned and helps pupils to remember important knowledge. In some subjects, sequences of lessons are not as helpful.

In science, pupils make strong links between their current and prior learning. In some other subjects, pupils are not as confident to do this.

In most subjects, teachers use a variety of methods to recap learning.

These help to check pupils' understanding. In science, the learning tasks which are set help to identify pupils' next steps. In some other subjects, pupils' understanding is not checked as well.

Pupils do not remember important knowledge as successfully.

The support available for pupils with SEND is variable. In modern foreign languages, teachers use effective support strategies which help to develop pupils' confidence and fluency.

In some other lessons, the progress made by pupils with SEND is not as strong as it could be. Written information or support plans, for pupils with SEND, are not used as well as they might to help pupils do well. Expectations of what pupils with SEND can achieve are, at times, too low.

Leaders have worked hard with pupils, parents and carers to maintain strong attendance for pupils. They have done this in difficult circumstances. The local community was hard hit by the impact of the pandemic.

The behaviour of pupils is good. Leaders encourage pupils to report any inappropriate behaviour or comments from others. This includes any which make them feel uncomfortable.

Leaders assume this sort of behaviour can happen in schools. They provide pupils with advice and support. Leaders take swift and effective action if such incidents do occur.

Leaders and staff are working hard to improve pupils' reading. A new, high-quality library is helping to develop a strong culture of reading across the school. More recent phonics interventions and wider support is helping those pupils at an early stage of learning to read.

The school provides a range of extra-curricular activities. These include sporting activities and school productions. The school is a member of the Anne Frank Trust.

Leaders have also put in place a high-quality programme of careers advice and guidance for pupils.

Leaders are considerate of the well-being and workload of staff. They take account of individual staff circumstances and any support they may need.

Staff are proud of the school. They are very happy to work there.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders and governors have developed effective procedures for checking, recruiting and training staff. All staff receive relevant safeguarding training. Pupils receive the help they need because of the swift action by leaders.

All staff and pupils know who to talk to when they have a concern. Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe, including when online. Leaders make sure all pupils, including those who are the most vulnerable, have the support and care they need.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some subjects, curriculum sequencing and design does not clearly highlight the rationale or the important knowledge that pupils need to know. As a result, assessment is not as clear as it could be and the expectations of what pupils can achieve are too low in some subjects. Leaders should ensure the curriculum in each subject is well considered, identifies the most important knowledge and helps teachers assess pupils' understanding effectively.

• The individual education plans for some pupils with SEND do not have the detail required to identify the most useful and effective strategies to remove barriers to their learning. Because of this, some pupils with SEND do not reach the learning goals that they could. Leaders should ensure that strategies to support learning for individual pupils with SEND are clearly defined to help teachers plan for these pupils.