The Winston Churchill School A Specialist Sports College

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

The Winston Churchill School A Specialist Sports College continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

This is an inclusive school, with high expectations for pupils' conduct and achievement.

Pupils are encouraged to do well, not just academically but also in developing the skills they need to contribute to the world outside of school. They benefit from 'Winston extra' lessons where, among other things, they are supported to reflect on their strengths and development needs around a framework of what the school calls 'Winston competencies and skills'. Pupils recognise how these strategies support them in being not just effective learners, but well-rounded cit...izens, for example in developing skills of collaboration, communication or resilience.

Behaviour around the school site is generally calm and respectful and the significant majority of pupils meet the school's high expectations for conduct well. A small minority of pupils challenge these expectations from time to time, though these are dealt with swiftly. Pupils and their families are supported to identify the barriers to pupils behaving well and use this knowledge to reflect on and improve their conduct.

For a small number of pupils, an adapted curriculum supports them to be successful.

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

The school has high ambitions for all pupils, particularly those who are disadvantaged, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The school has constructed an effectively sequenced curriculum across subjects, considering carefully what pupils need to know, and this builds into a broad set of knowledge that will set them up well for the future.

In lessons, staff have strong subject knowledge and consider a range of effective learning activities to support pupils in doing well. In many lessons, staff check learning carefully throughout, ensuring that misconceptions are picked up quickly. However, this is not yet consistent across areas of the school.

Pupils are secure in discussing what they have learned, and most can connect this securely to learning that has come before. As a result, most pupils achieve well in public examinations. However, the school recognises that those who are disadvantaged do not always achieve as well as they could.

The school is embedding improved systems to ensure that the specific strategies to support these pupils are known to and used by all staff. These aim to support precise and specific adaptations in the classroom. This work is showing a positive impact and continues to develop.

In lessons, pupils behave well and classrooms are places of purposeful learning. The majority of pupils are prompt to lessons and attend school regularly. For those who attend less well, the school employs a range of different initiatives to identify the barriers to good attendance and to support pupils in attending school regularly.

However, there is not always the consistent review and evaluation of these methods to assure leaders that these are having the impact that they intend.

Central to the ethos of the school is a strong offer to support the wider development of all pupils, including the most disadvantaged. For example, pupils are given access to music lessons and instruments to support their interests in learning to play an instrument.

Pupils benefit from a recently redeveloped performing arts space, and a planetarium on site that allows all pupils to study astronomy. A range of different leadership opportunities include being form representatives, well-being ambassadors, prefects and peer mentors. Older year groups are always proud to work with the youngest pupils to support their successful entry to the school community.

Leaders are relentless in their desire for all pupils to do well and they create a supportive environment where staff are encouraged to try new approaches. The majority of parents and carers feel well informed about what is happening in the school, though some feel less effectively engaged, which is acknowledged by leaders. When new ideas are introduced, this is done carefully, and initiatives are rolled out and embedded with care.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The school uses a range of different initiatives to support pupils' attendance. However, they do not consistently evaluate these for their impact.

As a result, they are not always aware what initiatives are working and what needs adapting. The school needs to ensure that they routinely evaluate the impact of their actions so that all pupils, but especially the most disadvantaged, are supported in attending school well. ? The school has worked to develop systems to support and enrich the provision for disadvantaged pupils to narrow the gap between them and their peers.

These are still embedding, especially in terms of the precise adaptations to support their learning in the classroom. The school needs to continue to embed these initiatives so that all pupils are supported to do well.

Background

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

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

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

This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in May 2011.