Inspection Reports

Inspection reports are an important aspect of deciding which school is right for your child and provide an independent audit of the school’s provision of education, leadership, management and pastoral care.  State schools are inspected by Ofsted and Independent schools by the ISI Independent Schools Inspectorate.  In reports, ISI Inspectors use the term “excellent” and Ofsted use the term “Outstanding”  as the highest accolade.

Download our latest ISI Inspection Report 2011 here.  The main findings of the report are summarised here:

“Pupils of all abilities and ages achieve well.  They make good progress, exceptional in some cases, enabled by good, often excellent teaching and an excellent curriculum and programme of activities.  Many pupils achieve exceptional standards in art.  Pupils are good learners, working together with others very successfully and thriving when teaching encourages them to employ their highly developed sense of personal responsibility in their learning.

The pupils’ personal development is excellent.  They show high levels of spiritual development in response to the school’s Quaker ethos, particularly self-esteem and a natural confidence.  Pupils demonstrate a strong moral awareness, with a particularly acute sense of fairness and justice.  Their social skills are highly developed.  Their cultural awareness is very well developed, encouraged by the many cultures represented in the school community. Pupils are supported by excellent pastoral care.  Mutual respect is a hallmark of relationships across all ages in the community.”

As part of the ISI Inspection, the school’s boarding facilities are inspected by Ofsted.  Download our latest Boarding School Inspection Report 2011 here.  A summary of the report can be found here:

“Boarding is an integral feature of school life at Sidcot and boarding staff work hard to create a friendly, homely atmosphere in a warm and comfortable environment. Students have a very strong voice within the school and are encouraged to challenge and ask questions. Staff take a caring and nurturing approach and state that their aim is to build up each individual’s self-esteem and to help students to achieve their full potential.

The promotion of equality and diversity is good throughout all the standards inspected. Students play an active part in the school’s community and are able to bring about changes in boarding practice. All boarding houses are also decorated in a way which reflects the many different cultures of the students who live within them.”