Congratulations are in order for staff, parents and pupils of Chillerton and Rookley Primary School, which has just been rated a ‘Good’ in al areas of provision.
The school, which was rated as ‘Requires Improvement’ at its last full inspection, has been under threat of closure for several years.
At this latest inspection it was found that “pupils coming to this friendly, nurturing village school” and “are happy and feel safe”.
Highlights from the report include:
- Leaders aspire for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), to achieve highly
- Pupils behave well around the school. They are calm and focused in lessons. Relationships between pupils and staff are highly positive and respectful
- Leaders have designed a broad and ambitious curriculum
- Leaders have identified the key knowledge and skills that pupils need to remember right from the start of their education
- Leaders ensure that pupils have regular opportunities to learn about both their own locality and the wider world
- Leaders and governors work closely together to improve the school. Staff are highly positive about the school. All staff and governors are united in wanting to achieve the best outcomes for all pupils
- Leaders have created a strong culture of vigilance. There are clear systems in place to identify pupils who are at risk of harm
Some improvements are required to reach ‘Outstanding’ rating. You can read about those on the Ofsted Website.
No longer under the threat of closure
Earlier this year, Cllr Debbie Andre, much to the relief of members of the ‘Save our School Campaign’ announced that a closure notice would not be issued for the village school.
The threat of closure had rallied members of the community to form a Save Our School campaign group to fight the proposals from Hampshire Children’s Services.
Campaigners: An exceptional achievement against a backdrop of uncertainty
A spokesperson for the Save our School group told News OnTheWight,
“I would like to congratulate everyone involved with Chillerton and Rookley Primary School.
“This is an exceptional achievement against a backdrop of uncertainty.
“The outcome of this inspection is something that many families have known for some time.
“This is an excellent platform on which to build so the school can go from strength to strength.”
