Ofsted praises primary school

An inspection of Castor Church of England Primary School has declared that pupil performance has improved under the leadership of headteacher Nick Brompton and deputy headteacher Louise Abbott.

The school in Stocks Hill, Castor, was rated ‘Good’ in June 2014 by Ofsted, and has now maintained that rating following its latest inspection.

A letter from inspector Fiona Webb to Mr Brompton states: “In both 2016 and 2017, published assessment information shows that standards had dipped. Pupils’ outcomes in reading, writing and mathematics were not good enough because pupils did not make enough progress.

“Your determination to improve outcomes has got the school rapidly back on track so that current pupils are receiving a good and improving education, and most are making good progress.

“Consequently, the unvalidated results for 2018 are more positive and they reflect the hard work of staff and pupils over the past academic year.”

Ofsted also praised the school’s early provision and said pupils are “happy, friendly and polite”.

It said the school’s next steps should see the “role of middle leaders” developed, and for more “middle attaining and most able pupils” to reach the higher standards in reading, writing and maths.

Mr Brompton said reaching a rating of ‘Outstanding’ was the school’s goal.

He added: “I am very happy with the report, and it is very reassuring to us that Ofsted agreed with our own evaluation of our school.

“This is testament to the hard work of the children, parents, staff and governors of our school, as well as the local authority, who have both challenged and supported us in achieving this.”

Asked what pleased him most about the inspection result, Mr Brompton replied: “That the children feel well looked after in school is very important to us, as is parents feeling that their children are happy and safe.

“On this foundation a lot of work in school has focused on raising pupil outcomes, particularly those at the end of Key Stage 2.

“The report recognises the work around teaching and learning that has taken place to contribute towards our pupil outcomes now being above national averages in most areas across school.”