Ecchinswell and Sydmonton Primary School's gets glowing Ofsted
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Following a two-day inspection at the 78-pupil school in January, the Ofsted report gave the school an overall ‘good’ marking, up from the previous grade of ‘satisfactory’ given at the last Ofsted inspection in September 2009.
The marking was ‘good’ across the board in this year’s report, including for teaching at the school.
Inspectors said the pupils, aged from four to 11, had positive attitudes to learning, pointing out they made particularly good progress in developing their reading and numeracy skills.
Pupils made good progress through each year because teachers kept a careful watch over how individuals were progressing and adapted lessons accordingly, according to the report.
Strong leadership was underpinned by the headteacher’s unswerving drive to ensure that all pupils did as well as they could. Governors were extremely well informed and played an active role in driving improvements along.
Children in the reception class settled quickly, got used to school routines and happily learned and played together. Pupils’ behaviour was good and pupils said that the friendly family atmosphere was one of the best things about the school.
To achieve the top Ofsted grade of ‘outstanding’, inspectors said that, although written work was grammatically correct and spelling accurate, some pupils lacked confidence in structuring sentences skilfully and using a wide range of vocabulary.
This could be improved by talking, discussing in pairs, small groups, drama, or role play.
Pupils also found difficulty in using calculation skills when tackling mathematical problems and could improve by using them in real-life situations, with a variety of strategies, the report added.
The headteacher Sharon Pole said that she was extremely proud of all the pupils, staff and governors.
“This report is a true recognition of the hard work of everyone within the school. Our friendly family atmosphere is one of the best things about Ecchinswell. A place where everyone can reach their full potential,” said Miss Pole.
The chairman of the school governors, Andrew Cratchley, said that they were delighted with the findings, in particular that pupils were making good progress and that behaviour standards were high.
“The governors would like to thank all of the school staff for their unrelenting determination in driving school improvements,” said Mr Cratchley.
The Ofsted inspectors observed 12 lessons, including six jointly with the headteacher, discussed various aspects of the school with pupils, and looked at a range of their work before writing the report.