Staff and parents of children at a local primary school are celebrating the award of a ‘good’ Ofsted grading following a 6-year period during which the setting was officially deemed to be in need of improvement.
Inspectors who visited Stoke Lodge Primary School last November have rated it ‘good’ in all five categories of assessment, marking a big step forward from the previous inspection in January 2019 when only one category, early years provision, was ranked ‘good’, with all others rated ‘requires improvement’.
Recognising the improvements achieved in the last few years, the inspectors say in their report:
“Leaders have undertaken considerable work to improve the curriculum. It is suitably ambitious and includes what pupils should know and remember in every subject. The quality of education pupils receive is now good.”
The report goes on to say that the school “sits at the heart of its local community” and “everyone is welcome”. Pupils are said to be proud to be part of school life and the inspectors say they study a broad curriculum, adding that “the vast majority enjoy school”.
Inspectors found that pupils, including those in the early years, behave well, “because they understand and follow the school rules well”. The report adds that “pupils know that staff are on hand to talk things through when something goes wrong”.
Regarding bullying, inspectors say that when it happens, “pupils are confident that staff sort it out”.
Referring to the Olympus Academy Trust, which the school joined in September 2016, the report says:
“Leaders and teachers use the expertise of trust staff well. Teachers embrace taking part in additional training to learn about educational research and approaches to implementing the ambitious curriculum. This ensures that staff’s subject knowledge is continually improving.”
The report adds that the staff’s morale is “generally high”.
Areas for improvement highlighted by the inspectors include building more firmly on the essential knowledge that pupils need to know next in lower Key Stage 2; and improving teachers’ interaction with early years children so that they “develop their early language skills or model talking in sentences”.
Additionally, the inspectors feel that a minority of the pupils who speak English as an additional language are not supported well enough in their learning. However, they acknowledge that leaders are already taking action to resolve this, for example by making it a top priority in the school’s improvement plan and drawing on expert advice.
The Parent View survey results recorded on the Ofsted website show that 92 percent of parents would currently recommend Stoke Lodge to other parents, up from just 33 percent in 2017/18.
A statement published in the December newsletter of the Olympus Academy Trust said:
“We are delighted to announce that Stoke Lodge’s Ofsted inspection at the start of term 2 has resulted in a grading of ‘good’. We are absolutely thrilled for Will Ferris, headteacher, and his staff team who have worked so hard to achieve this. This outcome means that all Olympus primary settings are now rated as ‘good’ by Ofsted which is a positive for the schools and the trust. Well done to all involved!”
More information and related links
- Ofsted reports for Stoke Lodge Primary School
- Schools in Bradley Stoke (The Journal)
- Primary School Admissions (The Journal)
