A Nottingham primary has been praised for creating a happy and caring environment where pupils ‘love’ to go to school.
Ofsted inspectors said leaders at Burford Primary in Daybrook made sure the school was welcome, orderly, calm and inclusive, where everyone is treated with the utmost respect.
Following an inspection visit in May, the education watchdog highlighted the way the primary has provided learning opportunities and experiences that extend pupils’ horizons.
Inspectors said: “Leaders are passionate, demonstrating a great desire to improve, and are rightly proud of their work redesigning the school’s curriculum. Staff and pupils show great enthusiasm for the well-thought-out topics and theme weeks, along with the trips, which one pupil explained ‘bring the topics alive’.”
Awarding a judgment of ‘Good’ to the primary, the inspection report added: “The parents I spoke with were unanimously positive about the school, which reflects the school’s own recent surveys.
“Parents told me that Burford is ‘a fantastic school’ and one said, ‘I feel lucky to have a place for my child here’. Parents and pupils highly value the supportive relationships pupils have with staff and pupils feel genuinely cared for.
“Burford pupils love their school and they cannot think of anything lacking or wrong with it, which is reflected in their good attendance.”
In particular, inspectors highlighted:
- Pupils are polite and courteous everywhere around school, contributing well to the calm learning environment
- Pupils are extremely proud of their writing and their outcomes are consistently close to the national average
- Pupils feel safe in school and leaders have also ensured that the curriculum supports pupils’ understanding of how to keep themselves safe
- Pupils now use the ‘Burford Reading Gang’ characters to confidently talk about their reading and what they understand
- There was an improvement in pupils’ attainment and progress in reading at the end of key stage 2
The report added: “Pupils hold the school’s motto, ‘Attend, Aspire, Achieve’, close to their heart. They explained that ‘aspire’ means to have a dream and they instantly talked about theirs. The school’s curriculum has given pupils high aspirations, and they say that this school is helping them to achieve their goals.”
Ofsted previously rated the school in Oxlcose Lane, which caters for 239 pupils aged 4-11, as ‘Good’.
Commenting on the inspection, Head Teacher Shaun Farrington said: “I am proud of all the children, staff (both within school and at Transform Trust), governors and parents at Burford. This report reflects their combined efforts in making Burford a good school. They all deserve a huge amount of thanks, as well as congratulations, and I would like to be the first person to offer them that publicly – thank you and well done everybody at Burford.”
Cllr Neghat Khan, Portfolio Holder for Early Years, Education and Employment, said: “It’s always a pleasure to see such positive comments about one of our city schools. This is down to hard work from staff, pupils and governors. They should all be so proud of their hard work and dedication.
“The council is working closely with partners from across the city to ensure that every child can go to a school that is rated as ‘Good’ or better.”
The percentage of pupils in Nottingham going to ‘Good’ or ‘Outstanding’ schools is now above the England average – 86% in Nottingham compared to 85% nationally – as well as above the East Midlands average of 80%.
The full report can be read on the Ofsted website: https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/provider/21/143060