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INSPECTION REPORT ON |
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Marymount International School |
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Full Name of the School |
Marymount International
School |
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DfES Number |
314/6058 |
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Registered Charity Number |
228365 |
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Address |
George
Road, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey, KT2 7PE. |
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Telephone Number |
020
8949 0571 |
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Fax Number |
020
8336 2485 |
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Email Address |
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Headmistress |
Sister
Kathleen Fagan |
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Chairman of Governors |
Sister
Rosamond Blanchet |
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10
– 19 Years |
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Gender |
Girls |
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Inspection Dates |
5th
- 8th February, 2007 |
This inspection report follows the framework laid down by the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI). The inspection was carried out under the arrangements of the Independent Schools Council (ISC) Associations for the maintenance and improvement of the quality of their membership. It was also carried out under Section 162A(1)(b) of the Education Act 2002, as amended by the Education Act 2005, under the provisions of which the Secretary of State for Education and Skills has accredited ISI as the body approved for the purpose of inspecting schools belonging to ISC Associations and reporting on compliance with the Education (Independent School Standards) (England) Regulations 2003.
The inspection was not carried out in conjunction with the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) and the report does not contain specific judgements on the National Minimum Boarding Standards. It comments on the progress made by the school in meeting the recommendations set out in the most recent statutory boarding inspection and evaluates the quality of the boarding experience and its contribution to pupils’ education and development in general. The full CSCI report can be found at www.csci.org.uk.
The inspection does not examine the financial viability of the school or investigate its accounting procedures. The inspectors check the school’s health and safety procedures and comment on any significant hazards they encounter: they do not carry out an exhaustive health and safety examination. Their inspection of the premises is from an educational perspective and does not include in-depth examination of the structural condition of the school, its services or other physical features.
1.1
1.2 The school’s aims are based on the mission of the founding religious order – the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary - ‘that all may have life’ (John 10:10). The school mission states that: ‘Marymount offers a strong academic programme based on the International Baccalaureate curricula to meet the needs of its international student body, thus providing a unique environment of cultural exchange and understanding’. The school is dedicated to ‘educating pupils to be responsible, compassionate and caring members of the world community with skills which will enable them to think creatively, reason critically, communicate effectively and learn continuously.’
1.3
The school is situated on a
seven-acre campus in a private residential area in north-east Surrey, twelve
miles from central
1.4 Since the time of the last inspection 6 years ago, the school has increased in size. Currently the roll is 233 girls, including 93 in the sixth form, with 101 full or weekly boarders and 132 day girls. New facilities have been provided over the past 6 years. These include upgraded electronic systems throughout the school, additional information and communication technology (ICT) facilities and improved social areas in boarding accommodation.
1.5 Girls enter the school at age 11, occasionally 10, in Year 7, the school’s 6th Grade. Pupils join from a very wide range of schools from this country and from abroad. Entrance into the school is dependent upon a successful interview, and suitable academic reports and recommendation from girls’ current schools. Additional girls join the school at different times during the year. This has resulted in a year group of 14 in the present Year 7 and 46 in Year 11. Each year about a third of the girls leave at the end of Year 11, but more than this join the sixth form from other schools.
1.6
Evidence indicates that the
girls in Years 7 to 11 have a very wide range of prior attainment and their
average ability is comparable to the national average. If the girls performed in line with their
abilities, their results would be broadly in line with the average for all
maintained schools in
1.7 The school provides additional educational support for about a tenth of the girls who have been identified with dyslexia or other additional needs. No girls have statements of special educational need.
1.8 The only external examinations taken by the girls are the Diploma examinations of the International Baccalaureate at age 18 in Year 13. At the age of 16, girls complete personal assignments that are moderated by the International Baccalaureate Organisation (IBO) on a two-yearly basis.
1.9 National Curriculum nomenclature is used throughout this report to refer to year groups in the school. The year group nomenclature used by the school and its National Curriculum (NC) equivalence are shown in the following table.
