Response to Section 5

General Comments on the Report

The Report is extremely positive and I feel accurately reflects the situation at Eltham College. The Recommendations are most useful and are in those areas which we would acknowledge needed some attention:

The appraisal of the Master in charge of the Junior School had identified the need for the appointment of a Senior Management Team. In the Senior School, the Inspection Team had difficulty accepting a slightly different management structure following the side-ways move of the Director of Studies - the subdivision of this post did not fit the normal template of ISI schools. However, the new structure has had little time to settle in yet, and the Team were right to identify some inconsistencies between academic departments, which should be addressed in the near future.

Generally the Inspection was a very positive and constructive experience, appreciated by pupils, parents and the staff alike: the Inspectors were generous in their comments and certainly seemed to enjoy the visit - a number reflected that they would have liked to work at Eltham College.

Junior School

1.       Develop and monitor the use of ICT across the school and the curriculum, specifically in relation to pupils' individual research:
The appointment of a Curriculum Co-ordinator with responsibility for developing and maintaining the use of ICT across the school has been made. In addition, the Junior School has moved to a 45 period week to allow for the discrete teaching of ICT skills, thereby facilitating and enabling the better planning and teaching of ICT through subjects across the curriculum. The establishment of an intranet of web-linked resources will, it is expected, provide opportunities for pupils to engage in individual research appropriate to the curriculum topics they are studying.

2.       Develop consistent induction procedures for new staff and create management roles in the areas of curriculum planning and assessment:
The appointment of a Years 5 & 6 Co-ordinator and an Assessment Co-ordinator, in addition to the Curriculum Co-ordinator and a Years 3 & 4 Co-ordinator already in place, will provide for a more consistent and better managed approach to the induction of new staff. These management roles will also have a positive impact on the planning of the curriculum and how it is assessed.

3.       Ensure the marking policy is consistently applied, to identify areas where assessment is used to good effect in planning and to spread good practice across the school:
The Curriculum Co-ordinator, in conjunction with Year Group Co-ordinators and the Assessment Co-ordinator, will more effectively target and police the issues of 'policy into practice' on a regular basis. In this way staff awareness of policies and the implementation thereof will facilitate the spread of good practice across the Junior School.

Senior School

1.       Ensure that expectations for academic development are met by:

o        Clarifying the accountability of Heads of Department.
Following the departure of the Director of Studies, the school structure changed with the appointment of a Director of Assessment and a Curriculum Co-ordinator. This structure is currently in its first year, and as with most changes, we are gradually establishing the principles by which the new system works. Heads of Department are appraised by the Senior Teacher and the Headmaster, and are directly accountable through this line of management. The Director of Assessment and the Curriculum Co-ordinators are working with Heads of Department on their respective fields, and are establishing their value as facilitators to the Middle Management.

It is likely that when the Senior Master retires in two or three years' time, the Senior Management Team will be restructured again with the appointment of the more traditional post of Director of Studies. N.B. This has happened in 2008.

o        Regular monitoring of progress, particularly in the carrying out of new initiatives.
The Academic, Pastoral and ICT Committees are charged not only with exploring new developments, but also with a regular review of recent initiatives. This will become an essential part of their working, and reports to the Governors will include a review of developments for their information. Similarly, the whole staff INSET day on school self-evaluation was considered most productive and we shall build a cut-down version of this into our biennial INSET programme for the whole school.

Health and Safety

There were no matters of health and safety to which to respond.

P J Henderson
Headmaster

September 2007