Stepney All Saints Church of England Secondary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Stepney All Saints Church of England Secondary School continues to be an outstanding school.

What is it like to attend this school?

This is a strong learning community. Pupils are proud of their school.

They learn a broad range of subjects and achieve high standards. Pupils appreciate the intellectual challenge and personal encouragement that staff give them.

Pupils know that teachers care about their well-being.

They said that their teachers will help them if they feel worried or under pressure, for example with their schoolwork. Leaders have prioritised resources to support pupils' emotional and mental health. Trained counsellors work directly with pupils, for e...xample.

Pupils respond well to the high expectations of leaders and staff. They enjoy their learning. Pupils behave extremely well in lessons and around school.

They told inspectors that school is a safe place. Pupils said that on the rare occasions bullying happens, staff deal with it quickly.

Pupils have access to a broad range of enrichment opportunities.

Clubs and activities are available at lunchtime and after school. These opportunities include the arts, sport and study support. Leaders have planned further opportunities following the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.

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

The school offers a broad and balanced curriculum that meets the needs of all pupils. Pupils study a wide range of subjects throughout Years 7 to 11. In the sixth form, students have a large choice of subjects to study in depth.

This includes vocational courses. Leaders are ambitious for pupils. For example, they are proud that the majority of key stage 4 pupils are entered for the EBacc.

Pupils develop knowledge over time very effectively. The curriculum is well structured and lessons are carefully planned and delivered. Teachers have identified the subject knowledge that needs to be taught.

They check regularly on what pupils have learned and remembered. Teaching staff use a range of strategies that enable pupils to build successfully on their prior learning. For example, pupils said that homework tasks to pre-learn lesson content are useful.

They explained how this approach helps them to understand and remember information.

Pupils are encouraged to become experts in different subjects. In modern foreign languages, for example, pupils develop a secure understanding of language structure.

This helps pupils to speak and write the language with increasing accuracy.

Those pupils who are not yet confident and fluent readers receive well-planned and effective support. They catch up quickly and access the full curriculum as a result.

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) follow the same curriculum as their peers. They achieve highly and receive the right support so that they can thrive.

Leaders told inspectors that the quality of education in the sixth form has not always been as strong as in the rest of the school.

They have worked with curriculum leaders to strengthen planning further. As a result, students are doing better and achieving highly in their subjects, such as English and media studies.

Pupils are keen to find out more about their subjects.

They benefit from opportunities beyond the classroom in many curriculum areas, for instance in modern foreign languages and geography. Pupils also enjoy opportunities to develop their independent study skills and discuss a range of topics. They said that this helps to develop their thinking and they like talking about their ideas.

The wider development of pupils is a priority for leaders. Pupils have a well-planned and broad offer of extra-curricular activities. Many pupils take advantage of this, including those who are disadvantaged.

Pupils show high levels of maturity in their learning. Their behaviour is excellent and lessons are free from low-level disruption. Pupils, including those in the sixth form, receive helpful advice about their next steps for adult life.

This includes information on both university courses and apprenticeships.

Leaders and governors help school staff to manage their workload. They promote staff well-being thoughtfully.

For example, leaders have reduced the amount of assessment information that teachers need to produce each term.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

The headteacher, together with staff and governors, ensures that the safety and well-being of pupils are a priority.

In lessons and assemblies, pupils learn about staying safe in person as well as when online. Pupils told inspectors that members of staff are approachable if there is something that troubles them or that they need to share.

Leaders work with a range of external agencies to support pupils' needs.

They have developed mentoring and counselling support in school. Staff follow the school's systems carefully and receive appropriate training to keep pupils safe.

Background

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

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

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the section 8 inspection as a section 5 inspection immediately.

This is the first section 8 inspection since we judged the predecessor school, Sir John Cass and Redcoat School, to be outstanding in October 2015.