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School |
NC name |
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Grade 6 |
Year 7 |
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Grade 7 |
Year 8 |
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Grade 8 |
Year 9 |
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Grade 9 |
Year 10 |
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Grade 10 |
Year 11 |
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Grade 11 |
Year 12 |
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Grade 12 |
Year 13 |
The Educational Experience Provided
2.1 Marymount provides an educational experience that is consistent with its aims. The school’s philosophy ‘that all may have life and have it to the full’ is interpreted through the breadth of the MYP and Diploma programmes of the IBO, religious education for all and a non-selective admissions policy. The sound educational experience provided indicates that satisfactory progress has been made in the curriculum since the last inspection.
2.2 The curriculum contributes effectively to the linguistic, mathematical, scientific, technological, human and social, physical, aesthetic and creative development of girls. Literacy skills are promoted very effectively. Girls have many opportunities to express themselves and develop their presentation skills through class discussion and group work, and as part of the theory of knowledge component of the IB. As a result of access to good computer facilities in non-lesson times, opportunities for skill development in ICT are good. The promotion of numeracy skills is adequate.
2.3 A principle tenet of the MYP, taught in Years 7 to 11, is an emphasis on the scope and importance of links between subjects, providing a global view of situations and issues. Whilst the content of the MYP is intrinsically interesting and worthwhile and curriculum planning includes some cross-curricular references, collaboration between subject specialists is insufficient to ensure that girls come to see the acquisition of knowledge as an inter-related whole.
2.4 The IB Diploma taught in the sixth form provides an extremely demanding curriculum. Six subjects are studied, three at Higher level and three at Standard level, chosen from a balanced set of curriculum areas. Extra requirements are studying the theory of knowledge, an extended essay, and a ‘creativity, action and service’ programme. The diploma affords many girls the opportunity to include study of their native language, including Mandarin Chinese, Japanese and German. A very small number of girls opt to follow a programme leading to the American High School Diploma only.
2.5
The extra-curricular programme
offers a good range of activities at lunch time and after school. These include sporting clubs such as soccer
and basketball, opportunities to participate in major school productions,
orchestra and music ensembles, and a number of societies. The provision for girls in Years 7 to 11 has
recently been enhanced to include lunch-time clubs such as photography, chess
and current affairs. Lunchtime
arrangements are too rushed, however, with half an hour for lunch, and half an
hour for activities and time with tutors.
Girls value all the special trips and activities throughout the year,
for example a trek in
2.6
The programme to prepare girls
for their future life places emphasis on guiding applications to higher
education, primarily in the
2.7 Organisational factors place considerable demands on the school’s intention to provide all girls with appropriate access to the full curriculum. Teaching groups are mixed ability with sizes ranging from three or four girls, for example in modern foreign languages, to much larger groups, with over twenty in an economics IB class. Timetabling the curriculum poses challenges, particularly in view of the range and diversity of the linguistic background of the girls and the many subjects involved in the IB at two levels. Modern languages require grouping of some pupils across different year groups, dependent on their language ability, and joint Higher and Standard level groups are needed in some subjects. Timetable constraints lead to an imbalance of time for Higher and Standard level courses. The amount of time allocated to each Standard level subject is generous, whereas that for Higher level courses falls short of what is needed.
2.8 Departmental handbooks set out aims and list the subject matter to be taught but they lack guidance on teaching methodologies. In the absence of ability testing to inform curriculum planning, it is difficult for staff to tailor schemes of work to the individual needs of pupils, with the result that some girls are struggling with the curriculum.
2.9 Good curriculum provision is available for girls for whom English is an additional language, and for those with learning difficulties and disabilities. Girls’ standards of English are assessed on entry and each is placed in one of four groups, ranging from beginners through to those with a sound standard. This is helpful in increasing their rate of development in the language. Referral by subject teachers and nationally recognised tests are used to identify the requirements of girls with learning difficulties and disabilities. As necessary, individual education plans are drawn up to try to match the curriculum to needs.
