South Chingford Foundation School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school The executive principal shares a strong sense of direction and ambition for the school with senior leaders and governors. Firm and insightful leadership supports staff and pupils to bring about improvements in all aspects of their work.

Senior leaders provide highly effective training for staff. As a result, teaching is good in most subjects because staff are committed to continually improving their practice. Positive relationships between teachers and pupils underpin engaging and effective learning.

Pupils are proud of their school. They behave well around the school and in lessons. They are cheerful, polite, helpful and very supportive ...of each other.

Gaps in achievement between different groups of pupils currently in the school have either closed or are closing rapidly. The progress made by disadvantaged pupils is better than it was in the previous inspection. Parents and staff are overwhelmingly positive about the school's work and the changes brought about by senior leaders and governors to improve the school further.

They recognise that it offers a caring and compassionate community where pupils are kept safe and their welfare matters greatly. Learners make good progress in the sixth form as a result of good teaching and strong leadership. It is not yet an outstanding school because : The school's policy on teacher feedback to pupils is not consistently implemented.

The most-able disadvantaged pupils do not achieve well enough in lessons when work is not matched appropriately to their ability.

Information about this school

This is a smaller than average-sized secondary school. The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic groups is high, the largest groups being from White British and Other White backgrounds, with the next biggest group being from Black African or Caribbean backgrounds.

The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is high. The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs or disability or have an education, health and care plan is below the national average. The proportion of disadvantaged pupils supported by pupil premium funding is above national average.

The pupil premium is additional government funding to support those pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals and those children that are looked after by the local authority. The school meets the government's current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils' attainment and progress. Since the previous inspection there have been a number of appointments to leadership positions.