Primary school continues to be good, says report

Gonerby Hill Foot Primary School has been praised by Ofsted.

Inspectors visited last month and said it “continues to be good.” Headteacher Claire Stylianides was told: “You are determined to build on the school’s many strengths. You are able to do this because you have a good understanding of what the school needs to improve, including the need to develop the curriculum further.”

“Yours is an inclusive school, underpinned by strong values, where pupils feel valued. Parents and carers and all pupils commented on the willingness and dedication of staff to deal with issues that arise.”

Leaders were also praised for their accurate view of the school’s strengths and areas for development, plus the work done with neighbouring schools. Governors were praised for their support, the training they did and their annual skills audit. Effective staff development had also improved standards since the last inspection in 2014.

Ofsted said: “Well-trained staff have successfully introduced a range of effective intervention programmes across all year groups, helping to accelerate pupils’ reading achievements.

“The behaviour and attitudes of pupils are a strength of the school. Pupils show care and concern for one another; all the pupils say bullying is very rare or non-existent.

“Pupils have excellent attitudes to learning and stay on task, working hard when they are unsupervised.”

Pupils also said they felt safe at the school. Parents agreed their children were safe and well cared for.

Mrs Stylianides said the school was ‘delighted’ with the ‘good’ rating, which was expected. She was proud the inspector cited its strong values, the behaviour of the pupils and the hard work the school makes in creating a safe climate.

“Everyone works hard at GHF and the inspector noted our ‘determination to build on our many strengths’ and particularly noted improvements we had made in standards of education, including for disadvantaged pupils.

She added: “The outcome is a reflection of our hardworking pupils and dedicated staff and the invaluable support we receive from parents. It is a delight that our strengths are recognised and we are looking forward to building on these as we grow and flourish to be the best that we can.”