Primary School no longer in Ofsted special measures

Her Majesty’s Inspectorate (HMI) has removed St John the Baptist CE Primary School in Ruyton-XI-Towns from special measures after just nine months, and judged that provision is now ‘good’ in all aspects.

The recent Ofsted report praised school leaders who had taken swift action:

“Leaders acted with urgency to successfully address the shortcomings identified at the last inspection. They have ensured that safeguarding requirements are met, that the quality of teaching has improved and that pupils now achieve well. Governors have supported and challenged the headteacher to make the necessary changes that have ensured the school has improved rapidly.”

During their time at the school, inspectors observed lessons, they held discussions with pupils, teachers, parents and governors, listened to students’ reading and reviewed pupils’ work.

Inspectors noted the high expectations of teachers and pupils were described as being “motivated to work hard and confident to take risks in their learning”. The report identified the Early Years provision as the one remaining area for the school to focus on, recognising recent improvements after some staffing turbulence. Shropshire Council advisers were also praised for the good support they had provided to the school.

The headteacher, Julie Ball, said:

“There has been a great deal of hard work throughout the school by both staff and governors, in order to implement the changes required to improve the areas identified in February. We are very proud of all that we have achieved and we are striving to continue to make our school even better; it’s great to see an enthusiastic commitment from everyone to do just that. The support given to the us from the parents and the community over the past eight months has enabled the positive ethos of our school to shine through, and supports the overall good judgement for the school.”

Ann Hartley, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for children’s services – transformation and safeguarding, said:

“It’s a real pleasure to see such a strong response from the school. The headteacher, staff, governors and students have worked very hard to address the issues raised by Ofsted in February. The rapid action they have taken is to be commended, together with their resolve to continue to keep on improving. I am delighted that St John the Baptist CE Primary is now recognised by Ofsted to be a good school”.