Stafford primary school turns its fortunes around
A school has turned its fortunes around in two years to receive a glowing report from Ofsted.
Berkswich Church of England Primary School in Cedar Way, Walton-on-the-Hill in Stafford, has gone from ‘requires improvement’ to ‘outstanding’.
The school, which was previously inspected by Ofsted in March 2015, was told to improve by the education watchdog in four out of the five areas covered.
It came after the school of 230 pupils was given an outstanding report prior to that in 2005.
Now, Berkswich has returned to its former outstanding status, which it received in 2005, after being found to be outstanding in the areas of effectiveness of leadership and management, quality of teaching, learning and assessment, personal development, behaviour and welfare, outcomes for pupils and early years provision.
The report says: “The headteacher provides outstanding leadership.
“She is unwavering and uncompromising in her determination to provide the best possible learning experiences for pupils.
“Leaders, including governors, share a clear, ambitious vision for the school, based on very high aspirations and expectations.
"The school ethos, 'We believe, we achieve, we care', reflects the strong commitment to the Christian principles which are at the heart of the school.
“Pupils’ behaviour is outstanding. They are courteous, considerate and mature, both in their attitudes to each other and in their approach to learning.”
To compare, the school’s previous inspection revealed pupils did not ‘consistently’ achieve in reading and mathematics and ‘especially not’ in writing and in the accurate use of grammar, spelling and punctuation.
It added that teaching was not good enough to ensure that pupils of all abilities learn well over time.
Now, the inspector believes pupils take great pride in their school and enjoy opportunities that to take on additional responsibilities.
