St Nicholas Chantry School Judged ‘Good’ In All Areas
By Jill Dando News
St Nicholas Chantry Church of England Primary in Clevedon has been judged Good in all areas by Ofsted.
Headteacher Ro O’Reilly said the findings following an inspection in October were a major milestone in the school’s improvement journey.
The education watchdog no longer gives an overall rating but the team of three inspectors judged St Nicholas to be Good for its leadership and management, quality of education and early years provision, as well as for pupils’ behaviour and attitudes and their personal development.
The inspectors were impressed with the children’s enthusiasm and pride in their “welcoming and friendly” school.
“The provision for personal development is a strength of the school,” they said.
Other positive comments in their report included:
• Staff are relentless in their ambition to help pupils thrive.
• Staff have high expectations of what pupils can do. Pupils understand and meet these.
• Pupils’ conduct around the school is calm and purposeful.
• Children in the Reception Year settle into school life successfully.
Ofsted noted that since the previous inspection, when St Nicholas was judged as Requires Improvement, the school had redeveloped and strengthened its curriculum from the Reception Year through to Year 6.
The inspectors also highlighted the support from Futura Learning Partnership, which the 329-pupil school joined last year.
“Governance at the school is very effective. The trust and the local governance committee have the skills and expertise to fulfil their roles well. They have an accurate picture of the school through robust systems of checking and quality assurance. They ensure that the education that the school provides has a positive impact on all its pupils,” Ofsted said.
Ms O’Reilly said: “This Ofsted report marks a major milestone in our improvement journey as a school and we all feel it reflects our strengths and areas for improvement both fairly and accurately.
“I am so proud of our children, who spoke so positively about our school, their learning and everything they love about St Nick’s. I’m grateful to our amazing staff for their
limitless love, care and hard work and to our excellent governors and the Futura Learning Partnership for their unwavering support and advocacy.”
Futura chief executive officer Gary Schlick said:
“I am pleased that Ofsted has recognised the changes made at St Nicholas Chantry to ensure that all children receive the great education they deserve.
“The clean sweep of ‘good’ judgements were thoroughly deserved and I am confident the school team will continue to build on the excellent foundations they have created. The whole school community should be very proud of this report.”
