Curriculum and behaviour praised in West Row Academy Ofsted report
West Row Academy has been praised for an ambitious curriculum, early years provision and exemplary behaviour management following our recent Ofsted inspection.
The school achieved a ‘strong’ grade for leadership and governance and ‘expected standard’ across all other areas – coming just four years after the school was judged as ‘requires improvement’ by the national watchdog.
Highlights from the inspection report included a curriculum that prioritises reading and communication and a robust behaviour policy and safe environment.
Inspectors noted how the school’s learning environment has strengthened, describing pupils as “accurate, fluent and typically enthusiastic readers” who display the “self-motivation and resilience to cope with mistakes or difficulties.”
Other areas of praise were the early years provision which had made significant improvement and an inclusive education to support all pupils.
Headteacher Elisabeth Close said she was delighted that the hard work of the entire school community had been recognised.
She said: “We are incredibly proud of our Ofsted report, which reflects the significant improvements made at West Row Academy over recent years and recognises the immense strengths of our school.
“The inspection team judged us to be at the expected standard in all areas, with our leadership and governance recognised as ‘strong’. Nationally, just less than 1 in 5 schools achieve a strong or exceptional judgement in this area, placing West Row Academy in a very strong position both locally and nationally.
“Since our previous inspection in May 2022, where the school was judged to require improvement, we have worked tirelessly to embed an ambitious curriculum, consistent behaviour expectations and a significantly improved early years provision.
“We are incredibly proud of how far the school has come and of the positive position reflected in this report. I want to thank our parents for their patience and continued support, and for working in partnership with us to achieve this success.”
Praising the school’s highly effective leadership, inspectors noted that “leaders accurately identified the issues and areas that required improvement” and “significantly and rapidly improved the quality of the school’s provision”.