Staff and pupils are celebrating after their school became the first on the Island to be rated as outstanding.

Queenborough School and Nursery has jumped from good to Ofsted’s highest grade in its most recent inspection.

It received a visit from the regulator over two days at the beginning of October.

Queenborough School and Nursery celebrates after being rated Outstanding

Its last encounter with the education watchdog was in 2011.

The report rated it outstanding because of the quality of teaching provided, with children of all abilities achieving well.

It said: “This is an outstanding school where everyone is an enthusiastic learner and makes a valuable contribution to the exceptionally positive ethos.

“The pupils love learning because teachers and other adults make it interesting and enjoyable.

“Every pupil in every class experiences very high-quality teaching and learning every day.

“Leaders and all staff have an unwavering determination to give Queenborough pupils the best possible start to their education, remove barriers and open the pupils’ eyes to the rich possibilities that life has to offer.”

The inspection started as an assessment of a good school but, on the first day, lead inspector Sheena MacDonald converted it into a full examination to see whether the school was, in fact, outstanding.

Four Ofsted regulators joined inspector MacDonald on the second day, where they met with parents, observed teaching and learning in all classes and looked at pupils’ books. They also scrutinised assessment information, monitoring records and planning documents.

In their findings, inspectors said staff were proud to be part of the school’s community and enjoyed working there.

The report stated: “The head teacher, governors and school leaders are passionate about creating a community where everyone, adults and pupils alike, is an enthusiastic learner.

“Everybody who visits or is part of the school comments on the special atmosphere, which

is positive, purposeful and caring.”

Throughout the report, pupils were praised for being “polite, welcoming, kind and considerate”, and the school was congratulated for enabling them to progress as they move through the school.

“When children arrive in the nursery, their attainment is generally well below that typical of their age, especially in speech, language and communication,” the report read.

“The pupils make strong progress throughout each key stage so that attainment in reading, writing and mathematics was above that expected for their age in all national assessments in 2015 and improved further in 2016.”

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