Ofsted Report
Earlham Primary School was inspected on the 10th and 11th of December 2019.
There are currently two types of inspection. In a section 5 inspection, inspectors can change the grade of the school, for example from good to outstanding, or from good to requires improvement. The type of inspection we had at Earlham, however, was a section 8 inspection; in this inspection the grade cannot be changed and we remain a ‘Good School’. However, if inspectors think a school is so good it may well be outstanding, they can recommend that a section 5 inspection is also conducted so that the grade can then be changed. This is what happened at Earlham, as you will see from page 1 of the report:
‘There is enough evidence of improved performance to suggest that the school could be judged outstanding if we were to carry out a section 5 inspection now.'
This is a huge achievement for the school and the community and a clear recognition that the hard work of all members of the school community continues to impact positively on the lives of all Earlham children. We are expecting to be re-inspected at some point during the next academic year and are very optimistic that we will be judged to be officially outstanding when that happens.
When you read the report you will see many examples of the strengths of the school. The HMI Inspector commented on how:
‘Pupils enjoy coming to school because teachers make learning interesting. They provide a wealth of engaging experiences that capture pupils’ attention.’
‘Pupils and staff are cheerful. They are quick to show kindness to others. They know their voices are heard and their feelings are valued.’
‘Both staff and pupils appreciate that leaders put their well-being at the heart of all they do.’
‘All staff listen to what pupils have to say. They understand exactly what each pupil needs to learn next. I noticed how engaged all pupils are in their lessons.’
‘Pupils at Earlham make significantly better progress compared with others nationally.’
‘Curriculum leaders have developed the ambitious educational programme on offer across all subjects.’
‘Bullying is rare and staff challenge any areas of concern swiftly.’
‘The safeguarding leader is persistent in making sure families get any help that they need.’
This is the result of many years of hard work by leaders, teachers and support staff who are totally committed to the learning and wellbeing of all our pupils. We also know that many of you spoke to the inspector about how happy you are with the school. We genuinely aim for excellence in everything we do, and are delighted that this has been recognised. We look forward to continuing to work with you on our journey to outstanding. As a restless, ambitious school, naturally we will be working tirelessly to ensure that the next steps from the report form part of our school priorities for the remainder of this academic year and beyond and we look forward to sharing these with our school community in the coming months.
Whilst we are delighted with the outcome of the inspection we recognise that it is the ongoing feedback we receive from parents and children that we truly value, which enables us to ensure we provide the children of Earlham Primary School with the very best education.
Please click here to read the full report.