Ormskirk School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy and proud to belong to this school. They value the caring ethos and the kind way in which they are treated by staff. Strong relationships underpin the high levels of pastoral care that pupils receive.

The school has high academic expectations of all pupils. It ensures that pupils are prepared well for their next steps after school. Typically, pupils and students in the sixth form are learning well across the curriculum.

There is a calm atmosphere in lessons and around the school. Pupils generally follow the school's rules. They are polite and friendly.

In most lessons, pupils learn free from distractions. The school has improved the support t...hat it gives to the very small minority of pupils who struggle to regulate their behaviour.

Pupils are keen to help others.

For instance, sixth-form students organise donations for a food bank, pupils attend charity fundraising discos, and charity bake sales are very popular. Pupils enjoy whole-school events that bring the school community together, such as sports day and the school production. Some pupils engage well with the range of clubs on offer, such as journalism, coding and guitar clubs, that help them to develop their skills and interests.

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

The school's curriculum is broad and ambitious. The school's ambition is to increase the number of pupils opting to study the English Baccalaureate suite of subjects. It has successfully promoted modern foreign languages, and the number of pupils opting for these subjects is increasing.

The school has made significant changes to the sixth form. Now, students benefit from a suitable range of subjects with clearly designed curriculums. Furthermore, the quality of education in the sixth form is better than the low published key stage 5 external examinations outcomes in 2023 would suggest.

Students are confident to apply new learning. They can fluently articulate their understanding, and their work is of a high quality. As a result of the improvements that the school has made, more students are choosing to stay in the sixth form, and numbers on roll are increasing.

The school has detailed the essential knowledge that it wants pupils to know and remember. Teachers deliver subject content confidently. They choose activities that are well matched to the aims of the curriculum.

However, some teachers do not check regularly enough what pupils know and can do. This means that some pupils have misunderstandings or gaps in knowledge that are not corrected.

Pupils know and remember their learning well.

In most subjects, pupils' recall of what they have learned before is secure. They can build on what they already know when introduced to new ideas. There is an improving positive trend in pupils' results in external examinations at the end of key stage 4.

The 2023 published end of key stage 4 data shows the negative impact of historic weaknesses in the school. Those pupils did not benefit from the changes that have been made, particularly to the way in which the curriculum is ordered.

The school accurately identifies pupils' additional needs.

However, some staff lack confidence to support pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) to learn as well as they could. In some subjects, adaptations are not consistently used to help these pupils. Some pupils with SEND are not achieving as well as they could.

Effective support is in place for pupils who struggle with reading to help them to catch up with their peers. In tutor times, pupils read well-chosen texts regularly.

The school has employed some successful strategies to improve attendance.

For all groups of pupils, attendance has improved and persistent absence has decreased. However, there remain some pupils, particularly disadvantaged pupils, who do not attend school frequently. As a result, they have gaps in their learning.

Pupils behave well in lessons and display positive attitudes to their learning.

The school's careers guidance helps pupils to choose appropriate next steps. This helps to ensure that pupils are successful in securing education, employment or training and moving on to ambitious destinations.

Pupils' knowledge around healthy relationships, staying safe and different cultures and religions is secure. They enjoy a range of trips and visits to broaden their understanding of the world, such as international trips to New York and Iceland, as well as more local ones to Conwy.

The school and the trust have a clear vision that all pupils, irrespective of social disadvantage, should succeed.

This value pervades the school. Trustees and the local academy council challenge the school effectively. They have walked the journey of improvement with the school, ensuring that the school has the right priorities.

Staff are positive and proud to work at the school. They appreciate the professional development that is on offer that helps them to hone their craft.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some subjects, teachers do not adapt learning sufficiently well for pupils with SEND. As a result, on occasions, some pupils with SEND are not supported to access the curriculum as effectively as they could. The school should ensure that teachers are equipped with the knowledge and expertise to be able to make effective adaptations to learning so that pupils with SEND achieve well.

Some teachers do not check regularly enough what pupils have learned and understood. This can sometimes mean that some pupils have misunderstandings or gaps in their knowledge that are not addressed as swiftly as they could be. The school should ensure that teachers are supported to check pupils' learning systematically so that misconceptions can be addressed before learning is moved on.

• The attendance of some pupils, particularly disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND, is not as high as it could be. This means that these pupils are missing out on valuable learning time and all that the school has to offer. The school should ensure that it employs the most effective strategies to improve pupils' attendance.