Bishop Vaughan School

Overview

Bishop Vaughan R.C. School is described as having a "caring, inclusive ethos" that is "highly successful in developing pupils’ spiritual, social, moral and cultural values." The report states that the school provides "valuable support and guidance" which impacts strongly on wellbeing, while noting that performance at key stage 4 generally compares well with similar schools despite many pupils entering with low literacy and numeracy levels.

Strengths

• The school fosters a strong sense of community and is "highly successful in developing pupils’ spiritual, social, moral and cultural values."
• Teaching quality is "good," with teachers creating an "inclusive and positive learning environment" and maintaining high expectations that inspire pupil resilience.
• Leadership at all levels contributes successfully to a "shared commitment to achieving the school’s aims and ambitions."
• There are "strong arrangements for the care, support and guidance of vulnerable pupils," including effective on-site centres for those at risk of disengagement.
• The curriculum is carefully adapted to meet diverse needs, with effective provision for developing literacy skills and supporting more able pupils through external links.

Areas to improve

• Improve the standard of pupils’ numeracy and ICT skills across the curriculum, and their use of Welsh.
• Strengthen the rigour of self-evaluation and the precision of improvement planning.
• Provide robust financial management to address the deficit budget.

Safeguarding

The report states that the school’s arrangements for safeguarding pupils "meet requirements and give no cause for concern."