Reigate School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

This is a welcoming and inclusive school. The school's values of 'respect, curiosity, resilience, friendship and kindness' are being realised.

Staff want the best for pupils. They have very warm relationships with pupils and know them well. Pupils enjoy coming to school and they are very proud of it.

They get on very well with each other and with staff. Leaders prioritise ensuring that Year 7 pupils settle in quickly when they join the school.

Pupils' conduct is excellent in lessons and around the school.

Pupils are very clear about the school's expectations for behaviour. They settle to their work quickly and are eager to learn. Parents and carers a...nd pupils praise the school's very high quality of pastoral care.

Pupils are well cared for. There is always somebody in the school they can talk to if they have a problem.

Many pupils take advantage of the extensive range of clubs and activities provided outside their regular lessons.

These cater for a wide range of pupils' talents and interests, including sports and the arts. The house system provides numerous opportunities to develop leadership. For example, many pupils are sports leaders and well-being ambassadors.

What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The school promotes a holistic approach to education. Pupils' academic success and personal development are equally valued. The provision for pupils' personal development is outstanding.

The personal, social, health and economic education programme is meticulously planned and effectively delivered. The 'life skills' lessons are impressive. These enable pupils to gain a very confident understanding of issues such as healthy relationships, including consent.

The school's work to develop pupils' character is a significant strength. Pupils are respectful towards those from different backgrounds. They are eager to contribute to school life.

The careers programme provides a wide range of experiences for pupils to learn from employers. Leaders ensure that disadvantaged pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), receive extra help when they need it. This helps prepare them for their next steps.

Leaders have ensured that the curriculum is broad and ambitious for all pupils. Leaders are determined that the great majority of pupils continue to study modern foreign languages until the end of key stage 4. English and mathematics are particular strengths.

Pupils, including those who are disadvantaged, achieve very well in these subjects. Results in public examinations are above the national average. However, in a few subjects, including modern foreign languages, current pupils achieve less well.

Overall, the curriculum is well planned and delivered. Staff know their subjects well and teach with enthusiasm that engages pupils. They mostly plan activities that build on what pupils have been taught before and check carefully that important knowledge has been learned.

Pupils' positive attitudes towards learning ensure a purposeful atmosphere in lessons. As a result, teachers can get on with teaching with very few disruptions. Staff understand the needs of pupils, including those who are disadvantaged.

These pupils are well supported in lessons by 'progress and achievement coaches' and teaching assistants. However, teachers do not always adapt lessons successfully to meet these pupils' needs. As a result, gaps in learning emerge.

The school has prioritised improving pupils' literacy skills. There is a sharp focus on identifying pupils who struggle to read confidently and competently. They are provided with the rapid support that they need to improve.

The school has recently introduced new strategies that aim to strengthen pupils' reading skills across the curriculum. It is too soon to see the impact of this work.

The school is well led and managed.

Staff are committed and work together in the best interests of pupils. Staff appreciate the training they receive. They also value the steps leaders take to consider their workload and well-being.

Parents and carers are overwhelmingly positive about the school. One parent's comment reflected those of many when they wrote via Ofsted Parent View, 'Reigate School epitomises what a good local comprehensive school should be, where all are welcomed equally and are encouraged to achieve their best.'

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Lessons are not always adapted successfully to meet the needs of all pupils. This means that not all pupils achieve highly, particularly the most disadvantaged. The school should ensure that it keeps careful oversight of how well the curriculum is being implemented and provides support so that it is of a consistently high standard in all subjects.

• Plans to improve reading across the whole school have only recently been put in place. As a result, many pupils who read below the expected level for their chronological reading age are not able to read well enough to access the full curriculum. The school needs to ensure that the new approaches to reading are securely and consistently embedded and have the planned impact.

Also at this postcode