North Walsham High School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud to be members of this flourishing school community. They routinely demonstrate the core values of 'trust, resilience, excellence and kindness', which define the school's character.

Across the school, pupils benefit from the warm and welcoming environment. Pupils know that the staff care about them. They are very well looked after, and there is always someone to talk to if needed.

At North Walsham High, pupils thrive. They are confident to share what they know and how well they achieve. Pupils are well supported to succeed in what they do.

Pupils know that adults also have high standards for how they should behave. They work well in lessons be...cause routines and expectations are clearly understood and followed. There is very rarely any disruption either in class or at social times.

Pupils care for each other. They demonstrate high levels of respect towards their peers.

Pupils take advantage of the wide range of clubs available to them.

They love that there are lots of opportunities to develop their interests and get involved in competitions. Basketball, football and preparation for the school production of 'Sister Act' are all very popular.

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

Since the previous inspection, school leaders and the new trust have made significant improvements to the quality of education.

The ambitious curriculum is well designed to meet the needs of all pupils.

Ongoing training is of a high quality and carefully matched to staff's needs. This ensures that teachers are able to deliver the curriculum effectively.

They explain new information to pupils clearly. Teachers enable pupils to understand how new knowledge links with what they have previously learned. In the main, they plan activities that allow pupils to build on their prior knowledge and to further develop their understanding.

For example, in history, pupils learn about race relations in different contexts. This gives pupils the knowledge and skills to understand and discuss challenging topics with confidence.

Teachers check what pupils know in a variety of ways.

Most adults are skilled in identifying what pupils know and can do. If they identify any misconceptions, teachers adapt their lessons to make sure that pupils do not fall behind. This means that across the curriculum, pupils achieve very well.

However, in key stage 3, sometimes teachers do not check precisely enough what pupils know. On occasion, they do not match activities closely enough to pupils' starting points. When this happens, some pupils do not have enough opportunities to clarify any misconceptions or to deepen their understanding.

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are well supported by adults. The school closely monitors how well these pupils are doing. Teachers prioritise support for the most vulnerable pupils.

They have a very secure understanding of pupils' additional needs and how to best meet these. The vast majority of pupils with SEND achieve highly, based on their starting points.

The school has effective processes in place to identify pupils who arrive with barriers to learning due to low levels of literacy.

Adults have put in place measures to help pupils rapidly catch up with their reading. This includes small-group reading interventions that are well matched to pupils' needs and help them to build their skills and confidence in reading.

Adults have high expectations for how pupils should behave.

There is a shared understanding of rules and routines. Pupils respond very well to this clarity. They behave consistently well.

This ensures that all pupils can benefit from a positive and purposeful learning environment.

The provision for pupils' wider development ensures that pupils benefit from rich and varied experiences. Visits to Cambridge, museums, activity centres and sports matches are all extremely popular.

The school provides ample opportunities for pupils to develop their leadership skills, such as becoming anti-bullying ambassadors. Pupils are respectful and polite. They are very well prepared for life after school.

Leaders, including trustees and governors, have been extremely effective in ensuring continued improvement to all aspects 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)

• In key stage 3, sometimes teachers are not sufficiently precise in identifying what pupils know or can do.

This means some teachers move on before all pupils have understood what is being taught. At other times, pupils are given activities that do not provide them with sufficient opportunities to deepen and extend their understanding. The school needs to ensure that all staff consistently provide pupils with activities that are matched precisely to their starting points.

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