Lady Hawkins’ School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school The newly appointed headteacher has given a fresh impetus to the improvement of the school.

He has chosen his priorities wisely, and secured the wholehearted support of the school community. Middle leaders are making an effective contribution to raising standards, and are eager to increase their contribution further. Several new appointments have revitalised the governing body, and developed its communication with parents and carers.

Teaching is good, and improving rapidly in English. Teachers have strong subject knowledge and set high expectations for their pupils. Inspectors saw many less-able pupils learning particularly well.

...>Teachers recognise the importance of setting work that challenges the most able, but sometimes do not do so effectively. Most-able pupils complete too much routine work before starting tasks that stretch them. Teaching in mathematics rarely challenges pupils to develop their own mathematical thinking.

Leaders do not monitor standards in a few smaller subjects sufficiently rigorously. Year 11 pupils left in 2017 having made average progress overall. However, progress is accelerating so that it is now strong across the school.

Standards in humanities and modern foreign languages are high. Despite the restrictions presented by small year groups, leaders have implemented a balanced curriculum. A wide variety of clubs and trips makes a strong contribution to many pupils' learning.

Safeguarding is effective. Pupils rightly feel safe in school. Behaviour is improving, and pupils conduct themselves consistently well in the classroom and at social times.

The headteacher has taken important steps to improve the availability of information about pupils' progress. However, the quality of assessment and the use that staff make of it remain variable. Leaders are developing new ways of providing pupils with feedback on their work.

In the meantime, pupils' response to guidance on how to improve is sometimes limited.

Information about this school

Lady Hawkins' School is much smaller than the average-sized secondary school. The academy trust has proposed the closure of the school's 16 to 19 study programmes, although this is subject to confirmation by the Department for Education.

The current sixth form comprises a small number of Year 13 pupils completing their A-level studies. The inclusion of a separate section on 16 to 19 study programmes in this report would have risked the identification of individual students. Most of the pupils are White British.

The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is below the national average. The proportion of pupils who are disadvantaged and receive support from the pupil premium is below average. At key stage 4, a very few pupils receive full-time or part-time alternative provision, either at Hereford and Ludlow College or from Herefordshire's Hospital and Home Teaching Team (HHTT).

The headteacher and the head of English took up their posts in September 2017. The head of mathematics joined the school in January 2018. In 2016, the school met the government's floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for the attainment and progress for pupils by the end of Year 11.