Escrick Church of England Primary School was deemed a “good” school in a recent inspection by education watchdog, Ofsted.
The school was inspected on Tuesday, December 6 and Wednesday, December 7, 2022. The subsequent report was released to the public on Monday, January 30, and described the school as “good” in all areas of inspection, apart from the school’s personal development sector, which was noted as outstanding by the inspector.
The report said: “Escrick Church of England Primary School is a happy and welcoming school at the heart of the village. It is a place where pupils are truly able to flourish.” Further in the report, the inspector praised leaders at the school for their adaptation to new challenges presented with the pandemic and the addition of new pupils on the roll, which was described as “admirable” and beneficial for the children. The school’s curriculum was said to have been carefully curated by leaders at the school and fully incorporated the needs of each pupil, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. One particular aspect of the curriculum explored was phonics taught to children in the early years.
The inspector detailed: “From the start of Reception, children learn the sounds that letters make and they begin to form sounds and progress words from an early stage. “Leaders and teachers monitor the progress of pupils to ensure that no one falls behind. Assessment is used carefully to identify gaps in learning and leaders act swiftly to address these gaps.” In broader terms, the report added that the curriculum, which was altered to break learning down into smaller steps for the children in September 2022, had had a wide impact but was still in its early stages. The report acknowledged the importance of the work done by teachers in the early year groups to help develop the youngster’s communication, language skills and personal development in order for them to successfully move up through the school. Opportunities for children in Key Stage 1 and 2, such as learning about different cultures and communities, were highlighted to develop the pupils understanding of the world and character. The report said: “Pupils learned about different cultures and communities through studying the Shang Dynasty. “During the inspection, pupils celebrated their learning with parents and carers by opening a Chinese restaurant. “Through these opportunities pupils are able to understand, appreciate and respect difference in the world.” Safeguarding procedures at the school were described as robust, with checks in place to check that adults, including volunteers are suitable to work with children. Speaking of the report, a representative from the school said: “We were delighted with the Ofsted report. The report was an extremely strong one, which included outstanding judgment in respect of the personal development of pupils. “As the report itself stated, Escrick School is a place where pupils are truly able to flourish, with leaders taking extra care to put the needs of the pupils at the heart of their decision making. “It’s excellent to have this confirmation that Escrick continues to be such a well-performing school.”
Children, teachers and leaders of Escrick Church of England Primary School were delighted with their Ofsted results. (02-03-209 SU)