Elm Road Primary School in Wisbech celebrates ‘Good’ Ofsted rating

Elm Road Primary School in Wisbech continues to be rated as a ‘Good’ school following its latest inspection by a Government watchdog.

Ofsted inspectors visited the school over two days in July and found it to be “nurturing and inclusive”.

The inspectors’ report highlighted Elm Road’s nurturing and inclusive environment, noting that pupils arrive happily each day and thrive in a supportive community.

The curriculum was praised as broad, balanced, and ambitious, effectively breaking down learning into manageable steps and building on pupils’ prior knowledge.

High expectations for pupils’ achievement and behaviour were acknowledged, with Ofsted noting the warm and respectful relationships between staff and pupils.

Students are eager to demonstrate the school’s core values of compassion and determination. Significant progress has been made in key areas such as reading, writing, and mathematics, with notable improvements in pupils’ writing quality in English lessons.

The report published recently said: “Relationships throughout the school are warm and respectful. Pupils behave well. They know the school’s expectations of being ‘ready, respectful, safe’. A small number of pupils struggle to meet these. The school supports these pupils effectively to manage their feelings and behaviour choices.”

The inspectors also said: “Reading is a high priority. The school library and class book corners are well stocked. Teachers promote a love of books by reading high-quality stories by a range of authors to their classes.

“Pupils learn early reading skills in daily phonics lessons in the Reception Year and key stage 1. Well-trained adults deliver these lessons. Any pupils who struggle in phonics get the targeted support they need to help them catch up.”

The report goes on: “The school provides pupils with a range of wider opportunities. Pupils learn to play a musical instrument. They sing at local and regional events.

“Pupils enjoy trips to the theatre, including one to the Royal Opera House. Pupils learn about faith and different religious beliefs, as well as important values such as resilience and perseverance. This prepares pupils well for their future lives.”

The report identified areas for further refinement, such as achieving greater consistency in teachers’ expectations of pupils’ written work across all subjects.

Stuart Mills, who took over as principal on secondment in September, expressed his pride in the report: ”We are extremely proud of this positive outcome which is a testament to the care and commitment of our leadership team, staff, the support of our parents and carers, and of course, a celebration of our wonderful children.”

Mr Mills also expressed his gratitude to the previous headteacher, Chris Venables, who was head at the time of the inspection and said: “I would like to extend my gratitude to Mr Venables, who is currently on secondment, for his leadership of the school. I look forward to building on the successes he has achieved at Elm Road over the next year; it is certainly a wonderful time to join the school.”