GHS Connect #20 Monday 21 February
From the Head
I hope everyone has had a restful break and did not get too affected by the storms. I somehow ended up being the only person on our road to have my car hit by a falling tree, so had an eventful afternoon involving a saw, and a lot of help from my neighbours! Fortunately, the damage was very minimal, due to the way it landed; it could have been much worse!
I must dedicate some of this week’s Connect to the events of last half term’s final week - our Ofsted inspection. It was a hard thing for us all to go through, in the last week of a half term, with quite a lot of people still absent, and after another very hard year so far! While I cannot pass on the judgement or any real specific details at the moment, I can repeat some of the things I said in briefing on the Friday.
Overall, inspectors were really impressed with the way department areas are planning and delivering the curriculum with very strong subject knowledge and lots of great examples of excellent teaching.
Pastorally, inspectors felt we were very inclusive, were doing brilliantly with all of our clubs and additional opportunities, PSHCE, tutor time and assembly etc and they were very complimentary about many aspects of careers, the sixth form, SEND and the fact that character education is in development.
There were many other very positive points which we will celebrate when things become official and, of course, there are some things to improve which we are already working on, but will continue to look at further. The important thing to remember, however, is that the inspection team only saw a miniscule snapshot of everything that goes on in the school, and they were never going to be able to fully appreciate the enormous influence that every single member of staff has on our students, every single day.
As I have reflected over half term, I have repeatedly reminded myself of what an amazing job you all do, and what an incredible impact you have on the life chances of our students. So whether or not we are ‘flavour of the month’ with Ofsted, is in itself not the be all and end all. What’s really important is what we are doing to help our students do the very best that they can, in what remains a very challenging set of circumstances for us all.
On that note, enjoy your week, and remember what an amazing job you are all doing!
Mia