Rodborough

Rodborough

Address: Rake Lane, Milford, Godalming, Surrey, GU8 5BZ Unique reference number (URN): 137019

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Safeguarding standards met

The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, pupils are made safer and feel safe.

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How we evaluate safeguarding

When we inspect schools for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:

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How we evaluate safeguarding

Met: The school has an open and positive culture of safeguarding. All legal requirements are met. Not met: The school has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all legal requirements are met.

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Achievement Expected standard

Overall, pupils achieve very well, with pupils attaining outcomes above national averages in published examinations by the end of key stage 4. Outcomes for disadvantaged pupils have improved over time, with gaps narrowing. On the whole, pupils recall prior knowledge well and apply their learning to new content across a range of curriculum subjects.

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Achievement Expected standard

Pupils’ foundational knowledge, such as reading and spelling, improves over time. However, some pupils have gaps in their reading knowledge because the school has not identified precisely what pupils know and can do.

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Achievement Expected standard

Pupils use vocabulary confidently and accurately when talking about what they have learned. They feel ready for their future examinations. Pupils have gained the knowledge and skills that they need to move on to further education or training by the end of Year 11.

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Attendance and behaviour Expected standard

Leaders have improved pupil attendance with tenacity. Through regular analysis, they have increased pupils' attendance to be slightly above national averages. The key group of pupils who are eligible for free school meals has also seen an increase in attendance. Persistent absence has decreased year on year and is currently below national levels. Leaders work proactively with parents and carers to identify the causes for any absence. They work with parents to provide solutions, including support from external agencies if necessary.

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Attendance and behaviour Expected standard

Leaders have established a very positive culture of behaviour. They have implemented a clear behaviour policy for pupils, who now experience a very focused, engaged and positive environment, where there are only rare instances of low-level disruption. Suspensions have reduced for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities over time, moving from a position of being well above the national average to consistently in line with the national average.

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Attendance and behaviour Expected standard

Relationships still sit at the heart of the school and a 'connect before correct' approach is used. Effective adjustments are made for pupils from vulnerable groups. These include the use of key adults to support restorative conversations and successful adaptations to sanctions.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

The curriculum is typically broad and ambitious. It is carefully designed to ensure that pupils practise and embed important knowledge. For example, in science, younger pupils secure an understanding of particle theory and learn about how substances dissolve. Similarly, pupils practise and secure their understanding of regular and irregular verbs in French or German. This enables them to speak, read and write using more complex tenses.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Leaders have made improvements to the curriculum. For example, the school receives support from the trust’s subject leaders, and teachers have completed subject ‑ enhancement training. This has led to clearer sequencing, stronger subject knowledge and more consistent expectations across subjects. Leaders recognise that implementation is not yet consistently strong and continue to take targeted action to refine practice further.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Teachers demonstrate secure subject knowledge and generally explain new learning clearly. Lessons commonly begin with recall activities and end with ‘retrieve and leave’ tasks, ensuring that pupils regularly revisit prior learning and strengthen their long ‑ term memory. These routines help pupils to secure key knowledge and apply it with increasing confidence in subsequent lessons. Assessment is generally used appropriately to identify gaps in pupils’ knowledge and support them to catch up.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders identify pupils’ needs quickly and accurately. This work begins, where possible, from Year 5 onwards with incoming pupils and their families. The school has well- established relationships with its feeder primary schools, which supports a positive transition. This includes providing training for primary teachers to help ensure that pupils’ needs are understood before they arrive. Pupil profiles for those with an education, health and care plan, which include clear strategies for teachers to use in lessons, are available to staff. Teachers typically use this information to make suitable adaptations to pupils’ learning.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders ensure that disadvantaged pupils, pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities, those known or previously known to children’s social care, and pupils facing additional challenges, such as young carers, receive timely and well ‑ targeted support. The school has a higher ‑ than ‑ average number of young carers, who benefit from a tailored programme led by the inclusion team’s young ‑ carers lead. This ranges from one ‑ to ‑ one mentoring to additional enrichment activities in school, as well as trips and visits off site. These opportunities help pupils to feel included and supported.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The school's resource provision, The Cullum Centre, provides structured support for pupils with autism, alongside guidance and support for families. Therapeutic approaches such as cooking therapy, forest school and gardening therapy are used to help pupils build social skills and confidence and to re ‑ engage positively with learning.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Alternative provision is commissioned for a small number of pupils. Leaders consider carefully how this provision meets pupils’ needs and circumstances and how it will support improved engagement with school, including attendance and behaviour.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Leaders use additional funding thoughtfully to support pupils who experience disadvantage. They ensure effective liaison with external agencies, including the virtual school. This helps to ensure that pupils known to social care are well supported. As a result, these pupils are able to progress through the curriculum and work towards their ambitions.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Leaders know the school very well. The trust has clear oversight of the school's work and holds it to account effectively. Leaders use their accurate understanding of what works well and where further improvement is needed to set clear priorities to further strengthen the school's provision. This strategic approach has secured sustained improvement since the previous inspection. As a result, pupils benefit from a more consistent experience across the school. Leaders have taken effective action to develop a welcoming culture, where pupils get the help that they need to overcome barriers that they may face to their learning or wellbeing. This includes creating a robust attendance and teaching strategy that is having a positive impact on pupils' outcomes, both personally and academically. Leaders engage positively with parents and carers and the local community. This has supported the recent improvements to attendance.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Staff benefit from the termly ‘Trust Subject Architect’ meetings, where best practice of subject-specific teaching is shared across the trust’s secondary schools. Trustees and governors share leaders' high expectations for staff and pupils. Those responsible for governance fulfil their statutory duties and ensure that school leaders act in the best interests of all pupils.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Staff are very positive about working at the school. They value the high-quality, professional learning. Staff value working with the trust to share expertise across the curriculum. Early career teachers benefit from targeted, individual support. Leaders are mindful of workload. Where change is needed in the school, leaders ensure that staff have the time and support that they require to implement new initiatives.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

