Northampton school improves to '˜Good' following Ofsted inspection

Barry Road Primary School, in Abington, was rated as ‘requires improvement’ in 2014 and standards of teaching were criticised.

But a report published yesterday showed that staff have improved the school in all the areas measured, earning ‘good’ ratings across the board.

Commenting on the area of ‘outcomes for pupils’, lead inspector Derek Myers said: “Pupils in key stage 1 are making strong progress from their starting points and most of them are on track to meet the expectations for their age in reading, writing and mathematics.

“This is an improvement on 2015, when pupils’ attainment [in those subjects] was below the national average.”

Leadership was heavily praised in the report, which said that the headteacher - Anne Smith - and the governing body “are determined that the school will continue to improve.”

Mr Myers said it was noted that senior staff have improved the provision for pupils “significantly” since the last inspection.

Mrs Smith said the whole school had worked tirelessly for the improvement.

She said: “Key things that have made the difference have been providing quick, focused support to staff in the classroom in order to make the most of learning opportunities and making sure learning is fun and interactive.”

She added: “I was personally delighted about the ‘lovely headteacher’ comment from a parent.

“We’re now considering having a banner that tells the world that we are a ‘jolly good’ school.”