CELEBRATIONS are underway at a York school after a recent inspection.
Ofsted inspector Zoe Helman, visited Lord Deramore’s in Heslington in January to carry out the school's first visit since February 2018.
It was an ‘ungraded’ inspection designed to check if they remained at least ‘good’. And, although the school’s overall grade cannot officially change in an ungraded inspection, Ms Helman said it continues to be a good school.
Lord Deramore's remains under local authority control and Ms Helman said: "There is enough evidence of improved performance to suggest that the school could be judged outstanding if we were to carry out a graded inspection now - the schools next inspection will be a graded inspection."
She went on to say that at the school, which has 216 pupils: "Pupils feel safe and valued. They know staff care about them. Parents are extremely positive about the school.
"Leaders and staff have high expectations of the pupils and themselves. Behaviour is excellent in lessons. Pupils are highly engaged in learning. At social times, pupils play well together. Bullying almost never happens. When incidents of poor behaviour occur, staff are highly effective in resolving it quickly."
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Head teacher James Rourke, said: "Our inspection went extremely well and we are all very pleased with the outcome. Even though the HMI could not change our official grade of ‘good’, her opening statement certainly leaves no ambiguity in how she judged our school during the visit: “Pupils at Lord Deramore’s receive an outstanding education”.
"Whilst the inspector did not flag any areas for improvement, we will continue to work on aspects of the school which could be strengthened further in preparation for their next visit. Regardless of Ofsted and the potential outcome of a future graded inspection, we will always put our children first and continually live out our ethos of 'striving to be the best we can be'.
"During the verbal feedback, the inspector offered ‘huge congratulations’ to the entire school community. She stated that coming anywhere near to ‘outstanding’ in the new Education Inspection Framework (EIF) was a significant achievement."
Since 2019 when this framework was introduced, just under four per cent of primary schools have received an overall judgement of ‘outstanding’.
Mr Rourke said: "The inspector was particularly impressed by our high levels of parental feedback. She received 136 responses to Ofsted’s Parent View survey (for a school with 216 pupils on roll, this equates to the vast majority of families). All responses were positive and every parent would recommend our school to others. I believe the phrase used was “that’s unheard of!” Therefore, a massive ‘thank you’ goes to you all for your continued support and encouragement.
"This inspection outcome is a true testament to the hard work, dedication and talent of the entire staff team and governing body. As head teacher, I feel truly blessed to work with such exceptional colleagues."
Click here to read the full report.
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