Outstanding! Kettering school's pride after glowing Ofsted report

Greenfields Primary School and Nursery in Kettering was once on the brink of special measures - but it's now in the top four per cent in the country.

That's because the Highfield Road school has just been graded as outstanding in all areas by Ofsted despite new, tougher inspection framework.

It completes a remarkable turnaround at the school, which was in dire straits before it was taken on by the David Ross Education Trust (DRET) in 2013.

"Without exception, the children who attend our school bring us joy in every way. This joy is what drives an incredibly dedicated team of staff to ensure that Greenfields offers an education that truly is second to none.

“Being a part of the Davis Ross Education Trust has enabled us enhance what we are able to offer our children and we are most grateful to the DRET team for this. I am just delighted for everyone involved in the school and for the whole Greenfields community and want to thank my staff and pupils for being inspirational.”

The school in one of Kettering's toughest areas was previously rated as 'good' by education inspectors but went one better in a glowing report, which is due to be published later this week.

Inspectors praised pupils for being “highly committed to what they are learning”, noting that they want to challenge themselves.

In their report, inspectors said: "Pupils understand that what they learn will help them to aim for different jobs. All staff are committed to broadening pupils’ horizons and pupils absorb this sense of ambition.

"The school welcomes everyone, and pupils feel very safe in school, which parents agree with. Parents feel lucky that their children are so well supported and feel that the school offers a very high quality of education."

They added that children are "absorbed" by phonics teaching, love reading together and praised the Flipping Greenfields initiative, where parents are invited into school every Friday afternoon to see what their children are going to be learning about with a Youtube channel for those who are unable to so they can help prepare their child for Monday's lessons.

The school has a celebration assembly every single Friday morning where a red carpet is rolled out and children who have achieved something that week dance their way to the front of the hall.

Inspectors also highlighted that pupils are taking an active interest in improving the world around them, including leading a road safety improvement scheme resulting in road markings being improved, and organising exercise classes for parents to help keep their families active.

It's a far cry from previous problems at the school, which included progress levels which were significantly below average and a spell of five headteachers in four years.

Rowena Hackwood, chief executive of DRET, said: “We are all so incredibly proud of what has been achieved at Greenfields it’s been clear to us for some time that the education being provided is exceptional, and it is wonderful that this is now formally recognised by Ofsted as well.

“There has been a lot of commentary around the new Ofsted inspection regime, and it’s certainly true that the new approach is more demanding.

"Just four per cent of primary schools have achieved what Greenfields have, and Sandra and her team deserve huge congratulations for what they have achieved. At the David Ross Education Trust, we are committed to providing a world-class education that broadens our pupils’ horizons - that vision has become a reality at Greenfields.”