Whitworth Community High School exemplary safeguarding

Whitworth Community High School Head Teacher, Gill Middlemas

An Ofsted monitoring inspection at Whitworth Community High School described the work the school does to keep its students safe as ‘exemplary’.

On 3 December, inspectors visited the school to discuss the effectiveness of safeguarding arrangements.

Meetings were held with the Head Teacher, Deputy Head Teacher, teachers and pastoral staff, students, a parent governor and Chairman of Governors.

Records were scrutinised, students observed during break and parental responses considered.

Inspector Anne Seneviratne wrote to say that throughout the school: “The welfare and safeguarding of pupils are a very high priority for leaders and all staff.

“When challenging situations arise, staff in school possess the necessary skills to handle these effectively, ensuring that the needs of the most vulnerable pupils are met.

“This is a school that values individuals, recognising that everyone is different but equal. This creates an environment in which pupils feel safe and comfortable.

“The pupils we spoke to during the inspection, particularly those in Years 10 and 11, are very positive and proud of their school.

“They demonstrate a deeply embedded respect for other people and value the way their education is preparing them for later life.

“One pupil described the school as ‘really civilised’, and another said, ‘it feels like a big family’.”

Head Teacher Gill Middlemas said: “ We are delighted that inspectors recognised the excellent work which goes on every day in our school to ensure students’ wellbeing, and that the report celebrates that safeguarding is at the heart of all we do.’’

The report recognised that ‘the code of respect, upon which the culture at Whitworth is based, informs the way all pupils and staff conduct themselves’ and concluded that for further improvement the governing body’s systems and procedures for strategic monitoring and evaluation should be sharpened. This will enable governors to challenge and support leaders further in the good work they do in all aspects of safeguarding.

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