South Molton Community College

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school Outcomes are good. Pupils try hard and want to do well in all their subjects. They achieve especially well in mathematics.

There is a good focus on the learning of disadvantaged pupils. As a result, the progress made by these pupils is speeding up, particularly in younger year groups. The work of teachers and teaching assistants helps disabled pupils and those with special educational needs to make good progress.

Pupils are very well prepared for their next steps after leaving school. Through the curriculum, the links with business and enterprise enhance the guidance and support that pupils receive. By and large, teaching is good.
.../>Most teaching has high expectations of pupils' achievement. Pupils learn well where teaching provides good challenge. Most of the feedback that pupils receive helps them to improve their work.

The behaviour of pupils is good. They show very positive attitudes to learning. Pupils' conduct around the school is particularly impressive.

A strength of the school is that pupils are known as individuals. Staff have a good understanding of any gaps in pupils' learning. The Principal provides strong and committed leadership.

His drive to improve the school is unwavering. Supported by his leadership team, he has taken a number of important steps to speed up improvement. Leaders are working well to improve teaching.

They have taken effective steps to minimise the disruption caused by changes to staffing in the English department. The governing body is very supportive of the school. Members of the governing body are improving their skills as 'critical friends'.

It is not yet an outstanding school because : Not all teaching provides high levels of challenge. Sometimes, pupils' progress is not as strong as it could be. Achievement in English is not as high as it is in mathematics.

This is because teaching in mathematics is stronger than it is in English. Some leaders of subject areas do not have the skills they need to lead improvements to teaching. As a result, teaching is improving more quickly in some subjects than in others.

The school's strategic plans lack precise targets and checkpoints. This means that senior leaders and governors find it difficult to check the impact of the actions being taken, or understand if the school is improving quickly enough. Leaders' evaluation of the impact of pupil premium funding is not always sharp enough.

Governors cannot easily check which actions are having the most impact. Ofsted_Logo_Black_RGB Full report

Information about this school

South Molton Community College is smaller in size to most secondary schools. Around half the pupils travel to and from the school by bus.

Since the previous inspection, the Principal has been appointed and a new Chair of the Governing Body has been elected. Since January 2013, the school has been a Co-operative Trust school. The school has also established a number of informal links with other schools and colleges in the region, including Bridgwater College, Okehampton College and The Woodroffe School.

It is expected that the school will move into a new building, due to be constructed on the existing site, in early 2017. No pupils attend off-site alternative provision. The school met the government's current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils' attainment and progress at the end of Key Stage 4.

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