Ofsted, who visited Burbage Primary School in November 2021, have rated the school as ‘Good’ in all areas – Quality of Education, Behaviour and Attitudes, Personal Development, Leadership and Management as well as Early Years Provision. Pupils and staff celebrated the result and the return to school with a special day promoting the school ethos ‘inspiring and nurturing together’.
Zoe Garbutt, Principal of Burbage Primary School, said, “Our recent inspection highlighted many strengths across the school, notably how the children get off to a very strong and well-supported start in our Pre-School and Reception class.
Since the last inspection, the Ofsted framework has been rewritten and the standards needed to gain a good grading have increased substantially. I am incredibly pleased that the significant improvement journey the school has undergone over the last two years has been recognised.
There is much to be proud of in the report which is testament to the fantastic staff team whose hard work, determination, and willingness to go the extra mile to ensure the very best for the children in our care.”
Ofsted also commented on how Burbage pupils have coped during the pandemic. “There are high expectations of pupils in their work and behaviour. Pupils meet these despite the disturbances of the COVID-19 pandemic. Pupils apply themselves diligently to the work they do at school, from Nursery through to Year 6. Pupils behave well and show respect for each other and staff. They take great pride in their Duke of Burbage scheme. In this, they challenge themselves with new things, being helpful and supporting good causes.”
A whole school special learning day welcomed children back to school after the Christmas break. Zoe Garbutt told Marlborough.news, “The whole school has been involved in a day learning about being ‘inspiring’ as part of our Burbage ethos which is ‘Inspiring and nurturing together’.
We have been inspiring through our whole school work on Sustainability. Our school council organised the day which involved a fantastic mixture of making ‘bug hotels’, bird feeders, cooking earth cakes and making planters.
These activities have been enjoyed by all the children as we encourage them to think about our precious planet and how we can all make little adjustments to the way we live to protect it. The children are planning to sell the items they have made today as they want to generate money to help make a wild flower garden along the edge of our school field. This is to encourage more wildlife to our school site and to brighten up our school field for everyone in the community to enjoy.”
The strong sense of community is also celebrated in the Ofsted report. “There is a wonderful comment about the school being the hub of the community and that would not be possible without the tremendous support of our parents and the fabulous children we have the privilege of working with.”
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