Head praises 'fantastic' students after Ofsted report

Principal Rob Corbett and some of the Ifield Community College students

Following a two-day inspection, Ifield Community College received a ‘good’ rating in four of the five key areas.

Rob Corbett, who joined the school in September 2014, eight months after it had been told to improve, said the judgement was a “fair reflection of the progress that the school has made”.

In his report, lead inspector Christopher Lee said there had been greater consistency in teaching and learning since Mr Corbett’s arrival, which was reflected in the improvements in the progress made by pupils in their GCSEs.

In 2017, the progress made by Year 11 students in GCSE English and maths was in line with the national average.

In addition, “effective” action was being taken to ensure students made stronger progress in science.

Pupils who started Year 7 below the national standards in English and maths were seen to be making good progress. One parent said: “Since the headteacher has joined, the school has improved wonderfully and works well with keeping parents informed.”

Mr Lee’s report praised the “warm and professional relationships” teachers had with students, which he said had led to a “productive atmosphere”.

The majority of children were seen to respect their teachers, paying attention in lessons and taking care with their work.

When it came to the personal development, behaviour and welfare of the children, Mr Lee gave a rating of ‘requires improvement’.

His report explained that, while attendance was seen to be improving, it was still below the national average.

In addition, while most pupils behaved well and were keen to learn, in a few lessons, particularly languages, some did not behave well enough.

Mr Corbett said, “The judgement of ‘good’ is a fair reflection of the progress that the school has made. I am grateful to all my colleagues for their hard work and dedication.

“A school is entirely dependant on its staff body and I am fortunate to have such a high-quality team.

“I feel that our fantastic students deserve nothing less than this recognition for their efforts.

"We have been in consultation with staff, students and parents on our new three-year plan to further improve the school and become the school of choice for all parents.”

To read the report, log on to Ofsted's website.