Westbourne - an improving school ambitious to go further

Westbourne had an OFSTD inspection at the beginning of October.

Westbourne's Headteacher, Christopher Edwards, was pleased to see that Inspectors who visited the school recognised the continuing improvement of the school.

The Inspection reports that the improvement in the school is being brought about by well-thought-out strategies that are having a positive impact on provision and, in turn, on outcomes for students.

The school that has seen record exam results year on year, and has nearly doubled the number of students achieving 5 top grade GCSE in recent years, is particularly pleased to see how the report emphasises the qualities of their students.

“This inspection makes me particularly proud of our young people” said Mr Edwards, “The Inspectors were very impressed with the behaviour of our students and their awareness of the value of diverse cultures and of moral,
spiritual and social issues.”

The school was also praised for all areas that concerned the health, welfare and safety of its students and the way it works with parents and other partners.

Mr Edwards went on to say he was reassured that “students were enthusiastic in their praise for the school’s good care, guidance and support, and that students were well known as individuals.”

“I was particularly pleased that students felt “that bullying incidents were rare and they are confident that there is always a member of staff to talk to should the need arise.”

The school knew that even before the inspectors arrived that the best overall grade they could give was satisfactory, because the new Ofsted framework makes it virtually impossible for schools who do not reach national average in raw results to get the top two grades.

The school’s results have improved significantly since the last inspection, but our overall grade has changed from good to satisfactory. Previous inspections were based more on how students progressed, now raw results are the main factor.

“It is bit frustrating because we are in a sense being penalised because we serve students of all abilities.” said Mr Edwards. “but inspectors acknowledged that a recent rapid improvement in results is taking us very close national averages, and they felt, like us, we are moving towards being a very good school in the next year.”

You can view the full OFSTED report here ( PDF - 146KB)