Primary academy celebrates another positive Ofsted inspection

The school, which is part of Aurora Academies Trust, was last inspected in July 2014.

Tim McCarthy, CEO of Aurora Academies Trust, said: “This is a very well deserved inspection report and the rating corroborates what we already know about the school.

“Glenleigh Park provides a fantastic education for its young people, it is very well led and its pupils, staff and parents work closely together in partnership, which helps children learn faster. Aurora is very proud of the whole school community.”

Inspectors stated: “The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection.”

Singled out for special praise was headteacher Debbie Redman who is described as leading ‘with great patience and determination’ and that ‘parents admire her open and honest approach’.

Mrs. Redman added: “It is such a privilege to be the headteacher at Glenleigh Park. I originally came to the predecessor school as a classroom teacher and subsequently became the deputy and then the head.

“Therefore I have seen first-hand the journey that this school has been on and its transformation into a school that is changing pupils’ lives for the better.

“This Ofsted report reflects the dedication and commitment of all of my staff, from teachers and other adults who work in the classrooms to all of my other colleagues who provide fantastic support in so many different ways before, during and after school.”

Ofsted found that standards have risen since the last inspection and that children ‘get off to a strong start in early years’. This means that they are at national average by the age of seven.

By the time they are aged 11, ‘progress in maths and writing is good’ but inspectors say that the school needs to do more work to bring reading up to the same standard.

The curriculum ‘meets the needs of pupils well’ and Aurora’s Paragon Curriculum received special praise for ‘taking pupils on a learning journey through time’.

The report says that ‘better quality teaching has led to significant improvements in pupil outcomes at Key Stages 1 and 2 in the past two years’. It also highlights how well disadvantaged pupils are now doing although it says the school still needs to do more to enable these pupils to make even faster progress.

Parents and pupils are very happy with the school and feel that they are kept safe.

Inspectors say the school’s safeguarding is ‘effective’. Pupils who are new to the school told the inspectors how much they prefer Glenleigh because of the ‘help they receive in classrooms’. Parents were equally positive in their comments to inspectors.

Jon Hodson, Aurora Trustee and chairman of the Local Academy Board of Governors, said: “As a parent at Glenleigh and an Aurora trustee I have unique perspective. I can see how far the school has come in recent years because I can see how much my children are progressing and how much they enjoy learning; this is all the way from the nursery provision to key stage 2.

“Glenleigh Park fits their needs, it is a very special school which understands and serves its community well. We are happy with the good rating and this really acknowledges all the skilful, hard work that the staff put in to giving the pupils the best possible start in life. However, it doesn’t stop here – the mission will continue to focus on becoming outstanding!”