Aspire Academy Trust

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Posted on: 20/06/2019

GOOD Ofsted at Probus

An entire community is celebrating as Probus Primary School has been judged by OFSTED to be a ‘Good’ school in all aspects of its provision and, as a consequence, has a judgement of ‘Good’ for Overall Effectiveness. The report reflects so many of the school’s positive changes, improvements and achievements since the last inspection in 2016. The inspection team acknowledged that “school leaders and Trust directors have successfully created an ethos in which all pupils… are inspired to learn. The positive relationships and mutual respect between leaders, staff and pupils support the progress of all pupils in the school”. The successful introduction of the Cornerstones curriculum ‘inspires pupils to learn’ and is underpinned by ‘effective development of language and literacy’ with ‘spiritual, moral, social and cultural development’ sitting at its heart. The contribution of the children also came in for specific mention with inspectors congratulating pupils for displaying ‘exceptional pride in their work’ and demonstrating ‘great enthusiasm for learning’. Progress in writing in Key Stage 2 is well above the national average and is in line with the top 10% of schools in 2018. The development of pupil vocabulary from Early Years to Y6 and the focus on subject-specific word development was acknowledged as supporting communication and comprehension skill development. Most recently the school has been part of two national Mathematics projects and the development and inclusion of Maths Mastery at every phase was cited as strongly improving. While Probus Primary School is obviously delighted to have received a positive inspection outcome, it is by no means journey’s end. Its vision, in line with the Aspire Academy Trust, is to offer every pupil a world-class education, based on high-quality teaching in a safe and friendly environment, and every member of staff remains focused on achieving this goal. Executive Principal Mrs Lyn McNamara comments, “On behalf of the Aspire Academy Trust and our Hub Councillors, I want to thank De Carden, our Head of School, for her passionate leadership over the past two years. Equally, I would like to thank all the staff. They have, without a doubt, worked through really challenging times over recent years and this report feels like recognition for and validation of their hard work, dedication and complete commitment to our school and children. “I would also like to say a huge thank you to our children. They could not have been more welcoming, polite, thoughtful, enthusiastic and amazing advocates for our school! I have been hugely privileged to have been part of this journey over the past three and a half years and sincerely hope you enjoy reading the report as much as I did.” Head of School Miss Carden comments, “Consistency, and attention to detail across every area of the school, has been the key to the school’s success and we shall remain rigorous in enforcing high standards for teaching, pupil behaviour and attitudes to learning. I am delighted for our staff, our children, our parents and our wider community that Probus Primary has had its efforts acknowledged by OFSTED and we can continue our journey to excellence as a GOOD school!” OFSTED Report