Inspection Reports
Extracts from the OFSTED Inspection on 19 September 2006
Description of the school
Waddesdon Church of England School is a secondary modern school in an area where the highest attaining one third of primary school pupils are allocated places at grammar schools. The attainment of students on entry to Waddesdon is broadly average. The vast majority of students are white British with small numbers from a variety of minority ethnic backgrounds. The number of students known to be eligible for free school meals is low. There is a growing proportion of students with learning difficulties and disabilities. Waddesdon has a larger than average sixth form. Waddesdon was awarded specialist visual arts college status in 2003 and became a Leading Edge Partnership school in 2004.
Key for inspection grades
- Grade 1 Outstanding
- Grade 2 Good
- Grade 3 Satisfactory
- Grade 4 Inadequate
Overall effectiveness of the school
Waddesdon Church of England School is an outstanding school where student's achievement is excellent. The school aims to nurture and educate students in a Christian environment, in order that they may achieve their potential and be valuable members of society. Outstanding leadership and management ensure that the school delivers these aims very successfully. Leaders set a clear direction for the school that is well understood by teachers, students and their parents. The excellent self-evaluation is based on rigorous monitoring so that the leadership team has a clear vision of the strengths and weaknesses of the school. This leads to effective action to rectify weaknesses and raise achievement. The record of the leadership team in tackling the issues identified at the last inspection, in improving the provision and in raising achievement, all show that this school is very well placed to continue improving.
The assessment and monitoring of students' progress is a key strength of the school. This is because teachers consider both the students' personal development and their academic development across the range of subjects together at every level in the school. The process is systematic and rigorously applied. This nurturing and challenging approach is valued by both students and their parents. As one parent wrote, 'It is an extremely happy school that motivates all children to reach the best of their ability'.
The outstanding care of students is another key strength of the school and is firmly underpinned by the school's Christian values. Almost all parents and students are quick to praise the school in this respect.
The outstanding flexible curriculum meets the academic and personal development needs of all learners very well, whether they are gifted and talented or requiring a more vocational and applied or work related approach.
The school has very successfully managed the growing proportion of students with learning difficulties and disabilities and helps them to make very good progress.
Good teaching ensures that students find the work challenging. Teachers' expectations are high and students respond. There is some good and detailed marking and assessment feedback, so that students know how well they are doing and what they need to do to improve. However, the standard of this is inconsistent across the school.
The school leadership has ensured that Visual Arts College status has had a very significant impact throughout the school in promoting students' achievement and in its relationships with the community and partner schools. The increase in information and communication technology (ICT) facilities has promoted visual learning styles and developed students' ICT skills throughout the school. Students have carried through their enthusiasm from their experiences in visual arts, such as digital photography, into their other subjects and have gained very significant personal development from their work in the community.
As a result of these key factors of the school's provision, standards in the main school are exceptionally high and all students make very good progress to the end of Key Stage 4.
Download a full copy of the OFSTED Inspection Report
A separate R.E. inspection was carried out in November 2006.
Download a full copy of the Diocese of Oxford RE OFSTED Inspection Report
