Harlington Upper School celebrates good Ofsted result

A Harlington school has been told its exam results reflect the good quality of teaching, in its latest Ofsted report.

Harlington Upper School was rated ‘good’ after an inspection in November last year.

Lead inspector Al Mistrano, said: “In the main, pupils enjoy their time in school. They have confidence that the school wants the best for them educationally. Pupils generally learn well and reach the high expectations of the school. In the sixth form, teachers and students develop effective partnerships, which ensures that students achieve well. Published examination results reflect the good quality of education pupils receive at this school.

“There have been notable improvements in pupils’ behaviour over time. Expectations have been raised, and most pupils routinely respond positively to this. In lessons, pupils follow the routines set by their teachers and generally focus on their learning.

“While there remains some boisterous behaviour and examples of inappropriate language used when pupils are moving around school or socialising, careful monitoring of this shows that pupils feel this is improving. Pupils think there are aspects of the new behaviour expectations that can be strict, but they believe they are making the school a better place.”

He said the curriculum was ambitious, with a rise in the number of pupils entering for the English Baccalaureate and more children choosing to study foreign languages.

“The school provides teachers with useful guidance to implement the curriculum in a logical order. Teachers use this support consistently well so that pupils develop a good understanding of what they are learning. Teachers review with pupils what has been taught. This helps pupils to remember important subject knowledge over time,” he said.

But he added some parents had issues with the behaviour policy at the school and the school has not ensured that parents have a clear understanding of the rationale behind what changes were being made, and why.

“Behaviour is much improved,” he said. “However, a small minority of pupils do not follow the school’s expectations of behaviour during social times. They do not apply what they learn about behaving acceptably. A significant minority of parents feel that the behaviour policy is unfair and unhelpful in dealing with anti-social behaviour.

"A small number of pupils do not meet the school’s expectations for behaviour at social times. This means that, on occasion, boisterous behaviour, name calling, and inappropriate language are used by some pupils. While the behaviour of most pupils has improved, strategies have not worked for this small cohort. The school must continue its work to ensure that all pupils understand and comply with the school’s expectations for behaviour, ensuring that strategies to improve behaviour at social times are effective.”

And he had praise for the governors. “The governing body and trust board have experienced significant changes. Governors have made improvements to their practice. Increasingly, they are holding leaders to account. A broad range of measures to communicate with parents are in place, and many parents are noticing the improvements being made.

“Staff are proud of the improvements made. They appreciate leaders’ efforts to manage their workload.”

Headteacher Helen Harris said: “We are pleased that Ofsted continue to recognise that Harlington Upper is a Good school.”

The full report can be found on the Ofsted website.