Leadership and Management SEF – May 2015 Previous Judgement (Ofsted 2013) Good Current Judgement (May 2015) Good Current Position: School leaders at all levels communicate high expectations to students and parents. These are clearly evident in the school’s day to day functioning as well as published material and have led to improvements in the progress that students are making. The Governors are robust in their role challenging the school and its leaders to improve the outcomes and progress of all students. They meet regularly and the school is accountable for its actions and the outcomes of its students in all groups. Governors are aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the school and its areas for improvement based on evidence provided by the school as well as from external reviews, inspections and Raise Online. Self-evaluation is accurate and effective. Systems are streamlined allowing staff and students to be aware of priorities for improvement while recognising successes. It is based on data analysis, performance over time and is evidenced through exam results, internal moderation, work sampling, observations, learning walks and student voice on a regular basis by student mentors, subject teams, Middle leaders and Senior staff. It is shared openly on the schools website and Governors take an active part in the writing of the school and subject Action Plans. Student voice is valued and is part of all leaders and subjects self-evaluation processes with the School Council being represented at all Full Governors and some Committee meetings. Leaders are unaccepting of poor leadership or teaching. The Appraisal system of the school is closely linked to standards and appropriate action is taken to secure improvements in the quality of performance in individual roles to support rapid improvement or replacement. The Appraisal system is directly linked to pay and is based on a personalised CPD system that all staff are part of that leads to improvements in the areas of focus. This system is delivered in the main by staff within the school across the spectrum of roles and is supplemented only when individual outstanding practice cannot be identified internally in an area. Increasingly resources are being used to share outstanding practice and the school has recently appointed Lead Practitioners and an increasing number of staff have been designated as Specialist Leaders in Education. Additional support is provided as necessary for teachers where performance is not yet at least Good. The Headteachers appraisal is undertaken by an external advisor who is also the Local Authority Senior Advisor for the area. The school’s curriculum is designed to ensure that all students make good progress. It is based around a traditional route of academic subjects. The school uses its freedoms to teach a tailored Key Stage 3 diet to Years 7 and 8 that leads to students starting GCSE type work in Year 9. The courses offered meet the needs of the local economy while allowing the students to aspire to study at the best Universities. Some courses offered by the school to students at the age of 14 do not qualify for inclusion in performance tables but these Agriculture based courses or specific sector courses are appropriate for the students studying them alongside their GCSEs. Increasing number of students are staying on in the 6 th Form which is enabling a greater proportion to proceed to Higher Education. The curriculum reinforces the traditions and values of Britain while helping our students to understand the diverse nature of the wider population which they do not have extensive experience of. The school engages actively in the LASL and CASL systems of system leadership within Cumbria and is involved in Peer to Peer review work on Self Evaluation and Action Planning with three local Secondary schools as well as being part of two Teaching School Alliances and a Schools Direct alliance. Through the local collaborative of Secondary schools practice is shared across all subjects and in key areas. This has led to joint CPD as well identifying where practice can be shared with other schools or where the school can access support for an area of relative weakness. This is further supported by work with our cluster Primary schools, across the wider Local Authority area and further afield including sharing practice and research with partner schools in Holland and Russia. The school is designated as a Specialist Computing hub and has a Master Computing teacher who runs CPD for Primary and Secondary colleagues; in Science the school is the northern deliverer of the Science Learning Partnership courses across phases. Currently one of the school’s Deputy Headteachers is Seconded as Head of School in a setting within Special Measures. Good progress is being made in that setting to remove it from Special Measures. Student leadership opportunities are increasingly important within the school. The School Council meets frequently and consists of elected members of each tutor group. The Senior Student Leadership team meet with the Headteacher regularly and take a lead role in representing students in the school, with governors and in the Community. All of Year 9 undertake Sports Leadership programmes which develops into many becoming Sports Leaders who volunteer to lead Extra-Curricula activities and lead Primary school sporting events. All Year 7 students partake in the Arch Bishop of York’s Youth Leadership Award. Large numbers of Y11 and the 6th Form take part in the National Citizenship Service. The Governors, Headteacher and Business Manager oversee the efficient allocation of resources and the school has returned balanced budgets in every year of its operation. Resources are allocated effectively and external checks are regularly made to ensure that financial propriety is maintained at all times. Area for development Ensuring Middle Leaders work at a consistently high level. Review of SEN provision and curriculum for students as a result of changes to Code of Practice Relevant Detailed Action Plan DHT (student progress) All Subjects and Pastoral Impact to date - Evidence - Greater consistency of outcomes across subjects in 2012-13 Key actions in place - Appraisal - Regular line management tailored to need - Review of SEN categorisation taking place - Provision mapping started - SENCO and DHT trained in new system DHT (student progress) SEN Develop student leadership across all students SFL/SMD Pastoral Succession planning is evident across the school HT AHT Teaching and Learning Admin Increased Governor challenge to school about specific progress in improving outcomes for Pupil Premium students and subject performance Review of Curriculum to ensure students are prepared for new format GCSEs in 2017 and A Level reforms HT DHT (student progress) - New SEN register ready for roll out in January 2015 - New EHIC plans in place for students in Y6, Y9, Y11 as annual reviews occur - Effective School Council representing students - Sport leadership growing across the age ranges - Y7 all have started YLA - CPD identified in Appraisal is providing opportunities for identified staff to increase skill sets - AHT CPD extended placements in local schools - Lead Practitioner posts created - Timetable and Data Management new staff in place - External review of Pupil Premium from Local Authority - Minutes of Governors’ meetings - Subject and Pupil Premium reports regularly discussed at Governors Maths English Geography History MFL AHT Post 16 - Additional teaching time for Maths in Y9 in 2014-15 - New SOW in place for Y9 in 2014-15 - Middle Leaders moving Year 9 assessment into line with new assessment criteria - Middle leaders fully briefed on changes System Leadership HT - Peer to Peer work started - Record of school to school work - SLEs and Master Teacher in place - Science Learning Partnership centre - Active member of North LASL/CASL - SEF and Action Plan reviews planned with local Headteachers - Deployment of staff in other settings - Targeted support sourced from other schools - Leadership scheme in place for Y7 in 2014-15 in curriculum time - Open Minds in November based around World War 1 and community volunteering - Appraisal identifying staff with potential to lead in areas across the school - School Direct entering second year - Handover time planned for in budget for continuity in school admin systems - Review system of Middle Leader reports to Governors - Pupil Premium standing item for meetings Next steps - Middle Leadership meetings chaired and run by Middle Leaders In place May 15 - Change students from SA, SA+ to new categories appropriately. - Evaluate provision for impact on student progress In place May 2015 - Students to take lead on assemblies more regularly - Students joining subject and pastoral meetings on a regular basis Aim for implementation in 2015-16 - Evaluate impact of Lead practitioners In place May 2015 - Create short term Senior Team placements accessible to Middle Leaders Aim for implementation in 2015-16 - Acceleration of pay progression for outstanding staff In place May 2015 - Invite Governors to SLT meetings around key issues - Sharing of robust information on a half termly basis In place May 2015, SEF used actively in all relevant Governor Mtgs - New assessment criteria in place - Post level assessment methodology and format agreed In place May 2015 - Revise 6th Form Assessment systems to meet challenge of de-coupled AS and A Levels Aim for implementation in 2015-16 - Increase level of challenge between local Headteachers involved in Peer to Peer work In place May 2015 and evolving for ever greater challenge