Dear Parents and Carers

I hope you managed to dodge the rain clouds over the weekend and were able to enjoy some of the King’s coronation and participate in local events. With one thing and another, it has been an unusual term and hard to believe that it is half term in just two weeks’ time.

Ofsted Update

It was so helpful and encouraging to receive so many emails and messages of support last week as we welcomed an Ofsted inspection to our school. Your children may have told you about my assembly with them all on Tuesday morning. I was able to share the inspectors’ descriptions of your children’s manner and conduct across both days, and their confidence and willingness to talk to them about their life at our school. Our students fully engaged in the request to complete the survey and I am pleased that so many of you found time to do so as well. The Lead Inspector asked me to thank the students for their willingness to engage in the process and make the team feel so welcome.

For those who are interested in the details, the inspection team carried out a ‘deep dive’ of three subjects: English, modern foreign languages and geography. In addition, they explored our SEND, personal development and extra-curricular provision, and carried out the routines checks on safeguarding procedures, attendance and behaviour. Lessons were visited, a wide range of staff spoke to the inspectors, students were asked about their lessons and experiences whilst in the classroom, whilst others took part in separate student voice sessions as well.  Inspectors wandered the corridors between lessons, and visited our dining areas and playgrounds at break and lunch. Their goal was to seek to understand what it is like to learn, teach and care at CNS.

The outcome of the inspection will be shared in several weeks’ time. I believe we shall receive the report just after half term and I will forward that to you without delay. The report will then be made available to the general public one week later.

Good luck to our Year 11s and 13s…

Meanwhile, we have the important job in hand of ensuring that we again do right by our year 11s and year 13s! The examination season is again upon us and we kick off with GCSE philosophy & ethics on Monday for some, and GCSE biology for all, on Tuesday. Whilst we were blessed with that three-day weekend after Ofsted, we are very focussed on ensuing every year group is as engaged and successful as possible as we approach term six.

Yours faithfully
Barry Doherty
Headteacher