The Warren School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are incredibly keen to learn and enjoy being with their friends. Staff build strong working relationships with pupils and are very mindful of their well-being. As a result, pupils are happy in school and they attend well.

Pupils are taught how to keep themselves safe, and the school provides a safe environment in which pupils can learn and flourish.

The school has exceptionally high expectations of every pupil in the school. It is relentless in its work to remove barriers to learning so that every pupil can achieve their full potential, no matter what their starting point is.

As a result, pupils achieve excellent examination outcomes at the end of Year... 11, as well as at the end of Year 13, when they finish sixth form. Pupils are extremely well prepared for the next stage of their education or work. Increasingly, more pupils are choosing to study at the school's sixth form, and sixth-form students aspire to attend a range of universities or apply for competitive degree apprenticeships.

Pupils' behaviour is excellent. Learning is rarely interrupted due to low-level disruptions in class. On the rare occasions this happens, it is dealt with swiftly by staff.

Outside of lessons, pupils move around the building purposefully to get to their next lesson or to enjoy their breaktimes.

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

The school has designed an impressive curriculum that is broad, ambitious and meets the needs of all pupils in the school. Pupils study all the subjects in the national curriculum as well as additional subjects, such as drama and dance.

In the sixth form, there is also a broad range of A-level and applied courses for students to choose from. The ambition and richness of what pupils study from the outset of Year 7 are consistently strong.

Subject leadership has designed programmes with ambitious endpoints that often stretch beyond the national curriculum.

The school thinks carefully about how to break down the knowledge and skills that it wants pupils to know and remember into manageable chunks. This enables pupils to build on their knowledge step by step. For example, in languages, Year 7 pupils learn key vocabulary in a topic related to the present tense.

In later years, pupils revisit the vocabulary and grammar learned in Year 7 and then build on this very effectively, for instance with more sophisticated vocabulary and different tenses.

Teachers have strong subject knowledge and consistently deliver the curriculum as planned. This is, in part, due to subject leadership working collaboratively with its department teams to design how the subject will be taught.

Teachers choose appropriate activities in lessons to enable pupils to learn securely the essential knowledge that they need. Teaching uses a variety of purposeful techniques to check what pupils know and remember. For instance, the 'pop backs' approach allows teachers to check what pupils recall from previous lessons.

If teachers identify gaps in knowledge or misconceptions, they address these quickly. Pupils respond positively to teachers' guidance, because they want to improve their understanding and correct any mistakes that they have made.

The school has robust systems in place to ensure that it identifies the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) as soon as they arrive at the school.

This includes pupils who join the specially resourced provision. Pupils quickly receive the support that they need. This is bespoke to each pupil's circumstances.

For example, it might be in 'nurture' groups in Years 7 and 8 or with additional support in the classroom. 'SEND ambassadors' in each department work to ensure that their subject is adapted so that all pupils can access it fully. Leaders also assess pupils' reading and put support in place for pupils not reading with the accuracy or fluency that they would expect.

The school actively promotes the joy of reading through 'drop everything and read' sessions, with pupils expected to always have a reading book with them.

Pupils' attitudes to their learning are excellent. They understand the school's high expectations regarding attendance and punctuality and are motivated to achieve well.

They listen carefully in class and are respectful to one another in discussions. Sixth-form students support staff during breaktimes in the school canteen, thereby contributing to the calm environment of the school. Pupils value the school's rewards systems.

They said that both rewards and consequences are applied consistently and fairly by staff. The school has thorough strategies and systems for following up on any attendance concerns and securing necessary improvements.

The school has a vision to provide pupils with an extensive education that goes beyond the academic subjects studied.

Leaders ensure that all pupils are involved in these additional activities. For example, all pupils in Years 7 to 9 participate in educational visits funded by the school. These visits are linked to the curriculum, for example to the British Library for English, the Science Museum for mathematics and the Natural History Museum for science.

Pupils also participate in a wide range of clubs and after-school activities. Leaders check pupils' engagement with the wider curriculum via the school 'Pledge', which aims to ensure that all pupils are prepared for life in modern Britain. The provision on offer is impressive.

Students in the sixth form continue to study a comprehensive personal, social, health and economic curriculum until Year 13. This is enhanced with the 'LOX 100' programme, which further broadens all students' experiences and prepares them for life beyond school. Careers advice is timely and well structured.

Trustees have a detailed understanding of the work of the school and ensure that it meets its statutory duties. Leaders at all levels, from the trust down, are effective in making sure that pupils achieve the ambitious goals that they have set for them. Trust improvement directors support and challenge school leaders effectively.

Senior and middle leadership ensure that there is a consistency of approach across the school, with everything focusing on securing the highest quality of outcomes for pupils. Staff are helped to manage their workload well and feel supported by leaders.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.