22 May 2009 - Ofsted 5 May 2009

St Robert’s Catholic Primary School celebrates an

Outstanding Ofsted Report

The staff, governors, parents and children of St Robert’s School are delighted to celebrate the result of their recent Ofsted Inspection, which judged the school to be Outstanding in all of the thirty three areas covering every aspect of school life which were assessed.

The report opens by saying that ‘This school gives pupils an outstanding education’ and goes on to say that ‘they are captivated by the wealth of interesting, challenging and highly enjoyable learning opportunities and so they learn at a fast rate. Teaching quality is outstanding.’

Ofsted were particularly impressed by ‘the excellent care, support and guidance’ given to all pupils and commented that the behaviour of the children is outstanding. They felt that ‘Pupils are outstandingly well prepared for their future lives not just because of their advanced literacy, numeracy and information and technology (ICT) skills but because they are articulate, independent and self-assured individuals.’
The school has already been recognised as a Leading School for Inclusion in North Yorkshire, and Ofsted confirmed ‘… it is exceptionally successful in promoting equality of opportunity and in ensuring there is no discrimination.’ It also states that ‘the impact of its strong local, national and international links is seen in pupils’ sense of responsibility and ability to think and respond seriously to important issues.’
The Early Years Foundation Stage of schools is specifically reported upon, and once again achievement was deemed to be outstanding. Ofsted said that ‘Children’s start to their education is exceptionally rich’ and ‘activities both indoors and outdoors fully cover all areas of learning, offer high levels of challenge as well as exciting children’s curiosity.’

Headteacher Mrs Maureen Benson says “St Robert’s School is a very special place, with wonderful children and supportive families, and we are delighted that Ofsted have recognised the strengths and ethos of the school. We do have very high aspirations for all of our pupils and we are well placed to build on our success."

Eileen Toop, Chair of Governors says “This superb report reflects the efforts of the headteacher, classroom teachers and all support staff who work so hard to consistently raise standards in our school, not just in academic attainment, but also in the care and wellbeing of each of the children in the school, and to provide them with such a first-class education. We are very lucky to have such delightful children whose families are such an important part of our special community. We are planning to mark this marvellous report with a celebratory event for families and staff later in the term.”