Kentish Express Ashford & District
Passionate leadership behind school advances
Inspectors have praised teachers and staff at a grammar school and say pupils continue to achieve high standards.
Paula Sargent and Jennifer Bray conducted a snap visit at Norton Knatchbull School shortly before the Easter holidays, and published their report on Friday, April 21.
The report says the school continues to be “good” and praised head teacher Susanne Staab for her “thoughtful and passionate” leadership.
The inspectors noted: “There is a welcoming and harmonious atmosphere among pupils.
“During the inspection we saw many examples of pupils working collaboratively together and listening respectfully to each other.
“Pupils are confident, keen to learn and ambitious for their futures.”
The report stated that disadvantaged pupils from poorer backgrounds did make good progress, while the most able pupils achieved high standards.
The inspectors praised English teachers for boosting stand- ards. They said: “Inspectors saw examples of very good questioning in English, history and politics which probed pupils’ understanding and made them think hard.”
They also praised teachers’ “secure subject knowledge” i n chemistry and French, with pupils feeling confident to answer questions in class which “reflects the success of the school’s strategies to improve their communication skills”.
But the report did highlight that improvement can still be made in other subject areas, with “variability” of expectations that teachers have in their pupils’ presentation, the level of challenge, and the quality of advice given to help them improve.
Mrs Staab said the report showed significant progress had been made since the previous Ofsted inspection in 2012.
She said: “We are particularly delighted that we have continued to provide such a good quality of education to our pupils in an increasingly challenging and ever-changing national educational landscape.
“We are ambitious for our pupils and they are right to expect the highest standards from us.”