Hinchingbrooke School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Hinchingbrooke School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Most pupils speak proudly about their school.

They stay focused on their work and value the positive relationships they form with school staff, including with the pastoral teams attached to each year group. Pupils typically behave well in lessons and around school. A small number occasionally use derogatory language towards others.

The few pupils who do not behave as well as they should are supported to improve their behaviour. Pupils say they feel safe in school and that bullying, while it sometimes happens, is not tolerated. When concerns are raised, most are confident that staff ...will help them to sort things out.

Pupils are taught how to keep safe. Opportunities to take on leadership roles and take part in sports and after-school clubs are back in the curriculum this year. In the sixth form, students have their own programme of enrichment which includes important life skills and regular support from tutors.

Many students act as role models in taking on responsibilities such as being a house captain or student ambassador.

Pupils and students in the sixth form are very well supported to take the next steps in education, employment and/or training when they leave school, including to apprenticeships or to university.

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

Leaders are ambitious for pupils' personal development as well as for their academic achievement.

Pupils have access to a wide range of subjects, including in the arts and sports. Their well-being is a high priority for staff, governors and the trust.

Since the previous inspection, leaders have acted to address the issues raised, and work has continued to improve the quality of education.

Teachers know their subjects well. They have thought carefully about how they plan and teach the curriculum. Curriculum plans detail the knowledge and skills that pupils will need to know and remember at each stage in a logical order.

The timelines are set out for when learning will be revisited to help pupils to remember more of the things that they have been taught. While curriculum changes are managed effectively overall, a few subjects, including in languages and design and technology, are not as far ahead as others in establishing the revised plans, mainly because of historic staffing changes.

Teachers check regularly what pupils have learned, including, for example, through informal starter quizzes at the beginning of each lesson.

The information collected is used to adapt plans and to correct any misconceptions should they arise.

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are supported effectively to access the same curriculum as other pupils. Consequently, they achieve well, including through the school's specialist nurture provision.

Support staff provide teachers with helpful information so that they can adapt subject-based learning to meet pupils' needs. The on-site alternative provision, The Gateway, offers a bespoke programme for pupils who need a different approach to learning in order to keep them in school.

Encouraging pupils to read regularly is a high priority.

Time is set aside for reading each day. Extra help for pupils who need to catch up includes a focus on phonics and the decoding of unfamiliar words, which also supports improvements in their reading and spelling.

Leaders have ensured that all aspects of the national curriculum are taught in Years 7 to 9.

Work with primary schools helps new pupils to settle in quickly. Most pupils take a language and history, or geography, as part of their GCSE choices now. In the sixth form, students have access to a wide range of courses, including some vocational options.

Incoming students say they are welcomed warmly into the sixth-form community.

Pupils attend school regularly. While incidents of challenging behaviour have reduced, a small number of pupils occasionally use language that is disrespectful to others.

Consequently, leaders have acted this term to strengthen their focus on the one school rule of 'respect', and to ensure that the behaviour policy is applied consistently.

Pupils and students in the sixth form have access to a range of opportunities to help them to take next steps in education, employment and/or training. Effective pastoral support is offered, for example, through a team of student support officers attached to each year group.

Pupils are taught how to keep safe, show respect and form healthy relationships in lessons, tutorials and regular themed assemblies. Leaders encourage pupils to share their views on their learning experiences through regular questionnaires, student committees and focus groups. A series of 'drop boxes' have recently been introduced to support any pupils who might wish to share a concern anonymously.

Leadership roles include student ambassadors and pupil representatives. Some sixth-form students act as house captains, and they work with younger pupils. Opportunities for pupils and students to take part in work experience are returning this year.

Leaders and governors are well focused on improving the quality of education through the curriculum developments in place. Staff say that leaders are supportive and mindful of their well-being. They appreciate the range of professional development opportunities available to them.

Governors are skilled and experienced. They understand their responsibilities, including safeguarding, and their lines of accountability through the trust.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

A culture of safeguarding is well promoted across the school. Staff are suitably trained in the most recent guidance on keeping pupils safe. They understand the procedures to follow if they are concerned.

Staff work effectively with external support agencies. Additional support, including counselling, is available to vulnerable pupils on site. Leaders take any concerns pupils raise very seriously, including those related to peer-on-peer-abuse.

They encourage everyone to speak out. Pupils are taught how to manage risks online and out in the community. The single central record of pre-employment checks on new staff is well maintained and meets requirements.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• While it is being implemented effectively overall, some aspects of curriculum change are new and still embedding. Although improving, in a few subjects, some pupils have not achieved as well as they should over time. Leaders should check that the quality assurance processes in place are precise enough in evaluating the detail of what is working well so that they can provide additional support where any further improvement is needed.

• Although pupils generally behave well, a few do not live up to leaders' high expectations of behaviour and respect for others. Leaders should continue the work with the few pupils whose behaviour falls short of the standards expected so that all pupils consistently show the respect for others that is widely promoted across the curriculum.

Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good.

This is called a section 8 inspection of a good or outstanding school, because it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection.

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the section 8 inspection as a section 5 inspection immediately.

This is the first section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good in April 2016.

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