Primary school celebrates good Ofsted (From Thurrock Gazette)

Primary school celebrates good Ofsted

7:17pm Monday 14th May 2012 in News

THE headteacher of Stifford Primary School is thrilled it has retained its “good” rating by Ofsted.

The school was inspected by the government’s education watchdog last month and was judged to have made further improvements since its last inspection.

Headteacher Mark Jones said: “To achieve a good grading in all five aspects is fantastic news and a really positive endorsement for all the recent changes we have made.

“While we had achieved a good grading in our last inspection, the team were of the opinion that the school had improved further.

“In particular the inspectors were pleased about the amount of progress the children were making, as a result of teaching which they had judged as being good overall with increasing evidence of outstanding lessons.

“All in all a great report, and a fabulous outcome for everyone associated with our school, pupils, parents, staff and governors.”

Inspector Michael Bartleman praised the “determined” leadership of the school.

He said: “The headteacher, ably supported by the deputy headteacher, provides determined leadership.

“He has a clear vision for school development, which is based upon accurate school self-evaluation and is shared by members of the governing body and all staff.

“The effective management of teaching and learning, the constant focus on staff training and regular checks on school performance have led to improvements in pupils’ achievement.”

The report said the school, which is considering converting to academy status, can improve further by raising achievement in writing to match the levels reached in reading and maths, by giving children the more opportunity to write at length in all areas of the curriculum.

It also said the school can increase its proportion of outstanding teaching by making sure there is an an effective balance between teacher-talk and pupils’ independent activities.