The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. You and other leaders continue to foster a friendly, safe and secure environment. Pupils are well behaved, polite and thoughtful, and respectful towards each other. Pupils are proud of their achievements and speak highly of the variety of opportunities you offer them. They enjoy school and work hard in lessons. You and other leaders are proud of your staff and pupils. You are passionate about striving to improve the standards and outcomes for all pupils. Along with senior leaders, you ensure that all pupils continue to make good progress. Your staff have strong knowledge of the individual needs of pupils, and demonstrate a high level of commitment and care. You have successfully introduced new ideas and strategies which have addressed the areas for improvement from the last inspection, and you have an accurate view of the effectiveness of your school. You recognise the areas that could be further improved and have plans in place to address them. These include the careers education opportunities that pupils have, and the way pupils’ progress is monitored for older pupils. Governors are well informed and know the school very well. They, too, are very passionate about achieving the best possible outcomes and opportunities for pupils. Parents and carers are very positive about the school, with one parent stating: ‘My daughter’s quality of life has rocketed sky high since coming here.’ Safeguarding is effective. Leaders have ensured that all safeguarding arrangements in the school are fit for purpose. You and your team all have a clear understanding of safeguarding procedures. You have developed effective communication systems within school, between the school and any colleges that pupils attend, and with outside agencies. These systems ensure that any safeguarding concerns are noticed and dealt with as soon as possible so that pupils remain safe. This is a caring school in which pupils feel safe and secure. Trusting relationships mean that pupils know who to go to for help with any concerns. Pupils have a good level of awareness of how to keep themselves safe, including when online. Inspection findings Pupils make good progress during their time at the school, both academically and personally. You and other leaders make sure that lessons are interesting and engaging and that they are tailored to meet the individual needs of pupils. As a result, pupils understand the work and enjoy their learning. Individual, personalised ‘next step’ targets help pupils to achieve their personal potential. Pupils feel that staff help them to achieve more than they expected of themselves. In the words of one of your pupils, ‘Staff are pushing pupils in the right direction.’ The system you have developed to monitor pupils’ progress up to the end of Year 9 is effective and thorough. You recognise that systems to monitor the progress of older pupils could be improved and you have already started to address this. Leaders at all levels contribute their ideas, and work hard to develop and further improve the school. Leaders and staff work together as a team to make sure that all pupils reach their potential. The friendly and encouraging approach of staff successfully supports pupils and encourages them to try hard and do their best. Governors visit regularly and are very involved in the life of the school. They confidently challenge and provide support to you and other leaders. Along with governors and other leaders, you are reflective and insightful. You have a wealth of school information and data about a variety of subjects such as pupils’ progress, attendance and behaviour. You recognise the need to refine the way you use this school information so that it is effective in helping you to make school improvements. Older pupils appreciate and enjoy the subjects and accredited courses they are able to study. One pupil stated that the best thing about school was ‘getting the qualifications you need to get a job when you’re older’. Pupils have varied opportunities to develop vocational learning and work-related skills. A group of pupils who had just returned from a farm talked excitedly about their day’s activities, which included bottle-feeding lambs and weighing pigs. Leaders realise that careers education and practical learning options could be increased in order that all pupils have appropriate opportunities. They are considering different ways to achieve this. Next steps for the school Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that: leaders at all levels use school information effectively so that it is useful in informing school developments careers education is further developed to ensure that all pupils have the same level of opportunity. I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children’s services for West Sussex. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website. Yours sincerely Maxine McDonald-Taylor Ofsted Inspector Information about the inspection Inspectors met with you and other leaders. We visited lessons on both sites and in a range of subjects with your assistant headteachers. We met with a group of pupils on the college site to hear their views about their school. We also spoke to some pupils in class and looked through their work. We held meetings with key staff about the monitoring of pupils’ progress, the curriculum and accreditations, and safeguarding. I met with members of the school’s governing body, spoke with a representative from the local authority, and considered responses to Ofsted’s pupil, staff and parent surveys. Inspectors scrutinised a wide range of the school’s documentation and a selection of pupils’ work.