University Collegiate School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

This school has undergone a transformation since the 2022 inspection. Pupils, and students in the sixth form, are delighted with the improvements that the school has made.

They feel happier, safer and more able to learn at school.

The trust has supported the school to set the highest expectations of pupils' behaviour and learning. Pupils have risen to this challenge admirably.

They behave well and are beginning to achieve more highly than in the past.

The University Collegiate School's values of responsibility, loyalty and professionalism permeate the school. Pupils interact with staff and their peers with genuine warmth.

Politeness and mutu...al respect are commonplace. Students in the sixth form carry these values beyond the school when they embark on work-based projects and professional placements.

Pupils benefit from the unique opportunities for vocational learning that the school provides.

For example, they complete science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) projects with local employers. Students in the sixth form access industry-standard resources to support their studies in engineering and the health sciences. Pupils are regular visitors to the neighbouring university.

These opportunities, alongside a comprehensive careers programme, set pupils up well for their next steps in education, employment or training.

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

Support from the trust, and the interim advisory board (IAB), has enhanced the leadership at all levels of this school. The close partnership between trustees and the IAB has been instrumental in bringing about much-needed change at a rapid pace.

In a short space of time, the school has successfully addressed its previous areas of weakness.

Staff have embraced trustees' vision to provide a high-quality education for all pupils. The school is well on the way to realising that vision.

This has been aided by the school's strong emphasis on professional development. Staff value the support that they receive. Although their workload can be high at times, staff appreciate how the school considers their well-being.

The school has overhauled its curriculum to ensure that pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), study a broad range of subjects. Specialist options in key stages 4 and 5 provide pupils with routes to ambitious further and higher education destinations. This has helped the school to regain some of the distinctiveness that befits a university technical college.

Weaknesses in the previous curriculum had a negative impact on the published GCSE results for pupils in 2023. This cohort of pupils were also admitted before the school's key stage 3 provision began. This means that they spent only two years at the school before sitting their examinations.

Pupils currently in the school are learning and progressing through the new curriculum well. The school is alert to the large gaps that some older pupils have in their learning and has begun making strides towards addressing these. However, despite this, these gaps remain a barrier to some pupils' achievement.

Subject curriculums are well organised. They set out exactly what pupils should learn and in what order. Typically, these curriculums are delivered well by staff who know their subjects in depth.

Most staff explain new ideas clearly and check whether pupils have grasped them before moving on. However, despite the clarity of the curriculum, some staff do not deliver learning as effectively as they should. At times, the approaches that they choose are not well matched to the knowledge that pupils need to acquire.

This makes it harder for some pupils to build their knowledge step by step in these subjects.

The school recognises the contribution that reading makes to pupils' achievement. Pupils who struggle with reading receive effective support.

This is helping them to catch up with their peers.

The school has systems for identifying any additional needs that pupils may have. Staff are provided with detailed information about these needs.

They are beginning to use this information to help them adapt their delivery of the curriculum. Support from the school is helping pupils with SEND to access appropriately ambitious next steps in their education.

In the main, pupils' conduct is purposeful and calm.

They understand how to live up to the school's values. The school ensures that any poor behaviour is dealt with effectively so that learning is not disrupted. The school is also working successfully with the families of pupils who are often absent from school.

Some pupils' rates of attendance are increasing as a result.

The school has introduced a wide-ranging programme to support pupils' personal development. Some parts of this programme, such as the careers guidance and character education that pupils receive, are of high quality.

Other parts have been developed more recently. This includes the curriculum for pupils' personal, social and health education (PSHE). The school has improved this curriculum.

However, on occasions, it is not delivered as well as it should be. Some pupils have difficulty remembering this important learning. They are not as well prepared for their lives beyond school as they should be.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some subjects, staff lack expertise to design learning and select activities which help pupils to build their knowledge securely. This hinders some pupils from learning the curriculum as well as they should.

The school should ensure that staff receive appropriate subject-specific guidance to support them to deliver the curriculum consistently well. ? The progress that older pupils make through the curriculum is hindered by the weaker curriculum that they experienced in the past. Many pupils have large gaps in their learning as a result.

This means that their attainment by the end of key stage 4 is uneven. The school should strengthen its efforts to identify and address any missed learning so that these pupils achieve all that they should. ? Some pupils do not experience the high-quality PSHE education that the school intends.

This is because some of the staff responsible for teaching this curriculum do not have the expertise that they need. This means that some pupils are not as well prepared for their lives beyond school as others. The school should ensure that staff receive effective training which equips them to teach the PSHE curriculum as effectively as other subjects.