2.10 The school meets the regulatory requirements for the curriculum [Standard 1].
Pupils’ Learning and Achievements
2.11 Girls’ learning and achievement are good. The school’s aims are met and the quality of learning at the last inspection has been maintained. Attainment in the IB taken at the end of Year 13 is good in relation to girls’ abilities. All girls, including those with learning difficulties and disabilities, and those for whom English is an additional language, receive a firm grounding of knowledge, skills and understanding in their subjects and activities. They learn to apply these effectively.
2.12 Girls are creative and think critically. In a Year 11 English class, girls showed very good skills of analysis and interpretation when asked to look at different attitudes towards ‘the autumn of life and death’ through study of a Shakespeare sonnet. By the end of Year 13, girls’ recall of complex ideas and their ability to use this information to solve problems is good.
2.13 Standardised tests have recently been introduced in Years 7 and 11, but the absence of any whole-school data from previous years means that there is no formal measure for indicating girls’ progress and academic achievement over their years at Marymount. Results in the IB have improved steadily over the past three years and are good in comparison with world averages. Subject results have varied substantially in different years, though standards in mathematics have been consistently high at Higher level and in chemistry at Standard level.
2.14 The girls achieve well as individuals and in team activities. Sports teams from the school, for example, have won various competitions in football, basketball and volleyball over the last few years. Several girls have been very successful in the Institute of Physics ‘paper clip’ event and in intermediate and senior mathematics Olympiads. A small number of girls are also representing the United Kingdom in international mathematics competitions.
2.15 The girls demonstrate good skills, and a very good attitude towards work and study. They are articulate, listen very effectively and read well and intelligently. Given the high number who do not have English as their first language, the girls’ oral literacy is remarkable. Mathematical concepts are applied effectively in mathematics classes but evidence is sparse of numerical skills being encouraged and applied in other subjects. In science and geography, girls interpret data soundly and in music they apply their knowledge of graphs effectively when learning about melodic contours. During break periods, girls show good ICT skills as they use the internet for research, word-process reports and examine numerical information using spreadsheets. Little evidence of ICT being used to enhance learning was noted in their books, although girls are encouraged to make very effective use of music software for composition work in the MYP and Diploma programmes.
2.16 In lessons and in written work, girls demonstrate an ability to reason and argue a point firmly, and to think for themselves. Their theory of knowledge essays show a tenacity of debate that indicates clear understanding of difficult ideas. Written work illustrates that the girls are adept at note-taking and organising their work effectively. Girls’ MYP personal projects on a very wide range of topics, and their IB extended essays in a selected subject of their choice, exemplify very successful independent learning skills.
2.17 Throughout the school, girls study and work effectively on their own and co-operatively with others. They show determination in pursuing their studies and enjoy their work and activities. They rise well to intellectual and other challenges, for example when a Year 9 class used their powers of deduction to identify elements in the Periodic Table from their characteristics. They learn self-discipline and self-respect, as well as respect for others.
Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural Development of Pupils
2.18 Girls’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good, with some outstanding aspects, and a strength of the school. The ethos of the school, the quality of relationships between girls and their levels of tolerance and understanding of others, show that the school achieves its aim: ‘to educate students to be compassionate and caring members of the world community.’ The high quality of the ethos has been fully maintained since the last inspection.
2.19
Girls’ spiritual development is
very strong. In religious studies, which
is taught to all, reflecting the school’s Christian ethos, girls learn to show
understanding and tolerance of other faiths, and to consider and explore their
own values and beliefs. Girls in Year 11
researched, and then debated with sensitivity, how easy or difficult it would
be to create a multi-faith centre in
2.20
Girls have a clear moral sense
and understand the difference between right and wrong. They are aware of the effects of their
behaviour on others and value community life.
