Tendring Technology College

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy attending Tendring Technology College. They are safe and can learn in a productive environment.

Pupils have seen dramatic improvements to their educational experience since the school's last full inspection in November 2021.

Pupils achieve increasingly well. Staff expect pupils to work hard, and they consistently apply these expectations in lessons.

Most pupils respond eagerly. Sixth-form students speak highly of the school's ethos, the range of opportunities it provides and the support they receive from both their teachers and pastoral staff. They feel challenged to achieve well.

Staff expect pupils to be kind and they respond to this w...ell. Pupils know to report any form of unkindness and how to report it. This has improved significantly since the last full inspection.

The range of wider opportunities available to pupils, such as sporting clubs, enables them to develop their character. This is reflected through the positive way in which school staff and visitors are treated. Pupils and students have also had the chance to attend cultural experiences, such a seeing live performances from the British Chamber Orchestra, broadening their horizons.

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

In most subjects at key stages 3, 4 and 5, curriculum plans are carefully considered and sequenced. These plans are ambitious. Teachers have specialist subject knowledge and use this very effectively.

They ensure pupils use and can explain subject-specific terms. Pupils' knowledge is usually systematically assessed by staff. In a small number of subjects, pupils' knowledge is not always checked effectively.

Equally, some pupils do not always respond to the feedback they receive. As a result, some pupils in these subjects do not understand how to refine their skills further.

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are provided with effective support in lessons.

Teaching is adapted well to meet their needs. This support is increasingly focused on the individual needs of each pupil with SEND. The school has a specialist hub for pupils with autism.

Support for pupils in this hub is of a high standard. With a well-considered and bespoke curriculum offer, pupils achieve well in an environment that is purposeful and encouraging.

The school has invested a significant amount of time in developing a comprehensive programme that supports pupils who struggle with reading.

Pupils are regularly assessed and give additional tuition to ensure they become increasingly fluent and confident readers.

Pupils behave well during lessons and unstructured times. They are respectful to their teachers.

They participate well and engage positively in learning.Incidents of bullying are rare. Sixth-form students speak highly of the atmosphere and work ethic at the school.

While the number of suspensions is high, it is falling dramatically because of the school's actions. Pupils now understand more fully the consequences of their decisions.

Pupils' attendance is broadly in line with other secondary schools.

However, the number of disadvantaged pupils missing school frequently remains high. This means these pupils miss out on the good standard of education provided by the school. While action is being taken, further work is needed to improve these pupils' attendance.

Pupils have a full programme of personal, social, health and economic education. The programme provides pupils with the opportunity to learn how to keep themselves safe online, and how to be healthy both mentally and physically. There is a variety of opportunities for pupils to engage in extra-curricular activities, including, for example, the Duke of Edinburgh's Award.

Visits abroad are also an important and popular component of the school's offer.

The careers programme is a strength of the school. Pupils have a clear understanding of their employment and further education options.

Sixth-form students have high aspirations in areas such as medicine and biomedical science. They are well supported in their higher education application process. The school is increasingly providing opportunities to encounter the world of work in Years 10 and 12.

Since the last full inspection in November 2021, leaders at all levels have created an environment in which pupils can learn. It is a calm and purposeful community. Leaders are tenacious in their drive to bring about improvement.

The changes the school has been through have, understandably, been unsettling for some members of its community. However, staff and pupils agree that the school has improved dramatically during the last 30 months. The trust has played an integral part in this.

Staff feel well supported in managing the challenges they have faced.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• While attendance is improving, too many disadvantaged children do not attend school often enough.

As a result, they miss out on the opportunity to engage in the good quality of education and structure provided by the school. The school should ensure that its systems for tackling absence are sufficiently precise to improve levels of attendance further for the most vulnerable pupils. In a small number of subjects, the way teachers use assessment and feedback is not always effective.

Pupils do not always act on the feedback they get. As a result, in these subjects, some pupils do not make the improvements needed to move their learning on. The school should ensure that the existing system for assessing pupils understanding is consistently applied by teachers and used by pupils.