“Hayes School encourages and develops impressively confident and articulate girls who attain and achieve highly” (OfSTED 2009)

On Monday 22nd June Hayes School received a visit from two of Her Majesty’s Inspectors (HMI’s) to review how well the school supports girls’ achievement and well being. This is a new ‘themed’ inspection and will serve two purposes. Firstly, it assesses how well Hayes School challenges, supports and develops girls. Secondly, it is part of a national study to see if there are variations in girls’ achievement and well being compared to boys or between schools of different types (e.g. mixed, single sex etc) or by region. Hayes was the first school inthe programme of inspections and so the full report will not be available until next year.

The HMI visited lessons, reviewed exam results and other data, spoke to groups of students from all years and reviewed the curriculum, extra curricular activities and opportunities for
girls to develop to their potential without any stereotyping restrictions.

The HMI concluded that Hayes did an excellent job of challenging, supporting and developing girls. Their 3 main conclusions were:

1) Attainment and achievement of girls at Hayes is very high. The school is very effective in identifying and supporting students in danger of underachievement. The quality of teaching underlies this.
2) Hayes girls are happy, confident and articulate. They do not feel dominated or overshadowed by boys. They have opportunities to develop outside traditional gender stereotypes especially in Drama, but also in subjects such as DT, Science and Maths, which traditionally more boys have taken.
3) The care and support system at Hayes is incredibly effective in supporting girls. Teachers and associate staff were praised bythe girls for being available, giving time and helping to resolve
individual and group problems. The HMI felt this was essential especially for girls well being.

In conclusion the HMI praised the school for its ethos and commitment to raising the achievement of all students and providing outstanding care for girls which make them feel safe
and happy and become confident, articulate and successful individuals.

Mr Osborne, Headteacher