Woking High School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Woking High School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy coming to school and they are very proud of it. They get on very well with each other and with staff.

Pupils say that the school feels like a family. Parents, carers and pupils praise the very high quality of pastoral care that the school provides. Pupils feel safe and well cared for.

There is always somebody in the school they can talk to if they have a problem.

Most pupils benefit from high standards of teaching. They appreciate the help that staff give them.

Year 11 pupils doing their mock examinations told us that they feel staff are 'rooting for them... to do well'.

Pupils behave very well in lessons. They work diligently and independently.

Inspectors saw a high standard of work in a variety of lessons. Around the school, the atmosphere is relaxed and friendly. Pupils say that bullying and incidents of poor behaviour are rare.

Many pupils take advantage of the extensive range of clubs and activities provided outside of their regular lessons. Pupils have numerous opportunities to have their say in how the school is run. For example, they have improved the school environment by reducing the use of plastics.

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

The curriculum is ambitious and well designed, with strong academic and vocational elements. Most curriculum leaders have carefully considered what pupils should learn and the order in which things are taught. In science, for example, pupils understand the big ideas because they learn how different concepts in the subject are connected.

In some topics in a small number of subjects, pupils are sometimes left with misconceptions because the curriculum is less well organised than in other subjects.

All pupils study the full national curriculum for three years in key stage 3. At key stage 4, the curriculum contains a broad range of appropriate subjects and pupils have a free choice of option subjects.

Pupils enjoy many visits and other activities that relate to what they have been learning. The 'day 11 timetable' allows all pupils to take part regularly in activities that broaden their horizons. In addition, large numbers of pupils take part in a wide range of clubs.

These include sport and music, as well as opportunities for pupils to develop leadership and communication skills.

Teachers have good subject knowledge. They present information in clear and interesting ways.

They use questions to probe how well pupils have understood and check their understanding before moving on. Pupils cope well with demanding work because it is well planned and taught. Teaching and assessment approaches help pupils to remember important ideas and information.

Most pupils achieve very well and results in public examinations are above the national averages. Leaders' recent work to raise the aspirations and achievement of disadvantaged pupils has been very successful. These pupils did much better in their examinations last year.

Leaders recognise that pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) do not always achieve as well as they could. Staff need more training on how to adapt their teaching so that pupils with SEND achieve their very best. Leaders are clear about what they need to do.

They are beginning to check more carefully that extra support for these pupils is helping their learning. However, pupils with visual impairment achieve well and play a full part in school life because of the excellent support they receive.

Staff have high expectations of pupils' behaviour.

They establish clear routines and boundaries. These go hand in hand with well-planned teaching and, all together, they mean that pupils behave well in class.

The school is very well led.

Leaders do not rest on their laurels and are constantly striving to improve the school further. The whole school community, including governors, shares leaders' ambitious vision. Staff are overwhelmingly positive about leaders' concern for their workload and well-being.

Staff say that the changes made to standardise assessment have made a positive difference.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

All staff share in the responsibility for ensuring that pupils are kept safe.

Governors and leaders set the tone that 'it could happen here'. There is a large well-trained safeguarding team that works well together to support pupils at risk.

Leaders regularly update staff on local safeguarding issues.

Staff at all levels know what to do if they have concerns about pupils. The designated safeguarding lead keeps meticulous records.

Parents say that their children feel safe at school.

Pupils know who to go to if they need help and feel confident that their concerns will be dealt with.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

Leaders know that there is more to do to make sure that pupils with SEND achieve as well as others. In particular, they need to make sure that staff have the knowledge and skills needed to adapt their teaching successfully to meet the needs of these pupils.

Leaders need to check more rigorously that these pupils are achieving well in lessons and that interventions are having the desired impact. . Leaders have made considerable inroads into developing the curriculum.

However, in some topics within a small number of subjects, pupils' learning is not sequenced as coherently as it is in other subjects. Leaders should ensure that all subject leaders have strong expertise so that plans are consistently strong.

Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good.

This is called a section 8 inspection of a good school or non-exempt outstanding school. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find some evidence that the school could now be better than good or that standards may be declining, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection.

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will convert the section 8 inspection to a section 5 inspection immediately.

This is the first section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good on 10–11 February 2016.

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