Ofsted Update – School Standards Fully Met

Dear School Community,

I am delighted to share with you the significant outcomes of our recent Ofsted Progress Monitoring Inspection (PMI) Report, as attached.

You will see from the detail of the Report that the School has achieved and met all the Standards of Inspection that it was previously judge Inadequate under. You will also note that the School Improvement Plan (PIAP) was accepted as fit for purpose and during the PMI was evidenced to be effective and that all the areas of improvement were being implemented.

This is an enormous success for our School, especially given the relative short timescale (interrupted by the summer holidays) that staff have had to implement our strategy for improvement. Our Self Evaluation of where our School is currently in line with the Ofsted new Inspection Framework, is that we are a Good School, with areas Requiring Improvement, but these areas are currently limited by the fact that we are four weeks into term and that those targets need longer to embed.

So, what has changed in the last six months that has enabled this transformation? The School now has:

• A Curriculum Policy Statement by Class Group covering the detail of what Pupils will experience and learning within the Seven Strands of Learning

 

• The Curriculum Policy ensures that all pupils have the opportunity to acquire Learning so that at the end of Class 5 and Class 10 their learning is relative to and bench marked to National Expectations for all children

 

• The Curriculum Policy is linked to a new Teaching, Learning and Assessment (TLA) Framework, which incorporates clearer Lesson Planning, individual Pupil Learning Evaluation and Assessment, a system of Pupil Progress Tracking to ensure that each person is immersed and supported in their school and child centred experience

 

• Weekly timetabled (I.5 hour) TLA Staff Team Meetings for each area of the School (Early Years, Lower School, Middle School and Upper School) where the TLA system is embedded and pupil’s workflow is Moderated, and Teacher Led Assessment is agreed

 

• The definition of new Teaching & Learning Leads that support and oversea the TLA framework. This includes regular Learning Journeys and Classroom Observations to ensure that Pupils School Experiences are healthy and strong and in keeping with our ethos and learning intentions

 

• The introduction of a new Phonics Program to Class One through Four, with SEND Team support to all other Classes, to enable quicker progress in the acquisition of Literacy and Numeracy to thereby ensure that our pupils are successful in their learning

 

• The introduction of a new approach for Five Year Plus pupils (K5) so that their early experience of Literacy, Numeracy and Science is preparing them for their next steps into Class One and has a distinct characteristic from that of the experience of the youngest children in our School

 

• That Trustee Governance and School Leadership is working to support and enable improvements in Teaching Learning and know what the Quality of Education is throughout the School

 

I am sure that you will agree that the above detail represents significant development and improvements within the Ofsted Inspection Framework that we are current inspected under.

In closing, let me assure you that the raft of improvements in no way detracts from our Philosophy of Education. Teachers still meet our pupils in Freedom and Love and are given the space to me meet their pupils in Creativity and deep Human Reflection and Values. Our intention remains that of one in which the Whole Childs Individual Being is recognised, nurtured and celebrated, and that our School continues to be a beacon of truly Child Centred Education, which now through the inspection criteria of Ofsted, has the capacity to be Nationally recognised as a worthy contributor to the Education Landscape bench-marked to national expectations for all children.

I would warmly encourage you to book or join a School Tour to see the above transformation in practice, and welcome any feedback or questions that you may have either to the Report proper or in relation to any other matters regarding your child life experience here at their school.

Best Wishes

Damian Mooncie, School Director

10122738 The Brighton Waldorf School 114661 Final PDF