The Windsor Boys' School

Inspection of a good school: The Windsor Boys' School 1 Maidenhead Road, Windsor, Berkshire SL4 5EH

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Outcome

The Windsor Boys' School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at The Windsor Boys’ School are proud of their school and its heritage. They are ambitious for their future. High expectations of behaviour are encapsulated in the mantra of ‘Ready, Respectful, Safe’. Bullying is rare and dealt with quickly and appropriately. Pupils are happy and safe. Sixth-form students are positive role models for younger pupils.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders and staff are highly committed to providing academic success and pastoral support. Health, welfare and well-being are actively supported through the assembly, tutorial and personal development programme. Pupils know that they can talk with a member of staff if they have any concerns.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school provides high-quality advice and guidance through its well-organised careers programme. Choices are supported through a range of activities, including interviews, talks, visits and work experience. Aspirations are high. Pupils and students are very well prepared for their future.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Extra-curricular activities offer plentiful opportunities for character development and curriculum enrichment. The school offer includes orchestra, jazz, law, debating and the celebrated big band. There is a vast range of sports clubs, including rowing, rugby and ultimate frisbee as well as trips abroad, musical evenings and theatre visits.

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

Leaders have developed a curriculum that focuses on the knowledge, skills and attributes relevant to pupils. The curriculum is well planned and sequenced. It is suitably considered across all years, including the sixth form. The academic sixth form offers an ambitious, relevant and inclusive curriculum. Outcomes in the sixth form are very strong and three quarters of the students proceed to universities of their choice. 10 and 11 May 2023

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In a small number of subjects, the quality of education is not as secure and consistent as it is elsewhere. In these subjects, there is too much emphasis on general teaching strategies rather than planning a well-sequenced curriculum. Subject leaders have not identified what exact knowledge they want pupils to master. In these subjects, pupils are not achieving as highly as elsewhere.

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Leaders place great importance on personal development. Pupils are taught about healthy relationships, mental health and consent as well as issues, such as knife crime. There is a programme of personal, social, health and economic education covering relationships and sex education. The programme is continued into the sixth form, but content does not follow seamlessly from the work previously undertaken.

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Pupils benefit from teachers’ strong subject knowledge. They appreciate the relationships which they have with their teachers. Disadvantaged pupils and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are known and supported. Teachers and teaching assistants have a clear understanding of their individual needs. Careers support is a priority. Support for higher prior attaining pupils includes masterclasses, competitions and additional university visits.

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Lesson planning ensures that knowledge is revisited. There is an emphasis on embedding knowledge through the ‘do now’ activities. These activities are also used to ensure a prompt and calm start to the lesson in line with ‘The Windsor Boy’s Way’. Assessment is regular and used to identify where further support is needed to address gaps in pupils’ knowledge. Assessment is also used to identify where the curriculum might be improved.

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The reading curriculum is under development. Leaders are working hard to develop pupils’ love of reading in order to support their progress. A reading strategy has been introduced, including intervention for the weakest readers. A love of reading is not yet consistently highlighted and affirmed across the school.

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Links between other subjects are not systematically pursued to support pupils’ wider knowledge and skills. Pupils and students identify areas where content from one subject is used in another subject. However, opportunities are missed to develop skills across the curriculum and support pupils to know and remember more.

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School leaders are firmly committed to the school’s vision. They work with determination to provide a high-quality education which caters for all. Leaders are firmly and fully committed to improve the quality of teaching and learning. They know that this will raise outcomes for all groups of pupils.

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Middle leaders are supported through effective line management and well-focused training. Staff are complimentary about leaders’ consideration of their workload and well- being. Teachers speak very positively about their experience of working in the school. They are proud to be part of the school and its history.

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Governors and trustees are clear and confident about their roles and responsibilities. They know the school well through their regular visits and their probing questions. Leaders are 10 and 11 May 2023

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held to account for the quality of education. The school works cooperatively with a range of other partner organisations as well as the neighbouring girls’ school.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

The school has a very strong and well-established culture of safeguarding. Record- keeping and the single central record are robust. All staff receive well-timed training and frequent updates. They know how to report safeguarding issues. The school undertakes regular and detailed reviews of its safeguarding provision.

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Safeguarding

Safeguarding leaders work with determination to ensure that all pupils are safe. They work well with external agencies, including the local authority. Pastoral systems ensure that all pupils have an adult they can talk to if necessary. Any issues arising are dealt with swiftly and effectively.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Leaders recognise that the quality of education is not yet securely and consistently embedded across all subjects. This means that in some subjects, lessons are not sequenced sufficiently or effectively to enable pupils’ learning to build on prior knowledge. Leaders should continue to ensure that the curriculum is implemented consistently, sharing the very best practice which already exists.  Many pupils do not read widely enough, either within academic subjects or for pleasure. Pupils’ love of reading is not yet fully developed across the whole school. This occasionally limits the breadth of their vocabulary and the depth of their writing. Leaders should ensure that pupils are encouraged to read more widely across the whole of the school.  Leaders have not made the most of linking curriculum content across different subjects. As a result, pupils do not always make important connections across their

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

learning. Leaders should ensure that the curriculum supports pupils to make connections across subjects to deepen their understanding and help them to remember more. 10 and 11 May 2023

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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. This is called an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in February 2018.

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How can I feed back my views?

find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View 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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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

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. 10 and 11 May 2023

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form

Appropriate authority The governing body

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form

Date of previous inspection 27 and 28 February 2018, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is an average-sized 13 to 18 boys’ school with an above average-sized sixth form. The school is part of the Windsor Learning Partnership.  The school works cooperatively with the sixth form at Windsor Girls’ School to provide a broader offer of subjects in the sixth form.  Small numbers of pupils attend off-site provision at registered education providers where appropriate.  The school meets the requirements of the Baker Clause, which requires schools to provide pupils in Years 8 to 13 with information about approved technical educational qualifications and apprenticeships. 10 and 11 May 2023

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors conducted deep dives in English, mathematics and history. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders and visited a sample of lessons. They spoke with subject teachers, talked to pupils and students, and looked at samples of their work.  Inspectors held meetings with leaders, staff and pupils. They looked at the single central record and reviewed the school’s safeguarding practices. Inspectors considered school policies, curriculum documentation, behaviour logs, attendance records and destination information. The lead inspector met with trustees and governors.  Inspectors considered the responses to the Ofsted Parent View online questionnaire

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Information about this inspection

and additional written comments received from parents and carers. They reviewed the survey returns completed by staff and pupils.

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Inspection team

Paul Metcalf, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Judy Rider Ofsted Inspector 10 and 11 May 2023

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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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