Weald School, The

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are valued through the school's ethos of 'Opportunity and Community'.

They build strong, trusting relationships with staff. Consequently, pupils feel happy and safe, adding to their sense of enjoyment of school life. Pupils treat each other with kindness and respect so that everyone feels welcome and included.

The school has high expectations of what pupils will achieve. In response, pupils are ambitious and strive to achieve their best.

A rich offer of clubs provides exciting opportunities to further develop pupils' many talents and interests.

Pupils enjoy learning new skills such as boxing or being part of the school's radio station. The sch...ool pays particular attention to ensuring that disadvantaged pupils benefit from an exciting range of trips and visits. Pupils learn to be charitable by raising money to build new classrooms in Kenya.

Sixth-form students make annual visits to Kenya to be part of the building team.

Many students continue their studies in the school's sixth form as they value the extensive range of interesting courses on offer. Students further benefit from high-quality care, teaching them important life skills such as managing finances, leadership and work experience.

Students leave school ready and equipped for a bright future ahead.

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

Pupils benefit from learning a wide range of academic and creative subjects. In each subject, the curriculum identifies the important knowledge and skills that pupils need to develop.

Consequently, most pupils learn well through a clearly structured curriculum. In many subjects, including courses offered in the sixth form, pupils achieve highly. The school has undertaken recent important refinements to ensure pupils gain a secure foundation of knowledge that helps them know and do more.

For example, in modern foreign languages, teaching focuses on pupils routinely revisiting important vocabulary. More pupils are now choosing to learn a modern foreign language as part of the English Baccalaureate suite of subjects.

Typically, pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) receive the support they need to access the curriculum.

The school ensures that staff are aware of the specific strategies that pupils need to help them. The school reviews these strategies often, ensuring approaches are relevant and reflect pupils' current needs. In subjects where teachers make suitable adjustments to lessons, pupils with SEND achieve very well.

However, this is not consistent in all subjects. At times, in a small number of subjects, the adaptations made by teachers are not sharply tailored to pupils' needs. This means some pupils with SEND struggle to keep up with their peers and develop gaps in their understanding.

Promoting a love of reading is a priority for the school. Pupils read widely and often from an interesting range of books. The school provides effective additional support for pupils who need help to read confidently.

Literacy support extends through the school into the sixth form. Here, students who need help with essay writing receive additional in-class help. This ensures students develop the important literacy skills they need for future success.

The school has created a highly positive culture of mutual respect and kindness. Pupils feel safe in school as the school takes quick and effective action should bullying occur. The school educates pupils about the impact of unkind behaviour.

If pupils need help to manage their emotions, the school provides thoughtful support. Pupils' behaviour is exemplary. They listen to teachers and follow the school rules as the school is insistent on the highest expectations.

Pupils attend school very well because they value their education and the positive professional relationships they have with staff and peers.

The provision for personal development prepares pupils and students to understand the opportunities and challenges of modern Britain. Many pupils engage well with their learning.

However, some do not fully recognise its relevance to their own lives. Pupils are enthusiastic about the school's extensive and impressive offer of clubs. Many of these clubs are coordinated and led by the sixth-form students.

Leadership opportunities for pupils are abundant. However, not all pupils are suitably aware of how to use the school's pupil forums to have their voice heard. An inspiring careers programme provides pupils with the information they need when making decisions about their future.

This guidance has been highly beneficial in helping sixth-form students successfully enter first-choice university courses and apprenticeships.

The school and its governing body are relentlessly ambitious to see pupils flourish. The school ensures that staff feel happy and valued.

Staff retention is high because they 'love the family feel' of the school. They speak highly of the cohesive culture of professional challenge and support that ensures pupils are prepared well for life ahead.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In a small number of subjects, some staff do not precisely tailor adaptations for learning to meet the individual needs of pupils with SEND. This means that these pupils do not access the curriculum as well as they could. The school should ensure that teachers consistently adapt learning so that pupils with SEND can keep up with their peers and learn as well as they can.

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