A Brighton secondary school has been rated good with outstanding features after an official inspection by the government watchdog Ofsted.
Varndean School, in Balfour Road, Brighton, was given the highest rating of outstanding on three out of four measures – and the second highest rating of good overall.
The school, which has almost 1,500 pupils from 11 to 16 years old, was found to have outstanding “leadership and management”, “behaviour and attitudes” and “personal development”. The “quality of education” was rated good – the second-best verdict.
The Varndean School website said: “Five inspectors, all of whom are serving or recently serving head teachers or executive head teachers, spent two full days in our school talking with staff, governors and students as well as watching many lessons.
“We are pleased that their report accurately captures the strengths of our school and recognises not only the progress we have already made but our ambition and drive to do even more.
“Some of the highlights of the report include
- The recognition for our students who are ‘impressive’ who show ‘unwaveringly strong respect for others’
- The strength of our teachers who are rightly described as ‘real experts in their field’ who ‘adapt their lessons extremely well’
- The validation of the quality of our pastoral care which they call ‘exceptionally strong’ and report that ‘students are known and individually cared for’ which reflects the success of our small school system and the staff who work in these teams
- The emphasis on personal development that means that students are ‘extremely well prepared for adult life’
- The relationships that are forged and the inclusivity that means that Varndean is a ‘safe place to be different’
…
“The lead inspector commented on the far higher than usual number of responses to the parents’ survey and how the team had read all the comments that were made.”
Varndean head Shelley Baker, who succeeded William Deighan last year, said: “The successes of the school are underpinned by an exceptional team of staff, who it is a pleasure to work alongside, our wonderful students who are so proud of their school and the strong partnerships with families which support our work.
“I would like to thank all our families for the ongoing confidence and trust they place in us – it really does make a difference to our work and success.”
The Ofsted report included a section headed: “What does the school need to do to improve?”
The section included only one area for improvement. It said: “Although the curriculum is very well organised, there are some isolated examples where subject planning has been less coherent in the past.
“In these cases, pupils do not build up their knowledge as well as they do elsewhere. Although leaders have taken actions to remedy this, that process is not yet completed.
“Leaders should continue their work to ensure that all subject curriculum planning is as consistently strong as the best.”
Five inspectors visited the school over two days – Wednesday 5 October and Thursday 6 October.
The inspection was led by former Eastbourne Academy head Keith Pailthorpe, who was part of the Ofsted team that rated Longhill School as “requires improvement”. Longhill is currently also rated as a good school.
To read the Ofsted report on Varndean School in full, click here.
