Greek Secondary School of London

Greek Secondary School of London 22 Trinity Road, Wood Green, London N22 8LB

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

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Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Inadequate

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 The proprietor and the headteacher have ensured that the school meets all of the independent school standards.  The headteacher has worked tirelessly to tackle previous weaknesses and bring about improvements. Her high expectations for pupils are shared by staff. Staff are motivated and their morale is high.  The quality of teaching is good. Teachers are passionate about teaching and use their strong subject knowledge well to ensure that pupils make good progress.  Pupils’ behaviour is good and they have positive attitudes to learning. Their personal development is strong because of the high- quality care and support they receive.  Pupils are well looked after and they feel safe. Leaders ensure that safeguarding is effective.  There are strong working relationships and mutual respect between pupils and staff. This motivates pupils to learn and achieve well.  The sixth form provision is good and pupils

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

make strong progress. They are prepared well for education, employment or training.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is effectively promoted. Pupils know about British values and are prepared well for life in modern Britain.  Parents and carers are very positive about all aspects of the school and are highly supportive of its leadership.  Sometimes, the most able pupils are not sufficiently challenged.  On occasions, there is insufficient feedback to pupils to correct and improve their work.  In English, pupils do not read widely and lack effective strategies to read difficult or unfamiliar words. Sometimes, there is a lack of opportunities for pupils to practise their writing skills, particularly through writing at length.  There is a lack of equipment and resources in science to carry out scientific experiments and investigative work. This slows pupils’ progress.  There are insufficient checks on the quality of

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

teaching and learning.  Despite good teaching, there is a lack of professional development and training for teachers to improve their practice further. Compliance with regulatory requirements  The school meets the requirements of the schedule to the Education (Independent School Standards) Regulations 2014 (‘the independent school standards’) and associated requirements.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment by ensuring that: – the most able pupils are sufficiently challenged to help them extend their thinking – pupils receive effective feedback on how to correct and improve their work – pupils have access to a wide range of quality texts and strategies to read with confidence in English and improve their writing skills through opportunities for writing at length.  Improve the quality of leadership and management by ensuring that: – there are a range of resources made available in science for pupils to carry out experiments and scientific investigations – there are sufficient checks on the quality of teaching and learning to improve provision and to hold teachers to account for pupils’ progress – staff have regular professional development and training opportunities to improve their practice.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

 The proprietor and headteacher have ensured that the school meets all of the independent school standards.  The headteacher, who has been in post since the beginning of the autumn term, provides strong leadership. She has worked tirelessly to bring about improvements and has addressed the main weaknesses identified in the previous inspection.  Teachers know their pupils well. They meet regularly with leaders to discuss pupils’ progress, including any additional support for those falling behind. The systems for monitoring pupils’ progress across the subjects have recently been improved to track pupils’ progress.  The curriculum is broad and balanced and covers a wide range of subjects. Pupils are taught, for example, ancient and modern Greek history, philosophy and Latin. Teachers are specialised in their subjects and pupils benefit from their strong subject knowledge. Pupils’ skills and knowledge in Greek are stronger than in English, particularly in reading

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

and writing. The curriculum is enriched through visits to museums, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, and London land sites, including the Houses of Parliament. During the inspection, the junior high classes (key stage 3) were enjoying their thematic week involving discussions and debates around, for example, equalities, healthy living and dangers of alcohol and drugs.  The school promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well. Pupils learn about tolerance and respect, including those with protected characteristics, through their personal, social, health and economic education (PSHE). Staff challenge any discriminatory attitudes that pupils may hold.  Pupils have a secure understanding of other cultures and religions represented in modern Britain. They know about British values through learning about, for example, democracy and the rule of law. They experience the election system through electing their

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Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

classmates to the school council.  The systems for checking the quality of teaching and learning and providing teachers effective feedback on how to improve are not sufficiently developed. Sometimes, opportunities are missed by leaders to check pupils’ work in their books to see the progress they are making.  There are insufficient professional development and training opportunities for teachers to ensure continuous improvement in the quality of teaching.  Leaders have not ensured that there is a sufficient range of scientific apparatus available for pupils to carry out experiments and scientific investigations. This slows their progress.  All parents responding to Parent View, Ofsted’s online survey, agreed with the statement that leadership of the school is good.  All the responses to Ofsted’s staff survey were positive and supportive of the school’s leadership.

