Hornsey School for Girls

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Hornsey School for Girls continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy school and are safe. They spoke of the sense of family they get from being in a small school. Relationships between staff and pupils are positive.

They reflect respect and kindness, both of which are at the core of this community school's ethos. Equity is also an important value for both leaders and pupils.

Leaders have high aspirations.

Pupils respond well to the clear expectations about their effort and conduct. Staff deal swiftly with rare incidents of poor behaviour.

Pupils know that bullying is not accepted.

It does not happen often an...d staff take prompt action to deal with it effectively. Pupils said this stops people from doing it again. Pupils know how to seek support if they are concerned.

Leaders have worked hard to inform pupils of the dangers of cyberbullying. Online safety is monitored and strict rules are in place regarding the use of mobile phones.

Pupils take pride in their work.

They collaborate well with their peers in lessons and offer help where appropriate. This enables pupils who are new to the school to feel included.

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

Leaders have designed an ambitious curriculum which is broad in scope.

They make sure that teachers include opportunities for pupils to revisit concepts that they have learned before. Teachers also use techniques that support pupils in remembering important knowledge over time. This helps pupils build solid foundations for future learning.

Pupils display confidence in their recall of what they have learned. They use subject-specific vocabulary with confidence. This includes pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

The school identifies pupils with SEND well. Leaders ensure that teachers understand the best strategies to support pupils' needs. This helps pupils with SEND to thrive and study the same curriculum as their peers.

Teachers demonstrate strong subject knowledge. They plan interesting lessons that allow pupils to practise new concepts and master them. Pupils are motivated to learn and low-level disruption is rare.

Teachers check pupils' understanding so they can identify and address misconceptions promptly. When this does not happen, pupils lose focus and struggle to complete their work.

The school identifies those pupils who have fallen behind in their reading.

Leaders ensure that staff use appropriate strategies to help pupils with reading in lessons. For instance, teachers repeat out loud what is on the board so that all pupils can access it. Some older pupils are trained to support younger pupils with reading.

They said that helping other pupils helps to build their own confidence in reading.

Pupils take part in a broad range of activities at lunchtime and after school. Some of these clubs provide opportunities in the performing arts.

Others, like the robotics club, aim to inspire pupils' interest in technology and engineering. The Pride Club reflects the school's support of equalities. It provides a safe space for pupils to explore their identities.

Some pupils with SEND have set up their own club focused on well-being.

Leaders have identified they need to stay abreast of parent and staff concerns. However, leaders say that events of the past two years have not helped to maintain strong lines of communication.

Some parents and staff said they do not feel well supported. Nevertheless, leaders are mindful of staff well-being. They have put initiatives in place to reduce workload.

For example, time allocated to teachers for planning and preparation is double the national provision.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Staff are well trained and understand their responsibilities.

Reminders in bulletins and regular quizzes help them remember key information about safeguarding. Staff are clear about how to report concerns and do so when needed. The members of the pastoral team know vulnerable pupils well.

They look at patterns over time to identify concerns and deal with them promptly.

Staff cover important issues, such as consent, in pastoral lessons. Pupils said that the school takes a strong stance against sexual harassment.

Leaders take advantage of initiatives relevant to the local area, for example the assemblies and workshops offered by Transport for London. These teach pupils how to stay safe on public transport.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In a few subjects, staff do not use assessment purposefully in order to check how much pupils have understood or to pick up misconceptions.

When this happens, pupils struggle to remain focused and complete the work set. Leaders should ensure that assessment procedures are used consistently well across the school. ? Leaders recognise that some parents and staff do not feel able to approach them with their concerns.

As a result, these parents and staff say that their needs are not always met. Leaders should strengthen further their communication and engagement with parents.

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 third section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good in February 2013.