Newport pupils jump for joy after school achieves an Ofsted rating ‘a fraction away from Outstanding’

Pupils and teachers were jumping for joy this week after Ofsted awarded their school a ‘Good’ rating with outstanding features.

The governors of Newport Primary School have spoken of their delight with the result of a recent Ofsted inspection. Under the new, and more challenging criteria, the inspector was “extremely positive and complementary throughout the inspection,” according to chair of governors Thomas William-Powlett.

Mr William-Powlett added: “The school leadership team has always endeavoured to do what is best for our whole community. We were proud to see this reflected not only in the inspector’s validation of the progress the children make at the school, but also in the overwhelmingly positive response to the Parent View survey, where 97 per cent of parents would recommend the school to another parent.”

What also impressed the inspector was the children’s politeness and enthusiasm. Mr William-Powlett said: “We are delighted that the caring nature of the school was recognised by the inspector in the report, including that ‘the school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is outstanding’, and ‘pupils show respect and care for each other, and are polite to visitors, often holding doors open for them’.”

Newport Primary School moved from what Mr William-Powlett called a “solid Good” in 2009, under the last inspection, to “a fraction away from Outstanding” under the new and more rigorous Ofsted criteria.

He added: “This is of course down to the hard work of staff, pupils and Governors and the outstanding support we get from parents.

“We are pleased that the small number of actions for improvement are all so positive and are already identified in the School Development Plan.

“We take on board the inspector’s comments about what we need to do to improve further.”