Glowing report for village schools

Ofsted rate Chaddleworth St Andrew’s and Shefford Federation of C of E primary schools 'good'

THE Chaddleworth St Andrew’s and Shefford Federation of C of E primary schools are celebrating the successful outcome of their Ofsted inspection in April.

Following this inspection, both schools are judged as ‘Good’ in every area with strengths in both reading and Early Years provision.

The schools share the same headteacher, staff and governing body and in April 2016, both moved onto the same site and began working fully as one school.

Both schools were considered ‘in need of improvement’ in 2015.

Since then, the school has been working closely with the council and their governing bodies to recruit a new headteacher and complete a comprehensive action plan.

Inspectors found that, since taking up the post in January 2016, the new head teacher Bridget Goodrich has brought “renewed vigour and enthusiasm to the staff and governors at Shefford”.

The reports say that the attention to pupil welfare and personal development are a strength of the school, they have a ‘culture of deep care’ and, as one parent noted, ‘the school is bursting with life, love and laughter’.

West Berkshire Council executive member for education, Lynne Doherty (Con, Northcroft), said: “What a brilliant result. This clearly shows the power of the collective when two schools unite and what can be achieved when everybody is working single-mindedly to achieve success.

“Congratulations to all concerned.”

​Headteacher Bridget Goodrich said she was “absolutely delighted” with the reports, and added: “It is extremely rewarding to have our efforts recognised and these reports are testament to the commitment and hard work of staff, pupils, the friends of the schools, our effective governing board and the local authority.

“We are completely united in our objective to work together to move forward and continuously improve.”