A primary school in West Bridgford, Nottingham, has been ranked as ‘outstanding’ in four out of five areas in its latest Ofsted report, published earlier this week.
St Edmund Campion School, in Tewkesbury Close, has received excellent critique following its Ofsted inspection which took place earlier this year. In the report, it declared that the school’s pupils ‘receive an exceptional standard of education’ and ‘have rich and rewarding experiences’.
The school – which featured in The Sunday Times’ Top 500 list of primary schools for 2020 – was ranked as ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted in four categories; quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development and early years provision.
In its fifth category; leadership and management, it was ranked as ‘requires improvement’ with regards to its safeguarding record-keeping procedures, which the school is already making strategic steps to address.
To determine the rating, inspectors spent two days at the school to observe lessons, hold discussions with the headteacher, staff and pupils, and look into school documents such as curriculum plans, pupil achievement and progress reports.
St Edmund Campion’s report highlighted the depth and breadth of the school’s curriculum, which includes an array of outdoor and extra-curricular activities for its pupils, such as outdoor learning, raising money for charity, working together to clear litter in the local community and an annual trip to Berlin for Year 5 pupils.
Headteacher at St Edmund Campion School, Anita Blake, said: “The whole team and I take great pride in providing engaging learning in a rewarding environment and on behalf of the staff, children and parents, we are proud of the really positive feedback we have received from Ofsted. We do also acknowledge that we have improvements to make and have already taken immediate action to address this.
“It gives us great pleasure to be able to provide our pupils with not only excellent academic knowledge and resources in our core subjects but also encourage development in sport, music, fundraising, outdoor learning and playing an active part in our local community in West Bridgford.”
The report further stated that pupils ‘are exceedingly well motivated and very keen to learn’ and that the school’s approach to developing a child’s character is ‘exceptional’.
Anita continued: “We believe in providing children with a broad curriculum that excites and engages them. Continuous rounds of testing are not always the most effective or encouraging way to help a child learn, and through the varied activities we have on offer, we are helping to develop well-rounded individuals who are motivated to achieve great things with a desire to do well. As a school we are always striving to improve and perform the best we can.”
The school has a busy program of upcoming events and activities throughout the spring and summer, including taking 60 Year 5 pupils to Berlin for an immersive learning experience and Year 4 and Year 6 pupils to activity and adventure centre PGL. The school is also planning to further invest in its technology and learning resources, by introducing more tablet devices into classrooms and upgrading its computer lab.