Guildhall Feoffment Community Primary School maintains 'good' Ofsted rating

A Bury St Edmunds school is celebrating after having maintained its ‘good’ Ofsted rating.

Guildhall Feoffment Community Primary School was visited by inspectors at the beginning of March, just two weeks before schools were ordered to close to stop the spread of coronavirus.

The inspection report, completed by Ofsted inspector Rachel Welch, found that pupils ‘enjoy’ going to the school, ‘behave well’ and ‘get on well together’.

It added that school leaders have ‘improved the quality of education’ and that teachers ‘have good knowledge of a range of subjects due to the high-quality training they receive’.

It said: “Most parents are happy with the improvements that leaders have made, particularly the better communication between school and home. Parents report that they know more about their child’s progress and what is happening within school.”

Headteacher Lorraine Ratcliffe said: “We are delighted that Ofsted has recognised the hard work that has happened at the school since the previous inspection and the fact that the school has changed so much in that time.

“It’s our first inspection as a primary school, we have had three different headteachers since then as well as a lot of staff changes.

“I think it recognised that the school has achieved so much in a short space of time.”

The report also outlined areas in which the school could improve. It said senior leaders at the school ‘should continue to provide new leaders with the support that they need’ and that teachers sometimes provide work which is ‘not challenging enough’ and leads to pupils ‘not fully engaging in their learning’.

But Mrs Ratcliffe said these were areas in which improvements were already being made.

“The things they have flagged up to us are things we are aware of and we are keen to make these changes as soon as possible to be the best we can possibly be,” she said.

“The inspection process was quite gruelling and it was two very full-on days of working late into the night as they were digging very deeply into different subjects and the way in which we work.

“But that just makes it even more amazing that Ofsted has recognised that our school is a happy place to be and that the children enjoy being here and get a good education while they are here.”