Angley Ofsted Report

							Alexandra House      T 08456 404040
33 Kingsway          F020 7421 6855
London               www.ofsted.gov.uk
WC2B 6SE             enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk


13 July 2009


Mr P Morris
Headteacher
Angley School - A Sports College
Angley Road
Cranbrook
Kent
TN17 2PJ

Dear Mr Morris

Ofsted survey inspection programme – E-safety

Thank you for your hospitality and co-operation, and that of your staff, during
my visit on 23 June 2009 to look at work in e-safety.

As outlined in my initial letter, this visit looked at:
    the extent to which schools teach learners to adopt safe and
       responsible practices in using new technologies
    e-safety training for staff.

The visit provided valuable information which will contribute to our national
evaluation and reporting. Published reports are likely to list the names of the
contributing institutions but individual institutions will not be identified in the
main text. All feedback letters will be published on the Ofsted website at the
end of each half-term.

The evidence used to inform the judgements made included interviews with
students and staff scrutiny of relevant documentation, including action plans
and results of questionnaires.

The overall effectiveness of e-safety was judged to be satisfactory.

Outcomes for learners

Outcomes for learners are satisfactory.

        Those students questioned had a basic understanding of how to use
         new technologies. Those in older age groups had a more in depth
         awareness of internet misuse, and knew that accessing violent, sexual
         or gambling based sites was frowned upon. Younger students knew
         they should avoid these sorts of sites, but were less aware of more
         subtle ways they could fall victim to unwarranted contacts or be
         enticed into using inappropriate websites.
      Students have regular access to e-mail and most say they make careful
       use of this facility in school because of the managed system you have.
       Students, particularly those in Years 10 and 11, had a clear
       understanding of the potential dangers of sharing personal information
       with others, particularly within school. This was often due to the
       checks the school carries out and of which all students were aware.
      There have been a number of minor incidents of misuse reported by
       staff and students. The school has addressed these effectively
       according to students who knew those involved. Students are aware of
       the limitations placed upon them regarding access to certain sites.
       Although students voiced some frustration at the restrictions, they
       recognised the need for boundaries. At home, students were more
       forthcoming about the sites they visited, but knew they needed to
       exercise care. As when in school however, younger students
       particularly were less secure in their knowledge.
      Most students interviewed had a good working knowledge and
       understanding of what they need to do to keep safe while using social
       networking sites, although the use of such sites ranged from ‘not at all’
       to frequent use. Most understood the potential day to day benefits and
       dangers associated with these sites, although few seemed to be aware
       of any more serious longer term issues such as picture sharing,
       particularly if friendships changed or became strained.
      Students gain their knowledge of e-safety through specific e-safety
       themed assemblies on subjects such as cyberbullying, reminders at the
       start of lessons, and by having reminder posters near ICT suites. Some
       students were clear that their cautious approach was influenced by the
       school, but more seemed to feel that it only added to the knowledge
       they gained from elsewhere. Parents have had information from the
       school. These include mailings, information leaflets, and contacts
       facilitated by the Family Liaison Officer, but this has been
       comparatively limited. There are plans to increase the range of
       information for parents, particularly as the school’s virtual learning
       environment is taking shape and its use being extended to more
       students but it is too early to judge the effectiveness of this strategy.
      All students had a clear understanding of who to approach if concerned
       about any aspects of e-safety, usually their teachers.

Quality of provision

The quality of provision is satisfactory.

      The school has a planned programme for information and
       communication technology (ICT) along national guidelines. This
       includes aspects of e-safety to ensure that there is some progression
       through each year group. The school recognises that, while
       progression takes some account of students increasing knowledge and
       experience, aspects need revising or extending to ensure that guidance
       increases in complexity line with ability, age of students and to keep
       pace with latest developments.
      Those students who join the school other than the normal times felt
       their introduction to school included aspects of e-safety, including
       password changing, website blocks and other limitations. Although this
       generally works satisfactorily, induction procedures are informal, rather
       than structured.
      Students with English as an additional language receive adequate
       levels of support in line with their peers.

Leadership and management

The leadership and management of e-safety are satisfactory.

      Senior leaders take the issues relating to e-safety seriously. Incidents
       are logged systematically and the managed systems of the school
       strike the right balance between reasonable access for students and
       safeguards to ensure incidents are kept to a reasonable level. The
       managed system produces detailed logs of students and staffs’ web
       access. The school analyses and responds quickly to incidents when
       they arise. Partly in response to the survey visit, senior staff reviewed
       their current provision and the school’s revised action plan has a
       number of appropriate priorities to remedy weaker areas.
      The appointment of an e-safety coordinator, who is also the child
       protection officer, has been effective in ensuring incidents are dealt
       with quickly and effectively. Staff know that the Vice Principal oversees
       any incidents, which are logged and followed up promptly. Students
       say they feel safe because they know there are clear routes to follow if
       they are concerned about aspects of e-safety.
      Policies are known by staff, particularly those relating to laptop use
       through clear agreements for their use. Recent reviews to policies have
       highlighted the need to increase the range and depth of training for
       staff and to increase the links made with parents to raise their
       awareness of e-safety concerns and to help minimise incidents.
      The school has made steps to include parents more frequently in
       knowing about e-safety and new technology issues. You have enlisted
       the help of local police and crime reduction unit to help tackle any
       specific incidents that occur. Students report a mixed picture about the
       level of interest, oversight and control that parents or carers exercise,
       which generally supports the school’s view that this is an area to focus
       upon.

Quality of training

The quality of the training is satisfactory.

      The review and awareness raising of e-safety issues have been
       appropriate. Senior leaders have had training on aspects of e-safety,
       which has then been ‘drip fed’ down to other colleagues. While those
       staff interviewed took e-safety concerns seriously, some were more
       aware of the wider scope of potential difficulties than others. Those
       with specific ICT responsibilities were very aware of their
       responsibilities and roles.
      Newer staff have been included effectively in informal ‘awareness
       raising’ and in signing agreements for internet use. These staff were
       very clear about the guidelines relating to laptop use and dangers of
       inappropriate e-mail contacts with students.

Areas for improvement, which we discussed, included:

      ensuring that younger students in Years 7, 8, and 9 have a better level
       of understanding about the more subtle dangers of social networking,
       entering information into websites or potential dangers of e-mail and
       picture sharing
      helping more parents develop a greater understanding of published
       guidelines to reduce the potential dangers of home internet use
      rolling out in depth training to more staff to enable them to have a
       greater awareness of e-safety issues.

I hope these observations are useful as you continue to develop e-safety in
the school.

As I explained in my previous letter, a copy of this letter will be sent to your
local authority and will be published on the Ofsted website. It will also be
available to the team for your next institutional inspection.

Yours sincerely



Kevin Hodge
Additional Inspector