Infant school in Rushden 'extremely pleased and proud' to receive good grade after first Ofsted visit in 14 years

South End Infant School in Rushden has been given a good grade from Ofsted for the first time in 14 years.

The school in Wymington Road was previously visited by inspectors in 2009, after it was ‘exempted by law from routine inspection’, but has now been praised for its improvements to the curriculum, reading literacy, and SEND provision.

In a letter penned to parents following the result Elaine Ashcroft, headteacher of South End Infant School, said: "I am extremely pleased and proud to say that we were acknowledged to be good in all areas.

"The report reflects how wonderful our staff and children are, but also the overwhelming support we have from parents and carers that came through in the survey, and conversations they had and for this we are truly grateful.”

Inspectors visited the school on November 8 and 9, 2023, with the report published on December 18, grading South End Infant School good in areas including behaviour and attitudes, leadership and management, and the quality of education, believing South End Infant to be ‘a calm and orderly place.’

The report says: "South End Infant School is a happy place.

“Pupils ‘skip’ to lessons and have really positive attitudes to their learning, and there are a range of opportunities for pupils to have positions of responsibility.

"The school’s values of ‘respect, pride, aspiration, courage, independence and perseverance’ underpin all the school does, and pupils understand the significance of them. They help direct the way pupils interact with each other.

"When pupils disagree, they do so respectfully and reason with each other.”

Inspectors noted that ‘considerable work has been undertaken recently to improve the curriculum’, and that ‘this has ensured that pupils now make good progress in acquiring knowledge that is set out in school’s suitably ambitious and intended curriculum content.’

Those improvements to the curriculum have also been highlighted in the school’s approach to diversity and inclusion, as students learn about their wider communities, and as such are ‘respectful of difference.’

Safeguarding measures are seen to be effective, and the visitors from Ofsted believe the school has a clear understanding of what it does well, and how it can be improved.

The report highlights that the process of checking the effectiveness of some subjects is in a stage of development, meaning some teachers don’t have the opportunity to check on their subject area to ensure that it is well implemented. This results in some inconsistencies in how well the curriculum is taught across different year groups.

Feedback from parents has reaffirmed the inspectors’ notion that South End Infant School is a good place of learning, with one saying: “This is a school that really cares about its pupils.”

Chairman of governors, Julie Rogers-Hussey, added: “We are delighted to be sharing with you today the report from our recent Ofsted inspection.

"This report is testament to the exceptional hard work of all the staff at South End Infant School, who make our school a place where children feel safe and happy and are making good progress in their learning.”

The full report can be found here.