TORREQUEBRADA INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

Transcription

1 INSPECTION REPORT TORREQUEBRADA INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL ADDRESS: Ronda del Golf Este, 11 Urb. Torrequebrada Benalmádena Málaga Date of visit: 8 th June 2016 Lead Inspector: Joan Gemmell Team Inspector: Tim Farr Overall recommendation: The school is recommended for authorisation for two years for Foundation Stage, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2, and Year 7. 1

2 2 1. Introduction 2. Accommodation and Resources 3. Health and Safety 4. The curriculum 5. Staffing 6. The quality of teaching, learning and assessment. 7. The spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils. 8. Leadership and management of the school 9. Conclusion 10. Recommendation 11. Key recommendations for school development.

3 1. Introduction The purpose of this inspection is to assess the foundation stage (FS), Key Stage 1 (KS1), Key Stage 2 (KS2) and Year 7 (Y7) for authorization as a British school in Spain. 1.1 Torrequebrada International College opened in 2004 and is part of the educational group formed by Colegio Europa (Vizcaya), Wakana Lake Camps (Cádiz) and ITACA Foundation for Social Action. 1.2 There are currently 466 pupils on roll, ranging from Nursery to Y7. Of these, 82% are Spanish and the rest are different nationalities. 1.3 There are a further 178 pupils on roll from Y8 to Y13. The provision for these pupils was not inspected on this occasion. 1.4 The site, for Nursery to Y7, has a capacity for 510 pupils Accommodation and Resources 2.1 The school consists of three buildings. The F.S. is housed in a single-storey building which is completely surrounded by grass areas, used for outdoor learning as an extension to each of its six classrooms. There is access to toilets from the outside play area as well as from classrooms. FS pupils have their lunch in a central hall and nursery classes have facilities for children to have a nap. 2.2 The primary school occupies the top two floors of the main building in the middle of the campus. The dining room is on the ground floor and a well-equipped indoor gym is on the lower ground floor. The school s administrative offices are also located in this building. 2.3 There is a large hard-surfaced playground and sports area, and play-times are staggered to ensure there is no overcrowding. These areas cater both for the physical education (P.E.) curriculum and extra-curricular activities. 2.4 All accommodation, including classrooms, staffrooms, toilets, dining-room and administration offices are attractively furnished and have good light. 2.5 The secondary school building has two science laboratories, a very well-equipped information and communications technology (ICT) room, an art room, a music room which has 11 keyboards, and a very impressive audio-visual suite with a film and television studio. There is also a large, two-hundred seat auditorium with a grand piano. All of these facilities are used occasionally by pupils in the primary school, especially those in upper KS Throughout the school corridors, displays demonstrate high quality pupil work but the range of displays inside the classrooms is limited and rarely includes literacy work. Consequently, classrooms do not create a stimulating learning environment. 2.7 The F.S. has a well-stocked library in their central area. However, there is a limited range of reading material in the main school library. Further investment in ageappropriate books for the library and more reading books in KS1 are needed to meet the demands of the increasing number of pupils. 2.8 The school still uses the Spanish system of naming classes. As this is now a British school, year groups should be named accordingly.

