Parents and students will be aware that last Wednesday and Thursday the school received a ‘virtual visit’ from Ofsted. We were joined by two of Her Majesty’s Inspectors (HMIs) who conducted a Section 8 Monitoring Inspection to evaluate whether Eastbrook School is ‘taking effective action to provide education in the current circumstances.’ Although they weren’t able to join us on the school site in the usual way, there was no less rigour to the process, and it was a very demanding two days for everyone involved.

We are extremely pleased and proud to inform our school community that the inspection went very well for us. The inspectors gained a clear sense from everyone they spoke to that we are taking effective action. The official letter will be published in the next couple of weeks, and we will circulate this to everyone as soon as we receive it. I won’t therefore go into too much detail at this stage, but I do want to extend a huge thankyou to all of the parents and students who gave their time to answer the surveys and meet with the inspection team. Their feedback was extremely positive about everything the school is doing to provide the best possible education in these challenging times. It is good to know that our parents and students are so supportive of the measures we have taken and continue to take at Eastbrook, and this was a message that came through loud and clear to the inspectors.

I should also recognise the hard work of all the teachers and support staff at Eastbrook, who continue to work tirelessly to ensure that lessons are excellent and that students continue to make excellent progress while studying remotely. This was an area that the inspectors looked at in detail and were very positive about.

The outcome is a genuine cause for celebration, so again my thanks go to everyone who contributed, and I look forward to sharing the letter with our community in the near future.