All Saints Catholic College

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Relationships between staff and pupils are respectful and supportive. This fosters a sense of community in school. As a result, most pupils feel safe and happy.

Pupils' voices are valued. For instance, the school uses pupils' views to help make improvements to their learning.

Most pupils typically behave well.

The new behaviour management policy has helped to improve their behaviour around school and in lessons. Pupils are keen to do well and display positive attitudes to learning.

In recent times, the school has raised its expectations of pupils' achievement.

It has worked with the trust to ensure that staff benefit from shared expertise an...d resources. Nonetheless, the impact of recent improvement work to the quality of education is variable. As a result, continued weaknesses in the design and delivery of the curriculum limit how well pupils sometimes achieve.

Pupils are beginning to benefit from a wide range of opportunities to enhance their personal development. For instance, some pupils enjoy taking part in The Duke of Edinburgh's Award scheme and a variety of trips. They also relish their leadership roles and volunteering opportunities.

These experiences help pupils to develop resilience and nurture a sense of responsibility.

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

The school has worked in partnership with the trust to improve the quality of education that pupils receive. This has involved making substantial changes to staffing, leadership and the curriculum.

Pupils follow a broad and mostly appropriate curriculum. In most subjects, the key stage 3 curriculum identifies what the key knowledge is that pupils should learn and build on over time. However, the curriculum is not as well designed in key stage 4.

This means that older pupils do not progress through the curriculum well enough. In many subjects, they do not gain sufficient depth in their knowledge. As a result, some pupils do not achieve as well as they should.

In some subjects, the curriculum is not delivered consistently well. This is because the school has not ensured that staff have the skills and confidence to choose the most appropriate activities that help pupils to learn the curriculum in depth. At times, the checks on whether pupils retain key knowledge are not effective.

This limits how well teachers identify and address gaps in pupils' learning.

The school has strengthened its systems to identify the additional needs for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). However, there are inconsistencies in how well these needs are met.

As a result, some pupils with SEND do not access the curriculum as well as they should. This limits how well they learn and achieve.

Reading is successfully promoted.

For example, the school uses initiatives such as 'book buzz' and form reading to foster a love of reading. Pupils who struggle to read are identified and supported well. This helps them to read with increasing confidence and fluency.

Pupils behave well. They respond well to the new routines and increasingly high expectations that the school sets of their conduct. This generally creates a calm and purposeful classroom environment.

The school identifies and removes barriers to attendance well. Mostly, pupils attend school frequently.

The school promotes pupils' personal development well.

They develop a strong appreciation of the differences between people and the importance of respecting others. Pupils take part in charitable work with the local hospice and food bank. This develops their appreciation of their roles as active citizens in their community.

Pupils enjoy a range of extra-curricular opportunities that help to develop their interests and talents. This is beginning to help some pupils to expand their knowledge beyond the taught curriculum. Effective careers guidance helps pupils to prepare well for life beyond school.

Trustees work closely with the local governing body to ensure that the school is held to account well. Areas of priority are overseen effectively. Even so, some of the improvement work to strengthen the quality of education has not been fully realised.

Staff morale is typically high, and there is a shared aspiration to improve pupils' achievement across school.

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, particularly in key stage 4, the curriculum is not designed effectively.

The essential knowledge that pupils should be taught has not been identified. This prevents pupils from building on their knowledge securely over time. The school should ensure that the curriculum across all subjects and stages is ambitious and successfully designed so that pupils can move successfully to their next stage in education, training or employment.

• At times, the choice of learning activities does not help pupils to learn the subject content in sufficient depth. This limits how well some pupils achieve. The school should ensure that teachers are supported well to design learning that helps pupils to know and remember more of the curriculum.

• Some staff do not check that pupils have learned and understood the intended curriculum. This hampers how well staff identify and address gaps in pupils' knowledge. The school should ensure that teachers use assessment strategies to rectify pupils' misconceptions effectively and quickly.

At times, the needs of some pupils with SEND are not met well enough. This limits how well these pupils access the curriculum and achieve. The school should ensure that teachers are equipped with the skills and knowledge that is needed to adapt the delivery of the curriculum so that pupils with SEND can achieve as well as they should.

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