Primary school gets a good Ofsted report

THURLASTON Primary School had a flying start to the year as an Ofsted report graded it as ‘Good’.

The short inspection at the Church of England school in November last year found that “the leadership team has maintained the good quality of education since the last inspection”, which was in June 2013.

Parents were said to be “unanimous in their view that their children are happy, safe and making good progress.

“Staff who responded to the Ofsted questionnaire echoed the parents’ views.”

Inspector Peter Stonier wrote that pupils were “polite, respectful and enthusiastic learners. They told me that bullying is extremely rare and that behaviour is good, both in classes and on the play ground”.

There was high praise for residential education trips, includ- ing recent trips to the National Space Centre and New Walk Museum in Leicester.

Gavin Beetham, headteacher at the school, said: “The report accurately reflects our school and highlights the hard work the school puts in helping each child reach their potential with the support of their parents.”

Pupils have many opportunities to compete against other schools, with Thurlaston players currently the local bench ball champions.

Thurlaston Primary was commended for its strong safeguarding culture, with all staff trained in the practice and with appropriate procedures in place.

Attendance rates are above the national average, with parents frequently reminded of its importance and quick reponses from the school to concerns with absences.

Key Stage 1 and 2 pupils achieve high results in reading, writing and mathematics, with a drop in progress last year quickly rectified with whole-staff training in algebra.

Science, geography, history, art and religious education are also taught well.

Early years children were said to get off to a good start, with staff visiting children in their pre-school settings and parents and children visiting the school in the Summer term.

Improvement plans were said to focus on the correct priorities, though timescales for completing actions could be more precise.

Another criticism was that there was not a clear enough view of the impact of the school’s extra pupil premium funding, particularly for disadvantaged pupils.

Plans are in place to show how the funding is allocated and this was agreed as a next step for the school to take.

The full report letter is available to read on the Ofsted website.