Guru Gobind Singh Khalsa College

For use on LTI inspections from September 2008

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Independent School

DCSF Registration Number 881/6042 Unique Reference Number 115437 Inspection number 332462 Inspection date 24 March 2009 Reporting inspector Pauline Allison HMI

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Independent School

This inspection of the school was carried out under section 162A of the Education Act 2002 (as amended by schedule 8 of the Education Act 2005). This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated.

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Independent School

Alexandra House 33 Kingsway London WC2B 6SE T 08456 404040 www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Purpose and scope of the inspection

This inspection was carried out by Ofsted under section 162A of the Education Act 2002, as amended by schedule 8 of the Education Act 2005, in order to advise the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families about the school’s suitability for continued registration as an independent school.

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Purpose and scope of the inspection

This was a light touch inspection (LTI) which focused principally on the quality of education provided by the school; its provision for the pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development; the arrangements for safeguarding pupils and the improvements the school has made since its last inspection.

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Information about the school

Guru Gobind Singh Khalsa College is situated in Chigwell, close to both London and the Essex countryside. It opened in September 1993 and makes provision for up to 550 pupils aged between three and 19 years of age. Currently 313 pupils attend, including 30 students in the sixth form. The school makes provision for pupils of the Sikh faith and also welcomes those from other faiths. It aims to provide a high quality education for each individual pupil, to promote equality and to develop young people with the attitudes and skills to become successful and responsible members of society. The school was last inspected in March 2006 and the early years provision in June 2008.

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Evaluation of the school

Guru Gobind Singh Khalsa College provides an outstanding quality of education for its pupils including for those in the Early Years Foundation Stage. This takes place within a culture which promotes tolerance and understanding of all faiths. The school has a strong moral code, clear work ethic and a successful focus on high achievement. The quality of welfare, health and safety is good, as are the teaching and assessment; all other aspects of the school are outstanding. While improvements have been made, the school has not yet fully addressed the regulation relating to the quality of its washrooms which was noted at the time of the last inspection. The school is successful in meeting its aims. It meets almost all of the regulations.

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Quality of education

The school provides an outstanding quality of education for its pupils including for children in the Early Years Foundation Stage. It provides an outstanding academic curriculum which shows a positive response to the demands of the community it serves. The strength of the curriculum lies in its strong focus on ensuring that pupils have the right qualifications to achieve academic and personal success. As a result, pupils are very well prepared for next stage of their education. At the request of parents, the school is developing a small sixth form and has begun to offer A-level courses to students.

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Quality of education

The school plans carefully using national schemes of work. There is a very good emphasis on basic skills. In addition the school provides particularly good opportunities for pupils to study separate sciences at GCSE level. Pupils in the secondary department have the opportunity to study for a wide range of GCSE examinations, often starting these courses in Year 8 or Year 9. There are outstanding opportunities for pupils, including for those in the primary phase, to learn a wide range of community and foreign languages. The provision of focused study weeks, such as the recent science and engineering week, adds interest and enjoyment to the curriculum. Pupils study a good range of topics in personal, social and health education, including substance misuse, healthy eating and social reform. All pupils in Year 10 and Year 11 have the opportunity to undertake work experience.

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Quality of education

Lunch time clubs are more often designed to improve standards rather than provide leisure and most pupils appreciate this and the opportunities provided to extend their knowledge. There is, however a good range of after school sporting activities with opportunities to play in teams and take part in local tournaments. The school provides a good range of trips to enrich the curriculum, including visits to museums in London and the National Space Centre, as well as visits to university departments for sixth form students.

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Quality of education

The quality of teaching and assessment is good. The teaching is successfully focused on achieving academic success and teachers benefit from the shared expectations of pupils and their parents. Throughout the inspection teaching was consistently good. In the best lessons planning is good and teachers take care to build on pupils’ prior knowledge. Skilful questioning is seen, for example when enabling pupils to think through a mathematics problem carefully and logically. In these lessons teachers show good subject knowledge, provide good explanations and make lively presentations. Pupils are able to express themselves well, and work sensibly together. There are very good relationships between teachers and pupils. Occasionally teachers spend too much time talking and pupils do not take as great a part in lessons as they could. In some instances the pace of the lesson is too slow. Work is suitably differentiated to meet the needs of less able pupils. There are good

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Quality of education

resources in classrooms which are used well to enhance teaching.

