Celebrations as Thetford school Raleigh Infant Academy moved out of 'inadequate' Ofsted rating to 'good'

A school's 'rapid' turnaround from an 'inadequate' to a 'good' Ofsted rating is testament to the 'hard work and determination' of colleagues, the trust's CEO has said.

Raleigh Infant Academy in Admirals Way, Thetford, was inspected by Ofsted, the education watchdog, over two days in September and was rated 'good' in every area.

The school had been judged to be 'inadequate' overall during an inspection in November 2017, which is before it joined the Eastern Multi-Academy Trust (EMAT).

The inspection in 2017 found safeguarding to be ineffective and the school was rated inadequate overall.

The recent inspection report highlighted that 'aspiration, respect and kindness are the core values of Raleigh Infant Academy' - values that executive principal Greg Sadler said were 'the key driver' for the school’s improvement journey.

Ofsted also picked out that there is an 'ambitious' curriculum at the school, which has a nursery, and pupils feel safe.

Paul Shanks, chief executive of EMAT, said: “We are delighted that Ofsted has recognised the rapid progress made at Raleigh Academy.

"The school joined the trust having received an inadequate outcome at its previous inspection and the turnaround is a testament to the hard work and determination of our colleagues to ensure that all children receive a good education.

"We are absolutely delighted for the children, staff and community of Raleigh Academy and look forward to working together to build on this success.”

The report also noted that staff are excited about leaders’ vision for the school and staff feel supported by leaders and say that their workload is considered.

Mr Sadler has been executive principal at the school since September 2022 and prior to that was regional director for EMAT.

He said: "We are extremely pleased with the inspection outcome, and the fact that the inspection team was able to recognise the impact of our ambitious curriculum underpinned by our strong set of values. Even through the challenge of Covid, we have been able to maintain our improvement journey to secure this judgement.”

He added: "As well as preparing children academically for the future it's about giving them the right moral compass in order to be good citizens."

Leaders at Raleigh Infant Academy also work across the neighbouring Admirals Academy, which goes up to Year 6.

Mr Sadler, who has worked with both academies for three years as the regional director, said: "The benefits of both academies working in partnership are huge, as ultimately, we aim to ensure that the pupils have a seamless education from nursery through to Year 6.

"Julieanne Purvis, the head of school, has ensured that daily expectations are high and the evidence of this can be seen in our pupils' behaviour and in the work that they produce.

"I am very much looking forward to leading Raleigh Academy on the next leg of its journey.”

Areas Ofsted highlighted for improvement include ironing out inconsistencies in the quality of early years teaching and inspectors said leaders should ensure that training for new subject leaders is put in place to develop their skills to effectively monitor and evaluate their curriculum area.

Raleigh Infant Academy has 178 pupils aged three to seven on the school roll.