Staff and pupils will be celebrating as a primary school in Bracknell has been rated ‘Good’ in its first Ofsted report since becoming an academy.
Great Hollands Primary School has moved up in the rankings being rated a ‘Good’ school which pupils enjoy attending. It follows a previous inspection in 2016 where the school was rated inadequate and told to improve.
Inspectors said that issues around previous poor behaviour have been addressed and that pupils feel safe and trust members of staff.
The inspectors praised staff for creating an environment where pupils have a desire to learn “new things”, with the leadership of the school encouraging pupils to make progress and make sure they read fluently and can use their maths skills confidently.
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To improve, inspectors said subject leaders in charge of the school’s curriculum need enhanced training to monitor how their subjects are being taught.
Additionally, inspectors judged that early years education for subjects other than reading and maths could be better planned so learning can progress from the school’s nursery onwards.
Celebrating the ‘Good’ rating, Richard Ferris, the school’s headteacher, said: “I am delighted that the transformation of our school has been recognised, the school is indeed a truly great place to learn.
“I am immensely proud of the entire school community at Great Hollands, my senior leaders, expert teachers, supportive parents and amazing children have shown that by working together you can achieve true greatness.
“Ofsted have evidenced just how ambitious we are for every child who attends our school. Our well-designed curriculum and high-quality teaching, ensures all pupils are given the opportunity to succeed at the highest level."
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The Ofsted inspection was the first at the school since it was taken over by the Maiden Erlegh Trust in July 2017.
Mary Davies, the CEO of the trust, said: “I am thrilled with the outcome of the Ofsted inspection.
“We have known for a long time that the Great Hollands is a wonderful school, where children thrive and enjoy their education.
“I am so pleased that this has been recognised, and I am very proud of all the staff and all the children at the school.”
Nick Jones, the chair of the trustees, added: “The Ofsted report describes what happens when talented teamwork and strong, effective leadership ambitiously join together in the pursuit of excellence for the children in our care.
“I am enormously grateful to Richard and his whole team for all they have achieved since Great Hollands joined the Trust and to the many professionals across the Trust who have worked so hard in support of this success.
“I also thank my governance colleagues for their dedicated oversight of the entire Great Hollands community.
“Lastly, and most importantly, I am delighted for the children who deserve and now receive every opportunity to succeed.”
The school had an inconsistent history of Ofsted reports prior to becoming an academy.
It was rated ‘Good’ following a full inspection in 2012, but fell down to ‘Inadequate’ in 2016, with the inspectors judging that assessment procedures were ‘undeveloped’ and expectations for what pupils could achieve were not set high enough.
The most recent inspection occurred in November 2021 and is due to be published on the Ofsted website soon.
It was undertaken by inspectors Becky Greenhalgh, Liz McIntosh and Alison Bradley.
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