Saint Gabriel’s College

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Saint Gabriel's College continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

This is a caring school with an inclusive ethos. Leaders have created a strong community feel. The values of the 'SGC Way' underpin all aspects of school life.

Pupils spoken to said, 'this school is very welcoming and open' and 'it feels like family'. They behave well during lessons and around the school site.

The school acknowledges that many pupils and their families face wider challenges in everyday life.

It creates a culture of aspiration, with a broad curriculum that opens pupils' eyes to the world around them. Staff want pupils to do well. The curriculum has undergo...ne significant improvement in the last few years which is not reflected in the most recently published outcomes.

Many pupils speak English as an additional language. The school is determined to support these pupils so that they can achieve well. Pupils' developing English is not seen as a barrier by the school.

Instead, the school celebrates the array of languages in its community. Pupils are patient and kind to their peers, helping each other in lessons and in the wide range of clubs and activities on offer to all, for example Latin American Women's Aid, who run workshops and outings.

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

The subject curriculums in the school have undergone significant changes recently.

The school has clarity over what pupils should learn and when they should learn it. Leaders have developed a broad and wide-ranging curriculum for all pupils. This is supplemented by many additional opportunities.

For example, all pupils in Year 7 learn to play a musical instrument and many pupils perform in the termly music concerts and talent shows.

Outcomes for specific pupil groups in published examinations have previously been low in some subject areas. The school has taken action to address this.

Leaders have given careful thought to the substance of the curriculum in each subject. For instance, each new topic is underpinned by 'big ideas'. Pupils learn the important knowledge related to the ambition of the curriculum effectively.

Teachers support pupils to connect new knowledge with what they have learned before. However, these changes are not fully embedded across all subject areas. In some subjects there are previous gaps in pupils' learning which remain.

This means that some pupils struggle to integrate new content into larger subject-specific ideas.

Teachers have strong subject knowledge. They ask questions often to check pupils' learning.

On occasion, the checking and addressing of misconceptions of pupils' understanding is not done with precision. This leads to pupils continuing to have misunderstanding in their knoweldge and skills.

In most subjects, teachers use pupils' individual learning plans well to adapt tasks for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

Leaders are making reading a priority. For example, every pupil reads as part of the 'Read to Succeed' programme. This has improved pupils' confidence in reading.

Leaders have well-thought-out plans for helping pupils to develop their reading further.

There are high expectations for pupils at St Gabriel's College. Staff care about their pupils' education and well-being.

Staff know pupils well. Pupils enjoy their lessons. They take pride in their work and are eager to earn 'GRIP' badges that reward learning.

Teachers welcome pupils into their classrooms and routines are well understood.

The school's pastoral work is a strength. Pastoral staff know individual pupils very well.

Pupils feel well cared for and they know it is important that they attend well. Attendance is typically positive, but the school is determined to improve it further. The school has a strong oversight of pupils' attendance and any reasons for absences.

It makes sure that it has a range of strategies to promote pupils' regular attendance.

Pupils follow a well-constructed personal development curriculum. Staff teach pupils about positive relationships, including consent, and about online safety.

The school prepares pupils effectively for their next steps, including through an annual careers fair. Pupils can participate in the wide range of activities available, including basketball, Latin, Leading Ladies and Boys2Men. This helps to build pupils' confidence and develops their character positively.

Staff are proud and motivated to work at this school and feel that their well-being and workload are well considered.

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, the checking of pupils' understanding lacks rigour.

This means that pupils' misconceptions or gaps in knowledge are missed, which limits their subject-specific development. The school should ensure that checks of pupils' learning in all subjects identify and address any misunderstandings in pupils' knowledge and skills securely. ? At times, teaching is not enabling pupils to remember long-term content which they have been taught.

This limits pupils' ability to integrate new knowledge into larger subject-specific ideas. The school should ensure that teaching reviews and embeds pupils' prior learning securely.

Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good.

This is called an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act.

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

This is the first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in November 2018.