Ofsted And Parent View

Our Ofsted Report – March 2020

“Pupils at The Highcrest Academy happily live up to the school’s motto of ‘Aspire and Achieve’”.

When OFSTED visited us for our most recent inspection in March 2020, they judged us to be ‘Good’ in every aspect of everything that we do.

The report gave a very positive overview on what it is like to be a pupil at the academy. Indeed, even within their obligatory areas for improvement, Ofsted acknowledged that these areas had already been identified by the academy and were already in the process of being improved.

We believe this positive report was a reflection of the hard work, dedication and teamwork of students, staff, governors and parents and had meant that over the past three years, we have been able to continue to move forward, providing a wide range of both curricular and extracurricular opportunities for our students.

We were all so pleased, but not surprised, that the inspectors spoke so positively about our students; the statements about our students included:

• “Pupils at The Highcrest Academy happily live up to the school’s motto of ‘aspire and achieve’”.
• “Pupils respond well to teachers’ high expectations and are encouraged to try their best and support each other”.
• “Behaving well in lessons and around school is the norm for pupils”.
• “Around school, pupils get on well with each other”.
• “Pupils feel safe in school and understand who they should talk to if they are worried about something”.
• “They are enthusiastic learners. Many pupils relish presenting their knowledge or opinions to the rest of the class, or taking part in interesting debates”.
• “Pupils are extremely positive about their school”.
• “Pupils also feel listened to. Some join the school council so that they can represent others’ opinions.

Other comments included:

• “The school has a warm and welcoming atmosphere.”
• “Clubs and activities outside of school time are popular. School productions and plays attract many willing pupils, as do after-school clubs.”
• “Pupils enthusiastically join sports teams and attend clubs such as science and drama clubs or football and netball teams.”
• “Leaders have worked hard to improve the curriculum. In most subjects, curriculum leaders have sensibly set out when pupils will learn subject content and the knowledge they should acquire.”
• “Leaders and governors base all their decisions on how they can provide pupils with a high-quality education.”
• “Teachers’ strong subject knowledge helps them to plan interesting lessons. They explain concepts and knowledge to pupils very clearly. As a result, pupils increasingly remember more over time.”
• “Students benefit from teachers’ adept explanations and a well-planned curriculum.”
• “There is an ambitious curriculum in the Sixth Form. Students achieve very well in their A-Level examinations. They also do well in the BTEC National Diploma courses that the school offers.”
• “The school’s extended curriculum makes sure that pupils have a wide range of opportunities.”
• “There is an extensive careers provision between Year 8 and Year 13. Pupils have access to impartial careers advice. They also take part in events involving leaders from local and national industries.”
• “The school’s high quality careers provision means that pupils are well prepared for the next stages of their education.”
• “Staff feel very well supported by senior leaders. According to staff, they feel valued because senior leaders are approachable.”
• “The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.”
• “Leaders ensure that staff receive effective safeguarding training.”
• “The school has a strong safeguarding culture where every member of staff takes responsibility for pupils’ safety…This ensures that vulnerable pupils, and particularly looked after children, get any extra help they need quickly.”

Ofsted Report February 2020:

Click here to view The Highcrest Academy's latest OFSTED Report

Ofsted Report March 2016:

Click here to view The Highcrest Academy's March 2016 OFSTED Report

www.ofsted.gov.uk

Welcome to OFSTED Parent View

For Parents

Ofsted Parent View gives you the chance to tell Ofsted what you think of your child’s school, including:

• how happy your child is at the school
• how the school manages bullying or challenging behaviour

If your child has special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), we will ask how well the school supports them.

The questionnaire can be completed at any time - you don’t have to wait until the school is being inspected.

We will use your responses to help us plan inspections.The information you provide can:

• inform discussions inspectors have with school leaders during an inspection
• help Ofsted decide when to inspect a school In addition to this, we also publish the overall summary of the responses to Ofsted Parent View. This information is anonymised.

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