Southlands High School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 6 February 2024

The school is highly ambitious for pupils to achieve well. Pupils are increasingly benefiting from the improvements that the school has made to the quality of education that they receive. Pupils study a broad range of well-designed subject curriculums. However, pupils learn more effectively in some subjects than in others. This is because the curriculum is not delivered consistently well. Most pupils understand the high expectations of conduct that the school has for them. Pupils said that behaviour in lessons has improved. They are friendly towards each other and said that they feel happy and safe in school. Pupils know that they can talk to staff if they have a problem. There are positive relationships between staff and pupils. The school has strengthened its provision to support pupils' wider personal development. Pupils told inspectors that they appreciate the range of opportunities on offer to them to develop their leadership skills. Pupils spoke enthusiastically about the variety of extra-curricular activities to enhance their learning of the curriculum, including visits from external speakers. However, some pupils do not make the most of all that the school has to offer. Added to this, some pupils do not know all that they should about fundamental British values.

What the school should improve

• The curriculum is not delivered consistently well across subjects. In some subjects, teachers do not design activities that help pupils to learn the knowledge in the curriculum. This hinders some pupils from learning as well as they should. The school should ensure that teachers, in these subjects, are fully equipped to deliver the curriculum consistently well so that pupils know and remember important knowledge.
• Some pupils, including some who are disadvantaged and some with SEND, do not attend school often enough. These pupils miss out on important learning. The school should ensure that the strategies that it uses to improve rates of attendance across the school support these pupils to attend regularly.
• There is inconsistency in how well some teachers adapt the delivery of the curriculum to support pupils with SEND. This means that some pupils with SEND do not learn as well as they should. The school should ensure that teachers are suitably trained to support pupils with SEND to access the same curriculum as their peers.
• Some staff lack the confidence and subject expertise necessary to help the weakest readers to learn to read fluently. This means that some pupils are not able to access the full curriculum and learn well. The school, and the trust, should ensure that staff know how to address this and have the resources to do so successfully.

Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)