Lammas School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils, parents and carers all agree that the school is improving. The school has raised expectations across all aspects of its work.

Pupils said that these higher expectations are fair and that they help them to learn more in class. The school has designed a broad curriculum for all pupils, especially in Years 7 to 9.

Pupils are safe here.

They often do as teachers ask them. However, a few pupils still do not demonstrate positive attitudes to learning. Occasionally, behaviour disrupts learning time in class.

A few pupils still speak to or treat others unkindly, contrary to the school's expectations.

The school's new personal development pro...gramme encourages pupils to explore complex issues such as race, justice and citizenship. The school organises visits to universities, art galleries and various places of worship.

Many pupils enjoy taking part in a range of competitive sports against other schools. Students in the sixth form are taught to look after their mental health, refine their study skills and live healthy lifestyles. Older pupils and students in the sixth form said that the careers information they receive is clear and helps them make informed decisions about their future careers.

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

Senior leaders, supported by the trust and an interim improvement board, have a realistic view of many aspects of the school's work. They also know that further improvement is needed in some areas. However, sometimes the school does not assess with sufficient rigour the impact of the actions that it takes to improve standards.

While the school aspires for pupils to make ambitious choices at GCSE, the proportion of pupils who study the English Baccalaureate combination of subjects in Years 10 and 11 is low and decreasing.

The school has worked effectively to develop the curriculum by refining and clarifying what pupils need to learn and when. For example, in mathematics in Years 7 to 9, the curriculum aims to build up pupils' knowledge and skills steadily over time.

It helps pupils to avoid making common errors and to build secure knowledge of the fundamental aspects of the subject. The school has also begun to identify knowledge that is common across different subjects and ensure a coherent approach to the way pupils learn it. For example, in science and in mathematics pupils are taught to use the same method to draw graphs.

However, much of this curriculum development is new and has not had time to show a sustained impact on pupils' academic outcomes. High staff turnover has also hindered the delivery of the new curriculum. Where teaching does not provide sufficient opportunities for pupils to repeat and practise what they have learned, pupils sometimes move on too quickly to work that they do not fully understand.

Teaching, including in sixth form, does not routinely check what pupils know and remember of their prior learning in order to identify where there may be gaps in key knowledge that has been taught. While pupils recall what they have learned most recently, they struggle to remember much of the key knowledge and skills that were taught before.

Pupils' behaviour in class has improved.

In the sixth form, students behave sensibly and many students and teachers demonstrated strong professional relationships. However, low-level disruption in Years 7 to 11 has not been eradicated. Occasionally, pupils lose learning time when teachers are required to address the off-task behaviour of a small number of pupils.

Leaders now have an effective system to prevent pupils from avoiding classes during the school day. The school also has a system to monitor pupils that are absent. However, the impact that this system is having on improving attendance rates is not rigorously measured by the school.

Pupils' conduct around the school has improved too. Leaders have increased the number of staff on duty around the school and raised expectations for the supervision of pupils. However, sometimes inappropriate language and behaviour, especially from older pupils, is not fully addressed in a consistent way.

The school has established a clear system to identify and support pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Teachers know how to support the needs of pupils with SEND in class because the school communicates this to them clearly and efficiently. The school assesses pupils' reading fluency when they join the school and provides a programme for reading for pupils in Year 7.

However, plans to support pupils of all ages to improve their reading fluency are at an early stage of development.

Pupils in all years receive weekly personal development classes in which they discuss topics in an age-appropriate context. This is supported by ethics classes in Years 7 to 9, where pupils explore moral challenges in greater depth.

The school organises many educational visits for all pupils to attend, connected to the pupils' curriculum. For example, students studying A-level English in the sixth form see theatre performances of Shakespeare plays and the whole of Year 10 participated in a workshop to develop presentation and public speaking skills. The school's careers programme is particularly helpful and informative.

The school listens to staff, takes their views seriously and acts on their feedback. Staff said that typically the school's leaders are approachable and do all that they can to support the well-being of staff. Those responsible for governance carry out their statutory duties effectively.

The school is working to engage parents more than was previously the case.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The school's oversight and evaluation of the impact of actions that it takes are not as sharp as they could be.

Sometimes this prevents the school from identifying the most effective 'next steps' that it should prioritise to continue to improve. The school should ensure that it has systematic oversight of the actions that it takes to improve and the impact that these actions are having on improving the school further. ? Sometimes, activities do not support pupils to isolate, practise and master key knowledge and skills that they need to build over time before moving on to new learning.

Pupils' understanding and recall of key learning, including in the sixth form, is not routinely checked. Sometimes, pupils do not understand and remember the key knowledge that they have been taught and this is not identified and addressed. The school should ensure that pupils learn the key knowledge outlined in the curriculum securely and check pupils' understanding and recall before moving on to new curriculum knowledge.

• The school does not ensure that the behaviour policy is implemented consistently throughout the school. Some undisciplined behaviour and the use of inappropriate language, especially in the corridors and in the playground, persist. The school should make sure that all staff are supported to implement the behaviour policy consistently and effectively across the school.