Stratford’s small school that’s had a big success with Ofsted

IMAGINE being interviewed for your first headteacher role on the day that school was given a less than favourable Ofsted report.

For some it may have been a warning sign, for Louise Withers it presented her with a daunting, but exciting challenge as she successfully became the head of St Andrew’s CofE Primary School, Shottery, in April 2023.

Fast forward 18 months and, after a lot of hard work from Louise, the staff and governors, that challenge has already brought success following the latest Ofsted inspection at the end of last year.

St Andrew’s, which has 91 pupils, has gone from an ‘inadequate’ rating to ‘good’ in each of the examined categories: Quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision.

“The team have all been fully invested and have worked tirelessly to drive change and implement new initiatives with rigor,” Louise said. “I really do have to also acknowledge the pace of the change.”

The starting point was getting the safeguarding right, which involved ensuring staff and governor training was up-to-date and the school was compliant in all areas. There was also a new pupil-led safeguarding committee which helped to develop a behaviour and relationships policy, including a restorative approach to issues.

“We also reviewed our school vision and values – this involved all stakeholders and we’re really proud of how our vision and values now underpins everything we do” Louise added.

The curriculum was overhauled which was also recognised by Ofsted inspectors who noted: “The school’s curriculum is broad and ambitious and… is designed to effectively support pupils’ learning in both mixed-age and single-age classes.

“The school has identified the key knowledge, skills and vocabulary it wants pupils to learn and remember. The school provides guidance and training for staff. This has resulted in a common approach to teaching.”

With Shottery being Stratford’s smallest state school, it also has the smallest budget. However, Louise was full of praise for her governors who supported allocating additional funding for staff, training and resources “in order for staff to be able to deliver a high standard of education for the children”.

Another challenge with a small school is space, but a new classroom has allowed St Andrew’s to create a designated library and hall space.

The changes – and the Ofsted results – have been embraced by the whole school community, Louise said, and the children “definitely walk a little bit taller!”

She added: “It’s so lovely when the children are knocking on the office door to share a piece of work or an achievement – to see their new found pride and love of learning makes it all worthwhile.”

One of her proudest moments in her time as headteacher is raising pupil attendance and developing home/school partnerships.

“As part of this, we have reached out to the local community and have lots of support from local businesses with our whole family attendance incentives,” Louise explained. “Our attendance is now always in line or above national averages and children want to come to school. It’s a happy place to be.”

Ofsted did point out areas where improvements can be made, such as making sure pupils have a secure recall of their times tables and ironing out inconsistencies in the quality of children’s handwriting.

“We are not resting on our laurels,” Louise said. “We will continue to build on the excellent work so far and are focusing on continued improvement in handwriting and multiplication fluency. We are also preparing for the new school, which is a very exciting prospect.”

St Andrew’s will be moving into a new, larger building which is being built as part of the new development of homes in Shottery – something the staff are continually planning for.

“We regularly document achievements from what we do now and will integrate these practices into the new school,” Louise said. “We are working with the local authority on a transition plan that ensures consistency in teaching, learning, and behaviour standards while addressing Ofsted priorities.”

The school will go from being able to provide space for 105 pupils to 420 pupils – a two-form entry school. No moving date has yet been set for school, with meetings still taking place about interior designs.