4 3. Health and Safety 3.1 The school has a satisfactory health and safety policy and the site is secure with very well-supervised entry and exit procedures. 3.2 The school employs a qualified nurse and several members of staff have had firstaid training. 3.3 The school provides a safe environment for its pupils, including protective flooring for F.S. play areas, wide corridors and staircases, and access arrangements for the disabled, including a lift. 3.4 Regular fire drills are carried out and a report is completed following each drill. However, evacuation procedures are not displayed in all classrooms and corridors. 3.5 All members of staff have undergone appropriate criminal record checks either by the British or Spanish authorities. 3.6 There is an anti-bullying programme in place and the school provides relevant information for parents and training for staff. During a school council meeting, it was apparent that pupils feel safe and supported in the school. 4. The Curriculum 4.1 Overall, the curriculum meets the requirements of the National Curriculum (NC) in each class. Planning helps learning to be closely matched to the different abilities. 4.2 Pupils are assessed through class tests and exams, written and oral presentations, participation in group work and for their effort. Skills, projects and activities are assessed to measure student progress and to set future targets. Portfolios of work are used to compile examples of pieces of work which have been assessed by the pupils themselves as well as by their teachers. However, during scrutiny of work and class observations, there was evidence of inadequate marking and inconsistent assessment and tracking documentation. 4.3 Cross-curricular provision is good and open learning spaces facilitate this when a variety of lessons are taking place within them. 4.4 The curriculum is enhanced by extra-curricular activities and pupils have the opportunity to receive extra support in English and mathematics during primary clubs from 4pm to 5pm. 4.5 Suitable time is allocated for each subject or area of learning. The Spanish curriculum occupies 20% of the curriculum, and French and German are offered in Year Staffing 5.1 Each section of the school has a coordinator, and the owner and headteacher meet with them every week to discuss their innovative thoughts and ideas through collaborative planning and teaching. 5.2 Teachers are mostly appropriately qualified in KS1 and KS2. Many of the FS teachers have Spanish qualifications. Nevertheless, pupils in this section of the school make good progress and show very good attitudes to their work as a result of effective teaching of the early learning goals. As the school expands,

5 management should consider appointing new FS staff, of both genders, with recent teaching experience in the United Kingdom. 5.3 The staff is well motivated and adults speak highly of the school. A structure of incentives is in place with performance-related pay. Appraisal forms part of this and all teaching and administrative staff are included. 5.4 A school psychologist has a whole-school special educational needs (SEN) register which is updated, discussed and reviewed every two weeks with the headteacher. This register also includes gifted and talented pupils, who receive appropriate challenges. 5.5 Access to professional development for teachers is mostly provided through inservice training made available to staff. Further use could be made of workshops to enable the staff to keep up with changes in education in the United Kingdom. 6. The quality of teaching, learning and assessment 6.1 Overall, teaching and learning in the Early Years Foundation Stage are good. Each of the seven areas of learning is implemented successfully through planned play, and a mix of adult-led and child-initiated activities encourages active learning. 6.2 Assessment is carried out to promote children s learning 6.3 In KS 1 and KS2, effective teaching and learning take place in some classes but certain children are easily distracted and in some cases challenge is insufficient. More classroom assistants would help consolidate learning in this area. 6.4 Marking is inadequate and inconsistent. Pupils work in KS2 and Year 7 is not assessed and tracked sufficiently systematically. Consequently, children are not always aware of what they have achieved and where they are going next. 7. The spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils 7.1 Good behaviour is evident in lessons and around the school and teachers discipline children in a friendly manner. The pupils have positive attitudes to school and are polite and respectful. 7.2 Cultural respect is promoted through the school s links with various foundations and charities for which they fundraise every year, including a foundation in India Leadership and management of the school 8.1 The school s owner and director has a strong sense of direction and her leadership ensures that all staff share her high expectations for development and improvement. 8.2 The headteacher is competent and dedicated and has a clear view of the school s future developmental needs and the two heads of department liaise on all aspects of school policies.

6 8.3 The management team has laid out development targets to aid this transition period and staff are consulted and encouraged to share their thoughts and ideas. 8.4 Communication with parents is very good and they are kept informed of their child s progress. Parents are asked for feedback through questionnaires to help evaluate the school s performance and they are invited to attend various information sessions throughout the year. 9. Conclusion Torrequebrada International School is in the early stages of changing from the Spanish system to the British system of education and although rapid progress in the implementation of the English National Curriculum has taken place, further improvement is needed in the areas outlined below. 10. Recommendation The school is recommended for authorization for two years for F.S., K.S.1, K.S.2 and Year 7 for 510 pupils, by which time all recommendations set out below should have been addressed. 11. Points for consideration It is recommended that: 11.1 Marking is more informative for the pupils and undertaken more systematically The school uses N.C. year groups instead of those used in Spain in order to prevent confusion The school appoints more Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) staff, with British qualifications, to broaden the range of experience and to provide more upto-date knowledge of current teaching practice in the UK The school increases investment in library reading resources and reading material in KS The school considers further classroom support for F.S. and K.S The heads of department oversee assessment and tracking documentation more effectively Evacuation procedures are visible in all classrooms and corridors. 6