Northlew Primary is 'the best' say parents - and Ofsted agree

A small  village primary has won the universal acclaim of its parents who say it is the best school their children could attend.

And their views have been endorsed by independent education inspectors who say Northlew and Ashbury C of E Primary is a good school where children make good progress in both their academic and personal development.

“Pupils make good progress because they receive consistently good teaching,” says a new report from the school standards agency Ofsted. “They really enjoy school and have very positive attitudes towards their learning. Pupils behave extremely well and say that lessons are are interesting and exciting."

“The curriculum is good and there are specific strengths in art and music. There is excellent support for the needs of all pupils.”

Ofsted visited the school for two days last month and lead inspector Christine Huard says it has a raft of outstanding features. The care, guidance and support provided for the 36 pupils is outstanding as is the extent towhich they adopt healthy lifestyles. Pupils’ behaviour, links with parents, safeguarding and the effctiveness of partnerships in promoting learning and well-being are all outstanding too, says Ms Huard.

Ms Huard says headteacher Nicola Lampe must take considerable credit for the success of the school.

She goes on, “She leads from the front and is an excellent role model for the staff in that she does not ask anything of them she is not willing to do herself,“She has very high expectations of what pupils can achieve and constantly strives to make the provision even stronger. The vision is shared by all staff who are proud to be part of the school.”

One parent said: “We think Northlew is simply the best school our child could attend.”

Another said: “This (is) a school that is genuinely interested in children as individuals.”

Ms Huard concluded: “The inspection findings confirm the views of the parents.”

She says to improve further Northlew should ensure appropriate links are made between subjects in the curriculum and make sure that presentation of work is consistently good.

Mrs Lampe said: "We are delighted with the Ofsted report. It reflects the hard work of the pupils and staff and the positive support the school receives from parents and governors."