Leaders have developed a personal development and wellbeing programme that meets the needs of pupils. The programme is coherent and well sequenced, and it builds pupils’ confidence in understanding the social and moral values they need for life in modern Britain. Leaders respond thoughtfully to emerging issues. For example, when they identified an increase in risk ‑ taking behaviour, they addressed this directly through the curriculum to help pupils make safer choices.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

Pupils benefit from a wide range of enrichment opportunities, including clubs, leadership roles and residential experiences. The school’s ‘explorer week’ model provides a dedicated week of trips and activities for pupils in Years 7 to 9. Leaders make significant efforts to ensure that as many pupils as possible can take part in the residential offer, including providing financial support and payment plans for families who need them. The Duke of Edinburgh's Award forms a key part of the wider learning programme in Year 10, with the majority of pupils participating.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

Pastoral provision is effective. Leaders have a secure understanding of pupils’ needs and provide timely support. Pupils describe positive relationships with staff and say they feel able to ask for help, which contributes to their sense of belonging. More vulnerable pupils value the safe, quiet spaces available to them, such as the library, the wellbeing hub and the Cullum Centre. They appreciate the additional support that helps them manage their emotions and maintain their wellbeing.

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Personal development and wellbeing Expected standard

Staff in the Cullum Centre provide targeted guidance for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities, including support with interviews and applications for their next steps.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Rodborough School places a strong emphasis on the 5 Rs: respect, resilience, reflection, resourcefulness and responsibility, which form the bedrock of its pastoral system. Staff and pupils live out these values daily. Pupils enjoy coming to school and feel safe here. They value the positive relationships they have with staff and appreciate the support they receive.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

Pupils enjoy learning. Older pupils report that behaviour has improved, particularly since the headteacher joined in 2022. They say that bullying, including name-calling, is taken seriously and dealt with effectively. In lessons, they show determination to do well and engage positively. On the rare occasions when behaviour falls short of leaders’ expectations, pupils understand that spending time in the reflection room helps them to make more positive choices in the future. They value the support staff provide and make good use of quiet spaces, such as the library and The Cullum Centre. Typically, staff ensure that pupils receive the help they need to keep up with the curriculum. As a result, pupils’ achievement over time is above national averages, although some pupils who are disadvantaged do not achieve as well as they should.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

The school is inclusive. Its specialist resource provision, The Cullum Centre, supports pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Pupils in the provision join lessons and interact with their peers for the majority of their day. Staff understand individual pupils’ needs and work to remove barriers to learning. These pupils achieve well in their Year 11 examinations.

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What it's like to be a pupil at this school

The school is also dedicated to providing pupils with a wide range of opportunities beyond the classroom to broaden and enrich their experiences. Rodborough pupils are well prepared to embrace opportunities, navigate challenges with resilience and contribute positively to society.

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Next steps

Leaders should ensure that the improvements that have been made in teaching are embedded across the curriculum so that all pupils can achieve well. Leaders should continue their work to secure consistently high attendance for pupils, including those who are disadvantaged. Leaders should ensure that a systematic phonics programme is fully embedded for those few pupils who require phonics teaching, so that they build their reading fluency.

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About this inspection

This school is part of Weydon Multi Academy 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), John Winter, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Ralph Johnson.

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Team inspectors:

Andrew Foster, Ofsted Inspector Julia Mortimore, Ofsted Inspector Amy Newman, Ofsted Inspector Nathan Thomas, Ofsted Inspector

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Facts and figures used on inspection

The data was used by the inspector(s) during the inspection. More recent data may have been published since the inspection took place.

