Ofsted
Outcome of Short Ofsted Inspection 2018
This school continues to be good.The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. The chief executive officer, Paul Mulligan, is retiring in two weeks’ time. Since the last inspection, he has overseen the establishment of a multi- academy trust called Together Each Achieves More (TEAM). He has been pivotal, through the trust, in helping schools in the local area support and challenge each other to ensure better outcomes for pupils. The trust provides good professional development for staff. Equally, it provides opportunities for the moderation of pupils’ work, a vital aspect of current school practice. The trustees have a good understanding of the school and its impact on the locality. The trust’s business manager was keen to share the benefits of the holistic education that pupils receive. This was evident as pupils were happy and unfailingly polite to each other, staff and visitors. You are aware of the chief executive officer’s influential work as you were a member of the school’s leadership team before gaining wider experience in a neighbouring primary school. You know that the chief executive officer will be sorely missed but are keen to continue his legacy. You are ready to take the reins and lead the school well on its journey forward. Since taking up your post three weeks ago, you have made a secure evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of the school. You have devised plans to challenge and support as necessary. The previous head of school and retiring chief executive officer have maintained the strong ethos of the school. They are rightly proud of their achievements. Pupils of every age follow a curriculum based on an overarching topic, which this term is China. Dependent on age-related expectations for pupils, work is set around this subject. As a result, pupils learn new facts and acquire a full range of writing skills, year on year. For example, pupils in Year 4 are well versed in persuasive techniques as they write their tourist brochures. Teachers in year groups share planning so that a secure platform of skills underpins adventurous and challenging topics. As one parent commented, ‘The school and its staff make big efforts to ensure that the topics are interesting and engaging for the children.’ It is your intention to develop not just writing experiences from the curriculum, but mathematical ones, too. These will promote higher-level thinking. Leaders have improved systems for tracking pupils’ progress. They allow teachers and teaching assistants to put timely support in place if pupils fall behind in their work.
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