King Edward VI High School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Many pupils are happy at this school. This is because the school places significant emphasis on support and care. Pupils know that they have someone who they can talk to if they have concerns, and that these will be dealt with.

Pupils also appreciate the additional pastoral staff who have recently started. However, some pupils are frustrated by the inconsistencies in the school. These include how well they learn, and the poor behaviour of some pupils, both in lessons and in social times.

While the school has high expectations for how well pupils achieve, how these expectations are realised is inconsistent. This leads to variability in pupils' achievement across the sc...hool. This is because pupils' learning in some lessons or some subjects is less secure.

Students in the sixth form have a more consistently positive experience.

Pupils enjoy the opportunities that the school organises for them, including sports clubs, trips to battlefields and a musical production. The pupils who have positions of responsibility speak positively about their role in improving provision.

Pupils appreciate what they learn in the 'Life Matters' lessons as this helps them be prepared for when they leave school. Some pupils, however, do not take advantage of the wider opportunities that the school organises for them.

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

Although examination results improved last year, the school recognises that there is still work to do to make further improvements.

The school has reviewed the curriculum to ensure that the key knowledge to be taught is clearly identified. However, pupils' understanding is not consistently checked, gaps in understanding are not routinely closed and some pupils do not complete the work. These inconsistencies contribute to some pupils with weaknesses in their understanding.

The school has tried to address these gaps in Year 11, rather than ensuring that all pupils are secure in their learning as they progress through the school.

In the sixth form, although examination results have been low, students have a firmer grasp of the key learning they need. This is because students' understanding is checked more carefully, and gaps or misconceptions are more typically addressed.

The tasks that students complete build on what they already know.

The school ensures that staff have the information that they need to support the learning of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). However, this information is not used consistently well.

This means that, in lessons, tasks are often not adapted suitably to meet the needs of these pupils. This contributes to some pupils with SEND not learning as well as they should. Therefore, provision for pupils with SEND is too variable.

The school is in the early days of establishing a programme for pupils who need to develop their reading fluency. The school has identified these pupils but has made limited progress to support them to read fluently, and so access the curriculum.In many lessons, pupils listen and work hard, and the number of suspensions has fallen.

However, the school's approach to the management of behaviour is not consistently applied or understood. For example, the school does not monitor with precision the impact of its behaviour policy or how staff apply it. For example, until very recently the school was unclear on the number of pupils who were removed from lessons due to poor behaviour, or how often this happened.

This lack of clear oversight and the inconsistent application of the policy mean that poor behaviour can sometimes disrupt learning, or pupils truant lessons. The school's approach to attendance is more systematic and has resulted in improvements to attendance over time. This means that pupils attend the school well.

The school has planned a curriculum for pupils' personal development called 'Life Matters'. The school has monitored the delivery of this curriculum, but here too there remain inconsistencies in how it is taught and how pupils respond. The school organises a variety of clubs and trips to strengthen pupils' talents and interests.

Although there is some monitoring of which pupils take advantage of these opportunities, this is not systematic. Consequently, some pupils do not benefit from them. The provision for pupils' future destinations is being developed, but the school does not use the information about pupils' past destinations to inform their provision in school.

Students in the sixth form have an appropriate range of wider opportunities and support to access destinations, including universities.

Leaders across the school are committed to supporting the pupils. However, too often the school does not evaluate the impact of its work strategically.

This means that inconsistencies in behaviour and the quality of education have persisted. For example, the development of teaching practice is at an early stage. Staff are positive about the school's engagement with them about their workload.

The trust and governors and trustees are committed to the school and community. They offer challenge and have secured additional staffing for pastoral work. Currently, they do not receive enough precise information from the school to be able to support it to improve provision.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Some teachers do not check pupils' understanding of key knowledge carefully enough. This means that gaps in pupils' learning are either not identified or not closed.

As a result, some pupils do not progress through the curriculum as securely as they should. The school should ensure that teachers check pupils' understanding effectively and systematically close gaps in knowledge. The school's agreed approach to managing behaviour is not consistently applied or understood.

This means that there are inconsistent approaches to behaviour management, and poor behaviour can disrupt learning. The school must ensure that all staff implement agreed behaviour strategies effectively, and that there is a consistent approach to the management of behaviour in lessons and across the school. ? The school's evaluation of its work has not been sufficiently focused on measurement of impact.

This means that the school is sometimes unclear on the effectiveness of its work, resulting in inconsistencies in pupils' experiences. The school should ensure that leaders evaluate the impact of their work to plan for the next steps in the development of provision for all. ? The school's work to support pupils who struggle to read is in its early stages.

Consequently, some pupils do not read as well as they should. This undermines their ability to access the full curriculum. The school should ensure that it accurately identifies the precise gaps in pupils' reading knowledge and provides focused support so that pupils read fluently and with confidence.

• Sometimes, the school does not ensure that learning activities for pupils with SEND are consistently adapted to meet their needs. This means that some pupils with SEND do not make the progress that they should in their learning. The school should ensure that staff use the information provided to them for pupils with SEND, and adapt the learning activities accordingly to match the ambition of the school's curriculum.