Ofsted Report
Ofsted 2019
The full Inspection Report is available by clicking here.
Ofsted 2015
The Shade Pupils show the inspector their love of learning.
On Thursday 30th April and Friday 1st May, we undertook our first Ofsted inpsection.
The inspector, Ms Goodchild, recognised that we were a developing school, in its infancy, which has achieved much in fewer than two years from opening. As a result, we are very pleased to tell you that The Shade Primary School has been judged a ‘Good’ school. We achieved ‘Good’ in all areas and ‘Outstanding’ for Behaviour and Safety.
We are very proud that Behaviour and Safety was recognised as ‘Outstanding’. In a positive atmosphere our pupils respond very well to the activities we provide. Pupils told the inspector that everyone is friendly and that they feel valued as individuals. They happily declared ‘We love everything in school.’ The inspector said that the children consistently display a thirst for knowledge and a love of learning, which is credit to the staff and parents who have built and developed this vision for learning. Our work to keep the children safe and secure is considered ‘Outstanding’ the children said ‘because we know the teachers well, it’s very safe.’
When judging Leadership and Management, the inspector commented that the school has strong leadership. The Head, Academy Trustees and the Governing Body were identified as being highly committed to establishing a school that provides strong provision and that all leaders make a valuable contribution to improving teaching and raising achievement. She felt that we work well in partnership with parents who express a high level of satisfaction with the quality of education provided.
In the report the inspector stated that the teachers have positive relationships with their pupils and give them varied work that motivates them and holds their interest. Teachers and teaching assistants use questioning well to check pupils’ understanding and probe their thinking. Ms Goodchild was particularly complimentary of our marking and feedback which allows the children to see what they have done well and how to improve. The inspector could see that in the Early Years children make good or exceptional progress in phonics and that they continue to make good progress in Year 1 with reading and spelling.
Ms Goodchild commented that the Early Years is led and managed well. She was pleased that we have effective systems for assessing what the children can do when they join Pre-School and Reception and that we track their progress in detail. She was very impressed with the quality of our learning journals and how we use these to keep parents well-informed about their child’s learning. She felt that children in Pre-School and Reception are well supported by the adults to develop their personal, social and emotional development as well as their communication and language.
In order for our school to improve further, the inspector felt that we should ensure that more pupils make better than expected progress. This desire for children to be more able than age-related expectations is, of course, a desire for our pupils that we will continue to strive for. The recommended ways to achieve this are by increasing the challenge for most-able pupils, especially in writing, and to provide more activities that involve problem solving and develop thinking skills in the Early Years. Ms Goodchild also felt that providing parents with more guidance in maths and writing would help us to achieve this.
As Headteacher and Chair of Governors, we are very proud of all that we (staff, pupils and other members of our school community) have achieved and are very grateful for the support that you have shown us since we opened in September 2013. We are on the start of an exciting journey and are pleased that together we have achieved so much so quickly.
The full Inspection Report is available by clicking here.
Jane Segust Jamie Humphrey
Headteacher Chair of Governors