Primary school celebrates huge improvements with 'good' Ofsted gradings across the board
The school was previously rated ‘requires improvement’ in 2023
Staff at a Peterborough primary school are celebrating being upgraded from a school that previously ‘requires improvement’ to one deemed ‘good’ by Ofsted.
Queen's Drive Infant School, in Queen's Drive West, has been graded ‘good’ across the board by the education watchdog.
This represents a significant improvement by the school, after it received the previous overall ‘requires improvement’ rating in 2023.
An inspection was carried out at Queen’s Drive on February 25, during which the inspector found the school to have a “carefully-considered curriculum”, noting that pupils are “enthusiastic” because “staff make tasks engaging and fun”.
The report grades the school ‘good’ across the five key areas: the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision.
An excerpt reads: “Pupils enjoy attending this welcoming school. They share their knowledge with enthusiasm, demonstrating their inquiring minds. Pupils are eager to learn because staff make tasks engaging and fun.
"Some pupils are new to learning to speak English. Staff teach these pupils the fundamentals quickly, so they feel happy and settled.”
It goes on: “Staff have high expectations of pupils’ achievements. They encourage pupils to work hard and try their best. Pupils’ work is of a high quality, showing they take pride in what they do. Pupils achieve well.”
Teachers were also praised for their good subject knowledge, with the inspector adding: “They also check pupils’ understanding accurately. This, and the school’s well established and consistent teaching methods, enable staff to impart knowledge effectively to pupils.”
It also notes that many pupils with SEND (special education needs and disabilities) “achieve well across the curriculum”.
Discussing how the school can improve, the inspector added: “Across the school, in a few subjects, the teaching of language related to some topics is not as focused as it could be. Teachers are sometimes unclear about the vocabulary that pupils need to learn.”
Commenting on the Ofsted report, head teacher Sarah Skinner, said: "We are delighted with our latest Ofsted report, which reflects the hard work and commitment from all our children and staff.
“I am so proud to lead a school where children are at the heart of all we do."