Wallington High School for Girls

Inspection of a good school: Wallington High School for Girls Woodcote Road, Wallington, Surrey SM6 0PH

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Outcome

Wallington High School for Girls continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

This is a strong learning community. Pupils are proud of their school. The broad curriculum and high prior attainment of pupils lead to strong achievement. Pupils enjoy learning. They appreciate the intellectual challenge that the school provides for them.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy coming to school. A minority said they find the high expectations placed on them difficult to manage. However, pupils know that teachers care about their well-being. Pupils said that their teachers will help them if they feel under pressure from schoolwork. Leaders have developed creative strategies to support pupils’ emotional and mental health. For example, they have adopted a school dog to help relieve anxiety. Sixth-form mentors support younger pupils with any problems they may have.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Behaviour is positive and attendance is high. Pupils said that, on the rare occasions that bullying happens, the school deals with it quickly.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are offered a broad range of enrichment opportunities. School information shows that about half of younger pupils regularly take part. Leaders have started to explore ways to get older pupils to join these activities more often. Leaders want to increase opportunities for wider development in the curriculum.

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

The school offers a broad academic curriculum that meets the needs of these able pupils. Pupils study a wide range of subjects throughout Years 7 to 11. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) follow the same full academic programme as others. They do well and receive the right support that enables them to thrive. In the sixth form, students have a large choice of subjects to study in depth. Leaders are ambitious for their pupils. For example, the school is proud that many sixth-form students take both mathematics and at least one science subject.

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

Lessons are planned and taught with care. Teaching is effective in securing pupils’ long- 8–9 October 2019

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term knowledge. Many subjects use strategies that enable pupils to build on their prior learning. Pupils are encouraged to become experts in different subjects. In English, Year 9 pupils analyse poems in detail. They understand a variety of techniques, using complex vocabulary correctly and with assurance. Learning in a small minority of subjects is not as effective. In business studies and computer science, leaders’ planning is less ambitious and teaching is inconsistent. Pupils make less progress in these subjects.

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Students are positive about the support they receive in the sixth form. They enjoy the opportunities provided by weekly enrichment sessions in Year 12. However, the quality of education in the sixth form is not as strong as in the rest of the school. It is more variable across subjects. Leaders are working with individual subject leaders to strengthen curriculum planning.

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The school is keen for pupils to become ‘curious, confident and courageous’ learners. The wider development of pupils’ knowledge is a priority for the school. Many curriculum subjects offer opportunities that go beyond the examination syllabus. We noted this particularly in geography and modern foreign languages. These subjects provide opportunities in key stages 3 and 4 for pupils to develop their independent study skills. However, pupils’ horizons could be broadened even further. This includes through greater encouragement of wider reading, beyond the texts studied in class.

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Pupils show high levels of maturity in their learning. They behave well in school, and lessons are free from low-level disruption. Sixth-form students receive helpful advice about their next steps and university courses. This view is not shared by all younger pupils. They said that advice about GCSE choices and future options is not as helpful as they would want it to be. Some told us that they would like more information about vocational courses and apprenticeships. We agree that pupils’ awareness of alternative pathways could be widened beyond the academic.

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Leaders and governors help school staff to manage their workload. They promote staff well-being with great thought. Leaders have reduced the amount of assessment data that teachers need to produce each term.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. The headteacher, together with staff and governors, ensures that the safety and well-being of pupils are a priority. In lessons and assemblies, pupils learn about staying safe in person, as well as when online. Pupils told us that staff are approachable if there is something that troubles them or that they need to share. Pupils are also able to report concerns using an online system. The school works with a range of external agencies to support pupils’ needs. Staff follow the school’s systems carefully and receive appropriate training to keep pupils safe.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The school provides pupils with an appropriately academic curriculum that meets their needs and enables them to achieve good GCSE results. Leaders should ensure that the quality of provision in all subjects (including business studies and computer science, and in the sixth form) is of equally high quality.  Leaders should build on existing opportunities for pupils to develop their independent study skills through the promotion of pupils’ wider reading, beyond the texts studied in class.  The school provides strong guidance for sixth-form students. Leaders should ensure that similarly strong support is given to younger pupils, including in making GCSE option choices and future careers plans.

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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. 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.

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Background

This is the second section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good.

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How can I feed back my views?

find out what other parents and carers think. We use Ofsted Parent View information when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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You can search for published performance information about the school.

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In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. 8–9 October 2019

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School details

Inspection number 10110414 Type of school Secondary grammar (selective)

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provision

Number of pupils on the school roll 1,498

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form

Website www.wallingtongirls.sutton.sch.uk/

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form

Date of previous inspection 12 January 2016

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Information about this school

 The school is part of the Girls’ Learning Trust. There have been no significant changes to the school’s organisation since it was last inspected in January 2016.

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Information about this inspection

 We held meetings with the headteacher, senior leaders and middle leaders, including those responsible for safeguarding and SEND, to discuss the work of the school. We also held separate meetings with representatives of the trust board and local governing body, as well as the chief executive officer of the trust.  We had informal conversations with pupils, sixth-form students and staff. We visited a range of classes jointly with members of the senior team, across all key stages.  We analysed documentation, including the school’s self-evaluation and aspects of the development plan, attendance information and school policies and procedures. We 8–9 October 2019

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checked the information on the school’s website.  We considered the views of staff, pupils and parents who responded to the Ofsted online questionnaires.  We looked closely at a number of subjects. This included discussions with leaders and teachers of the subject, visits to lessons, scrutiny of pupils’ work and discussions with pupils about the subject. The particular subjects we focused on were business studies, computing, English and geography.

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Inspection team

David Boyle, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Susan Maguire Ofsted Inspector 8–9 October 2019

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regulates and inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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