Ofsted early reaction

Six inspectors spent last Wednesday and Thursday at the new building in Gunters Lane, assessing all areas of the school, including teaching,learning, management and leadership.

The result of the full-scale inspection will not be made public for another two weeks, although staff at the school have already been informed of the judgement.

Mike Conn told the Observer he relished having this external expert opinion of what had been achieved since the last monitoring visit.

He commented: “It was a inspection we were expecting, and one which we welcomed as it gave us the opportunity to highlight the progress we have made in the past six months.

“We have had to contend with moving to a new building as well as facing the daily challenges of being one of the biggest schools in the county.

“In the past we were given advanced notice of Ofsted coming, now you are given just two days. That wasn’t a problem as we were confident whenever they came in.

“In such an inspection, there is great focus on the teaching and learning in our Pods - which is central to the education of our young people.

“There is also a detailed look at the leadership and management, plus other areas including community cohesion ie our involvement and impact in the community.

“There was also an opportunity for parents and students to fill in a survey which the inspectors looked at in detail and studied the answers and comments.

“I am confident that Bexhill High School is making good progress, and will continue to do so in the coming months.”