Staff, children and parents are celebrating at Monkton Church of England Primary after a rating of Good by education watchdog Ofsted.
As part of the Ofsted inspection, inspectors spoke to parents and children about the curriculum as well as conducting deep-dives in Reading, Maths and Geography. During the inspection, senior leaders had the opportunity to showcase everything the school does to help children learn, including demonstrating how effective the school’s safeguarding systems are.
Head of School Chris Marston said: “We are a small school but we have a huge heart and big ambition. Our curriculum is designed to be fun and inspiring so children can make connections across different subjects and have the motivation to learn more.
“As a small school, we are sometimes not ‘seen’ amongst all the other larger schools but a small school has so much to offer, including a family feel – parents and staff call us ‘The Monkton Family.’ “We are always looking to extend our family beyond Monkton and take children from all over Thanet, as long as parents can get their children to us.”
Senior teacher and Maths Leader, Joanne Guilder, said, “We are so proud of everyone who comes to this school, whether that be our wonderful children, or our fantastically supportive parents and friends. It’s great that Ofsted came and saw what a close-knit community we are with one aim, to ensure that children are happy and learning, both socially and academically.”
The inspectors said: “The school’s values of compassion, courage and justice are central to what it provides for pupils. They learn to live out these values through the taught curriculum and many other opportunities.
“Pupils behave well and enjoy being at school. Those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) benefit from well-considered personalised support. This reflects the school’s high aspirations for every child.”
Raising school attendance was suggested as an improvement although inspectors noted: “Leaders have put in place effective strategies to tackle persistent absence.”
The lead inspectors applauded the school for its curriculum and noted that children had ventured on many trips to give them learning experiences beyond the classroom. Children have been to The Royal Observatory in Greenwich as part of their Space topic, they’ve travelled to Dover Museum when learning about The Bronze Age and have also utilised the local area, conducting numerous field trips around the village.
The school has also started a rock band and the choir had the trip of a lifetime when visiting the O2 to take part in a National Young Voices concert.