Pupils, parents, staff and governors at Woodham Burn are absolutely delighted with the outcome of the recent Ofsted Inspection which took place on the last two days before the summer half term.
Woodham Burn is now officially a ‘good’ school, with all children making good progress from their initial starting points. By Y6 children are all at least in line with, or even above national standards, and this picture is improving with many children achieving far in excess of what was originally expected. The teaching of reading is noted in KS1 and children are said to do particularly well in the early years foundation stage where ‘excellent opportunities for learning’ lead to rapid progress.
Teaching is ‘good’. In fact, of all teaching observed during the inspection, not even one lesson fell short of the criteria for a ‘good’ judgement and some teaching observed was ‘outstanding’.
‘Pupils’ behaviour is also ‘good’, and their positive attitudes to learning contribute to the good progress being made in all areas of the school.
The good work of leaders and governors was recognised in improving the school since the last inspection and the high expectations and aspirations along with the caring, supportive ethos was praised.
Head teacher Mrs Riannon Rowe and chair of governors Jason Steward acknowledge the very hard work which has gone into achieving these very good outcomes. Mrs Rowe stated that ‘Since the Ofsted framework changed about two years ago the requirements of inspection have become all the more rigorous with nothing but ‘good’ being good enough. At Woodham Burn standards have been raised across the board and we are delighted that we have been able to work with all stakeholders at this school as well as our very supportive Local Authority to achieve this. ‘
The school now intends to follow Ofsted’s advice to widen the curriculum to provide even more opportunities for children to broaden their basic understanding and utilise their key skills in a range of contexts. The coming academic year will be a busy time for Woodham Burn. A new curriculum is to be introduced and this will incorporate lots of exciting opportunities for all children. The school aims to offer even more outings and ‘hands-on’ experiences; it will supplement the formal curriculum with more out of school clubs and opportunities. New developments are also planned relating to expanding our early years provision to include children of nursery age in the near future.
The school will celebrate this very successful report with a whole school trip at the close of the summer term. An open day for prospective parents will also be held on Friday 4th July between 9am and 12pm during which parents considering school places for their children can pop in informally to sample daily life at Woodham Burn.
