A Chester village church school has had an ‘Outstanding’ report from Ofsted.
HMI Mark Quinn reached the conclusion following a two-day visit to Tushingham-with-Grindley CE Primary which he found had improved from ‘Good’ at a previous inspection in 2014.
The inspector described the overall effectiveness of the school, which has 110 pupils, as ‘outstanding’ along with all its main futures.
He has told parents executive headteacher Kath Shephard and the school’s head Wendy Forshaw ‘are very capable and have a clear view of how to sustain the high standards of education the school provides’.
The governors ‘are extremely ambitious and knowledgeable. They constantly seek excellence and hold senior leaders to account with great rigour to ensure that they achieve it’.
Teachers are ‘highly knowledgeable’ and teach lessons that are ‘very well planned, challenging and interesting’.
By the time pupils leave Year 6, attainment in English and maths is above the national average.
Teachers have high expectations of their pupils’ behaviour and attitudes to work which lead to ‘excellent progress’.
The children at Tushingham ‘are highly confident and articulate’. Their behaviour is ‘exemplary’ both in class and around the school. The youngsters show ‘superb attitudes’ to their learning.
The school’s leaders provide a ‘broad, balanced and exciting curriculum’ that enables pupils to gain deep knowledge, understanding and skills across all subjects and year groups.
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Children in the early years make ‘very strong’ progress during their time there and teachers plan and deliver activities that challenge them to do their very best. Almost all children are ready for Year 1 by the time they finish their reception year.
There are ‘very effective and accurate’ arrangements in place for assessing pupils’ progress across the full range of subjects.
In his detailed report the inspector says the executive head and the head of school are ‘committed, passionate and highly effective in providing an excellent standard of education for their pupils’.
They bring this about by accurately evaluating the strengths and next steps for the school and planning detailed actions for further development.
Current pupils make outstanding progress typically leaving Year 6 with attainment that is above the national average for reading, writing and maths
Leaders ensure they capture pupils’ imagination at the start of every new topic or theme by planning and delivering ‘wow’ activities and also use high-quality reading books to stimulate pupils’ interest in writing.
”Since the last inspection there has been strong improvement in the quality of teaching, learning and assessment from the school’s previously good standard,” suggests the inspector.
Parents who responded to Ofsted’s online questionnaire Parent View, were, ‘in the vast majority of cases’, very positive about the school. They typically described it as ‘wonderful’ and felt their children made ‘excellent progress’.
'Thrilled'
The school is said to be ‘thrilled’ to have gained ‘outstanding’ school status. Mrs Shephard said: “Huge congratulations to staff, children and governors on receiving an ‘Outstanding’ report reflecting their hard-work, commitment and dedication. “Pupils’ excellent progress and enjoyment of learning shines through the report.”
She added: “I am incredibly proud of the whole Tushingham School community. There is a real feeling of working together, supporting each other and always looking to provide and produce the highest standards of education.
“It is a privilege and a pleasure to work at Tushingham School.”
