Twyford C of E School
Church Street
Twyford
Buckingham
Buckinghamshire
MK18 4EU
Head: Mrs Judith Bloomfield
T 01296 730305
F 01296 730305
A state school for boys and girls aged from 3 to 11.
Boarding: No
Local authority: Buckinghamshire
Pupils: 108
Religion: Church of England
Unique Reference Number 101933
Local Authority Ealing
Inspection number 286229
Inspection date 24 April 2007
Reporting inspector Meena Wood HMI
This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.
|
Type of school |
Secondary |
|
School category |
Voluntary aided |
|
Age range of pupils |
11-18 |
|
Gender of pupils Number on roll |
Mixed |
|
School |
1290 |
|
6th form |
340 |
|
Appropriate authority |
The governing body |
|
Chair |
Mr William Shaw |
|
Headteacher |
Ms Alice Hudson |
|
Date of previous school inspection |
3 February 2003 |
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School address |
Twyford Crescent Acton London W3 9PP |
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Telephone number |
020 8752 0141 |
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Fax number |
020 8993 7627 |
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Age group |
11-18 |
|
Inspection date |
24 April 2007 |
|
Inspection number |
286229 |
The inspection was carried out by one of Her Majesty's Inspectors and an Additional Inspector.
Twyford Church of England School specialises in music. Boys outnumber girls. Low numbers of students are eligible for free school meals. Nearly two thirds of students are from inority ethnic groups and the largest groups are Black Caribbean, Black African and Indian. One quarter of students are bilingual, however, there are no students at the early stages of learning English. A low proportion of students have learning difficulties or disabilities.
Grade 1 Outstanding
Grade 2 Good
Grade 3 Satisfactory
Grade 4 Inadequate
Grade: 1
Twyford Church of England School is an outstanding school. It builds very effectively on the school motto, 'I have come that you might have life and have it to the full. ( John 10 v 10)' and the strong spiritual ethos has contributed to its culture of achievement. The headteacher and her senior leadership team have successfully created a nurturing environment and cohesive community, where students from diverse cultures learn well together. Student behaviour has improved since the last inspection and is now good. Students show tolerance and respect for others and sixth form students contribute significantly in positions of responsibility to the daily life of the school. Students come to the school with high prior attainment and due to the good provision and outstandingly supportive environment, they make excellent progress and reach exceptionally high standards by Year 11. Students with learning difficulties and disabilities achieve well. Students feel safe and happy and enjoy their learning at the school. They all benefit from the excellent opportunities to stay fit and healthy. Students leave the school extremely well-equipped as citizens.
Care, support and guidance are excellent and Year 9 and 11 students receive excellent guidance on future choices. Academic reviews are used very effectively to help students achieve their potential. Assessment of students' work is very good and they know what they need to do to improve their work. A Black Aspiration Project works very effectively with underachieving students from minority ethnic groups.
The curriculum provides an outstanding framework for students to progress to further education or employment, and the school's music specialism and enrichment activities are highly valued by all students. The school has developed a carefully structured curriculum that is inclusive and meets the needs and abilities of its students. Teaching and learning are good, because students are very motivated and keen to achieve well and teachers prepare well structured lessons with clear objectives that help students to make excellent progress. Information and communication technology (ICT), is used well to support teaching and to sustain students' interest. The school has prioritised sharing its best teaching and learning practice across all subjects in order to raise standards even further as teachers do not always give students enough opportunities for reflection and independent learning. The school recognises that learning assistants who support less able students and those with learning difficulties and disabilities in lessons, need to work more closely with subject tutors to increase their effectiveness.
The school's excellent leadership and management by the headteacher and her colleagues has resulted in an outstanding environment for students to consolidate their academic progress and develop their personal well being.
A parent reported that 'Twyford is a very caring school, with every encouragement given to develop pupils' personal and educational development'. The school has excellent capacity to improve further.
Grade: 1
The sixth form is very popular and students' achievements are consistently high. GCE A level results are outstanding with a high proportion of students passing their A-levels. Students make excellent progress and achieve high standards in relation to what is expected of them based on their GCSE performance. The progression rate for Year 11 students to the sixth form is very high at 85%. This is a good indicator of the esteem in which students view the work of the sixth form. A broad range of GCE A-level subjects are offered. Provision in vocational subjects is limited, although the school is planning to extend this offer through the 14-19 diploma in its specialist area. The overall standard of teaching is good. Students are highly motivated and participate well in lessons. Students receive high levels of support from teachers, especially when choosing their future options. 96% of students progress to higher education and the support they receive when making their application is exemplary. Sixth form students make a valuable contribution to the life of the school acting as excellent peer mentors and very creditable role models to younger students.
