Thetford school The Bishop's Church of England Primary Academy is rated 'requires improvement' by Ofsted

School staff have 'worked tirelessly' to bring about 'impressive improvements,' an academies boss has said, following an Ofsted report that raises the primary's grading.

In September, Ofsted inspectors visited The Bishop’s Church of England Primary Academy, part of the Diocese of Norwich Education and Academies Trust (DNEAT), which had previously been found by the body to have 'serious weaknesses'.

Following the 'inadequate' Ofsted rating in October 2019 there have been three monitoring visits and the Thetford school is now graded as 'requires improvement' overall, with two areas judged to be 'good' - personal development and early years provision.

The report highlighted that leaders have put in place a curriculum that is 'ambitious for all pupils', that pupils are proud of their school and its place in the community and the school is an increasingly calm place for pupils to learn. Leaders have also improved the teaching of reading, with pupils' love of reading growing.

Areas picked out for improvement include high persistent absence for some pupils, particularly those with SEND (special educational needs and/or disabilities), and the need for all staff to follow the school’s agreed behaviour policy.

Oliver Burwood, CEO of DNEAT, said: “We have worked hard, collectively, to get The Bishop’s Church of England Primary Academy in a place where we can see real and impressive improvements.

"Our focus continues to be on taking these even further. The outcome is testament to the staff at the academy, who have worked tirelessly and to the community that has put its faith in them. We have a fantastic leadership in place and a talented new headteacher who will lead the school to the next level.”

The new headteacher, Lorraine Ratcliffe, said: “We are delighted with our recent Ofsted report which reflects the hard work of the team and rapid improvement across the school since the last [monitoring] inspection in May 2021.”

She added: “Owing to covid, our attendance last year was not as high as we would have liked with families isolating. The school is now working hard with the community to ensure children attend school as much as possible. We value the support of our families to achieve this.”

The report said the pandemic had affected how the school engages with the local community and, while leaders’ work with families had resulted in some small successes regarding attendance, 'this is not enough'.

In terms of what it's like to attend the school, the report said pupils, and children in early years, generally get on well with each other and many pupils are respectful and polite.

It said: "Children in early years quickly learn and follow school routines. There is much less disruption to pupils’ learning in lessons than in the past.

"Most pupils listen carefully to teachers and enjoy their learning. There are some lessons, however, where pupils do not focus well enough on their studies. In these instances, teachers do not deal with poor behaviour consistently well."

It added: "Pupils no longer experience an inadequate quality of education. Pupils study a range of different subjects and topics which excite their interest. While the curriculum is improving, there is more work to do to ensure a good quality of education."

The report found more work needs to be done to implement and evaluate the curriculum consistently well. And there needs to be improvements so all pupils with SEND are making the progress they should.

There are 386 pupils on the school roll.