Ofsted Success For Burscough School

Jan 4 2013

A Burscough school has had a fantastic late Christmas present as Ofsted inspectors placed it among the best performing in West Lancashire.

St John’s CE, on School Lane, has made significant progress in the last few years to become ‘Good’ or ‘Outstanding’ in all areas.

The new Ofsted report, which was published last week, shows that children are safe and happy in the school and are learning and progressing well.

During the thorough two-day examination of the school, inspectors observed 14 lessons and part-lessons, held meetings with staff, pupils and governors and also viewed online comments from a number of parents.

The inspectors also observed other areas of the school’s work such as how the staff maintain attainment and behavior and also how the school is lead and managed.

Inspectors also looked at national assessment data for the school alongside other documents and policies.

The findings of the inspectors were highly complementary as they found that:

The pace of pupils’ progress has increased since the previous inspection.

Attainment has improved rapidly and is now securely above average and pupils achieve well.

Teaching quality is consistently good and some is outstanding.

Pupils’ behaviour and attitudes to learning are outstanding. Attendance is well above average. Pupils feel very safe in school.

Good leadership and management raise expectations of how good the school can be, motivate staff and provide clear direction for continued improvement.

Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage get off to a good start.

Headteacher, Karen Cartwright, said: “I am so proud of the pupils, staff and governors who continue to work hard to ensure that St John’s is among the very best.
“It is so satisfying to see that the Ofsted inspectors agree that we are a high achieving school which is a safe and happy place.

“I am also very pleased at how impressed the inspectors were that our children can thrive in an atmosphere where the behaviour and attainment is first class.

“Our school motto is ‘Together We Learn’ and that is something I am proud to say that we never stop doing in school! There are very few points which the inspectors felt we could improve on so we will continue to strive to become even better… and continue to learn together!”

To find out more about St John’s CE, or to see the full report, go to: www.st-johns-burscough.lancs.sch.uk