Ofsted praise 'clear ambition' at The Westgate School following inspection
The Westgate School in Cippenham has been rated ‘Good’ across all areas by Ofsted in its first inspection since coming under new leadership.
Inspectors from the education watchdog completed a three-day visit at the secondary school in January and published their findings on February 11.
The inspection was the first to be carried out at the school since Ofsted made the decision to scrap ‘overall effectiveness’ ratings.
The Westgate School had previously been rated ‘Outstanding’ following a visit by Ofsted in 2014.
Headteacher Jon Gargan joined the Cippenham Lane school in September 2023 and inspectors noted how the strong relationships between staff and pupils have created a happy school environment.
A report said that academic achievement has strengthened, particularly for pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds or with special educational needs.
Inspectors found that pupils appreciate the recent changes to the school although some felt the rules for behaviour can be too strict at times.
The report said: “They (pupils) do recognise that the high expectations have made things better for everyone, especially in lessons.”
The inspectors said the school has a ‘clear ambition’ for all students to achieve their best.
Staff have an expert knowledge of all their pupils, including of any additional needs.
The report said a comprehensive staff training programme has ‘made a real difference’ to staff expertise.
Teachers at Westgate possess a strong subject knowledge, particularly when adapting work to support pupils with special educational needs, the report added.
The school is also committed to encouraging a love of reading.
Inspectors described the school as having an ‘orderly environment’ where high standards are expected.
The report noted that while pupils understood the need for many of the new school rules, including around mobile phones, some became annoyed when things do not seem fair.
Inspectors found pockets of pupils who are unkind to each other during unstructured social times.
It said pupils are confident staff will resolve any issues such as bullying but these problems are not always reported.
Inspectors described Westgate’s work on careers as a strength of the school and said there is a comprehensive package of support in place for students.
The education watchdog said the school’s personal development programme is well planned and sensitively tackles issues such as consent, respectful relationships and personal safety.
Staff feel supported at Westgate, including those new to the teaching profession, and value the professional development they receive.
Ofsted said the Cippenham secondary school can improve by ensuring recent changes to establish high expectations for behaviour are fully embedded, particularly during unstructured social times.
Inspectors also said some classroom tasks do not link well enough to students’ prior learning – meaning some pupils do not learn as well as they could.
The quality of education, pupils’ behaviour, personal development, leadership and management and sixth form provision were all rated as ‘Good’ in Ofsted’s report.