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880

Close to average Inspectors carried out this full inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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880

Following our renewed inspection framework, all inspections are now led by His Majesty's Inspectors (HMIs) or by Ofsted Inspectors (OIs) who have previously served as HMIs.

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880

Inspectors spoke with a variety of school and trust leaders, including the principal, CEO, chair of the board of trustees and representatives from the local governing board. Inspectors also spoke with staff from the alternative provision being used by the school.

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880

The school meets the requirements of the provider access legislation, which requires schools to provide pupils in Years 8 to 13 with information and engagement about approved technical education qualifications and apprenticeships.

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880

The inspectors confirmed the following information about the school:

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880

The school currently makes uses of 7 registered alternative provisions.

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What does this mean?

The total number of pupils currently at this school and how this compares to other schools of this phase in England.

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What does this mean?

The total number of pupils who can attend the school and how this compares to other schools of this phase in England.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils with an education, health and care plan. This covers pupils with more support than is available through special educational needs support.

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What does this mean?

The proportion of pupils with reported special educational support needs at the school.

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What does this mean?

Based on the English Indices of Deprivation (2019) and the school's location, we have calculated whether the school is located in a more or less deprived area.

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What does this mean?

Whether school has Resourced Provision or SEND unit (if applicable).

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What does this mean?

The type of Special Educational Needs provision provided at the school (if applicable).

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English and maths GCSE

Percentage of pupils who achieved grade 5 or above in English and maths GCSE.

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Attainment 8

A measure of pupils' point scores across 8 subjects including maths (double weighted), English (double weighted if both language and literature are taken), 3 EBacc measures and 3 GCSE or technical measures.

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Progress 8

How much progress pupils made between the end of primary school (key stage 2) and the end of secondary school (key stage 4), compared to pupils across England who got similar results at the end of key stage 2.

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national average

2022/23 (final) -0.03 -0.03 Close to average

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Disadvantaged pupils' performance

Disadvantaged pupils are those who have been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years and children looked after.

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Disadvantaged pupils' English and maths GCSE grade 5 or above

Percentage of disadvantaged pupils achieving grade 5 or above in English and maths GCSE.

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national average

2024/25 (final) 20.8% 25.8% Close to average

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national average

2023/24 (final) 35.3% 25.8% Close to average

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Disadvantaged pupils' Attainment 8

A measure of disadvantaged pupils' point scores across 8 subjects including maths (double weighted), English (double weighted if both language and literature are taken), 3 EBacc measures and 3 GCSE or technical measures.

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national average

2024/25 (final) 35.8 34.9 Close to average

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national average

2023/24 (final) 34.8 34.6 Close to average

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Disadvantaged pupils' Progress 8

How much progress disadvantaged pupils made between the end of primary school (key stage 2) and the end of secondary school (key stage 4), compared to pupils across England who got similar results at the end of key stage 2.

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national average

2023/24 (final) -0.66 -0.57 Close to average

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Disadvantaged pupils' performance gap

Disadvantaged pupils are those who have been eligible for free school meals at any point in the last six years and children looked after. The school disadvantage gap is the difference between the performance of the school's disadvantaged pupils compared to the performance of all non-disadvantaged pupils nationally.

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Disadvantaged pupils' English and maths GCSE grade 5 or above

Percentage of disadvantaged pupils who achieved grade 5 or above in English and maths GCSE.

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Disadvantaged pupils' Attainment 8

A measure of disadvantaged pupils' point scores across 8 subjects including maths (double weighted), English (double weighted if both language and literature are taken), 3 EBacc measures and 3 GCSE or technical measures.

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Disadvantaged pupils' Progress 8

How much progress disadvantaged pupils made between the end of primary school (key stage 2) and the end of secondary school (key stage 4), compared to pupils across England who got similar results at the end of key stage 2.

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Destinations after 16

Percentage of pupils staying in education or employment for at least 2 terms after the end of secondary school (key stage 4).

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Overall absence

The percentage of all possible mornings and afternoons missed due to absence from school (for whatever reason, whether authorised or unauthorised) across all pupils.

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national average

2024/25 (3 term) 8.9% 8.4% Close to average

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national average

2023/24 (3 term) 9.9% 8.9% Close to average

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national average

2022/23 (3 term) 9.3% 9.0% Close to average

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Persistent absence

The percentage of pupils missing 10% or more of their possible mornings and afternoons.

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national average

2024/25 (3 term) 20.6% 23.4% Close to average

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national average

2023/24 (3 term) 27.6% 25.6% Close to average

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national average

2022/23 (3 term) 26.9% 26.5% Close to average

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Exceptional

Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other schools can learn from it.

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Strong standard

The school reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of them.

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Expected standard

The school is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care. This means they are following the standard set out in statutory and non ‑ statutory legislation and the professional standards expected of them.

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Needs attention

The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary improvements.

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Urgent improvement

The school needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of education and/or care.

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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