The girls perceive the discipline and sanctions policy as firm but fair. They understand the need to respect school
rules but find it confusing that members of staff have different ways of
interpreting them. Girls become
increasingly confident in discussing the moral dilemmas facing young people in
the world today, particularly in the PSHCE and theory of knowledge
programmes. A good sense of morality was
also apparent, for
example in English, where girls debated ethical issues and made personal moral
judgements.
2.21 Girls develop very well socially. As they progress through the school, girls become increasingly aware of their role as members of a community both within and outside the school. They value opportunities to take on responsibilities and carry them out to the best of their ability. Form and class representatives, under the guidance of the president of the student council (elected by the student body), play a well-defined and important role in the daily routine of the school. They organise social events for the girls and oversee the student newspaper. The girls involved say they feel valued and respected for what they do and hence take their role very seriously. Only one assembly takes place each week, however, reducing the number of opportunities when the whole school can interact socially and value the contributions that staff and girls are making. Relationships are excellent between girls of a very wide range of backgrounds. The girls exhibit excellent manners and are very well behaved.
2.22 Girls demonstrate an acute appreciation of, and respect for, their own and other cultures, promoting tolerance and harmony between different traditions. They spoke with enthusiasm about school events, for example an international day, when the varied backgrounds of the community are celebrated, confirming one of the school’s fundamental tenets that ‘there is great unity in diversity’. Girls for whom English is an additional language appreciate the arrangements made for them. They enjoy learning new cultural ideas from their peers but also celebrating their own traditions and backgrounds in groups where they speak in their mother tongue. All girls gain further understanding through various cultural appreciation visits, for example an African music and dance workshop for the middle years, and a visit to the Jewish museum for girls studying The Diary of Anne Frank. The girls were able to speak to two surviving members of the Holocaust and immerse themselves in Jewish culture. Understanding of cultural issues is also enhanced in PSHCE, theory of knowledge and English lessons, as well as other activities such as the school’s Gamelan orchestra. The girls’ involvement with the Kingston Youth Council helps to increase their understanding of multi-cultural issues within the local community.
2.23 The school meets the regulatory requirements for the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils [Standard 2].
The Quality of Teaching (Including Assessment)
2.24 The quality of most teaching is good, helping girls to make effective progress in their learning. The school’s aim to foster a love of learning is, in most instances, met through effective teaching. In some lessons the teaching is outstanding but occasionally it is unsatisfactory. The quality has improved since the last inspection.
2.25 Girls of all abilities and backgrounds are taught well in a variety of subjects. Examples of excellent practice had varied and interesting tasks, and challenging topics. The language plan created for each girl for whom English is as an additional language is a very effective initiative. It results in English being taught at the correct standard for each girl as she works towards clear targets. The IB enables English to be offered as a first or second language, which compounds this success. Extra help and guidance are available for the girls in some other subjects, such as a Chinese and Japanese glossary of terms in chemistry. The needs of girls with learning difficulties and disabilities are assessed and very helpful specialist support is provided. However, in a small proportion of lessons, higher attaining girls make the most substantial progress whilst lower attainers find it difficult to keep up. Girls who learn more slowly and those with language difficulties do not make as much progress as they should when teaching is not well matched to their needs. Girls confirmed the range in the quality of teaching in their discussions and it is apparent in their work.
2.26 Relationships between teachers and pupils are often very good. This fosters girls’ interest and application, and is extremely helpful in managing their behaviour, which is nearly always good. Teachers show warmth in their discussions and use the girls’ names well, valuing their contributions. Girls have opportunities to apply intellectual, physical and creative effort in lessons. Effective teaching enables girls to develop as good, independent and co-operative learners. Some excellent pair and group work was observed where girls challenged each other’s understanding. The girls are confident communicators because they have these opportunities. They respond immediately to instructions from their teachers in almost all lessons.
