'Outstanding' report for Roydon school

Top marks have been awarded to a south Norfolk school which was judged as outstanding during a recent Ofsted inspection.Praise was heaped onto Roydon Primary School for its pupils' high achievements, the care it showed towards the children, and its highly effective teaching and management.

Top marks have been awarded to a south Norfolk school which was judged as outstanding during a recent Ofsted inspection.

Praise was heaped onto Roydon Primary School for its pupils' high achievements, the care it showed towards the children, and its highly effective teaching and management.

The school, which teaches 266 pupils in Roydon, near Diss, was visited by inspectors on May 26 and 27.

The subsequent report has rated the school and its capacity for continued improvement as outstanding.

It said: 'This is a friendly, welcoming and highly effective school, providing pupils with the best possible preparation for their future lives. As a result pupils thoroughly enjoy school and attendance is high.

'To quote members of the school council, 'School does so many things; there is no time for boredom. Teachers make learning fun and there are always things to achieve'.'

Headteacher Andrew Parris said: 'After just a few minutes, visitors often make comments about how Roydon feels like a good school.

'It's great that after a probing inspection Ofsted has agreed and said 'actually, it's outstanding'.

'I believe that the quality of the complex relationships between pupils, staff, parents and governors are at the heart of our outstanding school.'

The report said by the time pupil's leave the school at the end of Year 6 they are achieving significantly above average standards in English, maths and science because of the 'often outstanding' teaching and rich curriculum.

Children's progress is tracked well and they are given 'very effective' oral assessments during lessons, although the report suggested that more written comments for the pupils to refer to would be helpful.

It added that those with special education needs and disabilities are given 'extremely good support' and there is 'excellent' provision for sports activities, which helps the children maintain healthy lifestyles.

Pupils understood how to care for themselves and others, and their behaviour was described as 'exemplary'.

The report also highlighted the 'overwhelmingly positive' comments made by parents about the school and its leadership, but recommended that teachers did more to inform them of their children's progress.