Mansfield Woodhouse school delighted to be on the up after being rated 'Good' by Ofsted

Northfield Primary School, on Cox’s Lane, has made great strides forward in recent years and inspectors have rated it good in all inspection criteria – quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management and early years provision.

In their report, inspectors said: “The school has high expectations of what pupils can accomplish.

“All that the school does is underpinned by its vision for all pupils to ‘grow, learn and achieve’.

"Most pupils progress well through the curriculum and they enjoy attending school and feel well supported by teachers.

"Since the school’s last inspection, it has improved the curriculum and the way it is delivered.

"As a result, most pupils, including those with SEND, achieve well and produce high-quality work.

"Teachers have secure subject knowledge and explain new learning logically.

"Most of the checks of pupils’ understanding accurately spot gaps.

"Pupils regularly recap their prior learning – this supports pupils well in remembering what they have learned.

"The school is committed to ensuring that every pupil develops the knowledge and skills they need to read fluently and confidently.

"Children in the Reception year begin learning phonics when they start school.

"In early years, staff regularly reinforce phonics through the activities children engage in.

"The books pupils read are well matched to the sounds they know.

"This helps pupils to develop their fluency in reading.

"Any pupil who needs extra support to read gets well-thought-out support.

“The school accurately identifies the needs pupils with SEND have and provides staff with detailed information about how to support pupils with SEND.

"Staff use this well to adapt their teaching and resources so that these pupils can access the curriculum and achieve well.

"The school has established a clear system for addressing any conduct issues.

"Staff and pupils understand the system well.

"As a result, most pupils have a positive attitude towards learning.

"The school has addressed the issues highlighted in its previous inspection effectively.

"School leaders and governors understand the school’s strengths and areas that still need improvement..

"Governors fulfil their statutory duties well, staff are proud to work at the school and they are supported well by leaders.”

On what the school needs to do to keep improving, inspectors said: “The school currently provides limited opportunities for pupils to understand what it means to be active citizens.

"As a result, some pupils are unable to engage with meaningful experiences that develop their understanding of how to contribute positively to society.”

Julian Fieldwick, head teacher, said: “The staff and Governors of Northfield are delighted.

“Everyone has been working so hard at Northfield and this judgement is very well deserved.

"It's a true reflection of our school and we are all so pleased with this result.

We are all particularly pleased with Ofsted's comment that, ‘the school has high expectations of what pupils can accomplish’.

“We are also very proud of our children – Ofsted commented that ‘they enjoy attending school and feel well supported’, as well as ‘socialising well together’ and ‘developing respectful relationships’.

"We believe that our new Ofsted report highlights our high standards and we believe that it shows how well our children achieve and thrive at our school.”