July news

College Park a 'good and improving school' according to Ofsted

Government officials have rated College Park Infant School as a 'good and improving school' in their recent Ofsted inspection.

Their report shows that standards across the school are good with a number of outstanding areas including how well the school works in partnership to promote pupils' well-being and the extent to which children feel safe and enjoy their education.

With the school having it's own indoor swimming pool, the provision for swimming was judged to be excellent, 'consequently pupils achieve exceptionally well by the time they are in Year 2; their standards are those expected of much older pupils'.

The contribution the school makes to the community was also highlighted, including their involvement in the 'South and South East of England in Bloom' gardening project.

The head teacher and deputy head were praised by Ofsted for their leadership, and with the help of their staff, have successfully improved the quality of teaching and learning and the curriculum.

Ofsted cited two areas in where the school could improve further. These were to:

• Ensure that pupils are consistently asked to do their best by providing them with challenging work and by giving them more frequent opportunities to write in a range of meaningful contexts.
• Improve opportunities for pupils to assess their own learning against their targets so that they understand better what they need to learn to improve.

Attendance of pupils at the school was also highlighted as an area where families could make improvements by not taking children on holidays in term-time.

Parents were also enthusiastic about the school's work, with typical comments like "College Park is a fantastic school. The efforts they make towards the teaching standards and happiness of the pupils is exemplary. My daughter has been extremely well cared for and encouraged".

The inspectors also reported that the school is not complacent, has made good progress since the last inspection and shows good capacity to improve in the future.

Head teacher Mrs Debbie Anderson said: "I am really pleased with the outcomes of this report. I feel the school has really moved forward, it is a place where children can enjoy their learning, improve and achieve well."

Date : 22 July 2008