Staff and pupils at Broadlands Primary School in Hereford are celebrating following an Ofsted inspection last month that has seen the school rated as ‘Good’ in all areas.
This is fantastic news for the school’s whole community and Executive Headteacher, Simon Robertson, has praised staff at the school and explained that he feelsthis rating is fully deserved and a true reflection of the hard work that has been done over several years.
The report received from Ofsted states clearly that ‘pupils thrive at Broadlands Primary School’, that ‘staff know them as individuals’ and ‘leaders and staff have established a warm and nurturing feel to the school’, helping pupils to ‘recognise their own emotions and to care for one another’.
The inspectors found clear evidence that pupils feel safe and happy and that they treat each other, and adults, with respect. The pupils know there are always adults they can speak to, and that bullying is ‘rare’, with pupils playing happily at social times.
Academically, the report states the school’s leaders have high expectations and that the curriculum is ambitious for all pupils, including those with special educational needs. The teachers were found to have secure subject knowledge and are always looking to fillany gaps in pupils’ learning.
The school also received praise for prioritising readingand it was noted that the structured phonics programme from early years onwards ensures that pupils ‘learn about letters and their sounds in a logical order’.
Speaking with pride about the report, Mr Robertson said:
“I am absolutely delighted with this report and it is truly fantastic news for the whole school. The ‘good’ grading is the culmination of a huge amount of hard work and is the very least the staff, pupils and parents/carers deserve for their efforts in recent years.
“There are so many positive comments in the report it is difficult to pick out highlights, but I have to say that the acknowledgement that the children thrive, as well as feeling happy and safe, is very rewarding.
“When you add the fact that the teaching receives high praise in terms of the learning opportunities it offers pupils, it becomes clear quite how impressed the inspectors were on their visit. It was also very satisfying to read that the ‘nurturing culture’ at Broadlands was obvious and that the emotional support that is on offer for pupils was seen to help create a ‘calm and orderly environment’.
“While everyone at the school can feel very proud of this report, I can reassure our families that we will not be resting on our laurels and that we had already identified – and were addressing – the small number of areas for improvement mentioned by Ofsted.
“The ‘good’ grading is an important step forward as it clearly evidences the positive progress that has beenmade at Broadlands, but every single member of staff retains the drive to provide the very best education for all our pupils to give them the best start possible to their academic journey.”
