Teachers proud as Ruskin Infant School handed 'good' grade after recent Ofsted inspection

Ruskin Infant School has received a grade of good following a visit from Ofsted, with teachers and govenors expressing their pride at the result.

The school in Ruskin Avenue, Wellingborough, was visited by inspectors on December 5 and 6, with the report being published this week.

Headteacher Catherine Starnes said: “he report correctly identified that attendance is strong and that pupils feel safe in school.

"Our parents will be delighted to see this report and I know staff will be so proud that their efforts are recognised and praised.”

After previously being told it required improvement in 2020 the school became an academy in 2021, with this inspection being the first since the change took place.

Inspectors carried out deep dives in reading, mathematics and geography, and spoke with parents and pupils to better understand how the school operates.

Following the visit, Ofsted found that the school ‘has the highest expectations of itself, its pupils and the whole school community’. Inspectors found ‘pupils are happy and proud to attend this school’.

The report also highlighted how well the school supports children with special and additional needs and ‘the highly inclusive approach’ it adopts. The focus on early years was also highlighted, with the report adding: “Children in the early years get off to a good start. They get lots of opportunities to learn to speak clearly and listen to others. Children are well prepared for Year 1.”

Hayden Tyers, executive headteacher and director of schools, said: “It’s essential that children have the best possible start to their learning journeys - and it all starts in nursery and reception.

"Ruskin Infant is now a securely good school - and the work to keep developing and improving the offer further continues apace.

"Well done to Catherine and her team and to all the parents who support the school - everyone should be very proud of this result.”

There are just two key areas of improvement noted by inspectors that hold it back from being outstanding.

Their report said that ‘pupils do not get the opportunities that they need to embed important learning’, and as a result struggle to retain the knowledge they have been given.

The report also said the leadership of some subjects is not yet fully established, meaning that not all leaders have the knowledge and skills that they need to ensure that areas of responsibility are well led.

Ruskin Infant School is part of the Lion Academy Trust, who have also overseen Olympic Primary, Warwick Academy, and Ruskin Academy as they each received good Ofsted results recently.

The trust said they are ‘massively’ proud of the result and to be ‘working with such dedicated teams to transform primary-phase education locally’.

A spokesperson for the trust, on behalf of Ruskin Infant School said: “The work that our teams do, every day, is transforming what our pupils receive, but also what our parents expect.

"We are delighted to see the hard work and focus on teaching and learning raise aspirations and expectations in the community.

"The trust is always delighted to get a positive judgement from Ofsted - but effectively, our focus is on making sure we are the local providers of choice - and that means the view from the school gate and community is equally important.

"It’s a strong validation for the work all our teams are doing at the school and in support of the school - but the focus on incrementally improving every day and maintaining the highest standards never waivers.”

Justin James, chief executive officer of the Lion Academy Trust, said: “When Catherine and the team joined the trust in January 2021, we were excited to have Ruskin Infant as part of our family of schools in Wellingborough.

"Our determination to improve primary-phase education in every setting is only possible through the hard work and dedication of our leaders and their teams - and Ofsted have clearly seen the outcomes of that during their time with us.”

Read the full report here.