Ofsted Letter (January 2019)

We are  delighted to be able to share the letter we have received from Ofsted following our short inspection on 10th January 2019. 

The letter, addressed to Mr Grant, is not a report. It summarises the inspectors’ findings from the one day ‘health check’ visit and therefore cannot change the current judgment of being a ‘good’ school. However, it is a very positive read which does, I believe, capture the essence of Sackville well.

Highlights include powerful statements such as:-

  • “Students make strong progress across all subjects”
  • “Students are well mannered, good humoured and very welcoming, They are loyal to, and proud of, their school.”
  • “There is a tangible sense of purpose and commitment to every student having a successful and happy experience of education”
  • “(The school has) continued to develop and strengthen senior and middle leadership”
  • “Teachers go above and beyond on a regular basis”
  • “(The school has) created an ethos that allows every child to be valued”

These are just a few examples of a multitude of strongly positive comments throughout the letter.
Ofsted has asked us to continue working hard with those students in receipt of free school meals (referred to as pupil premium by Sackville and disadvantaged by Ofsted) in trying to narrow the gap between their progress and attendance and that of all students. We are at the national average, and above the West Sussex average, in this respect but nevertheless we are determined to keep using the strategies which they rightly praise to bring about further improvement. They commended our revised personal, social and health education programme in the lower years and this will be further embedded in the higher years. Finally, they asked us to take care over consistency in marking with regards to literacy.

No subjects were considered worthy of an action point which is fantastic; a real tribute to our results which feature very proudly in the national school performance tables.