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Ixworth Church of England Primary School near Bury St Edmunds is congratulated for 'good' Ofsted 'tremendous achievement'




A primary school’s ‘remarkable turnaround’ has been recognised in a ‘good’ Ofsted rating.

Ixworth Church of England Primary School in Ixworth, near Bury St Edmunds, was previously in special measures before becoming an academy under the Tilian Partnership in December 2017.

Ofsted inspectors visited the school in May and judged it to be ‘good’ in its overall effectiveness and all five categories: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management and early years provision.

Ixworth CE Primary School has been rated as 'good’ by Ofsted
Ixworth CE Primary School has been rated as 'good’ by Ofsted

The report said pupils were ‘happy to attend’ the school, they are respectful of one another and they feel safe there.

It added: “Relationships between adults and pupils are positive. Pupils know that staff have high expectations of them. They try their best to live up to these expectations and they are encouraged to work hard by the school motto: ‘where learning has no limits’.”

Headteacher Lyndsey Allsopp, who took over at the school in April 2018, said its improvement since then was the result of an incredible effort across the whole school, including teachers, parents and governors, with the valuable support of the wider Ixworth community.

She said: “We have achieved a remarkable turnaround. We have been on a long journey over the past four years, through Covid, but this report makes all the hard work worthwhile.

“I am so proud of our teachers and governors who have contributed so much and go the extra mile every day for our children.”

Joanna Spicer, county councillor for Ixworth, said to go from special measures to good was ‘a tremendous achievement’ and sent her ‘warmest congratulations’ to the school and everyone who has contributed to its improvement.

John Griffiths, borough councillor for Ixworth, said the school’s success ‘is something for everyone in the village to be proud of and celebrate’.

West Suffolk MP Matt Hancock congratulated everyone on the report.

In terms of areas to improve, Ofsted said there should be better assessment of what knowledge pupils have remembered over time and leaders should ensure staff are given more training and support to manage challenging behaviour by pupils.