'Good' Ofsted for Irchester Primary School as head eyes ‘great’ grade

Staff and pupils at Irchester Community Primary School have celebrated their latest ‘good’ Ofsted grading following a recent inspection.

Inspectors visited in June finding a ‘well-led school’ where the 375 pupils are ‘happy’ and ‘feel safe’ and praising learning opportunities and teaching standards.

Pupils’ were described as ‘friendly’ and the Ofsted team noted the good behaviour in lessons where they paid close attention to teachers.

Headteacher Simon Anderson said: “We are extremely pleased and proud of our educational provision at Irchester Community Primary School.

“We feel our children flourish and I am thrilled that we have received this external recognition for the work we have accomplished to date.

“We are working tirelessly on the plans to continue our journey from ‘good’ to ‘great’.

“The staff are dedicated to providing an enriching learning experience for our children and this will remain the focus. We really appreciate the engagement of our community, and this report is a testament to everybody.”

The report said that leaders and staff work together to provide a ‘caring environment and an ambitious curriculum for all their pupils’ with ‘meaningful’ learning.

One pupil commenting about geography said: “I love learning about physical features. It really tingles your brain.”

The school was praised for the positive relationships between pupils and staff, encouragement given to pupils to ‘aim high’, and support for pupils with Special Educational Needs.

Areas highlighted for improvement was the need for the school’s ‘ambitious curriculum’ to be completed for all subjects and some lunchtime behaviour.

Irchester Community Primary School is part of the Nene Valley Partnership (NVP) academy trust that includes Bozeat Community Primary School and Nursery, and Wollaston School.

James Birkett CEO of Nene Valley Partnership, added: “All members of the Irchester school community should be incredibly proud of this report, and it is wonderful to be celebrating another success for a NVP school. Ofsted have rightly recognised the culture of positivity, achievement and vitality evident at Irchester Community Primary School. This ethos is demonstrated day in, day out, in how children, staff and parents work together in their mission to provide excellence in education. Irchester is a school with over 100 years of proud tradition and is now well placed to make the next few years, the best in the school’s history.”