Brightwalton C.E. Primary School maintains Good Ofsted rating

A village primary school has maintained its Good Ofsted rating after being visited by inspectors last month.

Brightwalton Primary School was rated as Good in all five different areas of the inspection; quality of education, behaviours and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision.

The report highlighted the enthusiasm of pupils in the classroom and the improvements the school had made to its curriculum over the past year, as well as the school’s important and successful emphasis on teaching pupils to read as soon as they enter the school.

The report begins: “Children are happy and confident at Brightwalton. They love to learn.

“Leaders and staff are building pupils’ resilience and confidence successfully. Pupils feel well cared for.

“As one child said, ‘There’s always a happy spirit going around.’”

Brightwalton Primary’s headteacher Janet Patterson said: “The team found very strong evidence of the many strengths of the school, which mean so much to us and on which we work so hard.

“We are rightly proud of our children's achievement, behaviour and personal development, which are nurtured by our dedicated team of staff and governors.”

The school’s chair of governors Denise Herrington said she was delighted that the Good report reflected the happy environment and wide opportunities available at Brightwalton Primary, as well as highlighting the school’s educational and sporting success.

Inspectors noted that school staff have effectively adapted the school’s curriculum to help pupils learn the essential knowledge they may have missed during pandemic restrictions.

Brightwalton’s safeguarding was praised in the report, with it stating that school leaders have created a caring environment for pupils.

It also stated that bullying is a rare occurrence at the school, and if it does occur, staff deal with it promptly.

“Pupils have a clear understanding of how to get help if they are worried about something”, the report stated.

The report added that teachers are accomplished at identifying pupils who need extra support, and they quickly recognise children that might have special educational needs.

The report said: “Leaders make sure that everyone is included in all aspects of school life.”

The effectiveness of extra-curricular activities (lunchtime and after school clubs) were also mentioned.

“These clubs are complemented by a strong curriculum that enables pupils to develop as well-rounded youngsters who contribute to school life,” it noted.

Inspectors did find that in some subjects, such as history and geography, school leaders are not clear enough about the most essential knowledge that they want pupils to remember for their future learning.