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Governance

 There is no governing body. However, the Greek Embassy is responsible for the governance of the school.  The educational councillor, who is the representative of the proprietor, oversees the administrative processes of the school. He authorises expenditure, checks the quality of teaching and holds the school accountable for the standards achieved by pupils.  Governance has ensured that all the independent school standards are met and the school continues to improve.

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Safeguarding

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.  Safeguarding procedures have improved significantly since the previous inspection. The headteacher and the proprietor have ensured that all the pre-employment checks on staff are completed effectively. All safeguarding arrangements are in place and fit for purpose.  Leaders have ensured that all staff are trained on the current safeguarding and child protection procedures, including ‘Keeping children safe in education’, September 2018. Staff have received appropriate training in the government’s ‘Prevent’ duty to protect pupils from extremism and radicalisation.  Staff understand their own responsibilities well and know the appropriate action to take if they have any concerns about pupils’ safety and welfare.  The school’s safeguarding policy, which reflects the latest statutory guidance, is published on the school’s website.  Leaders have carried out comprehensive risk assessments and taken effective action

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Safeguarding

where risks have been identified to keep pupils safe.  Pupils said that they feel safe and that staff keep them safe. They are taught how to stay safe, including when online and from extremist views.  All parents responding to the Parent View agree with the statement that their child feels safe at school. All pupils responding to the pupil survey indicated that they feel safe at school all the time.

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The school’s progress towards meeting standards that were not met at the

previous inspection. The Department for Education (DfE) commissioned Ofsted to incorporate a progress monitoring inspection in this standard inspection. This was to check the school’s progress in meeting the independent school standards that were judged to be unmet at the previous inspection. This inspection found that the school has implemented its action plan fully. All the actions identified in the school’s action plan have been completed to meet the previously unmet standards in Parts 3, 5 and 8 at its previous progress monitoring inspection.

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Part 3. Welfare, health and safety of pupils

Paragraphs 7, 7(a), 7(b), 16, 16(a) and 16(b)  At the previous standard inspection in March 2018, leaders did not carry out sufficient checks to ensure that safeguarding was effective in a number of areas. The inspection reported these areas as site security, risk assessment and training. This was particularly to ensure the protection of children in relation to the government’s ‘Prevent’ duty.  At the progress monitoring inspection in November 2018, all staff, including designated safeguarding leaders, had completed suitable training. This reflected the latest statutory safeguarding guidance, including the ‘Prevent’ duty. It was reported that the school’s compliant safeguarding policy was available online. The progress monitoring inspection found that the school met Paragraph 7(b) because the school was compliant with the latest statutory guidance. This inspection confirms that all staff have received up-to-date

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Part 3. Welfare, health and safety of pupils

training on the current safeguarding and child protection procedures, including ‘Keeping children safe in education’, September 2018. Staff have also received appropriate training in the government’s ‘Prevent’ duty to protect pupils from extremism and radicalisation.  The school’s site security has improved, with an automated gate installed to keep pupils safe.  The previous monitoring inspection found that risk assessment was in the process of being overhauled, which would include the effective implementation of a new risk assessment policy and more robust risk assessments. It was reported that the school had commissioned a health and safety organisation to support them to improve this area of their work. This inspection confirms that the risk assessment policy has been implemented well and the risk assessment process is robust. An external health and safety organisation has conducted checks with leaders to bring about improvements in

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Part 3. Welfare, health and safety of pupils

practices and procedures to keep pupils safe.  Leaders have ensured that the independent school standards checked in this part are now met.

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Part 5. Premises of and accommodation at schools

Paragraphs 23(1), 23(1)(c)  At the previous progress monitoring inspection, it was found that there was no facility for pupils to shower and change after physical education.  The school has installed a changing and shower area for pupils to use after physical activity.  This paragraph of the standard is now met.

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Part 8. Quality of leadership in and management of schools

Paragraph 34(1), 34(1)(a), 34(1)(b) and 34(1)(c)  At the previous inspection, the proprietor and headteacher had not ensured that the school met all the independent school standards.  This inspection found that leaders have implemented the action plan effectively to address the unmet standards at its previous progress monitoring inspection.  The headteacher has appropriate skills, knowledge and understanding of the independent school standards. She has provided strong leadership and worked effectively with staff to bring about improvements and to ensure that all the independent school standards are met.  All the paragraphs in this standard are now met. Standards that were not met at the previous inspection are now met at this inspection.

