Lodge Farm Primary: Ofsted backs improvements at Willenhall school
A school rated inadequate for most of its existence – which had also been placed in special measures for the last three years – has turned its poor performance around following its best-ever inspection from Ofsted.
In just two years, Lodge Farm Primary School, based in Willenhall, has improved from the lowest Ofsted rating up to the second highest, after being ‘good’ by inspectors.
The school, which has never received better than satisfactory since it opened in 2000, was deemed inadequate in its last inspection in January 2016.
In March 2016, the school was converted into an academy.
And now, following its first inspection since the change, the academy has vastly improved according to inspectors.
Headteacher Natalie Boys said: “Everything from teaching, learning, the uniform, behaviour and the pride in the school has improved.
“We’ve done a lot to instil pride into the staff and the pupils and everyone has worked incredibly hard and come together as a team.
“We have high expectations here and that’s integral to what we believe and we want pupils to reach their potential and be happy. Our work doesn’t stop. We will continue it and doing what is best for the pupils and what they deserve.
“We want them to believe they can be anything they want to be.
“We try to give them confidence and ensure they can excel in anything from academic studies to music and sport.
“These children will change the future.
“The school had a negative reputation for a long time, so it’s fantastic for the community to change that.”
The latest report from Ofted gave the school a good rating in every criteria across the board.
The report state that the school could further improve in consistently offering suitably challenging work when appropriate and helping student’s develop better grammar, punctuation and spelling.
However, it found the school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare was outstanding.
The school was also seen to have ‘considerably improved’ in all areas.
It marked a considerable turnaround from the school’s 2016 inspection, when inspectors found it had failed to improve.
Since the changing to an academy, and bringing in a new headteacher and school council, pupils can have a say in key decisions covering anything from after school activities to the new uniform that was brought in.
