St Jude's Ofsted Inspection 2009

Please see the full Ofsted report here. (Adobe Acrobat Reader pdf file)

1 June 2009

Dear Parent / Carer

You will all be aware that our school was visited at the beginning of May by a pair of Ofsted inspectors who were with us for two days. Since then, many of you have been keen to know how the inspection “went”, and we have been equally keen to share this news with you, but whilst we had been given a verbal de-brief on the final day of the inspection we were not allowed to say anything until the official report had been received. That report has now arrived, and, being much shorter than the Ofsted reports of only a few years ago, we are required to send you a full copy which is attached to this letter (it can also be read on the school website at:
www.st-judes.org.uk/pdfs/ofsted-report-2009.pdf )

In giving St Jude’s a “Satisfactory” grading with some “Good” aspects we believe that the inspectors have produced an accurate picture of the school – in fact it mirrors the school’s own assessment undertaken as part of our regular Self Evaluation. There is much to celebrate in this report, from the “Good” grades given for the “Effectiveness of the Early Years Foundation Stage” (Reception Year) and the “Personal Development and Well-being” of our children, to the recognition that “Most parents are pleased with the school” and that “There is particularly good provision for the needs of most vulnerable pupils … results are evident in the progress made by pupils who have learning difficulties and/or disabilities”.

The inspectors make many other positive comments throughout their report but these are, of course, balanced by a number of other comments indicating where the school needs to do even more to improve the overall provision to our children. These comments, together with the inspectors final de-brief provide us with a helpful analysis of where we need to apply additional effort in order to improve further. The governors and senior management team will now turn their attention to addressing all these points and an action plan will be produced (and will be made available to parents).

The process of inspections undertaken by Ofsted have themselves come under scrutiny since the Baby Peter investigations in Haringey, and some parents have questioned the usefulness of the process. All we can say from our experience of discussions with the inspectors (we both spent some time with them) is that the process was both fair and rigorous; it confirmed much of our previous analysis; and has helped to focus our attention on those areas which need greater emphasis. The inspectors’ report is not long and we urge you to read it in its entirety so that you can have a broad and balanced understanding of the way in which St Jude’s school looks after your children.

Please see the full Ofsted report here.

(You will need Acrobat Reader to view this PDF document. If you do not have Adobe Acrobat Reader, click here to download the reader first.)