Outstanding Ofsted
The school was last inspected on 30th April and 1st May 2014.
Once again The King Edward VI School has been judged as outstanding by Ofsted. The school was inspected in May of this year and the team of inspectors judged the school as outstanding in all five areas of the inspection framework.
- Overall Effectiveness – Outstanding
- Achievement of Pupils – Outstanding
- Quality of Teaching – Outstanding
- Behaviour and Safety of Pupils – Outstanding
- Leadership and Management – Outstanding
We were really pleased that the team also recognised the efforts of staff to provide a wide range of enriching experiences beyond the classroom as the school firmly believes that education is about the whole person and not just exam results.
“The rich extra-curricular programme has a very positive impact on students’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.”
In the current Ofsted framework, the sixth form does not have its own section, however the inspection team were so impressed by our post 16 provision that they included a significant paragraph outlining their outstanding findings.
“The sixth form is outstanding. Outstanding leadership of this highly inclusive sixth form underpins a broad curriculum and the exceptional performance of students. Results at A-level are significantly above national averages, so that the vast majority of students move on to their first choice universities, which include Oxbridge and universities in the prestigious Russell group.”
Achievement of Pupils – Outstanding
As part of the inspection, the team rigorously analysed a significant amount of data on our past performance and our in-year progress data. The team commented on the inclusive nature of the school and the excellent work of the staff to ensure that the progress of individuals and all groups was excellent when compared nationally. In particular they commented very positively on our work to support students with special educational needs and students supported by the pupil premium.
“The proportion of students making expected and better than expected progress is very high compared with national averages.”
“Disabled students and those who have special educational needs make the same progress as that of other groups because teachers plan carefully for their learning.”
Quality of Teaching – Outstanding
During the two days inspectors observed 45 lessons and their judgements closely matched the schools own internal assessments of the quality of teaching and learning. In particular the quality of teaching in the sixth form was highlighted as a particular strength with 80% of post 16 lessons judged as outstanding. This is supported by national data with places our value added score at A level in the top 1% of schools nationally.
“Teachers are highly skilled and enthusiastic; they are relentless in their drive to help students to achieve their very best.”
Behaviour and Safety of Pupils – Outstanding
As we would expect, our students showed themselves to be fantastic ambassadors for the school and feedback from the inspection team was high complimentary towards our students. They commented on how calmly they moved around the school, how well mannered they were, holding doors, saying “thank you”, how happy students appeared and how well their attitudes contributed to excellent learning in classrooms.
“Students behave extremely well in and out of classrooms. They show high levels of respect and self-discipline at all times.”
“Students consistently demonstrate excellent attitudes to learning. They are keen to succeed and rise enthusiastically to the many challenges that teachers set.”
Leadership and Management – Outstanding
Leadership at all levels was highly praised by the inspectors. The team interviewed a wide range of staff and students, reviewed our systems which we have designed to drive improvement and analysed Parent View responses and staff questionnaires to draw their conclusions.
“Ambitious and excellent leadership and governance, and extremely skilled and dedicated staff, have ensured that the school’s high performance has been sustained since the previous inspection.”
“Middle leaders are unwavering in their drive to bring about further improvement and learn from each other’s excellent practices.”
Furthermore a group of our directors were also interviewed to probe how well they drive the school to constantly evaluate and improve our work. Once again the dedicated and intelligent work of our directors was highlighted as a key factor in ensuring our success.
“Governors are steadfast in holding leaders to account for the quality of teaching and students’ progress.”
We wish to thank our teaching staff, associate staff, students, parents, directors and other stakeholders who continue to make The King Edward VI School a highly successful place to learn, grow and thrive.
A copy of the full inspection report can be viewed here.
