The Clere School

The Clere School is a secondary comprehensive school that has faced significant turbulence since its previous inspection, including changes in leadership, staffing and governance, as well as high levels of staff absence. Inspectors found that too many pupils do not feel safe, particularly because bullying concerns are not consistently recorded, monitored or followed up, and pupils lack confidence that reporting will lead to effective action. Attendance is a serious concern, especially for pupils with SEND and those receiving free school meals, and suspension rates are very high. Behaviour and leadership and management were judged inadequate, while quality of education and personal development require improvement. Safeguarding arrangements are effective, but record-keeping is not precise enough. There are clear strengths. Many pupils behave well, most lessons are now focused and undisturbed, and achievement is improving gradually. Recent leadership appointments have strengthened several critical subject areas, teachers have strong subject knowledge, and English and mathematics teaching builds learning carefully. Year 7 pupils who are behind in reading are well supported, personal development is improving through a revised PSHE programme, clubs and careers guidance, and governance has improved with local authority support. Staff feel valued and leaders consider workload. However, the school still has substantial work to do. The curriculum is too variable, teachers do not consistently check learning or address gaps, and disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND are not supported well enough to achieve. Reading support is not available consistently in Years 8 to 10, and the proportion of pupils studying the full English Baccalaureate suite remains low. This was the first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and the headteacher took up post in April 2023. Leaders are positive and better placed to improve, but they must act more swiftly and consistently on bullying, attendance, suspensions, curriculum delivery and support for disadvantaged and SEND pupils.

Strengths

• Safeguarding arrangements are effective, with well-trained and vigilant staff and an open, transparent culture.
• Many pupils behave well, and most lessons are now focused and free from disruption.
• Achievement is improving gradually, supported by stronger leadership in some critical subject areas.
• Teachers have strong subject knowledge, particularly in English and mathematics where learning builds carefully.
• Expert staff help Year 7 pupils who are behind in reading to catch up quickly.
• Personal development is improving through timely PSHE, online safety lessons, clubs and careers guidance.
• Governance has improved, and the school benefits from local authority support.
• Staff feel valued because leaders carefully consider the impact of changes on workload.
• Pupils with SEND have their needs identified accurately, and updated profiles give staff useful information.
• The school monitors attendance closely and has helped improve attendance for a small number of individual pupils.

Areas for Improvement

• Too many pupils feel unsafe and do not report bullying because they lack confidence in the school's response.
• Allegations of bullying are often not recorded accurately, so cases are not monitored or followed up rigorously enough.
• A small minority of pupils disrupt learning, and their poor behaviour is not always addressed effectively.
• Pupils report being pushed in corridors and the lunch queue, and disrespectful behaviour sometimes goes unchallenged.
• Persistent absence is worryingly high, especially for pupils with SEND and pupils receiving free school meals.
• Suspension rates are very high, particularly for pupils with SEND, meaning these pupils miss too much learning.
• The curriculum is too variable, and teachers do not routinely ensure pupils acquire new knowledge and skills well across all subjects.
• Teachers' checks on learning are not consistently effective, so gaps and misconceptions often go unaddressed.
• Disadvantaged pupils, particularly those receiving free school meals, achieve poorly and do not receive the support they need in lessons.
• Staff do not adapt teaching effectively enough to meet the needs of pupils with SEND.
• Pupils in Years 8, 9 and 10 do not receive additional help to read with fluency and confidence.
• The proportion of pupils studying the full suite of English Baccalaureate subjects remains low.
• Safeguarding record-keeping is not accurate or comprehensive enough, and information is sometimes held in multiple places.
• The school does not have an accurate understanding of patterns or trends in worrying incidents, including bullying.
• School policies and improvement priorities are not applied rigorously or consistently enough to secure rapid improvement.
• Careers information is timely, but pupils do not understand its importance and relevance well enough.

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at The Clere School attended 89.1% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 35.2% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 23.4%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 11.1% of pupils at The Clere School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). One pupil was permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 The Clere School had 13.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 39.9% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.1%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 13.9% of pupils at The Clere School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 6.5% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded secondary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 The Clere School received £11,135 and spent £11,296 for each of its 382 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £2,706,000 (-£7,084 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24).

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What is The Clere School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for The Clere School is Inadequate, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was The Clere School last inspected by Ofsted?

The Clere School was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does The Clere School have?

The Clere School has 382 pupils on roll.

What age range does The Clere School cover?

The Clere School for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are The Clere School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 38.8, and 35% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is The Clere School?

The Clere School is at Earlstone Common, Burghclere, Newbury, Berkshire, RG20 9HP.