Rainworth school is 'happy and safe' as it keeps its 'good' rating by Ofsted

Heathlands Primary School, Ransom Road, Rainworth, has kept its rating of ‘good’ by Ofsted the education watchdog after a recent short inspection.

In the report it stated that there is a strong leadership team at the school and that improvements to grammar, noted in the schools previous inspection in 2014 have been met.

Kate Nash, Ofsted Inspector who published the inspection noted that there has been a successful focus of technical language, using word such as ‘fronted adverbial’ or ‘digraph’

She said: “The school is a happy, safe and inclusive learning environment. Staff have provided clear direction and vision which encourage all members of the community to aim high and succeed.

“Parents, carers and pupils value the support they are given by a knowledgeable and caring staff. The welcoming environment means that all pupils are accepted and given every opportunity to flourish.”

She also said that staff at the school “work relentlessly to support families and pupils who have a range of complex needs.”

Mrs Caron Wagstaff, Headteacher at the school said: “It was a really positive inspection - we feel it is a true refection of schools strengths. We are a small school, we still think of children as individuals, see them for their strengths and needs.

“Visitors to school often say they feel it is a positive environment. As a school we are always looking at a next step - the improvements that came out in effect are tweaks.

“We don’t have to completely change but build on what we are doing.”

One improvement Ofsted suggested was to “increased engagement with parents from nursery to help them understand the importance of helping their child at home.”

Mrs Wagstaff said: “One of the things we are working is to engage the younger children’s families, we agree with Ofsted completely. We had already stated to invite parents into class to help them understand what they can do at home to help. We could not continue without support or partnerships with the parents. We couldn’t support the children in isolation.”