The Winston Churchill School A Specialist Sports College

Inspection of a good school: The Winston Churchill School A Specialist Sports College Hermitage Road, St Johns, Woking, Surrey GU21 8TL

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Inspection dates: 14 and 15 November 2023

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Outcome

The Winston Churchill School A Specialist Sports College continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

This is an inclusive school, with high expectations for pupils’ conduct and achievement. Pupils are encouraged to do well, not just academically but also in developing the skills they need to contribute to the world outside of school. They benefit from ‘Winston extra’ lessons where, among other things, they are supported to reflect on their strengths and development needs around a framework of what the school calls ‘Winston competencies and skills’. Pupils recognise how these strategies support them in being not just effective learners, but well-rounded citizens, for example in developing skills of collaboration, communication or resilience.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Behaviour around the school site is generally calm and respectful and the significant majority of pupils meet the school’s high expectations for conduct well. A small minority of pupils challenge these expectations from time to time, though these are dealt with swiftly. Pupils and their families are supported to identify the barriers to pupils behaving well and use this knowledge to reflect on and improve their conduct. For a small number of pupils, an adapted curriculum supports them to be successful.

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

The school has high ambitions for all pupils, particularly those who are disadvantaged, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The school has constructed an effectively sequenced curriculum across subjects, considering carefully what pupils need to know, and this builds into a broad set of knowledge that will set them up well for the future.

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

In lessons, staff have strong subject knowledge and consider a range of effective learning activities to support pupils in doing well. In many lessons, staff check learning carefully throughout, ensuring that misconceptions are picked up quickly. However, this is not yet consistent across areas of the school. 14 and 15 November 2023

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Pupils are secure in discussing what they have learned, and most can connect this securely to learning that has come before. As a result, most pupils achieve well in public examinations. However, the school recognises that those who are disadvantaged do not always achieve as well as they could. The school is embedding improved systems to ensure that the specific strategies to support these pupils are known to and used by all staff. These aim to support precise and specific adaptations in the classroom. This work is showing a positive impact and continues to develop.

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In lessons, pupils behave well and classrooms are places of purposeful learning. The majority of pupils are prompt to lessons and attend school regularly. For those who attend less well, the school employs a range of different initiatives to identify the barriers to good attendance and to support pupils in attending school regularly. However, there is not always the consistent review and evaluation of these methods to assure leaders that these are having the impact that they intend.

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Central to the ethos of the school is a strong offer to support the wider development of all pupils, including the most disadvantaged. For example, pupils are given access to music lessons and instruments to support their interests in learning to play an instrument. Pupils benefit from a recently redeveloped performing arts space, and a planetarium on site that allows all pupils to study astronomy. A range of different leadership opportunities include being form representatives, well-being ambassadors, prefects and peer mentors. Older year groups are always proud to work with the youngest pupils to support their successful entry to the school community.

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Leaders are relentless in their desire for all pupils to do well and they create a supportive environment where staff are encouraged to try new approaches. The majority of parents and carers feel well informed about what is happening in the school, though some feel less effectively engaged, which is acknowledged by leaders. When new ideas are introduced, this is done carefully, and initiatives are rolled out and embedded with care.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The school uses a range of different initiatives to support pupils’ attendance. However, they do not consistently evaluate these for their impact. As a result, they are not always aware what initiatives are working and what needs adapting. The school needs to ensure that they routinely evaluate the impact of their actions so that all pupils, but especially the most disadvantaged, are supported in attending school well.  The school has worked to develop systems to support and enrich the provision for disadvantaged pupils to narrow the gap between them and their peers. These are still embedding, especially in terms of the precise adaptations to support their learning in 14 and 15 November 2023

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the classroom. The school needs to continue to embed these initiatives so that all pupils are supported to do well.

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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 second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in May 2011.

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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’ is used to mean pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND); pupils who meet the definition of children in need of help and protection ; pupils receiving statutory local authority support from a social worker; and pupils who otherwise meet the criteria used for deciding the school’s pupil premium funding (this includes pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years, looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 14 and 15 November 2023

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School details

Number of pupils on the school roll 1,522

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 19 April 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school currently makes use of eight alternative providers, a combination of registered and unregistered provision.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.  This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspection team held meetings with the headteacher, senior leaders, teachers and pupils. The lead inspector met with the members of the governing body, including the chair of governors. The lead inspector also held a telephone conversation with a representative from the local authority. An inspector also visited some of the alternative providers which the school uses.  The inspection team carried out deep dives in these subjects: English, mathematics, history, modern foreign languages and music. For each deep dive, inspectors held 14 and 15 November 2023

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discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspectors: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first .  The inspection team took account of a range of other information, including the school’s development plans, school policies and governors’ minutes from meetings. The team also took account of external reports of the school, including those from the local authority.  The team spoke with pupils about their experience of the school. They took account of parent and carer and staff views through conversations and responses to Ofsted’s surveys.

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Inspection team

Marian Feeley, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Chris Ellison His Majesty’s Inspector 14 and 15 November 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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