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The school’s application to make a material change to its registration

The Department for Education commissioned Ofsted to consider, as part of this standard inspection, the school’s application to make a material change to its registration by changing the age range of pupils from 18 to 19. The school notified the DfE about the change in the age range in December 2018. Currently, there are very few students who have turned 19 since starting their course of study. The school is likely to meet the relevant independent school standards if the DfE decides to approve implementation of the material change.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

 There are positive relationships and mutual respect between pupils and teachers. This encourages pupils to engage in their learning and motivates them to achieve well.  Teachers routinely make strong use of questioning to check and reinforce pupils’ learning. Any misconceptions are swiftly picked up and addressed effectively.  Teachers typically plan activities that build on pupils’ prior learning with links made between subjects to reinforce learning. For example, in a lesson on modern Greek literature, pupils considered the aesthetic quality of Constantine Cavafy’s poems and their symbolism after previously discussing his biography. Cavafy’s work was skilfully linked to the following lesson on ancient Greek on the fall of the Roman Empire through referring to his poem ‘Waiting for the barbarians’.  Teachers have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour. They follow the behaviour policy well and establish clear routines for pupils’ learning. Consequently, pupils work

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

conscientiously and rarely waste time in lessons.  Teachers use their strong subject knowledge effectively to engage pupils and deepen their understanding. This gives pupils much confidence in their learning.  Pupils are encouraged to explain their thinking to reinforce learning. For example, in mathematics pupils are routinely asked to explain their calculations to each other and to the whole class. This also promotes pupils’ confidence and skills in presenting to an audience. Teachers routinely use any mistakes made by pupils in their calculations as a teaching and learning point.  There are rich opportunities for pupils to develop their speaking, listening and thinking skills. This was seen in the session on disability equality where pupils listened, discussed and debated issues. Pupils considered the work of Helen Keller on promoting equality for deaf and blind people.  The school provides parents with regular reports about their child’s progress across the

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

subjects.  All pupils learn English as a second language. Most pupils are at an early stage of learning English, particularly in the lower end of the school. Pupils make good progress from their starting points, particularly with their spoken English. However, there are sometimes insufficient opportunities for pupils to read widely and improve their reading skills. Some pupils, particularly in the lower school, lack strategies to read difficult or unfamiliar words. There are also insufficient opportunities for pupils to write at length to improve their writing skills.  The most able pupils are not challenged sufficiently through challenging work that extends their thinking, particularly in subjects other than mathematics.  There is sometimes insufficient feedback by teachers on how pupils can improve their work and deepen their understanding. Consequently, errors and misconceptions in their work books are not routinely picked up for pupils to correct.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

 There is a lack of equipment for pupils to carry out scientific experiments and investigative work. This slows their progress in science.  Teachers set appropriate homework to reinforce learning and pupils are keen to complete this work.  All parents who responded to Parent View said that their children are taught well at school.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.  There are strong relationships between pupils and they interact well with each other. They said that the school is ‘like a family’. The calm environment in the school promotes pupils’ self-confidence and pupils understand how to be successful learners. Pupils are listened to and staff respond well to their views, including any decisions they make in the school council.  Pupils learn about the benefits of leading a healthy lifestyle and of regular exercise. They understand the dangers of taking alcohol and drugs through the PSHE education curriculum. They also learn, and know how, to stay safe when using the internet, including from those with extremist views.  Pupils understand the different forms of bullying, including cyber bullying. Pupils said that bullying is rare, including incidents of racism, sexism or homophobia. The school’s records

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Personal development and welfare

show that incidents of bullying are rare, and that staff deal with them effectively if and when they occur.  Pupils are highly respectful towards other cultures and faiths and show tolerant attitudes to others, including those with protected characteristics. Pupils said that they would welcome visits to different places of worship to widen their knowledge and understanding of different faiths and religions.  Risk assessments are in place and are completed effectively for the school site and all activities, including visits, to keep pupils safe.  Pupils receive helpful careers guidance and are well prepared for the next stage of their education or employment. Pupils attend careers fairs and are supported well with their university applications.  There were no concerns raised by parents or staff regarding pupils’ safety. Parents and pupils who completed Ofsted’s surveys agreed with the statement that the school is a

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good.  Pupils are polite, courteous and friendly and engage well with each other and adults. They know the behaviour policy well and respond positively to the staff’s high expectations of their behaviour. Pupils confirm that behaviour is typically good.  Pupils conduct themselves well in class and around the school. No disruption of any type to learning was observed by inspectors. Pupils show respect to each other, staff and visitors.  Pupils are proud of their school and treat the buildings with respect and there is very little litter. Pupils said that they have responsibility as ‘floor supervisors’ to keep floors clean and free of litter.  Pupils are generally punctual and school attendance records show that most attend well. There is good communication with parents to ensure that pupils attend regularly. Exclusions are rare.

