A new Oxford secondary school is appealing against its Ofsted rating after it was found to be outstanding in four out of five areas but only 'good' for quality of education.
It meant the overall grading for The Swan School in Marston was 'good' — a judgement that the school has appealed against.
The school in Marston Ferry Road became the first completely new secondary school in Oxford in more than half a century when it opened in 2019.
It was inspected for the first time at the start of September by national education standards body Ofsted.
Inspectors found it to be outstanding in behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and sixth-form provision.
But it was rated 'good' in quality of education.
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In a letter to parents, headteacher Kay Wood said: “We believe that the quality of education at our school is also outstanding, however with no GCSE results yet, the inspectors made their decision based on a two-day inspection at the very beginning of term on our second day of curriculum lessons.
“Although Ofsted outcomes do not drive our agenda here at school, it is extremely pleasing that the report has highlighted so many fantastic aspects of the school.”
In the report, Ofsted’s inspectors said: “The school’s vision is for all pupils to succeed academically and personally.
“Pupils share this vision and are very proud of their school. They strive to ‘achieve more than they ever believed possible’.
“To support pupils to achieve this, the school has established an extremely ambitious and inclusive curriculum.
“In all year groups, pupils produce work of a high standard, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).
“The school has a vibrant culture. This is seen every day, for example at ‘family dining’ or during the ‘electives’, which provide an impressive range of enrichment sessions.
“Pupils’ behaviour is excellent in lessons and at social times. Pupils are proud of the school’s inclusive culture. Pupils feel happy, safe and valued at school.”
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The Swan is part of River Learning Trust (RLT), a multi-academy trust that operates 28 schools in Oxfordshire and Swindon.
RLT chief executive Paul James said: “We are immensely proud of the work that Kay and her team have done to make The Swan an exceptional and inclusive school.
“It is everything we hoped it would be when we opened it back in 2019.
“There is lots in the media about Ofsted ratings at the moment.
"The work we do in schools is so important that it is right that we have a regulator.
"But it is also right that there should be consideration of whether single-word judgements are the best approach.”
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