Worthing school no longer inadequate – Headteacher speaks of pride after vastly improved inspection report

Following an inspection over two days in April, St Andrew's High School, in Sackville Road, Worthing, has been rated as ‘good’ in all areas – overall effectiveness, the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development and leadership & management.

Mia Lowney, the school’s headteacher since 2021, said: “It’s been a hard year. It was difficult for our whole community. The last 12 months have required a lot of internal and external reflection, with a lot of difficult realisations.

"There’s also been a lot of education to understand our impact on people and why it’s important to work with the community and show real love to each other.

“Things weren’t where they needed to be last year. It wasn’t good enough and it needed to be better. We’ve strived every day to be the best we can be and make sure our students get the best we have to offer. That’s what they deserve.

"Our parents have been very supportive, which is really important. I’m incredibly proud. I told staff on Friday afternoon and there were some tears. They’ve put their heart and soul into our school. To be externally validated was wonderful.”

Inspectors noted that pupils are ‘proud to attend this nurturing and highly inclusive’ school ‘where kindness flourishes’.

The report read: “The school’s core values of respect, responsibility and integrity run through all aspects of daily life. Pupils feel cared for. Their voices are heard and valued by staff who know them well.

"Pupils understand the importance of respecting differences between people and celebrate diversity regularly. Should any bullying or harassment occur, pupils rightly trust that staff will listen and deal with it effectively.”

Inspectors found that leaders are ‘ambitious for pupils to achieve their very best’, adding: “Pupils understand and take pride in meeting the raised expectations staff have for their work and behaviour. As a result, pupils learn in a positive and focused environment.

"Leaders have worked tirelessly to ensure that all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), receive a good quality of education.

"Their work to improve behaviour and attitudes is particularly notable. Leaders ensure that staff have high expectations for pupils’ behaviour across all aspects of school life.”

Pupils also ‘show dedication to learning’ and ‘pay close attention to their teachers’ instructions’. Consequently, learning is ‘rarely disrupted by low-level behaviour issues’.

‘Significant improvements’ have also been made to the curriculum by leaders, inspectors noted.

Leaders cater well for pupils’ personal development and they receive ‘appropriate, high- quality careers guidance and advice on next steps in their education’.

However, there ‘remains a small number of pupils who do not attend regularly’, inspectors said.

The report added: “Therefore, these pupils do not benefit fully from all that the school has to offer.

“Some pupils do not attend school regularly enough. This means that these pupils regularly miss out on essential learning. Leaders should ensure that the strategies they have introduced are implemented consistently to continue to improve the attendance of all pupils, particularly those who are persistently absent.

“The support for the small number of pupils who find reading more difficult is not always precise enough. Consequently, these pupils do not read as well as they could. Leaders should continue to strengthen the support for these pupils to ensure that they can read confidently and fluently."

Pressure is mounting on the schools watchdog in England after unions threatened legal action because Ofsted is continuing to carry out inspections without a full mental health assessment for teachers. Critics say the Ofsted grading system is too simplistic and fails to reflect the complexity of a school and its teaching quality.

It comes after Reading headteacher Ruth Perry took her own life in January while awaiting an Ofsted report which downgraded her school from the highest rating to the lowest.

Mia Lowney said: “I still don’t think a single word judgement can summarise what a scroll has to offer. It’s too blunt.

“If you read a report of a school, that tends to tell you more. Of course I am proud of having a good overall judgment. I still think there’s more complexity to the school and it’s so important that parents and external visitors come and visit and learn more about the community.

"It can make or break a school and make or break a person. I can say that from a personal experience about the impact it can have. My name is on the report and my heart is in the school.

"It can have wild and devastating impacts. The current framework for secondary is the best that has been created. It put children at its centre and makes sure outcomes are not the only factor. Development of a child is at the front and centre.”

The headteacher said this year's inspection team was ‘exceptional’, adding: “I would like to applaud and thank them. They were all experts for their areas of improvement.

"They approached us with compassion. They wanted us to have a voice. They heard us. They did it with us, not to us. That was very different from last year.

"We were very nervous and it was quite stressful. The team approached it with such sensitivity. We felt nurtured. Whatever the outcome was, we felt it would have been valid because of how they approached it. It's about treating people with dignity and respect.

"I don't think any place will be perfect but you can strive for that and that's what we're aiming to do. I want to make sure every child at this school feels welcomed, loved and nurtured. We celebrate every part of diversity.”

Have you read?: West Sussex school placement protest march: 'They may have forgotten about our children but we haven't'

Capita data breach: Investigation reveals personal data belonging to around 100 Adur and Worthing residents was leaked in cyber incident

Lancing Prep at Worthing invites people to bring World War Two memories to Digital Collection Day