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Outcomes for pupils Good

 The school follows the Greek national curriculum. In 2018, records show that pupils perform well in the apolytiro lykeiou (Greek Certificate of Secondary Education) at the end of their final year. All pupils who took the examination passed in all subjects, with several attaining highly. Pupils performed strongly in some subjects, including in ancient history and ancient Greek. However, pupils did less well in sciences, particularly physics. The lack of opportunities to conduct scientific experiments and investigative work slows pupils’ progress.  The school has improved its system for tracking pupils’ progress. The school information shows that most pupils make good progress across the subjects. Information on pupils’ progress is strengthened through pupils completing frequent tests in most subjects. There are no significant trends in the progress of different groups of pupils in the school.  By the time they leave school, most pupils have acquired strong speaking, reading and

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Outcomes for pupils Good

writing skills in Greek. In English, pupils’ speaking skills are stronger than their reading and writing skills.  Pupils are provided with appropriate information, advice and support to help them gain entry to university. A dedicated ‘coordinator’ helps students with their university applications.  The school prepares pupils well for the next stage of their education or training. All pupils who left the school in 2018 went into education, training or employment. Most pupils gained entry to a Greek or British university.

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Sixth form provision Good

 The leadership of the sixth form has improved since the previous inspection and is now good. The headteacher works closely with sixth-form teachers to ensure that the sixth form provision is good. Expectations for students’ outcomes are high. Leaders aim to ‘create an environment where every student is able to maximise their potential and to prepare themselves for the next stage of their lives’.  Students follow the Greek national curriculum and learn English. Students’ progress is monitored and additional tests and assessment are used to confirm their progress across the subjects. There is strong support for students who are falling behind, usually out of lessons and after school. This ensures that they make good progress.  As in the rest of the school, the quality of teaching is good and students make good progress. Teaching is characterised by teachers’ strong subject knowledge, teachers knowing their students well and positive relationships between teachers and students.

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Sixth form provision Good

 Students attend regularly. Attendance is monitored closely and reported to parents. Parents and students know the importance of good attendance. They know that should a student’s attendance fall below the expected level, then the student is required to repeat the year.  The curriculum is broad and relevant to the needs of students. Students choose a range of subjects to study, depending on the career directions. For example, they can choose humanity sciences, technological sciences, health sciences or information technology and economy and sciences.  The opportunities for students to participate in physical activities as part of the physical education programme have improved since the previous inspection. Students know how to stay healthy and the importance of physical fitness.  Although PSHE is woven through the Greek curriculum, students also have separate lessons on PSHE. Through the PSHE curriculum, students learn how to keep safe,

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Sixth form provision Good

including when online and from those who have extremist views. They learn about the dangers of knife crime. In a religious education lesson, students discussed and debated issues in relation to religious fundamentalism.  Students learn about respect and they know about British values. They are prepared well for life in modern Britain. Enrichment programmes include visits, including to galleries, museums and universities, and gender and race equality days.  Students have strong attitudes to learning and are motivated to achieve well. Their good behaviour has a positive impact on the progress they make. They make their voices heard through their involvement in the school council. This provides them with opportunities to experience democracy and develop their leadership skills.  The vast majority of students who leave the school make good progress in English, particularly in their spoken English. However, students’ skills in reading and particularly in

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Sixth form provision Good

writing are less well developed. Students themselves said that they need more opportunities to write at length to ‘structure their essays’.  Students achieve well in the subjects they study. They acquire the skills, knowledge and understanding to attain the qualifications they need for their chosen careers. Most go on to study at either Greek or British universities.

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School details

This inspection was carried out under section 109(1) and (2) of the Education and Skills Act 2008, the purpose of which is to advise the Secretary of State for Education about the school’s suitability for continued registration as an independent school.

