Christow Primary School might be Outstanding!
Ofsted has recently confirmed that Christow Primary School, part of Education South West, remains a Good school following an ungraded inspection in March. The school lies on the edge of Dartmoor National Park and is set in its own grounds in the heart of Christow, a village in the Teign Valley.
When Ofsted have judged a school to be Good, they will normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains Good. This is what an ungraded inspection is.
In their report about the school, inspectors noted that the evidence gathered during their visit suggested that Christow might receive an Outstanding judgement if a graded inspection was carried out now.
Inspectors commented that pupils at Christow Primary School are confident and vibrant individuals with a real passion for learning and that they embrace all the opportunities available to them to develop, not only academically, but in their understanding and appreciation of the world around them and their place within it.
The Ofsted report also stated that pupils are at ease with consistently meeting the high expectations staff have of them, this results in a welcoming, calm, yet purposeful school which pupils want to attend and that pupils value the extracurricular clubs that nurture their talents and interests.
Christow Primary School currently provides an education for over 80 children and also houses a pre-school which offers an outdoor learning environment courtesy of their Forest School. Following a successful Big Lottery Fund award, they have developed a purpose-built Forest School site adjacent to the pre-school building, the site includes a fire pit, sheltered area, bug hotel, mud kitchen and tree house.
Mrs Amy Yeo, Headteacher at Christow Primary School said:
“To receive an entirely positive report from Ofsted is really encouraging. From our core values to our extracurricular clubs, from our academic results to our focus on personal development, I am delighted the inspectors recognised the many different aspects of the school experience at Christow. The glowing report is a reflection of our hard-working staff, wonderful pupils and supportive community. I am grateful to them all”.
Matthew Shanks, CEO of Education South West said:
“Everyone at Education South West is so proud of Ms Yeo and her team, to have Ofsted state that the school would likely be Outstanding if a graded inspection took place now is a huge achievement!
“I am also glad that the report commented that parents and carers praise the school for its communication and enabling them to have a say in ‘shaping the school’ through the successful parent forums. At Education South West we strongly believe that each school, like each child, is an individual and it’s clear that Christow Primary School has done an excellent job of serving the local community.”