2.27 In most lessons, teaching establishes clear aims at the outset before girls embark on a series of clearly defined and challenging tasks. Planning is good, and the lessons usually end with a plenary where the girls’ achievements are summarised. A minority of lessons do not follow a clear plan and girls are not always set appropriate tasks. In these lessons, teaching does not identify clearly enough the key learning outcomes for the girls, tending to match tasks to middle or high attainers. Homework is set regularly and it is usually, but not always, marked in accordance with the new school policy. The amount of homework is too much at times and places a very high burden on girls, which detracts greatly from their enjoyment of learning and of school life.
2.28 The teaching shows good subject knowledge, from which the girls benefit, particularly in IB Higher level courses. In most lessons a balance of providing information, debate and problem solving leads to a good pace of work, but occasionally teachers speak for too long and do not gauge sufficiently girls’ understanding of what is being taught. Where this is the case, the development of the girls’ skills and knowledge is reduced.
2.29 The resources and facilities available to girls are good. Equipment and books are up to date and used well. Staff with access to digital projectors and interactive whiteboards often make very good use of them to motivate and interest the girls. Some classrooms are rather cramped, even for the small numbers taught in them, for example in modern foreign languages.
2.30 Assessment is often detailed and generally aids girls’ progress. Good questioning and end of topic tests help teachers know how successful the learning is. The criterion-based assessment of the MYP and IB also helps the process, but girls find it less effective than it should be when staff are not consistent in the way they interpret criteria. Girls cannot always follow up on teachers’ detailed, helpful criticism in marking, because the handwriting is at times incomprehensible. Individual teachers evaluate girls’ progress in their own subjects but department-wide checking for consistency is patchy. One successful innovation introduced in the science department supports standardisation across the sciences. Tutors have started to monitor each girl’s grades and reports to give an oversight of their academic welfare.
2.31 The school meets the regulatory requirements for teaching [Standard 1].
3. THE QUALITY OF CARE AND RELATIONSHIPS
The Quality of Pastoral Care, and the Welfare, Health and Safety of Pupils
3.1 The quality of pastoral care is satisfactory and the school takes steps to ensure the welfare, health and safety of its pupils. Generally, the intention that girls should be well supported pastorally in their school life is being met. The quality of support is similar to that described at the time of the last inspection. Management and leadership of pastoral care are in transition as a new structure is being implemented and new appointments made.
3.2 Form periods and tutor time, introduced in September 2006, are not yet fully embedded into the pastoral system. As well as seeing them as part of a whole class, tutors meet girls individually on a regular but infrequent basis. These sessions are being used to monitor girls’ progress and to provide pastoral support as needed. Almost all teaching staff are tutors and some have taken on board expectations of these sessions more effectively than others, as might be expected at this early stage in the implementation of the system. The potential value of the system has not been underestimated, and energy and time are being committed to ensure its success. Girls who are new to the school appreciate the peer ‘buddy’ scheme which pairs them with an experienced Marymount pupil, enabling them to settle in quickly and happily.
3.3 The girls are cared for and relationships between staff and girls are good – relationships between girls themselves are excellent. Subject teachers as well as tutors take an interest in girls’ welfare and, to some extent, their academic progress. Academic guidance is not systematic, however, or based on a whole-school tracking process, dependent rather on the quality of interaction between girls and those who teach or care for them.
3.4 A considerable number of girls, particularly the seniors, although able to express their views, do not feel that these are valued. They do not consider themselves sufficiently involved in the changes taking place at Marymount. Communication with girls is not as effective as it should be over decisions taken on matters that affect them.
3.5 Good discipline is promoted effectively through well-documented sensible rules. Although girls are not happy with the inconsistency with which rules and procedures are applied by different staff, arrangements are effective and ill-discipline, either in lessons or around the school, is a very infrequent occurrence.
