Staff, pupils and parents at Mawsley Community Primary School are celebrating after making improvements following a disappointing Ofsted rating in 2018, and despite facing the challenges of two years of COVID restrictions and readjustment.
An inspection in 2018, coming shortly after a change of headteacher and leadership team, suggested the school required improvement. Lockdowns and distancing regulations meant the re-inspection was delayed, but once it did go ahead, headteacher Michelle Harris and her team were delighted to hear they’d achieved a Good grading from Ofsted.
The inspectors praised many aspects of school life but were particularly impressed by reading standards, the personal development of the children, a creative approach to the curriculum, the approach to safeguarding, and the school’s strong ties with the community.
Assistant headteacher Jenny Tedore said:
“The children and staff at Mawsley School are amazing, the way everyone coped during lockdown and how we handled the children’s return and helped them cope with school life again, particularly focusing on sport and games that involved interaction after so long apart and working on screens.
“Reading underpins everything we do, and we feel like we have a creative approach to the curriculum, encouraging each child to achieve their personal best, with additional challenges to complete once they’ve mastered a topic or skill. They also have Learning Heroes, chosen from the wider community, that inspire them to learn and achieve, all of which pushes them on to be the best they can.”
Since Mawsley Community Primary School was opened in 2004 is has undergone three extensions to cope with the influx of children in a new, growing village. Now that intake has settled down, some of that additional space has been freed up to offer further learning activities, such as the graduate programme, which encourages children to do their own research into certain topics and build on their learning processes.
“The children at Mawsley School learn that good behaviour, being kind and polite, brings rewards, and they learn to learn in their own way,” explained Jenny. “Our drivers of community, diversity and growth run throughout the school and children learn that they are safe, things like who to speak to if they don’t feel safe, and when it’s OK to say No to an adult, for instance. We also encourage them to understand that it’s good to make mistakes and learn from them – if they know that even if they’re wrong, it’s fine, they just try again.
“Everyone worked so hard to make sure Mawsley School was recognised for delivering the good standard of teaching and learning that underpins our culture. The staff and children were brilliant, and the parents got behind us and supported us all the way to achieving such a great result.”
