The Right Secondary School 2009

Eastbury Comprehensive School

Head Teacher: David Dickson BSC (Hons) MA, NPQH

Admission Number: 300
Department for Children, Schools and Families number: 301-4024

Open Evening was on Wednesday 17 September 2008, 6pm - 9pm

We share your high expectations and ambitions for your child. Learning and the community are at the heart of Eastbury School. Our mission statement is 'Getting the best from and for our learners'. We will never give up on any child or leave any child behind, and we aim to make sure that everyone fulfils their true potential. We are a happy and inclusive school, with enthusiastic students, ambitious staff and supportive parents and governors as our greatest assets.

We make no secret of being proud of our school and aiming for excellence in everything we do and in all areas of learning. We are constantly looking for new ways of making learning more relevant and enjoyable.

Making the right decision

One of our strengths is that students settle quickly, enjoy school and are successful in a caring, safe and supportive environment. We provide high-quality care, support and guidance.

Examination results have risen over recent years, allowing more students to stay on at school in our large sixth form consortium and leading to an increased number of students going on to university.

As an Extended School, we:

Offer childcare
Make our buildings available for the community to use
Provide family learning
Can refer people to agencies quickly and easily; and
Offer a wide and varied range of activities, lessons and clubs, leading to our award for study support

Ofsted 2007

We are delighted with the positive comments in our Ofsted report. Some of the inspectors' comments are as follows.

'The school provides an improving standard of education with significant strengths'
'A community in which students are encouraged to achieve'
'Good leadership and management are evident in good care and guidance'

Mathematics and Computing College

In September 2006 we achieved Specialist Status for Mathematics and Computing. We continue to offer a wide curriculum, making sure that all students can learn and achieve, whatever their starting point or aims.

Every classroom in the school has a networked computer, projector and large screen which allow various presentations to be shared with the class
Students can access their work from home and parents can track their child's progress, attendance and assessments through the internet
As a result of our specialist status, we now have a mathematics laboratory, state-of-the-art classrooms for teaching ICT, and extra staff to support learning

New buildings and better facilities

In 2005, a £15 million project improved our school by providing areas for vocational courses in areas such as ICT, catering, business and engineering
Our excellent sports facilities and staff are leading to us fast becoming a centre for excellence for coaching and leadership in sport
An impressive hall for large-scale events and productions allows students to take part in fashion shows, dance, drama and musical performances
Our purpose-built sixth form centre has a CISCO laboratory, media studies suite, multimedia languages facility and an internet study area
Three dining areas serve a wide range of healthy food and cater for different diets
In 2006 we became a single-site school. Now we are currently planning even better facilities - an all-weather pitch, a science block, a new library and more state-of-the-art classrooms

Developing opportunities

We treat children as individuals and we are strongly committed to equal opportunities. We want all children to develop the skills they need to learn effectively throughout their lives, and to gain the qualifications, values and attitudes they need to be active and responsible citizens in an ever-changing society.

Among the most satisfying comments in our last Ofsted inspection report were 'a community in which students are encouraged to achieve' where 'there exists a harmonious and tolerant community where students are prepared well for life in modern Britain'.

So that students can achieve their full potential, the school works hard to identify their needs. We provide specialist support - through individual learning or learning in small groups - to students who have learning difficulties or who do not speak English as their first language.

Students who have weak reading, writing and maths skills are expected to attend extra lessons in these areas. Gifted and Talented, Aim-higher and Sports Excellence programmes provide extra learning for the more able students.

Success

Our growing reputation is based on our commitment to provide a safe and stimulating learning environment. We expect our students to:

Have high hopes for themselves and make significant progress in academic, cultural and sporting activities
Work hard and make the most of challenging learning activities both in and out of lessons
Live a healthy lifestyle and respect themselves, other people and the environment
Contribute positively to the community by being self-disciplined, co-operating, and behaving responsibly and respectfully at all times; and
Take part in the many after-school clubs, trips and outdoor pursuits, both in Britain and abroad, which are organised through year groups

Developing values and responsibility

As an increasingly successful large comprehensive school that serves an ethnically varied community, we have a strict policy on any form of bullying and racism. We take any reported incidents very seriously and deal with them quickly.

We encourage and expect high standards of work and behaviour at all times. We have a system of rewards and penalties to make sure students keep to our agreed code of conduct. We place a lot of emphasis on rewards and positively encouraging good behaviour.

We encourage students to use their 'voice' through a School Council, which allows them to improve every aspect of their school life and their learning environment.

We are proud that Ofsted recognised that 'relationships throughout the school community are good and students have opportunities to take responsibility. The student voice is particularly strong as the School Council is vociferous. Their voice has resulted in a wide range of improvements across the school.'

Working in partnership with families

Communication and working with parents and carers is vital in providing the very best education. Regular newsletters, our website, the student diary and various meetings will keep you in contact with the school.

We believe every child must have at least one adult in school who knows them well and who they can turn to for support. When they first come to Eastbury, students will be placed in a tutor group, and it is the tutor who will take up this role.

Tutors are part of a strong team that monitor every student and make sure they are happy, reach their academic targets and fulfil their true potential. You will meet with the tutor twice a year at our achievement days, and we encourage parents to make early contact with the tutor to discuss any concerns.

Parents and carers know their child better than most. By working together, we can make 'getting the best from and for our learners' a reality.

Closest public transport

Buses - 62, 287, 368

Underground - Barking and Upney Stations

Rail - Barking Station