3.6 The very recently revised anti-bullying policy is an in-depth and helpful document, which guides good practice. The very few incidents of bullying are dealt with rigorously and resolved quickly. An appropriate senior manager, a pastoral leader, has now been appointed as the school child protection officer, following the advice of the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI). All staff have received appropriate training in child protection, and in-service training is booked for the new lead officer, who is taking over from a colleague on the staff who has already had this training. Medical provision is good and is overseen by a qualified nurse. The surgery is small but well equipped. The nurse is supported by a local doctor and good links to the nearby hospital. The girls also have access to a counsellor employed by the school for one day each week. The school meets all legal obligations concerning race, age, gender and disability discrimination.
3.7 The school’s health and safety committee carries out all necessary risk assessments and acts quickly and with authority where problems are identified. Fire bells are tested weekly, fire precautions are appropriate, and regular fire drills are held and recorded. Electrical appliances are tested. The majority of staff have basic first-aid training and an adequate number of staff have completed a more substantial first-aid course. The school has safety as a high priority.
3.8 Concerns raised by girls in their questionnaire responses about the quality of food have been resolved. The food is good and plentiful, with a wide range of alternative meals including vegetarian options, and caters well for those with a nut allergy. Salad, pasta, fresh bread and fruit are always available.
3.9
The school meets the regulatory requirements for the
welfare, health and safety of pupils [Standard 3].
The Quality of Links with Parents and the Community
3.10
Links with parents and the community are good and as
effective as at the time of the last inspection. The school is achieving its aims in this
aspect of school life.
3.11
In their responses to questionnaires about the school,
parents were generally positive. Areas
of strength identified were the quality of teaching, the range of subjects
offered, the school ethos and their own involvement with school life. Areas for improvement were the extent of
support for girls with learning difficulties and disabilities, homework, the
provision for boarders and the manner in which complaints have been dealt
with. The inspectors agree with parents’
positive and negative views except that they consider the specialist support
for girls with learning difficulties and disabilities to be effective.
3.12
Parents receive very helpful information about their
children’s work. Four report cards are
sent each year detailing girls’ progress and examination results where
appropriate. In addition, they receive
two full academic reports containing information about the work covered in
every subject, together with a detailed report from each subject teacher. This excellent reporting system is further
extended for girls in Year 13, when parents receive four full reports. Parents are also invited to comment on the
reports and discussions follow this as necessary. Two parents’ evenings are held each year
where subject teachers discuss each girl’s progress with her parents. A useful curriculum meeting is also held
annually to talk with parents about what is being taught.
3.13
All parents are members of the Marymount parents’
association and are invited to the monthly meeting of the association. A recent meeting provided parents with the
opportunity to hear a presentation on the new governance structure. The association is active and has close links
with the school, hosting social events such as an international dinner in the
spring term and a family picnic early in the school year. Parents also join in fund raising, accruing
significant sums to enhance school resources.
3.14
Parents are provided with a very good range of
information about the school and its activities. Each week parents receive an informative
newsletter ‘This Week at Marymount’ and each year they are sent a handbook containing
helpful information, including contact details and updated school policies, and
a magazine highlighting the events of the year.
3.15
The concerns raised by parents regarding the
complaints procedure have been resolved and the school’s arrangements for
handling parental complaints are now satisfactory. At the time of the inspection, records of
complaints have been kept in accordance with the regulations. However, records prior to the implementation
of the current policy in September 2006 were not available. The school is now aware of the regulatory
requirement for records to be held for a period of two years. Letters and emails are answered promptly and
records of meetings are now well documented.
All correspondence is retained and filed.
3.16
Links with the community are
good. A group of parents attends
meditation sessions organised by school staff, and people who live locally are
invited to attend the Sunday Mass in the chapel – about thirty attend. Girls visit local homes for the elderly and
are involved in a ‘soup run’, preparing and delivering food to the local
homeless. The school actively supports
many charities, both at home and abroad.
A school trip to
3.17 The school meets the regulatory requirements for the provision of information and the manner in which complaints are to be handled [Standards 6 and 7].
