Ofsted Report

 

Dear Parent/Carer,

Publication of OFSTED report card

I am delighted to be able to share the attached report card for Bishop Challoner Catholic College following our recent OFSTED inspection in January.

This is a report all our young people should be proud of and I congratulate them on their conduct during the recent inspection and their honest feedback on the work of their school.

The inspection framework for schools was revised in September and inspections under this new framework began at the start of December; Bishop Challoner Catholic College was one of the first wave of schools in the country to be inspected under this new framework. 

OFSTED have completely changed their approach to inspection and you will note that the traditional gradings of ‘good’ and ‘outstanding’ (which have been used for the past 25 years) have now been replaced with a new set of measures. 

The new ‘expected standard’ is an exceptionally high bar. Whilst it cannot be fully compared to the old grading system it is deemed to be a very strong good on the old measures.

The new ‘strong standard’ is a higher bar again and has been described by some as outstanding plus, plus against the old measures. 

Bishop Challoner Catholic College has been judged to be STRONG in the following areas:

• Attendance
• Behaviour 
• Governance 
• Leadership
• Personal development 
• Wellbeing 

Bishop Challoner Catholic College has been judged to be at EXPECTED STANDARD in the following areas:

• Achievement 
• Curriculum and teaching 
• Inclusion
• Post 16 provision

Click here to view the report card

In each of these areas the school narrowly missed out on a strong judgment due to the secure fit approach which means all standards in the strong category must be fully met to secure a strong judgement. As an example there are three standards against post 16 in the strong category. We ticked two out of the three standards and partially met the third one, unfortunately because we are judged on a secure fit (all standards fully met) and not best fit (most standards met) we just fell just short of strong in this area. 

With this new framework it is anticipated that schools will have areas of their provision identified as NEEDS ATTENTION, we have no areas in this category. This is not to suggest the school does not have areas it needs to work on and leaders and governors remain relentless in their work to provide the highest quality education for our young people.

This link will provide you with a video to give more detail on report cards and the new grading approach. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbl0FvY976g

I would encourage you to read the wonderful commentary on our school which superbly captures the essence of our community; including the section on what it is like to be a pupil at Bishop Challoner Catholic College. Some highlights from the report include the following:

“The school's culture of belonging, care and collaboration permeates the fabric of the school. Pupils and staff commonly speak of the ‘BC family’ to which all belong. Pupils know that staff care about them which helps them to feel safe and valued. Positive interactions between staff and pupils are joyous to observe.”

“Pupils ensure that the school is a calm and orderly learning environment where respectful relationships are commonplace. Pupils’ attitudes to learning are highly positive.”

“Students consistently act as positive role models to their younger peers. They are very proud of their sixth form.”

My thanks to parents and carers for their feedback on the work of the school. Alongside the overwhelmingly positive feedback you have given us, there are several key themes to explore further and we remain committed to reviewing these to further improve the work of our school.

We are blessed to have an incredible staff body at the school supported by exceptional governors and we are grateful for their work and ongoing commitment to their vocations. 

Whilst the inspection team cannot comment on the Catholic life of the school, from the feedback we have received it seems clear to me that our mission of serving others and fulfilling our potential is alive in our school.

Please enjoy reading our report.

With best wishes,

 

Dr J Coughlan

Executive Principal