Market Deeping Primary School 'immensely proud' of Good Ofsted rating

Market Deeping Community Primary School headteacher Mark Ratchford has spoken of his immense pride after the school received a rating of Good from their latest Ofsted inspection.

The school was rated as Requires Improvement by the monitoring body after inspections both in 2017 and 2020.

Monitoring visits were carried out in March and May 2021 and the school has now been rated as Good following a full inspection in January 2024.

The report found the school to be Good in all areas; quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, early years provision and overall effectiveness.

The report noted that “pupils are flourishing at Market Deeping Community Primary School. It is a safe, happy place, where pupils get the right support at the right time.”

Pupils told inspectors that ‘The teachers are always there for you, whatever you need.’

The school’s core values were also praised in the report with the children noted to be striving to become ‘confident communicators’, ‘resilient learners’, ‘aspirational citizens’ and ‘community champions.’

Among the other strengths of the school praised was the curriculum, described at a “real strength.”

The report stated: “The curriculum at Market Deeping Community Primary School is a real strength. It is rich and ambitious.

"Curriculum plans set out exactly what pupils need to know at each stage of their education. The school has given careful thought to the sequence of learning in mixed age classes, as well as how subjects build on children’s experiences in the early years.

"Staff are experts in teaching pupils how to read. They show pupils how to use their ‘blending hands’ to combine letter sounds into whole words. Staff go over words that are harder to read and spell.

"The books that pupils take home to read are matched to the letter sounds they recognise. Older pupils learn how to extract hidden meaning from the texts they read. All classes have timetabled sessions in the school library so that pupils can immerse themselves in a world of books.”

In order to improve towards Outstanding, the school has been asked to refine its system for checking on the gaps in pupils’ knowledge.

The report added: “The school has a rich and ambitious curriculum, however, in some subjects, pupils do not have a secure grasp of the important content they need to remember. The school must refine its systems for checking on learning so that any gaps in pupils’ knowledge are addressed, and pupils gain the deep and detailed understanding of the curriculum that is intended.”

Mr Ratchford said: “We are immensely proud of our GOOD inspection grading by OFSTED. It is a challenging experience and the result is due to strong teamwork, caring staff, supportive parents, excellent governors and the generous volunteers we have at Market Deeping Community Primary School.

"We have an extremely positive report which captures the huge amount we do in school to offer a rich curriculum and wide range of inclusive opportunities. It is a snap shot of what we do every day for our children.

"They shine throughout the year and are ready for their next steps in life – it is wonderful that OFSTED recognise this too.”