Queen Eleanor's Church of England School

Overview

Queen Eleanor’s Church of England School continues to be a good school, characterised by a “caring and friendly” ethos where pupils are “happy and feel safe.” Leaders maintain high expectations, ensuring pupils achieve well across the curriculum, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The school fosters strong community links and promotes values of “honesty, trust, kindness and respect.”

Strengths

• Pupils behave well, with bullying occurring “very rarely” and incidents dealt with quickly by staff.
• Staff ensure the needs of pupils with SEND are met “very well,” using timely interventions that are “highly effective.”
• The curriculum for personal, social, health and economic education is “well-planned,” including age-appropriate relationship and sex education.
• Leaders have reduced teacher workload, allowing staff to focus on activities that bring the “greatest benefits to their pupils.”
• Pupils are “very keen to learn,” follow instructions eagerly, and there is “very little disruption” in lessons.

Areas to improve

• In some subjects, leaders have not planned the curriculum sequence carefully enough, resulting in pupils remembering only “disconnected facts.”
• Teachers have not always fully understood the purpose of learning activities, meaning some are not used as effectively as intended.
• Leaders are less clear on how aspects of pupils’ wider development come together into a “coherent and purposeful curriculum.”

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective, with staff well trained to identify risks and designated leads being “tenacious in ensuring that pupils get the help that they need.”