Seaton Sluice Middle School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school. The school is improving rapidly. All groups of pupils achieve well from their starting points in Year 5 and their attainment is on a rising trend.

By the end of Year 8 a good proportion exceed the level expected for their age in English and in mathematics. Behaviour is good in and out of the classroom. In lessons where the work set is challenging, pupils' behaviour is outstanding.

Pupils are friendly, caring and supportive of each other. They have no concerns about bullying; they have complete trust in teachers to look after them and say they feel very safe at school. Good teaching and well-planned lessons mean pupils are motivated to le...arn and progress at a good rate.

Teaching assistants give well-planned support to pupils who are disabled or have special educational needs. This ensures that these pupils make the same good progress as others in their learning. The headteacher has an unrelenting focus on raising pupils' attainment and achievement.

He inspires staff and pupils to strive to be the best they can be. All leaders demonstrate the ambition and skill to drive improvement and raise pupils' achievement further. Governors, too, are ambitious for pupils to succeed.

They know the school well and give good support to improve it further. The management of teachers' performance is well used to increase the quality of teaching and outcomes for pupils. It is not yet an outstanding school because : Teaching and pupils' achievement are not outstanding overall.

Not all pupils have regular opportunities for problem solving, especially in mathematics lessons. The most effective teaching and learning methods are not yet fully shared across the staff.

Information about this school

This middle-deemed secondary school is much smaller than the average-sized secondary school.

The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium, which provides additional funding for children in the care of the local authority and for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals, is average. Almost all pupils are from White British heritage. The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs who are supported at school action is below average, but the proportion who are supported at school action plus, or with a statement of special educational needs is above average.

The school does not use any alternative provision involving off-site education for pupils. The school meets the government's floor standards, which set out minimum expectations for pupils' attainment and progress. The school is federated with Whytrig Community Middle School and Astley Community High School.

All three schools share the same governing body. Whytrig Community Middle School was inspected at the same time as this one. Each school will receive a separate report, published on the Ofsted website.

Astley Community High School was inspected in February 2012, and that