school-inspection-report

Castle House School 11
4. THE EFFECTIVENESS OF GOVERNANCE AND
MANAGEMENT
The Quality of Governance
4.1 The quality of governance is good and helps to fulfil the aims of the school. Governors’
relationships with staff and senior managers are positive and formal links with the school’s
managers are well developed. The effectiveness of governance has been maintained since
the time of the last inspection.
4.2 The governing body is well led and its effectiveness is ensured further by the wide range of
professional skills that governors have. Governors are successful in realising their aim to
support the school’s further development. The structure of the governing body includes
committees for development, finance and general purposes, and discipline. This structure
works very well. It enables the school’s management team to lead the school forward with
the confidence that they have the support of an informed and committed group of governors.
Meetings are carefully minuted. Many governors are parents of pupils or former pupils and
are thus committed to the school in a personal and long-term way.
4.3 Governors seek to strike an effective balance between being supportive and acting as critical
friends. They delegate full executive powers to the management team to lead and manage
the school. They are involved in strategic planning through their membership of the
development committee as well as through regular informal contact. Strategic objectives are
identified and appropriate actions are taken, including suitable financial planning. For
example, the need to develop new Nursery provision and a holiday care club was identified
as a priority and governors responded effectively. Governors ensure that investment is made
in human and material resources to meet the needs of the pupils.
4.4 Full governing body meetings and committee meetings take place at least five times a year
and are well attended. Members of staff make presentations to governors from time to time
about their curricular developments. A number of governors regularly attend school events
such as plays, concerts and sports fixtures.
4.5 Governors monitor key aspects of the school with great care. They fully meet their
responsibilities, including those for health and safety and child protection, by close
monitoring and regularly reviewing policies.
The Quality of Leadership and Management
4.6 The quality of leadership and management is good and the school’s overall aims are fulfilled
well. In particular, the school is highly successful in educating its pupils to follow its
benchmark values enshrined in ‘The Castle House Way’. As a result, many pupils try hard to
be their best, and are kind, forgiving, helpful and honest. The quality of leadership and
management has been maintained since the time of the last inspection and much has been
achieved. The school’s leadership has been restructured to good effect. The curriculum has
been enhanced with more language teaching and further provision for children under the age
of five. Resources and accommodation have been improved.
4.7 The headmaster achieves a sensitive balance between pastoral, curricular and strategic
leadership, as do the management team. Their leadership is characterised as well organised,
detailed and purposeful. They share many expectations of how to improve the school further
and show much drive in achieving this. Key personnel with academic and pastoral
responsibilities are involved fully. As a result, Castle House is seen by parents as a good,