The Quality of Boarding Education
3.18 The school provides an acceptable boarding experience for the girls but does not yet fully achieve its aim of ‘…promoting the dignity and developing the integrity of each person in an atmosphere of justice, love and respect, in which students, staff and parents co-operate towards attaining their objectives.’ However, girls relate very well to one another and are provided with a good range of activities.
3.19 Pupil and parental questionnaires suggest that the atmosphere in the boarding areas has been difficult at times and that girls are not always happy in their environment. Discussions with girls indicate, and inspectors agree, that substantial improvements have been made since the inspection by the CSCI, and that further positive change is in hand. Improvements include new common rooms and better shower and toilet facilities. The CSCI inspectors’ recommendation of a good appraisal system for boarding staff is in the process of being implemented.
3.20 Boarding staff, most of whom are not members of the teaching staff, are well intentioned and ensure that a clean and safe environment is provided. Girls feel able to relate to these staff in general. They find most of them positive and supportive, although girls said they would prefer to discuss problems with a friend. Boarding areas lack a feeling of community, however, and are rather stark and functional. They do not contribute to a sense of homeliness and well-being. Few opportunities are provided to develop community spirit through, for example, sporting, musical or dramatic activities.
3.21 Single rooms provide excellent accommodation; other rooms are cramped, leaving little space for the girls to personalize where they live. Several girls remarked upon the minimal space in their rooms and how much they would like to have had a desk. Boarding staff accommodation is of a very basic standard and does not provide a good facility where girls can go for social or academic discussions, in groups or individually. Some girls share rooms with girls of other nationalities, which assists in the achievement of the school aim to ‘create unity through diversity’, and helps to accelerate the development of girls’ English language skills. Satisfactory arrangements have been made for girls who are ill, by setting aside a single room in each boarding area as an infirmary.
3.22 The boarding council provides a channel of communication between girls and staff, principally about social matters, with senior girls taking responsibility for what takes place. Such opportunities for responsibility, however, do not extend to the day-to-day life in the boarding community, with the result that girls miss out on a chance to develop leadership skills.
3.23 A good range of extra-curricular activities is available in the evenings and at weekends, including shopping expeditions and visits to theatres, but few boarders choose to make use of weekend opportunities.
3.24 Significant changes in the leadership and management of boarding are in hand, with the intention of creating a greater sense of identity and direction, where the girls feel that their views are listened to and valued. The school is aware of current shortcomings and is moving quickly to make fundamental improvements, reflecting this new direction.
4. THE EFFECTIVENESS OF GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT
4.1 Governors have set clear and appropriate aims for the school.
4.2
Governance is satisfactory and
in a period of transition. A previous
advisory board of Regents, reporting to the Catholic Order responsible for the
school, is being replaced by a governing body.
The new group, established from
The Quality of Leadership and Management
4.3 Good leadership is provided by the headmistress who has set a clear and appropriate educational direction, as major changes are made in the way the school is managed. The move away from religious to lay governance, changes in senior staff, and a refocus on the school’s aim of ‘education of the whole child’ are having a significant impact upon much that is taking place.
4.4 Management of the school is satisfactory overall. Senior management has a good understanding of the strengths of the school and the areas where improvements are needed, but monitoring and evaluation are weak. Few structures are in place to enable detailed analysis and remedy of potential problems. In several areas of the school, inconsistencies and a lack of clear expectations detract from the overall success.
4.5 The school’s management is focused on improving the quality of educational provision for the girls. Committees of senior staff meet to discuss curriculum and pastoral matters. However, the structure of the senior management team is such that administration has too great an emphasis in comparison with the quality of teaching and learning, the curriculum and the pastoral care of the girls. Changes at middle management level mean that subject leaders are now in post for each curriculum area but there remains a lack of clarity about their roles with differing views as to the school’s expectations.
4.6 The school currently has no strategic plan, although individual subject areas have identified some important areas for development. The whole school community has recently been involved in a review of all that takes place at Marymount.