The Arbours Primary Academy now rated 'Outstanding' by Ofsted

The Arbours Primary Academy in Northampton, part of the David Ross Education Trust, has been recognised as an ‘Outstanding’ school by Ofsted following an overwhelmingly positive new report based on an inspection in July 2023.

The school was previously rated ‘Good’ by Ofsted in 2017, and staff and pupils are delighted with the new rating.

The report highlights that teachers “consistently deliver teaching of great quality” and “pupils’ achievements are exceptional.”

School leaders have been praised for having the highest expectations of all staff and pupils and creating an environment where everyone gets the support they need to thrive.

The glowing report includes a quote from one parent who described the school as “Northampton’s best kept secret” and mentions that pupils from The Arbours “know their school is special and would not change a single thing about it”.

Inspectors also noted that:

● Pupils’ behaviour is impeccable.

● Pupils live and breathe the school’s four core values of aspiration, ambition, courage and respect.

● The school’s curriculum is extremely ambitious and very well sequenced.

● Teachers adapt lessons well to enable pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those with English as an additional language to learn the same ambitious curriculum as their peers.

● Pupils achieve highly in reading and love reading. Staff were praised for being experts in how to teach the school’s phonics programme.

● The personal development curriculum is described by inspectors as “an incredibly rich range of experiences”, including going to the beach for the very first time or pupils putting on their own opera.

● Leaders prepare pupils well for life in modern Britain and pupils are very knowledgeable about fundamental British values and a range of faiths and cultures.

● Pupils know they can share with the adults in the school anything that worries them.

● Staff are overwhelmingly positive about the support they receive for their well-being and workload.

Angela Watts, Principal at The Arbours Primary Academy, said:

“I am thrilled that Ofsted has recognised The Arbours Primary Academy as an Outstanding school. The report reflects the dedication of our brilliant staff and our ongoing mission to deliver the highest quality education to all our pupils while always keeping our four values - aspiration, ambition, courage and respect - in mind.

“I want to thank everyone at our school: our pupils, staff, parents and carers and our wider community, for helping us to achieve this fantastic result. It is truly a reflection of what is possible with our collective efforts to provide the best for our children.”

“We look forward to continuing to work together, upholding our high standards and always striving to learn and improve.”

Simon Rose, Director of Primary Education at the David Ross Education Trust, said:

“Congratulations to The Arbours Primary Academy on this excellent report - you should all be very proud.

“I am grateful to Principal Angela Watts for her leadership and dedication and I know she will continue to use this report to support The Arbours to go from strength to strength.”