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Quality of education

Teachers have high expectations of pupils. As a result, work is presented well and pupils work hard. Teachers provide appropriate praise and encouragement and pupils clearly enjoy learning. The school provides additional teaching support in lessons and at other times for pupils who need help with their learning.

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Quality of education

There are some good examples of helpful marking which encourages pupils to consider their next steps for improvement. Teachers assess pupils’ work thoroughly each half term. Following these assessments, pupils set themselves targets and use these to aim for the next level in learning. Parents receive detailed reports which clearly show their child’s progress. The school does not have a system which allows it to track pupils’ progress in detail or to make comparisons between different groups of pupils or against national figures.

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Quality of education

As a result of the consistently good teaching and intensive support the school provides, progress is outstanding. The school consistently adds value at each key stage as shown by the good progress pupils make at Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 and by the excellent outcomes for pupils at the end of Key Stage 4. In 2008, all pupils achieved five or more A* to C grades at GCSE and 93% reached this standard including mathematics and English. The school has recently begun to offer A-level courses. Modular AS-level results show that most students are making at least satisfactory progress but there are currently insufficient data to judge trends or significant outcomes. In discussion and in the questionnaires they complete, pupils are clear that the school enables them to do well at school and their parents agree.

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Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of the pupils

The provision for the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of all the pupils is outstanding. This is because of the great success the school has in developing confident, tolerant and respectful young people. Pupils of all ages value the opportunity they have to practise their own faith and to learn about the beliefs of others. The Gurdwara is a focus for daily worship by pupils of the Sikh faith and pupils of other faiths are welcome to attend. Pupils take an active part in this act of daily worship, for example by playing the accompanying music. Assemblies and arrangements for prayer are also in place for Muslim pupils.

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Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of the pupils

The school has a strong moral code and strict rules. Within this environment, pupils feel safe and are confident that they can talk to their teachers. Although pupils are able to voice their opinions through prefect and school councils, the work and outcomes of these bodies are not known by all pupils. However, members of the prefect council report they have had some success in addressing concerns about school lunches.

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Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of the pupils

The behaviour of the pupils is outstanding. They are polite and friendly to each other, and particularly respectful to staff and visitors. Pupils work and play together very happily and clearly enjoy their fellow pupils’ company. Almost all enjoy attending the school and the family atmosphere that pervades it. There is a wide range of trips, locally and nationally, including some at the end of the school year to reward the pupils’ hard work. The school strives to produce young people who are good citizens. Pupils learn about the law and government, for example when writing to their Member of Parliament to express concerns about global warming. Younger children learn about the work of the emergency services. There are excellent opportunities for pupils to learn about the cultures and traditions of a wide range of groups, and they are encouraged to reflect on their own heritage. A good example was seen in a Year 7 geography class where pupils considered their own lives in

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Spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of the pupils

terms of local, regional, national and global identity. Pupils raise money for charity in response to a range of national fund-raising campaigns.

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Safeguarding pupils’ welfare, health and safety

The provision for safeguarding pupils’ welfare, health and safety is good. The designated person for child protection has received the necessary training and has trained the staff at the school. A large number of staff have had first aid training. Pupils report there is very little bullying and that any issues are dealt with swiftly. Staff supervise pupils very well during the school day. Healthy eating is promoted through lessons and by the provision of fresh fruit throughout the day. Younger children are also able to have toast and milk in the morning. However, many pupils say that they would like more variety in the lunch menu. The school carries out all the required checks on staff. However, it is not able to demonstrate that the necessary checks have been carried out on all members of the proprietorial body and therefore they are not yet on the single central register. The school has recently reviewed its accessibility plan and meets the requirements of the Disability

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Effectiveness of the Early Years Foundation Stage

The school is very effective in meeting the needs of the children. The excellent leadership of the Early Years Foundation Stage results in very high quality provision. Both learning and development and welfare requirements are exceptionally well met. The staff in Nursery and Reception plan an appropriate range of both teacher-led and child-initiated activities using the Early Years Foundation Stage guidance. Good quality resources ensure that the curriculum effectively builds on children’s interests and reflects the six areas of learning. Children achieve really well from their starting points and make excellent progress in their learning because of outstanding teaching. By the time they start in Year 1, most have attained, and many have exceeded, the expected early learning goals for their age. The staff recognise the uniqueness of children and support them well as individuals. Relationships are very

