Celebrating good times at school

An inspector visited the school, which has just 74 pupils and three class teachers, in March.

And he decided from what he saw that Waddingham Primary had improved since it was last assessed in February 2009.

Inspector Glynn Storer told the children: “Your school is giving you a good education. Your standards of attainment are above average. Most of you make good progress, but your progress in mathematics is not as strong as it is in reading and writing.”

Head teacher Sharon Marsden said the improvements were the result of a team effort.

“We are really pleased with the outcome from Ofsted. Everybody has worked so hard, from the children to the parents and staff who have all come together to move the school forward,” she said.

Children celebrated with a range of activities. They got creative making dens, collages and banners to shout about their success. And there was cake.

“Our team of Change Agents took ideas from each class and decided how they would like to celebrate the school’s achievement,” said Miss Marsden.

“The children have a big voice in the school and we do a lot of to make sure their views are heard.”

“We’ve adapted the curriculum to match their interests.”

Miss Marsden said work had already begun on improving the weaker areas Ofsted highlighted.

“They said our maths teaching was not as good as our other areas so we have put things in motion to address that,” she said.

“We are looking to incorporate information and computer technology into maths lessons to make them more interactive.”

“I myself am going on a course to learn how new technology can help with maths.”

“And we’ll be bringing back more games that use numeracy, like snakes and ladders, which some children don’t play anymore.”

“It’s all about engaging the children so they are learning while also enjoying themselves.”

Miss Marsden said the good Ofsted report had created more interest in the school, and the roll going up from 70 to 74.