Shipston High School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are at the centre of school life at Shipston High. They uphold the school's values of learning, respect, ambition and achievement in their actions.

Learning is valued highly by all, and there are positive relationships between staff and pupils. Pupils are mature, polite and considerate of others.

Leaders are clear and ambitious in their drive to make their school better.

They have high expectations of all and help pupils to learn and grow in their understanding of the wider world to prepare them for adult life. Pupils rise to leaders' expectations and achieve well across the curriculum. They also benefit from the house system in place to support them.<...br/>
Pupils regularly debate topical issues and subject ideas with their teachers. There is a range of sporting and engineering-related opportunities to expand their horizons. Older pupils can become prefects and participate in community work, making valuable contributions to school life and beyond.

Pupils show positive attitudes towards learning. This is clear through their written work and the pride they have in their achievements. Most pupils behave well, and this has improved over the course of the year.

Pupils know they are cared for. They feel safe and happy in school. Pupils say that bullying is dealt with well when it occurs.

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

Leaders have developed a broad and balanced curriculum. They have considered the needs of all pupils. Subject leaders are clear about the knowledge and skills that pupils need to learn and practise.

Teachers have strong subject knowledge. They know how best to share this with pupils and do so. This enables pupils to successfully develop their knowledge over a series of lessons.

All pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), experience the same ambitious curriculum. There are clear processes in place to identify those who may need additional help. Adaptations are made to support pupils who have education, health and care (EHC) plans.

However, there is too much variation in support given to pupils with SEND who do not have an EHC plan. Leaders are working to develop the SEND provision further, including through staff training.

Pupils who need support with their reading receive help to enable them to access the curriculum.

However, leaders do not have a robust system in place to identify these pupils. This means that they do not receive help as quickly as they could, and some are not identified.

Leaders have a detailed understanding of behaviour incidents in school.

They carefully track incidents of all kinds. Leaders evaluate this information to help them support good behaviour in the classroom. Pupils described some variation in how teachers manage behaviour.

On a few occasions, this leads to some disruption in their learning. Leaders are addressing these differences. Pupils and staff are aware of the behaviour management processes and feel that these are fair and clear.

Attendance has improved greatly in comparison with previous years. Leaders' expectations are much higher. These expectations have been communicated effectively to parents and carers and pupils.

Leaders have worked well to ensure that pupils are in lessons and learning. Attendance is up, and persistent absenteeism is falling as a result.

The personal development curriculum has been carefully planned to ensure that all areas of pupils' wider development are supported.

Pupils learn age-appropriate content in terms of relationships and how to keep themselves safe. Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is considered across the curriculum. They receive valuable input about other cultures and backgrounds.

Pupils are provided with unbiased careers advice from Year 7 onwards through a range of activities supported by external providers. Year 11 pupils have one-to-one careers interviews. Disadvantaged pupils in Years 9 and 10 also benefit from individual careers interviews.

All pupils are supported appropriately to choose their next steps in education, employment or training.

Governors are knowledgeable and committed and use their professional expertise to help develop the school. They check and challenge leaders' work as well as providing support when needed.

Leaders hold an accurate view of their own strengths and weakness. They know that communication with parents is an area that needs work. Results from the parent survey illustrated this.

Some parents feel that they do not receive enough information about how well their child is achieving at school.

Leaders are considerate of staff workload. New priorities and developments are carefully thought through.

Leaders take action to support staff when changes are made to ensure that these are manageable.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders ensure that there is a strong culture of safeguarding.

This is achieved through regular training and active reporting from staff. The designated safeguarding lead works effectively in partnership with external agencies to protect pupils at risk of harm.

Pupils feel safe and know whom they can talk to if they have any worries.

They are knowledgeable about the measures they can take to keep safe when using the internet. Leaders make use of local and national information to make sure that pupils are educated in current issues. Governors routinely check the effectiveness of the school's safeguarding work.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Some pupils with SEND are not receiving effective support to enable them to progress through the curriculum. As a result, some pupils with SEND, particularly those who do not have an EHC plan, are not able to engage fully with the ambitious curriculum. Leaders need to ensure that teachers appropriately adapt the curriculum in all subjects and that they monitor the progress of all pupils with SEND through the whole curriculum.

• Leaders do not routinely assess the reading ability of all pupils. This means that pupils who require additional support with their reading are not identified quickly enough and are therefore not able to engage with the curriculum fully. Leaders should ensure that pupils with gaps in their reading ability are identified and supported quickly and effectively to enable them to access the full curriculum.

• Parents do not receive enough information about their child's progress and how they are supported more widely. This results in parents feeling that they do not know enough about what happens in school. Leaders need to develop engagement opportunities that are focused and have purpose, aiming to ensure that parents are better informed.