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Effectiveness of the Early Years Foundation Stage

good; children feel safe and a healthy lifestyle is promoted. Children from different backgrounds and cultures work and play in harmony. They are active learners and are encouraged to explore through play, although there are increasing levels of more formal work in literacy and numeracy in Reception. There are excellent systems of assessing children’s progress. Key moments are carefully recorded in the children’s profiles both in written and photographic form, although these are not always regularly dated. Children’s personal development is outstanding. They play well together, are considerate of others and take good care of the school’s resources. The stimulating classroom environment is very well resourced. There is a good outdoor space available, although the lack of a covered area means it cannot be used in all weather conditions.

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

The school meets all of the Education (Independent School Standards) (England) Regulations 2003 as amended January 2005, with the exception of those listed below.

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

The school does not meet all requirements in respect of suitability of proprietor and staff (standard 4) and must:

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

 ensure the chairperson of the proprietorial body checks the other members of the proprietorial body to confirm their identity, right to work in the United Kingdom, enhanced CRB check, or where appropriate confirmation that he/she does not contravene section 142 of the 2002 Act(a) (paragraph 4B(4) and (5))

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

 ensure that in relation to each member of a body of persons named as the proprietor in post on or after 1 August 2007, the register shows, with dates, whether a check was made of: his/her identity; right to work in the United Kingdom; and whether an enhanced CRB check was carried out and certificate obtained, or where appropriate, confirmation that he/she is not barred from working in school under section 142 of the Education Act 2002 (paragraph (4(C)(6) and( 7)).

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

The school does not meet all requirements in respect of the premises and accommodation (standard 5) and must:

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Compliance with regulatory requirements

 improve the quality of the schools’ washrooms and ensure that the condition of these takes account of the Education (School Premises) Regulations 1999 (paragraph 5(k)).

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What the school could do to improve further

While not required by the regulations, the school might wish to consider the following points for development:

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What the school could do to improve further

 develop and centralise the school’s assessment system to demonstrate the progress pupils make as they move through the school in comparison to specific groups and to national results  ensure that the work and outcomes of the school and prefect councils are widely and clearly understood by pupils  develop the outside space for the Early Years Foundation Stage to include a covered area.

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Inspection Judgement Recording Form

outstanding good satisfactory inadequate

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The quality of education

Overall quality of education √ How well the curriculum and other activities meet the range of needs and interests of pupils √

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The quality of education

How effective teaching and assessment are in meeting the full range of pupils’ needs √

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The quality of education

How well pupils make progress in their learning √

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Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development

Quality of provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development √

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Welfare, health and safety of pupils

The overall welfare, health and safety of pupils √

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The quality of the Early Years Foundation Stage provision

How effectively are children in the Early Years Foundation Stage helped to learn and develop? √ How well do children achieve in the Early Years Foundation Stage relative to their starting points and capabilities? √ How good are the personal development and well-being of children in the Early Years Foundation Stage? √ What is the quality of welfare, health and safety of children in the Early Years Foundation Stage? √ How effectively is the provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage led and managed? √ What is the overall effectiveness of the Early Years Foundation Stage including, where relevant, the quality of childcare? √

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School details

Name of school Guru Gobind Singh Khalsa College DCSF number 881/6042 Unique reference number 115437 Type of school Faith college Status Independent Date school opened September 1993 Age range of pupils 3–19 years Gender of pupils Mixed Number on roll (full-time pupils) Boys: 210 Girls: 102 Total: 312 Number on roll (part-time pupils) Boys: 1 Girls: 0 Total: 1 Annual fees (day pupils) £4,120–£4,738 Address of school Roding Lane Chigwell Essex IG7 6BQ Telephone number 0208 559 9160 Fax number 0208 559 9064 Email address info@ggskcollege.co.uk Headteacher Mr A S Toor Proprietor GGSK College Trust Reporting inspector Pauline Allison HMI Date of inspection 24 March 2009

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