St Francis C of E Primary School has just been awarded a grade of outstanding by Government inspectors, but it is not stopping there.
The school, in Taw Hill, has scored the top grade for overall effectiveness, quality of teaching, and leadership and management in its latest Ofsted report.
And it gained a grade of good for pupil behaviour and safety Headteacher Joy Farrell, who has been at the school since January, said staff are delighted with the result but already have ideas to develop the school further.
“I was aware that things were very good here but there was no guarantee we would get outstanding under the new framework though because it is a very tough procedure with high standards,” she said.
“The result is down to years of hard work and dedicated staff.
“They have developed systems that work and they are very aware of what makes outstanding.
“We are always looking to develop, that is part of why we are outstanding. We are always looking for how we can develop further.”
In December, Government figures showed 100 per cent of pupils at the school achieved Government targets in English and maths, in contrast to 74 per cent nationally.
“We were aware our previous results had been good,” said Mrs Farrell.
“What was really pleasing was the inspector came in and looked at results and continuing achievement. That is why they gave us outstanding.”
“It is very nice to be rewarded because our children are making progress. It is not always about having the highest marks. All the children in our school make very good progress.”
Clive Westall was the headteacher of the school until last summer and Hester Millsop was one of the acting headteachers until January, when Mrs Farrell started.
The children were rewarded for the results with a non-uniform day.
Ofsted inspectors said: ”This is an outstanding school. Highly effective leadership has a very positive impact on the performance of teachers and the quality of teaching.
“As a result, pupils make consistently outstanding progress throughout the school and attain standards in reading, writing and mathematics which are significantly above those found in other schools nationally at the end of Key Stages 1 and 2.
“Children enter the Early Years Foundation Stage with skills below expected levels for their age and they also make excellent progress.”
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