Sir William Robertson pupils “work hard and achieve well” says Ofsted report

A Welbourn academy has been praised for its ‘inclusion’ and ‘ambitious’ curriculum in its latest Ofsted report.

Schools are no longer graded with a single-word judgment such as ‘outstanding’, ‘good’ etc, but schools are now graded on their actions to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

Sir William Robertson, a school judged good for overall effectiveness before September 2024, was graded as “taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection”.

The report said that staff and pupils share the same high aspirations, and “work hard and achieve well”, and attend well and are keen to learn.

Pupils understand and follow the school’s values of ‘involvement, kindness, responsibility, creativity and critical thought, resilience and achievement’.

The school is highly inclusive with social inclusion at the heart of this community, the report said, with the school expecting every pupil, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), to engage fully with school life, which “equips and empowers” pupils to achieve academically.

The school’s ambitious curriculum was praised by the inspector as it ensures that pupils study a wide range of subjects, and the school’s “consistent approach to teaching” was also praised.

“Overall, pupils learn effectively because of teachers’ careful explanations, followed by opportunities to practise and apply their knowledge,” the inspector said.

Teachers typically select tasks that help pupils revisit, practise, and embed important ideas well, and also have strong subject knowledge, the report stated.

In order to improve, the inspector said, the school should ensure that teachers use assessment effectively to “determine what pupils have learned and what they need to learn next, as assessment is not used effectively to determine what pupils have learned and what they need to revisit”.

Headteacher Mark Guest said that everyone at Sir William Robertson was “delighted” with the outcome of the inspection:

“Having previously been judged to be a ‘Good’ school in 2015 and 2019, Ofsted no longer grades each school’s Overall Effectiveness with a single-word judgment. However, as the report states, it has not simply been a maintenance of existing standards at Sir William Robertson, as ‘many aspects of performance across the school have been improved since the previous inspection’,” he said.

“As the report notes, Sir William Robertson Academy is characterised by high aspirations, social inclusion, children who are keen to learn, pupils who behave well in lessons and where ‘relationships between teachers and pupils are warm and respectful.’

“The report is a fantastic tribute to the hard work of our staff, pupils and their parents. It is wonderful to see all of the schools within Aspire Schools Trust performing so well within the local communities we serve.