Following a visit to the school in December 2022 by His Majesty’s Inspectorate [HMI] to complete an Ofsted inspection of Rushcombe First School, we are delighted that the school has been graded ‘Outstanding’ in all areas:
- Overall Effectiveness – Outstanding
- The Quality of Education – Outstanding
- Behaviour and Attitudes – Outstanding
- Personal Development – Outstanding
- Leadership and Management – Outstanding
- Early Years Provision – Outstanding
The criteria for achieving an outstanding judgement demands that schools demonstrate their provision is exceptional in each of the above areas, and we are delighted that Ofsted have recognised the school’s provision with this highest possible grading. This achievement is a fabulous recognition of all of our children who demonstrate their love of learning and wonderful personal qualities on a daily basis, as well as the exceptional commitment of the school’s highly skilled staff team.
The school’s Ofsted report captures the full details of the inspection and its findings, including:
- ‘Pupils flourish at this school and are proud to be part of it.’
- ‘Pupils’ behaviour is exemplary.’
- ‘Leaders have designed a rich, inclusive and ambitious curriculum that has the pupils’ needs at its heart.’
- ‘Teachers are meticulous in curriculum planning.’
- ‘Pupils’ achievement across the curriculum is outstanding.’
- ‘Pupils are exceptionally respectful of both each other and adults.’
This is a very special achievement for our school. As you may be aware, the grade of outstanding is exceedingly rare under the most recent education inspection framework, indicating what an exceptional accolade this is for the school community. Ofsted’s national education director, Christopher Russell, has stated that outstanding is a ‘challenging and exacting judgement to achieve’ under the new education inspection framework. Towards the end of 2022, Ofsted published data about their reinspection of outstanding schools over the last year, identifying that over 80% had not retained their outstanding grade. Research also illustrates that it is very rare to achieve an outstanding grade, for example, in the last 100 inspections of primary schools, only 2% of schools have achieved outstanding status following an inspection [Watchsted, January 2023].
We are thrilled that the school’s achievements have been recognised in this way and it was a privilege to hear the highly positive feedback from HMI identifying our school as outstanding.