Eirias High School

Overview

Eirias High School is described as a “caring and inclusive community” where pupils’ emotional well-being is a key priority, resulting in positive relationships and respectful behaviour. The school is “well led” with clear accountability, though leaders do not always evaluate the impact of provision on pupil standards precisely enough. While teaching is effective in many instances, there are specific concerns regarding attendance for disadvantaged pupils and the development of key skills.

Strengths

• The school provides a “welcoming environment” where most pupils feel safe and have access to trusted adults.
• Leaders have successfully created a “strong culture for safeguarding” and work well with outside agencies.
• Staff professional development is a strength, fostering a “culture of reflection” that leads to effective teaching and secure progress in subject skills.
• There is a “wide and varied range of extra-curricular trips and clubs,” with particularly high participation in sports.
• Sixth form pupils “contribute well to the life of the school” and generally make strong progress.

Areas to improve

• Improve provision for the progressive development of pupils’ literacy and digital skills, as opportunities for advanced reading and extended writing are insufficient.
• Strengthen improvement processes to focus sharply on the impact of learning opportunities on the development of pupils’ skills.
• Improve the quality and impact of assessment and feedback, which is currently not precise enough to support improvement.
• Improve the attendance of pupils who are eligible for free school meals.
• Address the health and safety concerns shared with the school during the inspection.

Safeguarding

Leaders have successfully created a “strong culture for safeguarding” within the school, ensuring most pupils feel safe, although a few health and safety matters were raised during the inspection.