Students of the week

Congratulations to our stars of the last five days who have demonstrated something special in their attitude to their peers, the community or their learning. Well done, to each and every one of them.

Year 7	Year 8	Year 9	Year 10	Year 11	Sixth Form
tbc	Bridie / Jack	Imogen	Luciano	Sonny	Alexia / Isuru

Ofsted report

The report has just been published, following the inspection that happened in October. A wide range of opinions exist about the workings of Ofsted. I can assure families that although an incredibly arduous process for those two days for a handful of staff, the inspection did not significantly interrupt learning. Members of the inspection team were courteous and concerned about staff and student wellbeing throughout the inspection. 

Their findings are very pleasing. We were graded ‘Good’ at the last inspection in 2017 and this was an ungraded inspection, so did not change the overall school grading. However, when you read the report you will see that the inspectors found many excellent things happening at Greenshaw, and have recommended a reinspection next year because ‘the evidence gathered suggests that the inspection grade might be outstanding if a graded inspection were carried out now.’

More than the single word judgement, I am delighted that the inspectors' report used words like ‘happy and safe’ to describe our children, alongside phrases like ‘relationships between staff and pupils are kind and respectful’. The inspectors also noted ‘high expectations for all’ and that ‘behaviour is excellent’, along with comments such as ‘... pupils with SEND receive strong guidance to make sure that they learn successfully’. I am proud that our progress at GCSE put our students’ performance in the top 10% of all schools last year, and I am particularly proud of the excellent achievement of all of our students, regardless of their starting point. 

I would also like to thank all of our families. I am blessed to have a brilliant group of students and so many hard working and talented staff. But the contribution from the parents and carers is the third point of the triangle that underpins success. Without family support, our young people could not continue to thrive, so thank you.

So the bad news is that Ofsted will return, probably early next school year and do it all again. Whether we get ‘outstanding’ is unknown, but I do feel that after a rigorous inspection process this October that the hard work of staff and students has been recognised. For the full report please click on this link here.

Assemblies this week and next

We use our assemblies for a wide range of purposes, including celebrating students’ achievements in and out of school. And this term I have talked in assembly to students about why we focus on the reading programme in tutor time. Following that, in October, a group of students talked about Black History Month, identifying their black icons and speaking of their role models. And recently we have celebrated the festival of Diwali in assemblies and explained its significance.

In this cycle we are addressing the events of the last seven weeks in the Middle East. We are explaining to students about why conflict has happened across time (led by Miss Duce, our Head of History). We also explain how, even in the most awful situations, there can be actions that we can take in our social groups, and the wider community, that can bring hope and offer a way forwards. This is illustrated by Miss Mbema (our Head of Religious Studies) who talks about individuals that have sought to bring peace to conflict.  

Please be reassured that in our school community we strive to teach our young people the values of compassion, respect and dignity for one another.  We know that there are families that have been directly affected by the events of the last two months and offer our condolence and support to them and all of you. 

Nick House