Baughurst secondary school 'requires improvement' says Ofsted

The 970 pupil Hurst Community College, in Brimpton Road, Baughurst, a specialist science college, was given an overall ‘requires improvement’ (3) marking, in a report published by Ofsted inspectors on June 14, following a two-day inspection on May 21 to 22.
The grade marks a slip from the overall ‘Good’ (2) marking awarded by Ofsted inspectors three years ago, in June 2010.
In their latest report, inspectors said while the number of pupils achieving the benchmark GCSE A* to C grades in mathematics was average, their progress between Key Stages two and four was below average.
Teachers were not using assessment information to plan lessons and set appropriate homework to meet the need of all pupils, resulting in slow progress in lessons and home study.
Some teachers were not marking pupils’ work regularly or thoroughly, consequently pupils did not always know how to improve their work and the school’s marking policy was inconsistent across all departments.
The headteacher, Malcolm Christian and other leaders at the school had not checked regularly enough that initiatives to improve teaching were being carried out and this was directly impacting on the learning and progress of different groups of pupils.
Inspectors praised the behaviour of pupils in lessons and around the school and said :”The school is welcoming and there is an atmosphere of respect and courtesy between staff and pupils.”
Attainment at GCSE grades A* to C in the majority of subject areas was just above average and progress in some key areas such as English and science was good, while the school offered a broad curriculum and many opportunities for pupils to participate in trips/extra curricular activities. Pastoral care was also praised, with pupils feeling well cared for and safe.
Areas the school needed to improve in included: teaching , especially in mathematics between Key stages two and four; the rates of pupils’ progress, including those eligible for the pupil premium/supported at school action and: strengthening the effectiveness of school leaders .
Inspectors observed 44 lessons and took account of 95 responses to the online questionnaire (Parent View). They analysed questionnaires from 57 members of staff, looked at a range of documents and held discussions with the school’s chairman of governors, a representative from the local authority, staff and groups of pupils.
The school wrote to parents following the report, detailing the areas of improvement required and headteacher, Mr Christian, said it was “Perverse” the school’s key indicators were better than in 2010, “Clearly the standard expected of all schools has really shot up in the last nine months,” he said.