Kempston Rural Lower is Officially 'Outstanding'
Tuesday 11th May
2010
There is cause for
celebration at Kempston Rural Lower School as Ofsted have awarded
them an ‘outstanding’ recognition. The school have become the first
lower school within the borough to be awarded ‘outstanding’ since
the new Ofsted inspection framework was introduced in September
2009.
Ofsted’s report highlighted the schools
‘curriculum and excellent care, guidance and support, together
with consistently good teaching, has ensured that its pupils
progress as they move through the school’.
Head Teacher, Angela Stanbridge, at Kempston
Rural Lower School said: “Our wonderful school is officially
‘outstanding’ and we are delighted that this has been recognised by
Ofsted. Our pupils and staff are hard-working and determined to
achieve the best possible outcomes, and we are supported in this by
enthusiastic and dedicated parents and governors.”
The school is situated in a picturesque
location and each day welcomes mixed gender children between the
ages of 4-9 year-old.
For the last two years the school has taken
government initiative by following a creative curriculum, which its
Head Teacher believes has helped to engage and enthuse pupils in
all areas of their learning. Writing skills are a particular
strength of the school.
The Ofsted report outlines that lessons are
interesting and varied and teachers have high expectations of what
pupils will achieve. It lists that 83% of parents strongly agreed
that ‘My child enjoys school’’. This result could be
partly due to the effort made to work together with outside
agencies that support pupils learning, such as Partners in
Adventure, to boost the curriculum with active learning days
out.
In recent months teachers have taken advantage
of the fact that the school is situated on the banks of the River
Ouse, by creating ‘Pirate Days’ which lead to children paddling
down its banks, under close and careful supervision of external
providers. Another expedition involved a trip to ‘Antarctica’ in
which children used Google Earth to plan their visit, and with a
little imagination they went on their journey across the way to
near-by fields, setting up tents and taking items they felt would
be necessary for their brave and challenging trip.
Cllr David Sawyer, portfolio holder for
Children’s Services at Bedford Borough Council said: “A significant
contributory factor in this school’s success is the standard of its
care and ethos which enhance the environment and make it a pleasure
for children to learn and grow. A continuous level of monitoring,
tracking and a concerted effort from all groups enable children to
make rapid progress.”