Leek High School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Leek High School has turned a corner.

Pupils now benefit from stable staffing, clear boundaries and a culture of mutual respect. Pupils feel supported and well cared for. They know that teachers have their best interests at heart.

The school has established high expectations for pupils' attendance and behaviour and for their learning. Pupils try hard to meet the school's ambitions for them. As a result, attendance is well above the national average, pupils behave well and they are keen to do their best.

Pupils say they are proud to belong to the school. Work on the curriculum is taking a little more time to secure. There is still some work to do to realise th...e school's ambitions for pupils' achievements.

Pupils benefit from a wide range of opportunities to expand their horizons. These include a weekly enrichment lesson, a personal development week and a range of trips and visits as well as lunchtime and after-school clubs. Careers education is well considered and well planned.

This helps pupils have high aspirations for their future. Students in the sixth form go on to highly positive destinations.

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

Since his arrival, the headteacher has transformed Leek High School.

He has carefully and systematically tackled the serious issues that dogged the school in the past and made sure that pupils, staff and parents are part of these improvements. Many pupils and staff members talked about how they felt part of a team that was creating a bright future for the school. Parents' views of the school are much more positive.

Pupils are benefiting from the significant changes that have been made, including carefully considered alterations to the school building and learning environment.

Pupils follow a broad and ambitious curriculum. They can choose from a range of subjects at key stages 4 and 5 that match their interests and aspirations.

In most subjects, the curriculum is well planned and sequenced so that pupils can build on their learning over time. Leaders have worked with staff to establish clear classroom routines. These have helped to ensure that classrooms are mostly calm so that pupils can learn well.

Teaching of the curriculum is not consistent. The school has made sure that it has identified the important knowledge that pupils need in each subject. However, teachers do not always use this information well enough to design lesson activities that are sufficiently focused on what pupils need to know.

In some lessons, this means that pupils' attention drifts, and this impacts negatively on their learning. Teachers do not routinely check that pupils have understood what they have learned before they move on. They do not always use the findings of more formal assessment to adapt what they teach.

This means that pupils do not achieve as well as they could.

The provision for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is strong. The school has made sure that pupils' needs are identified quickly and that the right support is put in place.

As a result, pupils with SEND are now able to learn well.

Reading now flourishes in the school. Pupils are encouraged to read widely, and the newly refurbished library is a hub of reading activity.

Pupils who do not read well are given the right help so that they quickly learn to read confidently and fluently, and they soon catch up with their peers.

The school rightly identified improving behaviour and attendance as the keys to improving pupils' experiences in school. Pupils have benefited from the significant improvements made to the learning environment.

The pastoral team is relentless in ensuring that pupils are supported to attend well and in removing any barriers to their learning. As a result, pupils behave well and are keen to succeed in school.

The work of the Interim Executive Board (IEB) is exceptionally strong.

The members of the board have great expertise; they know the school well and check the information they receive rigorously to ensure that the school takes the right next steps. The trustees work closely with the IEB. They monitor progress carefully and make sure that the school gets the focused support it needs.

This enhances the positive leadership of the school.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Assessment is not used well enough.

Teachers do not routinely check that pupils have understood what they have learned in class nor at the end of a series of learning. This means that teachers do not use this information to inform their teaching, and so pupils do not achieve as well as they could. The school should make sure that all teachers use assessment practices consistently so that all pupils achieve well.

• Implementation of the curriculum is too variable. This means that pupils do not always benefit from the high-quality learning that the school intends. The school should continue to make sure that staff have the necessary skills and expertise to deliver the curriculum well.

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