The Raleigh School

Inspection of an outstanding school: The Raleigh School Northcote Crescent, West Horsley, Leatherhead, Surrey KT24 6LX

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Outcome

The Raleigh School continues to be an outstanding school.

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Outcome

The headteacher of this school is Elizabeth Carter-McQueen. This school is part of The South Farnham Educational Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer (CEO), Andrew Carter, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Linda Ross.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The Raleigh School is an integral part of the local community. Pupils thrive because they have a very strong sense of belonging at school. Staff ensure that each pupil’s talents and interests are identified, valued and nurtured over time. Pupils develop a deep understanding of how they can contribute positively locally and globally. Each class, for example, plans and carries out an annual ‘good deed’, such as visiting a local care home. The whole school is currently engaged in a project to learn about the impact of humans on our oceans. This will culminate in an exhibition later in the year.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has exceptionally high expectations for every pupil. Staff consistently ensure that every pupil, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities, achieves the best possible outcomes, including at the end of key stages 1 and 2. An exciting programme of trips, visits and experiences enrich the school’s carefully planned curriculum significantly.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils’ behaviour is exemplary. Pupils actively contribute to the school’s highly positive atmosphere in a range of ways. Older pupils, for example, care for younger ones, helping Reception children to settle in and feel confident at school. They rightly take a great deal of pride in their school and carry out a broad range of pupil roles for the benefit of others. ‘Food friends,’ for example, help in the school lunch hall.

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

Pupils achieve exceptionally well academically. This is because the school has designed its curriculum very carefully to ensure that, at every stage, all pupils acquire the knowledge and skills they require to access the next stage fully and successfully. This starts in 26 and 27 March 2024

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Reception, where every child gets off to an excellent start in reading. Expert teaching and support ensure that all pupils keep up with the school’s reading programme. Each pupil’s love of reading is carefully nurtured. Staff read aloud to pupils regularly. As pupils progress through the school, they are supported to become increasingly independent readers, who read widely with great enjoyment.

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Teachers are experts across the subjects that they teach. As a result, they explain learning very clearly to pupils and ensure that all pupils have fully understood their learning. Pupils have regular opportunities to revisit and apply their learning so that, over time, they develop a rich and deep body of knowledge. They make connections within and between subjects. For example, pupils in Year 6 were able to successfully use their scientific understanding of how fossils are formed with their geographical understanding of mountain formation to understand why marine fossils have been found on Mount Everest. The high-quality work that pupils produce in all subjects fully reflects the school’s ambition for an exceptional education for all.

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School life is rich and varied at The Raleigh School. The extra-curricular opportunities for all pupils are of very high quality. The school participates in a wide range of sporting events, ensuring that, over time, every pupil has the opportunity to represent the school. The school’s club offer caters for every possible interest, including ‘French breakfast club’, musical theatre club and tag rugby club. The school works with external providers, such as a local theatre club, to enable pupils to extend their participation in the arts or other areas of interest. Through pupil leadership roles, such as ‘House Captain’, pupils further develop their sense of self-confidence and an understanding of the importance of giving back to the school community.

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Through the school’s curriculum for personal, social and health education (PSHE), pupils are supported to develop a strong understanding of how to stay physically and mentally healthy. Regular ‘calm me’ sessions throughout each day provide moments of calm for every pupil. Pupils feel very well supported by school staff, both academically and emotionally. Regular training ensures that all staff feel confident to deliver the school’s relationships and sex education (RSE) curriculum, and pupils feel confident that they can talk to staff and ask any questions they might have. The school considers diversity and equality very carefully. Books are carefully chosen to ensure that pupils see a range of families and ethnicities represented in stories. Other books are sensitively selected to challenge gender stereotypes. Pupils learn about a wide range of faiths and religions and have opportunities to visit a range of places of worship and meet faith leaders from

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School and trust leaders engage very effectively with staff. The staff feel part of the school’s journey. Through the trust’s ‘faculty groups’, staff benefit from and contribute to expertise within the trust. Through these groups, staff are also able to be part of curriculum decisions made centrally. This ensures a real sense of ‘buy-in’ from all staff. Those responsible for governance know the school extremely well and work effectively to ensure that the school continues to provide all pupils with an exceptional education. 26 and 27 March 2024

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Background

When we have judged a school to be outstanding, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains outstanding. 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 outstanding in December 2017.

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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). 26 and 27 March 2024

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 6 and 7 December 2017, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The headteacher was appointed in January 2024.  The school provides before- and after-school care for pupils.  The school is not currently using any alternative 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. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and has taken that into account in her evaluation of the school.  The inspector met with the headteacher and the leadership team. The inspector also met with the CEO and the deputy CEO of the trust, the chair of trustees, the chair of the local governing board, and several representatives of both the board of trustees and the local governing board. 26 and 27 March 2024

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 The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and geography. For each deep dive, the inspector held 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. For the early reading deep dive, the inspector also listened to pupils reading. Early years was included in all deep dives, and the inspector discussed the early years curriculum with leaders. The inspector discussed the curriculum for a number of subjects with leaders, reviewed additional curriculum plans and looked at additional samples of pupils’ work.  The inspector considered pupils’ behaviour and attitudes, including pupils’ attendance, throughout the inspection and discussed the school’s analysis of pupils’ behaviour and attendance with leaders.  The inspector considered personal development through all deep dives. She met with

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leaders to discuss pupils’ wider development, including the curriculum for PSHE and RSE.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspector: 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.

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Inspection team

Alice Roberts, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 26 and 27 March 2024

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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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