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School details

Gender of pupils in the sixth form Mixed

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School details

Of which, number on roll in sixth form 30

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School details

Website www.greeksecondaryschooloflondon.com/

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School details

Date of previous inspection 20–27 March 2018

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Information about this school

 The Greek Secondary School is an independent secondary day school for pupils aged 12 to 18. It is situated in Wood Green, in the London Borough of Haringey.  The school was established in 1983 by the Greek Embassy, for Greek children living in London.  The Greek government provides free education at the school for Greek Cypriot pupils and other ethnicities.  The current headteacher was appointed in September 2018.  Most teachers are appointed on secondment from Greece by the Greek Ministry of Education. There are no middle leaders or managers and no teaching assistants. The headteacher is responsible for ensuring that Greek legislation, alongside English statutory requirements, are implemented in all aspects of the school’s work.  The school has an educational councillor, who is the representative of the proprietor. The educational councillor’s role includes overseeing administrative procedures, authorising

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Information about this school

expenditure and holding the school accountable for pupils’ achievements.  The school does not make use of alternative provision.  There are no pupils who are disadvantaged, or pupils who have an education, health and care plan.  There are no pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).  The school’s previous full standard inspection in March 2018 judged the school to be inadequate.  The current information on GIAS (‘Get information about schools’) is incorrect in relation to the age range of pupils because there are a few students on the school roll aged 19. The school has made the Department for Education (DfE) aware of this.

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Information about this inspection

 This full standard inspection took place without notice. This was because a progress monitoring inspection formed a part of this inspection.  After its previous standard inspection in March 2018, the school submitted an action plan to address the unmet standards. This action plan was rejected by the DfE in August 2018.  A progress monitoring inspection was carried out in November 2018 at the request of the registration authority for independent schools. The purpose of the inspection was to monitor the progress the school has made in meeting the independent school standards, and other requirements. It was judged not to comply with the independent school standards at its previous standard inspection in March 2018. At the inspection in November 2018, a few of the independent school standards were not met.  The school’s action plan to address the unmet independent school standards at its progress monitoring inspection in November 2018 was evaluated in March 2019 and was

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Information about this inspection

found to be acceptable.  At the progress monitoring inspection in November 2018, the school was found to be in breach of its registration agreement with the DfE because there were students on the roll aged over 18.  This standard school inspection incorporated a progress monitoring inspection and a material change and was conducted without notice. The DfE requested that the progress monitoring inspection should specifically focus on the unmet standards in Parts 3, 5 and 8 at the previous progress monitoring inspection. The material change was in relation to the school increasing its age range from 18 to 19. This was to accommodate pupils who require longer to complete their course of study. Inspectors were asked by the DfE to check this, including the relevant independent school standards, and advise whether the material change request can be accommodated.  The DfE also requested inspectors to consider an additional material change request from

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Information about this inspection

the school to increase its maximum capacity of pupils from 98 to 130. However, the school claims that there is some confusion about this. The school’s request was made in relation to its move to another larger building by the end of this year, and not for the current building. Therefore, this material change was not considered in this inspection and the DfE was notified appropriately.  An interpreter was used on days two and three of the inspection as the vast majority of lessons are taught in Greek.  The inspectors observed a range of teaching and learning in all classes and year groups. Most of these were joint observations with the headteacher.  Pupils’ work was reviewed to check their progress and curriculum coverage.  Meetings were held with the school councillor (proprietor’s representative), headteacher and staff. Inspectors held separate meetings with students in the sixth form and pupils in

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Information about this inspection

key stages 3 and 4.  Inspectors checked the school’s health and safety policies and procedures and welfare arrangements, and toured the premises. All the independent school standards were checked.  The inspectors scrutinised the school’s pre-employment checks on staff. They looked at pupils’ attendance and behaviour records. The inspectors also examined the school’s policies and documents in relation to the independent school standards, including policies and information on safety and safeguarding.  The inspection took account of 16 responses to Parent View and three free-text responses to the Parent View.  The inspectors considered nine responses to the staff survey and six responses to the pupil survey.

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Inspection team

Avtar Sherri, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Alison Moore Ofsted Inspector guidance ‘Raising concerns and making a complaint about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/publications/complaints-about-ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Inspection team

Parent View You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when and as part of the inspection.

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Inspection team

You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk , or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted .

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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