Jim Stearns invites you to read the highlights from the Independent School Report 2011

The Independent School Inspectors visited the school in February this year and we are delighted that the hard work of the staff and pupils has resulted in a report where none of the judgements are less than good, some excellent, and an Early Years setting that achieved outstanding in all areas.

We are also pleased that the recommendations for the College were, in essence, part of our development planning before the inspection team arrived, showing that our own self-evaluation is indeed effective. Although there are some points on which to improve, the Governors and staff are determined to build upon our success and not be complacent. We will continue to work hard to ensure that Shoreham College encourages all its pupils to achieve their full potential.

Please read my summary of the report below, then take a look at the recommendations made by the ISI and my response to them. If you wish to read the full report it can be accessed by clicking on the download link at of the bottom of this page.

Jim Stearns
Headmaster
Shoreham College

Please note, the ISI use four gradings in their reports:

Excellent/Outstanding; Good; Satisfactory; Unsatisfactory.

THE SUCCESS OF THE SCHOOL

• Attention to welfare, health and safety is outstanding.
• Governance is outstanding.
• The quality of pupils’ achievements is good. They perform in line with their abilities and master effectively all of the basic skills in the core curriculum.
• Teaching is good overall and some excellent lessons were observed.
• The quality of pupils’ personal development is good overall and pupils develop good spiritual, moral, social and cultural skills.

THE QUALITY OF ACADEMIC AND OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS

• Pupils’ overall achievements are good.
• Pupils develop strong skills in reading, writing and listening from the early years.
• They are articulate and confident in voicing their opinions.
• Pupils show excellent individual achievement in sport including national representation in swimming, surfing and squash and county representation in football, cricket, basketball, badminton, rugby and gymnastics.
• The quality of teaching is good overall and a number of lessons observed were excellent.
• Teachers in both the senior and junior departments know their pupils well and relationships show mutual respect, creating a positive environment conducive to learning.
• Specialist teachers have good knowledge of their subjects and use this constructively to both challenge and motivate their pupils.

THE QUALITY OF THE PUPILS’ PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

• The quality of the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of the pupils is good.
• Pupils are confident and show a strong sense of right and wrong.
• Pupils gain in self-esteem and self-confidence as their achievements are acknowledged.
• Health and safety procedures are excellent.

GOVERNANCE, LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT

• Governance is excellent.
  Governors have an effective oversight of the development of the college, with clear aspirations for its future success, and provide challenge and stimulus for growth and improvement.
• Leadership and management are good overall.

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE EARLY YEARS FOUNDATION STAGE

• The effectiveness of the setting is outstanding.
  Children’s needs are met exceedingly well through a broad range of activities and all make significant progress in their learning and achievement.
• Leadership and management are outstanding.
• The quality of the provision is outstanding.
  Well-qualified and caring staff in a bright, welcoming setting enables children to make rapid progress in all aspects of the curriculum.
• Outcomes for children are outstanding.
• Relationships are excellent.
• By the end of Reception most children are exceeding expectations in early writing and numeracy.

To read the recommendations suggested by the ISI and the Headmaster's response please click here

To read the full ISI report on Shoreham College please click here