Dear Friends,

 

Our school has had visitors recently: first, at the end of April, we had a visit from the OFSTED inspectors; then, following that visit, because we are a Church of England Voluntary Aided school, we were visited on May 20^th by an inspector from the Diocese for our SIAS ('statutory inspection of Anglican schools') inspection, which reports on the teaching of Religious education and on Collective Worship in the school.. The result of this second inspection will not be published for another two weeks, but we are able to report that the inspector left Wraxall school with a very smiley face, having said some very complimentary things about the way we operate as a church school. The OFSTED report was published on Friday 14^th May, and I thought that some of its contents should be shared with the parish.

 

The inspectors reported that :

 

'Wraxall Church of England Primary is an outstanding school and provides its pupils with an excellent, very well-rounded education. The school provides an exciting and stimulating curriculum which inspires the pupils and enables them to achieve highly. They bubble with enthusiasm when explaining how much they enjoy attending school 'because it is never boring and the teachers really go out of their way to make our learning fun and interesting.'

 

The primary reason for the school's success is the unswerving dedication and commitment  of the

headteacher an the whole staff to treating every child to treating every child as an individual. The 'unique child' is not just a mantra at Wraxall, the concept is at the heart of everything the school does. All staff understand the needs of all pupils extremely well. Their progress is tracked and monitored from the day they enter the school. Because the school values the pupils' personal and emotional well-being as highly as their academic needs, pupils are able to pursue their education in a secure atmosphere which ensure they are challenged to reach their full potential in all that they do. Pupils are exceptionally well motivated and very keen to do well. Their excellent behaviour and enthusiasm are in response to the outstanding teaching they receive, and which enables them to achieve high standards.

 

Pupila are lively and energetic and thrive in the nurturing atmosphere of the school. They have an excellent understanding of how to stay healthy and keep safe. They are thoughtful and reflective, assertive and confident. Their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is excellent. Behaviour in and around the school is outstanding and all the play spaces are happy and harmonious places.  Pupils have a wide range of opportunities to extend their learning using the internet and are well schooled in the importance of internet safety. A wide range of visits and visitors as well as an excellent range of out-of-school activities provide pupils with many opportunities to enhance their learning. Links with the nearby National Trust property at Tyntesfield are especially valued, and provide pupils with many unique opportunities across the curriculum.

 

It is firmly bound up in the ethos and culture of the school  that every child's needs are individually known and catered for. As a result, all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, make excellent progress.'

 

These are just some extracts from what, as you can see, was a glowing report. Everyone in school

deserves to be congratulated, for as the report makes clear, Wraxall School functions very much as a whole community, and the effort and vision are shared. But it is only right to express our special thanks to David Dunn, who puts in a huge amount of work as Chair of Governors, and whose wise and sensitive guidance is greatly appreciated. Thanks to all our foundation governors, who contribute to school life and do so much to support it. The close church/school partnership was especially in evidence at the recent Ascension Day workshops/celebrations, when a number of parishioners had gone into school beforehand to prepare the children and help them to understand various aspects of the church, such as nature in he churchyard, the architecture of the church, wax crayon rubbings of some of the headstones in the churchyard, the stained glass, and colours of the liturgical year. Many thanks to all who helped with these activities.

 

We are so fortunate as a parish to have such a special school, and we should do all we can to cherish and support our school. The future life of our church is closely bound up with the children across the road, who regard the church as 'theirs', and the more we make connections with the school community, the better will be the prospects for the future of our church. Over the years, several children from school have, on their own initiative, asked to be baptised. One such child will be  baptised at the First Sunday service at the beginning of July, and I know it will be a really special day for her. If you are one of the 8.30 regulars, who feel that the First Sunday Service is not for you, perhaps you could make an occasional effort to come along to one of these services at which the school is involved on a regular basis, to help build up the links between our church and our school – our past, present and future. You might find it an encouraging experience!

 

 

With love,

Rosey