Praise from Ofsted as school stays '˜good'

Swiss Gardens Primary underwent a short inspection by Ofsted in October and maintained the ‘good’ rating it earned in 2012.In her report, which was published on November 6, inspector Theresa Phillips told Lawrence Caughlin: “You, together with your senior and middle leaders, have shaped a school in which pupils are happy and keen to learn. “There is a strong culture of nurturing, mutual respect and support, as well as high expectations.“The continued success of the school is based on your detailed knowledge of your pupils, an unwavering determination to help them achieve well, and hardworking, dedicated staff.”Ms Phillips said Mr Caughlin and the senior leaders were well aware of the strengths of their school and the areas which could be even better.For example, in 2016, the progress made in maths was not as strong as in other areas, so they changed the way the subject was taught.Children told the inspector maths was now one of their favourite subjects, and provisional results for 2017 showed attainment had risen.Ms Phillips said the children spoke “positively” about their time at the school, an attitude she credited to the “great deal of high-quality teaching” at Swiss Gardens.Staff said they were proud to work at the school, while parents spoke highly of the staff and the support given to the children. The vast majority said they would recommend Swiss Gardens to other parents.Looking to the future, Ms Phillips highlighted a couple of points for further work.The first was to ensure the school’s self-evaluation was sharper, and the second was to ensure the improvement plans put in place for the children set precise success criteria and milestones.Mr Caughlin said: “We are very pleased with the report.“I am delighted that it recognised the hard work of all staff, children and governors to maintain and build on the excellent reputation of the school.“We are were also very pleased that the report acknowledged how we have continued to put the care, support and progress of children at the heart of all we do; we were also delighted that the strong sense of community was recognised.”

To read the full report, log on to the Ofsted website.