• Improve teaching and learning by giving students more opportunities for reflection and independent learning.
• Increase the effectiveness of learning support in lessons through subject tutors working more closely with learning support assistants.
Grade: 1
Grade for sixth form: 1
Students join the school with high prior attainment and make excellent progress between Years 7 - 11 and in the sixth form. The school has recognised that Black African and Black Caribbean students do not consistently progress as well as others and has put in place various measures that have improved the achievement of these students. Students with learning difficulties and disabilities make good progress. In terms of core subjects, students in Years 7-9 make excellent progress relative to their prior attainment and standards of work at the end of Year 9 are well above average. By the end of Year 11, the overall proportion of students attaining 5 A*- C GCSEs including English and mathematics is high and one third of students gain A*and A grades. These excellent results are due to the careful tracking of individual students' progress through academic reviews, parental support and structured tutoring for those pupils who may otherwise underachieve.
Grade: 1
Grade for sixth form: 1
Students' personal development and well-being are outstanding. They greatly enjoy coming to school and demonstrate this through their excellent attendance and punctuality. Students' relationships with their peers, teachers and other adults are very good. Behaviour in lessons and around the school is good and excluded pupils are very well reintegrated into lessons. Students report that any bullying is effectively dealt with and they feel safe at Twyford. In all years, students understand the benefits of following a healthy lifestyle. Students make an outstanding contribution to the community, as part of the school community service ethic and they demonstrate clear responsibilities through an effective school council. Younger pupils in Year 7 and 8 run recycling and gardening groups. Through the well structured citizenship and religious education programmes, students develop a strong sense of social responsibility and fund raise considerable sums of money for good causes, both at home and abroad. Students' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is excellent and is reflected in the way they act towards others and their perspective on broader issues facing society. The students' Twyford Fellowship Group reinforces youth ministry in local churches. Students participating in school drama productions involve primary feeder school pupils, thus helping these younger pupils make a sound transition to their secondary school.
Grade: 2
Grade for sixth form: 2
Teaching and learning are good. Students' outstanding attitudes to learning together with good teaching ensure that their achievement is outstanding.
They enjoy good relationships with their teachers and show a high level of enjoyment and interest in their work.
Teachers are enthusiastic, plan their lessons well with activities that are appropriate and use good questioning techniques to help most students deepen their understanding. Marking is carried out regularly to inform students how they can improve their work. In a minority of lessons, teaching is less focused on learning and the tasks do not allow the students to be actively involved in their work and learning support assistants do not always work closely enough with the subject teachers in the planning of lessons.
In many lessons, the pace of the work and tasks relate well to the abilities and needs of each student. Teachers check the extent to which every student meets the lesson's learning objectives and their own targets. They help students to assess their own progress as well. In an outstanding science lesson, students were involved in the marking and grading of their own work and the teacher successfully encouraged students to think of ways in which they could improve on their grades.
Grade: 1
Grade for sixth form: 1
The curriculum is outstanding and meets the needs of individual students very well, including the more able and those with learning difficulties and disabilities. In Year 9 an accelerated programme in music, media Latin and dance caters for more able students. A very successful alternative curriculum for less able students increases aspiration, with students being involved in projects such as the Duke of Edinburgh award. In Year 10, a small group of students attend vocational courses at the local college. The school has been successful in encouraging greater take up by pupils from minority ethnic groups in curricular activities that have a positive outcome on their academic success. A group of Year 10 students, as part of their GCSE media course work, are currently working with the local Community Police liaison officer on the production of an imaginative musical video that promotes a strong anti gang violence message. Good opportunities are provided for work-related learning, with literacy, numeracy and ICT given high priority in lessons. The school's Music Specialist Status and links with local rugby clubs encourages students to attend a wide range of enrichment activities, including musical interests, personal fitness and debating activities, helping them develop greater confidence and improve achievement.
