Westlands School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Westlands School continues to be a good school.

The headteacher of this school is Christina Honess. This school is part of Swale Academies Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Michael Wilson, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Paul Goodson.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils value the school's highly inclusive and ambitious ethos. At the heart of this are the schools 'RADAR Values'. These are used to help pupils develop positive, purposeful attitudes to learning which support them to achieve well.

The school emphasises the importance of pupils b...eing considerate and kind to others. Around the school, they reflect this through their calm and orderly conduct.

Pupils contribute positively to the school community.

Through the range of different leadership roles, they help run events in school. The school council provides pupils with opportunities to discuss issues of importance to them, alongside contributing their ideas about changes to the school. Pupils know they can share any worries with staff in their 'communities'.

They are confident they will be listened to and they value the support given by pastoral staff.

Pupils benefit from a wide range of extra-curricular experiences. They proudly talk about participating in activities, such as school productions or helping to look after animals on the school farm.

Parents and carers value how these opportunities help to prepare pupils for the future. One parent captured the views of many, saying, 'The school supports pupils to believe in themselves and raises their aspirations.'

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

The school has an ambitious and broad curriculum.

Across the curriculum, careful consideration is given to arranging the key knowledge that pupils need to learn. This helps them to make connections between important ideas. They are supported to remember these through the deliberate revisiting of earlier learning across subjects.

Pupils benefit from the breadth of academic and vocational courses offered in key stage 4 and the sixth form. However, the school recognises that the number of pupils pursuing the English Baccalaureate at key stage 4 is too low. The school has been carefully promoting the value of learning modern foreign languages, and the number of pupils taking this set of qualifications is rapidly increasing.

Teachers confidently introduce new learning. Across subjects, they use demonstrations to support explanations of new knowledge effectively. Teachers consistently check pupils' understanding through a variety of approaches, including using questioning.

However, in some lessons, this does not pick up when pupils have inaccurate knowledge. As a result, in these lessons, some pupils continue to have insecure understanding. Teachers make effective use of end-of-topic assessment outcomes to reteach areas where pupils have knowledge gaps.

Staff use strategies detailed in 'pupil passports' to appropriately adapt learning activities for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). This supports all pupils with SEND, including those with more complex needs, to learn well.

Reading is woven through the curriculum.

Pupils read a wide range of diverse texts and learn the subject-specific vocabulary needed to help understand these. For those who struggle with reading, sharply focused support helps them to become fluent readers.

Attendance is a high priority.

However, too many disadvantaged pupils are regularly absent. Therefore, they do not fully benefit from the school's curriculum. Over time, this absence causes these pupils to develop knowledge gaps, which affect their achievement.

The school is taking effective action, with some examples of improvement; however, these are not yet substantial or sustained. The picture differs in the sixth form, where all students attend well.

The school has high behaviour expectations.

Pupils know the rules, and the vast majority uphold these. In lessons, they work with focus and follow established routines. If pupils lose focus on their learning, most teachers quickly refocus them.

When pupils have more complex behaviour needs, the school provides bespoke support through the 'intensive pupil support provision' and the 'RADAR provision'. Pupils speak highly about how these help them to develop more effective and productive approaches to learning.

Pupils' personal development is well considered.

The 'RADAR values curriculum' broadens their horizons and challenges them to explore different perspectives on current issues. This includes looking at how to keep safe in society and online. Through a calendar of themed events, pupils learn about cultural differences, which helps them to appreciate the value of diversity.

They are well prepared for their next steps beyond Westlands. The rich careers programme develops their awareness of different study and employment opportunities. Sixth-form students speak highly of how this prepares them to make confident post-18 choices.

The school is highly reflective and carefully identifies further improvements. The trust closely supports this work, providing additional resources when needed. Considerable efforts are made to minimise the impact of changes on staff workload.

Staff are positive about how the school prioritises their well-being, which helps them focus on teaching.

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 lessons, teachers do not always check pupils' understanding carefully.

As a result, some pupils continue to have misconceptions which are not corrected. The school needs to ensure that teachers in all lessons identify less secure aspects of pupils understanding and address these through further teaching. ? Too many disadvantaged pupils are regularly absent from school.

These pupils are missing key learning, which affects their achievement. The school needs to embed and further refine its approach to addressing absence so that it can robustly secure improved attendance for these pupils.

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 first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in February 2019.