Queen Elizabeth's School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 3 October 2023

Pupils are safe and conduct themselves well around the school. The school has high expectations of how pupils behave towards each other and staff. Most pupils live up to these. However, in many subjects in key stages 3 and 4, the expectations of what pupils learn are too low. When this is the case, some attitudes to learning are not positive. This is reflected in the quality of pupils' work and the pride they take in it. For example, many pupils do not take care to write accurately and in depth. Pupils and sixth-form students benefit from useful advice about their next steps. They value the annual careers fair and work experience opportunities, for example. The school encourages pupils to respect people from other backgrounds and to treat everyone equally. Pupils know the school's vision of a commitment to hope. Many pupils take part in wider opportunities, such as sports and performing in the school musical. For example, pupils speak excitedly about the 'Achievement, Confidence and Enjoyment' festival at the end of each academic year. They compete in their 'houses' and participate in charity events. Some sixth-form students develop their leadership skills by becoming mentors for younger pupils, while others take on roles as 'Team QE' leaders.

What the school should improve

• In some subjects, assessment is not used effectively. This is because the school has not identified precisely the most important knowledge and skills pupils should learn. Teaching does not check pupils have understood before introducing new content. Consequently, pupils lack depth in their subject knowledge. The trust must ensure that each subject curriculum sets out precisely what pupils should learn and by when.
• The school does not have high enough expectations of how well pupils read and write. The curriculum does not enrich pupils' reading, which hinders their development of vocabulary and understanding of the curriculum. Pupils do not write in sufficient depth. Sometimes they write with inaccurate spelling and punctuation. The trust must ensure that the curriculum enhances pupils' reading and improves the quality and accuracy of pupils' writing.
• The school does not evaluate the impact of its work well enough. Trustees sometimes do not have the information they need to hold the school strongly to account. As a result, improvements are not made quickly or securely enough. The trust must ensure there is strong oversight in all areas of the school's work so that improvements are made and sustained.

Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)