The Island Free School has received its very first Ofsted inspection.
The school, which formed in September 2014, received a glowing report from the Oftsed inspector, with an overall effectiveness rating of ‘Good’.
It scored Outstanding in ‘Personal development, behaviour and welfare’ and Good in ‘Effectiveness of leadership and management’; ‘Quality of teaching, learning and assessment’ and ‘Outcomes for pupils’.
The headmaster was praised for his “strong and effective leadership” which is supported by governors, senior leaders and parents.
Vision for an Outstanding school
Headmaster, Steph Boyd, said,
“My team and I are delighted with the outcome of the inspection.
“Our vision has always been to create an outstanding school and, as inspectors have pointed out, we must now carry on the fantastic work we have done so far and deliver an outstanding set of GCSE results.”
The Island Free School currently teaches 375 pupils across three year groups and by September 2018 is expected to have over 600 pupils across five year groups. The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is just below the national average.
Why the school is ‘Good’
Highlights from the inspection include:
- The dedicated headmaster provides strong and effective leadership to this growing school. Supported by governors and senior leaders, he leads with a determination that all pupils can achieve highly in a happy and caring environment.
- Pupils are proud of their school. They work hard and behave exceptionally well. They are respectful and friendly.
- Pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, make good progress across the curriculum.
- Safeguarding is effective. Pupils know what to do if they need any help. Adults know how to keep children safe and seek additional help when needed.
- Provision for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is effective and helps them to make good progress from their starting points.
- Leaders make sure that pupils’ reading skills are developed especially well. However, there are not enough opportunities for pupils to develop their writing skills in key stage 4.
- The broad and balanced academic curriculum promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well. A wide range of extra-curricular activities contribute very well to pupils’ personal and social development.
- Additional funding is used effectively to support disadvantaged pupils’ needs well. Most make similar progress to other pupils nationally.
- Pupils are prepared very well for life in modern Britain. They are encouraged to develop as confident young people who are enthusiastic about life and learning. However, guidance on careers is not yet given a high enough profile.
- Teaching is good overall. Leaders have high expectations of their staff. Minor inconsistencies in the quality of teaching are being tackled effectively and supportively.
- Leaders and governors have a good understanding of their roles and responsibilities. They are fully aware of the need to refine their vision for the quality of teaching and to extend their skills as the school grows.
- Parents are very supportive of the school. They particularly praise its values and ethos.
To become Outstanding
In order to become Outstanding, the school must:
What does the school need to do to improve further?
- provide development opportunities for leaders so that they can have a greater impact on improving teaching and raising standards as the school grows
- continue to make sure governors have the appropriate skills to be able to challenge and support leaders’ work effectively.
- further developing the vision and strategy about expectations for teaching at this
school - ensuring that teachers plan activities that provide sustained challenge for pupils from their different starting points and help those who are in danger of falling behind to keep up
- providing pupils with more opportunities to develop their writing skills as they move into key stage 4.
- Further develop the quality of careers information, advice and guidance that pupils
receive as they progress through the school.
The report
Full details can be found in the report below. Click on the full screen icon to see larger version.
Image: garryknight under CC BY 2.0
