Ofsted report captures Banham Primary School’s values

A village school has been praised for its strong sense of community after receiving good ratings across the board.

Banham Primary School was given the rating by Ofsted for its quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, as well as early years provision.

Headteacher Matthew Gamble said he and his staff were very pleased with the result.

“I feel they captured the essence of the school really well,” he said. “Obviously, inspections come with a lot of pressure, but it was very positive on the whole.

“The inspectors were approachable and very thorough and, by talking to pupils, parents and staff, they gained an understanding of how a small rural primary school operates, as we are very much pupil and community focussed.”

The inspectors found that pupils spoke positively about the school and they acted responsibly, embodying the school’s values.

They noted that school staff model the very best of what they expect from pupils and that this culture “ensures children feel safe, knowing adults are there to help when needed.”

One area of concern was the school’s curriculum.

The report said: “Some areas of the curriculum are still new, and this affects the extent to which pupils can use their knowledge and understanding over time.

“The school also recognises that opportunities for pupils to practice and extend their writing skills across all their subjects are not yet fully established.”

Mr Gamble said that, when the inspection took place, the curriculum was not fully established and that a lot of improvement had taken place since then.

“Our curriculum is always evolving as the national curriculum changes and we continue to ensure it is working for all of our children,” he added. “It is very positive to already see green shoots of improvement.”