Stamford school celebrates 'good' and 'outstanding' results following Ofsted inspection
The academy was previously rated as ‘requires improvement'
Staff at a primary school in Stamford are ‘delighted’ their hard work to improve their education offering has been recognised by Ofsted.
St Augustine’s Catholic Voluntary Academy has been given ‘good’ and ‘outstanding’ gradings by the education watchdog following its latest inspection.
Part of Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Multi-Academy Trust, the school was previously grading overall as ‘requires improvement’ in both 2022 and 2019.
Since September last year, the education watchdog has scrapped single-word gradings, now opting to grade the five keys areas individually.
Following the latest inspection, on January 28 and 29, the school was rated ‘good’ in four out of the five areas – quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management. For its early years provision it was judged as ‘outstanding’ – the highest possible rating.
In the report, the inspector notes the academy is a “warm and welcoming school” where “dedicated staff” ensure pupils are safe and well-cared for.
An excerpt reads: “This school has improved over recent years. Since the previous inspection, staff have worked hard to refine the curriculum. They continually reflect on, and develop, their practice to make sure that all pupils can be successful. The school quickly, and accurately, identifies when pupils have SEND. Well-trained staff carefully adapt learning activities and routines.”
Head teacher Tina Cox, commented: “I became head teacher in 2021 when the school had previously been graded ‘Requires Improvement’ – and there has been a huge amount to do to improve the quality of provision for the pupils and families.
"Having built a really strong team of dedicated and experienced staff, we have worked extremely hard on all aspects of improvement and were both delighted and proud that the team of inspectors recognised all we do on their visit.
“It is crucial that our pupils ‘get off to the best start’ in our ‘outstanding’ early years department, where a team of skilled staff, led by Jenny Darby, personalise the curriculum daily to the individual needs and interests of their class.”
The school said an entirely new curriculum has been developed by the subject leaders, led by Jo Oliver, the curriculum lead - with PE, music, French and computing being delivered each week by ‘experts’.
Mrs Cox went on: “Personal development is a high priority for us at St. Augustine’s, with character development and behaviour management rooted in our 12 school virtues, all linking with our mission statement of ‘Let all that you do be done in love’. Our pupils are our biggest advocates and they feel safe, happy and valued in school. They form great friendships and have a wealth of opportunities both in and out of the classroom.”
She added: “We are a relatively small team at St. Augustine’s and I am immensely proud of everything we have achieved. Finally, we are a small school with places available and would welcome anyone, from any or no faith background, to come and have look around our lovely school.”