Grade: 1
Grade for sixth form: 1
Excellent pastoral support blends together very well with students' academic development. Good attention is paid to risk assessments and child protection. Exclusions of students from lessons have significantly reduced in the last year, through a focus on the whole school conduct system and 'courtesy campaign', supportive interventions for excluded students and raising academic aspirations of low achieving students. Guidance is closely tailored to students' needs through highly effective intervention programmes for underachieving students or those with low effort grades. Reward systems operate for students with high effort grades. Parents are fully involved in this process. The academic target setting process gives students clear guidance on the progress they have made and what they need to do in order to improve. Students are supported very well in preparation for studies beyond school and for future employment. Older students have a good understanding of career options and what is required of them if they are to achieve success in the workplace. One student said, 'Teachers operate an open door policy and are willing to help and want the best for you'.
Students most at risk and those with learning difficulties are sensitively supported through committed multi-agency endeavours. Students make good use of the school's Chaplain for effective guidance and support.
Grade: 1
Grade for sixth form: 1
The head teacher, supported by a highly effective leadership team, has energetically and imaginatively addressed underachievement amongst groups of students. In particular, these have been aimed at low achieving Black African and Caribbean students and where students in year groups do not achieve highly in core subjects. This has had a successful impact on raising achievement and standards.
The school has rigorously ensured the performance management of departments and is acutely aware of the areas where they need to improve the quality of teaching and learning. Teachers are encouraged to be self-reflective and critical of their own teaching. The outcomes from lesson monitoring are used to improve the quality of individual teaching, and to identify areas for further improvement at a whole school level.
A 'Learning to Perform' programme emphasises students' independent learning through peer and self assessment of progress. This has had a significant impact in science across the school and in raising students' performance in Years 7 to 9 and the school has rightly identified other subjects for targeted improvements.
The school's self evaluation process has clearly identified its many strengths and most of the areas where the school needs to improve. Areas of development identified at the school's last inspection have been very successfully addressed, such as the now excellent provision in ICT. Governors are highly supportive. Finances are well managed. The school is using its funds wisely to make significant improvements to some aspects of the accommodation, including disabled access.
The school enjoys the overwhelming support of the vast majority of parents, who reported how pleased they were that their children were receiving a high quality education. One parent reported that 'the school is a hive of activity and structured learning' and another stated that 'the school values and promotes respect and confidence between adults and children'.
Annex A
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Key to judgements: grade 1 is outstanding, grade 2 good, grade 3 satisfactory, and grade 4 inadequate |
School Overall |
16-19 |
|
How effective, efficient and inclusive is the provision of education, integrated care and any extended services in meeting the needs of learners? |
1 |
1 |
|
How well does the school work in partnership with others to promote learners' well-being? |
1 |
1 |
|
The effectiveness of the school's self-evaluation |
1 |
1 |
|
The capacity to make any necessary improvements |
1 |
1 |
|
Effective steps have been taken to promote improvement since the last inspection |
Yes |
Yes |
|
How well do learners achieve? |
1 |
1 |
|
The standards1 reached by learners |
1 |
1 |
|
How well learners make progress, taking account of any significant variations between groups of learners |
1 |
1 |
|
How well learners with learning difficulties and disabilities make progress |
2 |
|
How good is the overall personal development and well-being of the learners? |
1 |
1 |
|
The extent of learners' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development |
1 |
|
|
The behaviour of learners |
2 |
|
|
The attendance of learners |
1 |
|
|
How well learners enjoy their education |
1 |
|
|
The extent to which learners adopt safe practices |
1 |
|
|
The extent to which learners adopt healthy lifestyles |
1 |
|
|
The extent to which learners make a positive contribution to the community |
1 |
|
|
How well learners develop workplace and other skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being |
1 |
|
How effective are teaching and learning in meeting the full range of the learners' needs? |
2 |
2 |
|
How well do the curriculum and other activities meet the range of needs and interests of learners? |
1 |
1 |
|
How well are learners cared for, guided and supported? |
1 |
1 |
Annex A
|
How effective are leadership and management in raising achievement and supporting all learners? |
1 |
1 |
|
Howeffectivelyleadersandmanagersatalllevelssetclear direction leading to improvement and promote high qualityof care and education |
1 |
|
|
How effectively performance is monitored, evaluated and improved to meet challenging targets |
1 |
|
|
How well equality of opportunity is promoted and discrimination tackled so that all learners achieve as well as they can |
1 |
|
|
How effectively and efficiently resources, including staff, are deployed to achieve value for money |
1 |
|
|
The extent to which governors and other supervisory boards discharge their responsibilities |
1 |
|
|
Do procedures for safeguarding learners meet current government requirements? |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Does this school require special measures? |
No |
|
|
Does this school require a notice to improve? |
No |