School report

Inspection of a good school: Epsom and

Ewell High School
Ruxley Lane, West Ewell, Epsom, Surrey KT19 9JW

Inspection dates: 29 and 30 March 2022

Outcome

Epsom and Ewell High School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud of their school and enthusiastic to learn. Their behaviour is calm and
mature. Their attitudes are positive and enthusiastic. Pupils enjoy very good relationships
with their teachers. There is a strong sense of community.

The school has high expectations for pupils’ behaviour and conduct. Bullying is not
tolerated. Any bullying that does happen is dealt with quickly and effectively. Pupils say
that they are happy and feel safe. They make a positive contribution to the school. Pupils
take on many leadership roles, including school prefects and the junior leadership team.
Older pupils help younger pupils with their reading and mathematics.

Pupils relish opportunities to attend a range of clubs and sporting activities. These include
choir, dance, drama, philosophy and creative writing as well as the gender and sexual
alliance club. Pupils benefit from a successful careers programme. This incorporates the
annual careers fair as well as visits to colleges and universities. Sixth-form students
appreciate the support they receive for university applications, including Oxbridge
entrance.

Leaders give pupils’ mental and physical health a high priority. The school is the proud
recipient of the gold Mental Health Award for Schools. This award offers a framework for
improving mental health and well-being for staff and pupils.

What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

The school provides a broad, balanced and bespoke curriculum. Leaders and staff have
high ambitions for all pupils. Subject leaders have given careful thought to the order of
the curriculum, which builds on the work in the primary schools. Teachers have secure
subject knowledge. This helps them to check pupils’ learning effectively. Teachers use
assessment information thoughtfully to address misconceptions and make adaptations to
plans. Pupils value the feedback and support that they receive.
Staff are enthusiastic and supportive of the school’s various innovations. These include
the reviewed school day and the ambitious educational recovery programme. There is a
rebranded personal, social and health education curriculum. This covers health and well-
being, relationships and sex education, and living in the wider world. These initiatives are
new and have not been running long enough to fully assess their impact. The school is
also working diligently to increase the uptake of languages and allow more pupils to take
triple science.

The curriculum is designed to meet the needs of all pupils. Pupils with special educational
needs and/or disabilities (SEND) access the same curriculum as others. They achieve well,
including through the school’s specialist hearing impaired provision. The school’s
alternative provision supports disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND. This provision
encourages skills in gardening, mechanics and cookery alongside academic studies. Pupils
who have been higher prior attainers are supported to work towards the Crest award for
scientific curiosity and a GCSE in further mathematics. In addition, the Brilliant Club allows
pupils to experience university education through project work alongside university
students.

Students in the sixth form have access to a range of opportunities to help them to take
their next steps in education, employment and training. Effective pastoral support is
provided, and students are taught how to keep safe and form healthy relationships. The
sixth-form curriculum is carefully considered and builds well on the work in key stage 4.
Students are actively involved in the life of the school, such as volunteering in
mathematics and science. Students enjoy being part of the sixth form. They say that their
teachers have strong subject knowledge and give their time freely. They speak confidently
about their plans for the future.

Leaders prioritise reading through regular whole-class reading sessions. These foster a
love of reading as well as broadening vocabulary and increasing fluency. There is also a
bespoke accelerated pathway for pupils who have fallen behind. The impact of these
initiatives is tracked through reading fluency software measuring progress over time.
Assessments confirm that pupils are reading more proficiently and more often.

Inspectors agree with the school’s self-evaluation, which says that leaders are innovative,
creative and highly aspirational. Leaders at all levels are passionate, enthusiastic and
determined to improve the quality of education. Leaders engage fully with their staff and
take account of the many pressures on them. They assist staff with workloads. Staff
report that their welfare and well-being are a priority.

The school benefits considerably from the support of the trust and the trust benefits from
the school. Governors are knowledgeable and experienced. They challenge the school but
do not always ask about the impact and evidence to support assertions about
improvements. The trust and the governors ensure that all statutory requirements are
fully met.

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29 and 30 March 2022 2
Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Safeguarding has a high priority across the school. Safeguarding leaders are
knowledgeable and effective. Staff training is comprehensive. Staff are clear about the
dangers which pupils may face and work diligently to minimise risk.

The safeguarding policy is up to date and very detailed. Safer recruitment practices are
applied to all appointments. The single central record is compliant. It is regularly checked,
by leaders and governors, to ensure that it is fit for purpose. Procedures for managing
pupil’s welfare and communicating with external agencies are very strong.

Pupils know how to stay safe, including online. They learn about healthy relationships and
understand consent. Their welfare and well-being are closely monitored and sensitively
supported. The safety of pupils placed with alternative providers is actively scrutinised.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

◼ The school’s curriculum intent and implementation are not yet fully embedded across
all subjects. Leaders have introduced a range of innovative initiatives to support and
enhance the curriculum. These initiatives are still relatively new and need to be
embedded securely and consistently. Leaders should continue to monitor these
initiatives and collate evidence to evaluate their effectiveness and impact.

Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school
about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good. This is called a
section 8 inspection of a good or outstanding school, because it is carried out under
section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8
inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or
lower grade, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection. Usually this is within
one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns
about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the section 8
inspection as a section 5 inspection immediately.

This is the second section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good in May
2012.

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29 and 30 March 2022 3
How can I feed back my views?

You can use Ofsted Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school, or to
find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View
when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their
inspection.

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

If you are the school and you are not happy with the inspection or the report, you can
complain to Ofsted.

Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ refers to those pupils who attract government pupil
premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and
pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route.

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School details

Unique reference number 137595

Local authority Surrey

Inspection number 10227010

Type of school Secondary

School category Academy converter

Age range of pupils 11 to 18

Gender of pupils Mixed

Gender of pupils in sixth-form Mixed

provision
Number of pupils on the school roll 937

Of which, number on roll in the sixth 125

form
Appropriate authority The governing body

Chair of governing body Phil Cairns

Headteacher James Newman

Website www.epsomandewellhighschool.com

Date of previous inspection 25 April 2017

Information about this school

◼ Epsom and Ewell High School is an 11 to 18 academy which is part of the Bourne
Education Trust.
◼ The school has a specialist support centre, funded by the local authority, for pupils with
hearing impairment.
◼ Eight pupils attend alternative provision at two registered education providers and two
alternative education providers.
◼ The school meets the requirements of the Baker Clause, which requires schools to
provide pupils in Years 8 to 13 with information about approved technical educational
qualifications and apprenticeships.

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Information about this inspection

◼ This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic
began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken
that into account in their evaluation of the school.
◼ Inspectors conducted deep dives in English, mathematics, and philosophy, religion and
ethics. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with subject leaders,
visited a sample of lessons, talked to teachers, spoke with pupils about their learning
and looked at samples of pupils’ work.
◼ Inspectors held meetings with the headteacher, senior leaders and subject leaders as
well as staff and pupils. They looked at the single central record and reviewed the
school’s safeguarding procedures and practices.
◼ Inspectors looked at school policies, curriculum documentation, behaviour logs and
attendance records. The lead inspector met with the chair of the trust. He also spoke
with the chair of governors remotely.
◼ Inspectors considered 173 responses to the Ofsted Parent View online questionnaire
and 105 additional written comments from parents. They looked at the survey returns
completed by 69 staff and 385 pupils.

Inspection team

Paul Metcalf, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

Mark Roessler Ofsted Inspector

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The Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (Ofsted)
regulates and inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young
people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and
inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family
Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher
training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education
and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council
children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and
child protection.

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