The
chair of governors Mr Rod Coveney said, “The report puts the
school in a good position for its continued improvement and
the praise is well deserved. The governors recognise the hard
work of staff and pupils.”
The
inspectors spent two days in the school earlier this month and
found many strengths.
Leadership
and Management
The
school was rated as good in this area. OFSTED say that “The
well established senior leadership team is driving through change
which is having a beneficial impact on achievement and standards.”
Amanda
Timbrell Deputy Headteacher commented. “We were pleased that
OFSTED noted our success with the amalgamation of the two schools.”
OFSTED praised the headteacher and the leadership team and comment
on the strong support from the governors. They note that new
procedures and practices have been firmly established across
the school focussed on improvement and they praise the school's
improvement plan. They felt that leaders at all levels showed
a “clear awareness of strengths and weaknesses.”
Personal
Development and Well being
This
area came out strongly with many good points highlighted. They
found that “pupils are happy at school and most keen to learn.”
They add “In the playground they behave well.” It was particularly
pleasing, as a new primary school, to read “Pupils of different
ages work well with each other and older pupils are confident
enough to take the lead when necessary”
Care
Guidance and Support
This
area was rated as “good”. In particular the team noted that
“The school looks after its pupils well and takes every step
to ensure their health and safety.”
Teaching and
Learning
OFSTED
note that “good relationships between staff and pupils help
pupils to enjoy their learning”
They also felt that “staff are good role models and treat pupils
fairly”. They praised our teaching assistants and said that
the “nursery and reception staff are sensitive to the personal
needs of the children.”
During
the OFSTED visit the whole school was engaged in an exciting,
successful and fun Maths
Week. The individual nature and structure of many of the maths
activities meant that OFSTED did not see more examples of good
and even excellent teaching . This,
combined with the focus on data and
the generally satisfactory progress of the children ,
kept the overall grade as satisfactory
in this area.
Ken
Kies, Headteacher comments, “Although the school is rapidly
improving it is still too early to see the full impact of strategies
such as the introduction of a whole school approach to teaching
calculations or the new systems for teaching spelling and reading.”
What
else did OFSTED say?
• Pupils
feel safe at school and say bullying is rare.
• The
support for vulnerable pupils, especially those with behaviour
difficulties is strong.
• School
planning now includes themes and topics creating links between
subjects and making work more interesting for the pupils.
• The
practical maths focus has considerably enhanced pupil's
enjoyment.
• There
are strengths in PE, art and design and music and the provision
for English has improved.
• Parents
support the school well.
• Pupils
enjoy the residential trips, and local visits that enhance
learning.
• Pupil
class representatives contribute positively through the
school council.
• Teaching
assistants provide good support for pupils with learning
difficulties and disabilities.
The
Key Issues
• Raise
standards in Science and improve the provision for investigative
work.
• Sharpen
the use of assessment information in teaching so that challenge
to all pupils is more consistent.
• Improve
the use of ICT to enhance learning in all subjects
OFSTED
noted that all the above issues had already been correctly identified
by the school and appear in the current school improvement plan.
The school is confident that these issues can be addressed successfully
and will be working hard to achieve this. OFSTED endorse this
commenting, “There are clear indications that the school has
good capacity to improve further.” |
Primary
