Principal's delight as Wisbech school previously labelled 'inadequate' is 'moving in the right direction'
Staff at a Wisbech school which had been labelled as 'inadequate' are delighted after inspectors said that it is 'taking effective action towards the removal of special measures'.
Three inspectors visited Ramnoth Junior School as part of a programme of monitoring visits after the school was moved into special measures in March 2019 following an Oftsted inspection.
In its latest monitoring report, the body says that since the last monitoring inspection in March 2020, 'leadership capacity has been strengthened' within the school.
Inspector Stefanie Lipinski-Barltrop's report reads: "The executive principal, the head of schools and members of The Elliot Foundation Academy Trust (the trust) have continued to make improvements since the previous monitoring inspection.
"The school is moving in the right direction. Leaders have a strong vision for improvement and clear plans are in place to address areas of weakness. Leaders and staff are united in their determination to make the school better for its pupils.
"They work as a cohesive team, and parents recognise the improvements that are being made. Leaders have high expectations, but manage staff’s workload well - morale is high as a result. Focused training and guidance are helping staff to improve their practice.
"Leaders’ consistent and effective approach to managing pupils’ behaviour is demonstrating great success."
At the previous monitoring inspection, the foundation curriculum and its leadership were not sufficiently developed. These aspects of the school’s work continue to improve."
Executive Principal James Ayton says that this has been a team effort from staff, pupils and The Elliot Foundation Academy Trust.
He said: "The inspection was part of the normal programme of monitoring visits to ensure the school’s work continues to lead to rapid improvement. We are delighted with the outcomes of the report that recognised that, ‘the school is moving in the right direction.’ and that ‘leaders and staff are united in their determination to make the school better for its pupils.’
"Throughout the inspection process, there was a strong sense of togetherness from both staff and pupils and a real desire to celebrate all the hard work that has been undertaken over the past years.
"This really was a team effort, from the teachers and TAs, to the pupils and The Elliot Foundation Academy Trust, everyone contributed to our successful inspection.
"The very fact one of our Year 3 children told the inspectors 'You may think that the headmaster or the headmistress is the head of the school. But they aren’t, we’re there too and we get a say. Our job is to make other people’s ideas possible!' shows just how engaged the children are in the life of their school."
He continued:"As principal, I was incredibly proud to have been able to play a part in the inspection, but credit should go to the teachers, leaders and pupils who spoke so confidently about our school and took every opportunity to share the results of their hard work.
"The inspection was a significant milestone in the life of the school and takes us one step closer to where we want to be. Whilst the report identifies elements to work on, these were already in our plans for the coming year and we look forward to the year ahead with growing confidence.
"Our mission has always been for us to be a school that our children, community and staff can be proud of; this report shows we are certainly moving in the right direction."
