WE ARE A GOOD SCHOOL                               

I am highly delighted to present to you our recent Ofsted report which clearly states we are now a GOOD school!

This is especially pleasing because when myself, my senior leadership team and the new Governing body started to lead the school in September 2016, it was apparent that there was very much work to do with so little time.  The school had been under the remit to improve since January 2015 and yet in September 2016 the school still hadn't come in line with schools nationally and teaching and learning still remained a huge concern (as acknowledged in the report). Furthermore, the targets set by Ofsted in January 2015 and May 2015 had not yet been addressed.

This year, our results are in line with schools nationally across all phases: Reception, Phonics, KS1 and KS2 - the best results the school has ever achieved!  In addition, target areas given by Ofsted in 2015 have been successfully addressed in 2016/17.  So it is with great satisfaction, a sense of pride and achievement, and a lot of hard work from all staff, that I can tell you we have moved from Requires Improvement to GOOD, within less than a year.  This affirms our commitment to you in providing the best education possible for your child, whilst ensuring their wellbeing and enjoyment of school remains our top priority. 

Ofsted also recognised the huge improvement in parents taking part in their child’s education and being invited in to school to celebrate in their child’s achievements - so much more with their child than ever before.  Your views were very useful here because so many of you were in school over the two days the  inspection took place, so Ofsted  got a very well rounded and accurate view of the school  from your perspective - so thank you!   Ofsted have given us a target to continue to keep you involved and informed in your child's education - something we are committed to doing anyway.

The highlights of the report show that:

• The Head Teacher, senior leaders and governors are ambitious and aspirational for the pupils.  And that our high expectations have resulted in the overall effectiveness of the school improving so that it is now good
• Progress is tracked exceptionally well and swift action is taken to help pupils  should they fall behind 
• The new curriculum captures the pupils’ interests.  Parents say they enjoy celebrating their children's work at the end of topics
• High quality work is displayed  around the Academy 
• Leaders have provided very effective training for teachers and teaching assistants to ensure that the quality of teaching  is good
• Expectations are high
• Teaching assistants have benefited from additional training
• Pupils are proud of their school and their work; they enjoy their learning and would recommend their school to others; pupils say  they play well together and no one is left out; pupils know they are well cared for
• Behaviour is good; the school is a calm and orderly environment that is well respected by the pupils’; pupils say they feel safe and enjoy school
• Bullying is rare, it is not tolerated and pupils speak of the excellent support given by the pastoral team in ‘sorting stuff out’
• In Early Years children make progress quickly because of good teaching and leadership ; leaders check the quality of teaching thoroughly  to ensure it is good and leading to good outcomes for children; information on the needs of the children is recorded meticulously; adults have high expectations of children; adults are very skilled in the teaching of early reading
• Parents value the positive relationships with staff
• Leaders have had a sharp focus on safeguarding children which has been commented on positively by parents 
• School leaders and the safeguarding team are tenacious in making sure safeguarding issues are dealt with swiftly
• Leaders promote pupils’ confidence, physical and emotional wellbeing successfully

The main focus for improvement is to make sure we continue to improve the quality of teaching - which is already being addressed through the introduction of many new staff from September 2017.

Homework came up as an issue with parents and so we will ensure that homework is of the standard, regularity and consistency you expect going forward.

The staff have had to work harder than ever to ensure that standards improved rapidly over the last year and so we thank them for rising to the challenge.

I would like to also assure you that we will not ‘rest on our laurels’ but continue to ensure that your child goes on to receive an outstanding education so that they get the best start in life.

We thank you for all your support, encouragement, feedback and the trust you placed in us to move the school forward, during this transitional year.  We look forward to continuing to work in partnership with you over the coming years.

Please click on the link below to view the full report.