Setting

Aviation House 125 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE T 0300 123 1234 F 020 7421 6855 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Mrs E Sawicka Headteacher High School for Girls, Gloucester Denmark Road Gloucester GL1 3JN

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bullying practice in schools

Thank you for your hospitality and cooperation, and that of your staff and students, during my visit with my colleague Stephen McShane HMI on 23 September 2011 as part of our survey of schools’ work to create a positive school culture and prevent and tackle bullying.

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bullying practice in schools

The visit provided valuable information which will contribute to our national evaluation and reporting. Published reports are likely to list the names of the contributing institutions but individual institutions will not be identified in the main text without their consent.

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bullying practice in schools

This letter briefly summarises our discussion at the end of the visit.

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Strengths of this aspect of the school’s work

 There is a strong ethos of mutual trust and respect within the school and students have a very clear understanding of what is expected from them.  Support systems, including a pastoral support member of staff and sixth form mentors, are very effective and students have confidence that any concerns will be dealt with quickly and effectively.  Students say they are welcomed when they arrive at the start of Year 7 and that they are quickly integrated into the positive culture within the school. Those who arrive at times other than the start of Year 7 also receive very good support on their integration to school.  Students have a good understanding of the different types of bullying and these are displayed within their planners to remind them what bullying might look like. They also know what to do if they are bullied. While some are concerned about some issues of feeling safe concerning the school grounds none are concerned about bullying.

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Strengths of this aspect of the school’s work

 The school has taken the issue of cyber-bullying very seriously. They have given very clear guidance to parents and carers what to look out for, including if their child is responsible for the bullying, and how they can help to ensure their children’s safety. This has included the help of the local police liaison team. The school has also given support and advice to students.  The planning of the personal, social and health education (PSHE) curriculum ensures that there is a clear progression in the work covered by students and this makes an excellent contribution to their understanding of relationships and prejudice. Work for tutors is also very well planned so that tutor lessons are relevant and instructive. Work is also covered in a variety of different subjects for example within English, geography and history.

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, include:

 working closely with students so that they have a better understanding of the possible consequences of low-level incidents which have become accepted as ‘just joking’ by the majority but may be seen as intimidating by individuals.

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, include:

I hope that this visit has been useful in the further development of this aspect of the school’s work.

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Areas for improvement, which we discussed, include:

As explained previously, a copy of this letter will be published on the Ofsted website. It may be used to inform decisions about any future inspection. A copy of this letter is also being sent to your local authority.

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