The Joseph Whitaker School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Main findings

The Joseph Whitaker is a good school. It has made rapid improvement since the last inspection and has some outstanding features. The school is very well thought of by the local community, and parents and carers speak enthusiastically about its work.

One parent described it as, 'A good school, effectively and sympathetically run by the headteacher, his deputies and the teaching staff.' The last inspection identified the need to raise standards following a dip in the school's GCSE results in 2007. The headteacher and senior leaders were quick to identify the reasons behind this and addressed them effectively.

As a result, standards were better in 2008 and improvement has continued so that attai...nment for the present Year 11 is above the national average. Attainment for students at the end of Year 13 is also above average. The impact of the school's Specialist Sports College status has been a significant feature in helping the school to raise standards.

This has effectively driven its efforts to improve students' attitudes to learning. The results of this can be seen in improved attendance, which is above the national average, and the contribution students now make to learning in lessons. The school has a good capacity to improve further and self-evaluation strategies are embedded in its work.

The headteacher and senior staff have set a clear vision for improvement and staff have been quick, not only to understand what has been needed to improve standards but also to take actions to improve their practice. As a result, the curriculum is now good, increasingly meeting the needs of all students, and provision for care, guidance and support is outstanding. Rigorous monitoring and evaluation of teaching and learning has helped the school to focus coaching and training events, and in so doing has improved the overall standard of teaching to good.

However, there are still a few lessons where students are not fully engaged in learning because of a lack of activities that enable them to develop independent learning skills. Students suggest that some lessons are too teacher-led and inspection findings show that this restricts them from learning at the highest level, especially in the core subjects of English and mathematics. In a small number of lessons, students are not always clear about how well they are doing or what they could do to improve.

Information about the school

The Joseph Whitaker school is an above average sized comprehensive school. It became a Specialist Sports College in July 2004 and a Foundation School in 2006. Most students are of White British heritage, with only a few from minority ethnic backgrounds.

The percentage of students with special educational needs and/or disabilities, including those with a statement of educational needs, is just below national average. The proportion of students who are known to be eligible for free school meals is below the national average, and those whose first language is believed not to be English is well below. The school has a range of awards including: National Fairtrade Status, the Extended Services Award, the Full International School Award, Artsmark Gold and the Sports Partnership Mark.