Staff and students at Whiteley Primary School are all smiles this week after the school was graded as outstanding in all areas by Ofsted.
Whiteley Primary School
Ofsted inspectors praised the achievement of pupils, quality of teaching, behaviour and safety of pupils, as well as the strong leadership and management.
The rating is the highest accolade the education watchdog can award and it has shown a significant improvement by the school, which was rated good at its last Ofsted inspection in May 2008.
Head teacher Lesley Pennington said: “We are thrilled to be judged as outstanding in all areas. This is an extremely encouraging report and reflects the hard work of our pupils, staff and governors. Everyone associated with the school should be incredibly proud of what has been achieved here.
“We use the acronym of ‘SMILE’, with each letter representing an aspect for our vision of the school. SMILE – Success; Mutual respect; Inclusion; Life-long learning; Enrichment. We certainly have something to smile about now.”
The report highlighted that the head teacher provided inspiring leadership and exceptional drive, which resulted in the school’s highly positive ethos – which was shared by the governing body.
Teachers were praised for confidence in their subject knowledge with the skills to inspire and motivate pupils. Their high expectations had led them to set well-devised learning tasks, providing very good levels of challenge for all groups of pupils, including more able learners and those who are disabled or who have special educational needs, the report said.