The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. As headteacher, you provide clear leadership and vision and are well respected by staff, pupils and sixth formers. You have secured very productive working relationships with staff, governors and parents and offer firstclass leadership. Together with senior leaders, you have introduced a range of new systems and overseen improvements since the previous inspection. Parents, pupils and sixth formers are rightly proud of Steyning Grammar School and all that it achieves. Since your appointment three years ago, together with governors you have addressed areas of underperformance. You have made new appointments to the senior leadership team with the clear aim of raising standards of teaching, learning and assessment. The school vision, ‘Every person the best they can be’ is widely shared by pupils and staff and creates an aspirational culture. Steyning Grammar School is rapidly improving because of the inspirational leadership that you and your team provide. Parents, governors and the local authority praise your leadership, as one parent explained: ‘My child has had an excellent journey through the school. The headteacher and his team are passionate about learning and a learning culture underpinned by the school’s character education enables students to flourish.’ During your last inspection, the inspectors recognised the many strengths of your school including: senior leaders’ high expectations; governors’ contribution to leadership and the achievement of pupils and sixth formers. These continue to be key strengths of the school. Leadership of the sixth form is particularly strong. In 2013, inspectors identified a need to: improve the quality of teaching and the use of assessment information in some subject areas; and focus on improving questioning and ensure that better use of time is made in lessons. Leaders and governors have responded well to these areas for improvement. Middle leaders now work well together to bring about improvements by sharing planning, resources and training opportunities across the school. In addition, senior leaders regularly check the quality of teaching and have provided teachers with appropriate resources and training that have ensured pupils make stronger progress in languages and humanities. You are aware that more needs to be done to reduce inconsistencies in the quality of teaching still further, particularly in English and technology. Leaders and governors are justly proud of the school’s focus on opportunities to build character from Year 7 through to Year 13. This focus on the development of wider skills, coupled with the Christian ethos of the school and a clear promotion of equalities, ensures strong provision for spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. Parents recognise and value the well-rounded education that the school provides. Governors are a dedicated team with a detailed understanding of the school and they bring a range of professional skills to support leadership. They are kept well informed through regular visits to the school and via leaders’ accurate tracking and assessment information. They offer robust levels of challenge to areas such as achievement and recently have begun a closer scrutiny of the effectiveness of systems designed to improve the attendance of disadvantaged pupils. Your improvement planning identifies the correct priorities for further improvement and you have initiated a wide range of activities to achieve them. You have prioritised raising standards in English and are aware that there is more to be done to ensure greater consistency of challenge, particularly for the most able pupils. Recently, there have been improvements to overall attendance. However, disadvantaged pupils’ attendance needs to rise further. More needs to be done to ensure that your self-evaluation is firmly rooted in evidence, enabling your action plans to prioritise the most effective actions needed to continue to improve attendance and outcomes for some groups of pupils. Safeguarding is effective. You, your staff and governors rightly place a high emphasis on pupils’ safety and welfare. All safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose; there is a caring culture of vigilance and detailed record-keeping. Appropriate checks are made against all adults who work with pupils and accurate logs are maintained. Staff receive regular and relevant training on safeguarding, with appropriate focus on maintaining awareness of radicalisation and e-safety. Regular communication between key staff in school and other organisations ensures timely and effective support for pupils of concern and reviews of the impact of any actions taken. Staff, pupils and parents report that pupils feel safe and well looked after at Steyning Grammar School. While the school is large and on a split site, most pupils reported that staff know them well and they feel well cared for. Pupils told us they know who to go to should they have any concerns and trust adults to resolve any issues that may arise. Inspection findings During this visit, as well as evaluating safeguarding arrangements the inspection team focused on specific aspects of the school’s provision including: - the quality of teaching, particularly in English and modern foreign languages - how well disadvantaged pupils and pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities make progress from their starting points - attendance and exclusion rates for key groups of pupils - how effectively the sixth form meets the requirements of the 16 to 19 study pathways to ensure that all pupils, particularly the most able, make strong progress.