Netherfield School’s ‘outstanding’ rating by Ofsted

Children, staff and governors of Netherfield Church of England Primary School are celebrating after it was graded as ‘outstanding’ in all areas by Ofsted inspectors.
Pupils from Netherfield School hold up a banner celebrating the school's outstanding rating by Ofsted. SUS-190322-132834001Pupils from Netherfield School hold up a banner celebrating the school's outstanding rating by Ofsted. SUS-190322-132834001
Pupils from Netherfield School hold up a banner celebrating the school's outstanding rating by Ofsted. SUS-190322-132834001

During its recent inspection, the school was described as a ‘small school with a big heart’.

It highlighted how the small-school, family ethos is valued highly by parents, many of whom bring their children long distances to attend school.

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Ofsted inspectors said this view is supported by the pupils who referred to the school as ‘one big family’.

The report said: “This is an outstanding school. The headteacher has high aspirations for everyone. Under her guidance, staff strive continually to improve all aspects of their work.”

Ofsted also described classrooms as ‘happy and productive places’ where pupils’ attitudes to learning were excellent and their hunger to learn new things was fed by high-quality teaching across the curriculum.

The report adds: “The headteacher provides inspirational leadership. She leads the school by example and is totally committed to providing the best possible education for all pupils.

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“The school is exceptionally well resourced. This is partly due to the headteacher’s success in generating additional funding and also because leaders and those in positions of governance have clear priorities regarding the allocation of funding. This includes providing for the professional development of staff.

“Pupils enjoy coming to school because they like learning about new things every day. Trips out of school to enrich learning are the norm.

“Pupils are excited about the topics they study because teachers plan learning that is relevant and fun. This includes in the arts and sport, where much of the teaching is delivered by staff with specialist subject knowledge.

“Governance of the school is highly effective. The chair of governors, who is a national leader of governance, is extremely experienced. She leads a dedicated and enthusiastic team of governors who know the school well.”

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Barbara Gill, headteacher, said: “This outcome is testament to the hard work of our brilliant staff team, our committed governors, our incredibly supportive school community and, most importantly our inspirational children.

“We are delighted that the excellence that has existed in this school for a number of years has been formally recognised and promise to keep doing what we do best in the way we believe it should be done. As the Ofsted report states, and has always been our motto, we are a ‘small school with a big heart’.

“This is the culmination of determined hard working staff, pupils and governors, my thanks to them all.”

The full report can be viewed on the school website at www.netherfield.e-sussex.sch.uk.

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