Netherthorpe Nursery Infant & Junior School, Netherthorpe Street, Sheffield S3 7JA

WHY OFSTED PRAISED US

Netherthorpe Primary School has made rapid improvements over the last 6 years. In March 1998 the school was inspected and was placed under Special Measures. The main reason for this was that although improvements had begun "under the new management regime". much still needed to be done. Special Measures was to assist with this, so rather than being a negative aspect, we turned this OFSTED category on its head and viewed it positively.

The school rapidly went from strength to strength. Behaviour turned around with the support of the parents working in harmony with the school and is now viewed as extremely positive. Staff, parents and pupils together create a warm feeling in the school where every person feels supported and respected. We have a group of older pupils who act as Playground Friends, assisting new, younger or less confident children to enjoy playtime and use the play equipment safely.

A rise in achievement quickly followed this settled atmosphere which led the way for improvements in teaching methods and therefore

even better achievements. Parents and the whole community became more positive about Netherthorpe School so when a neighbouring school unfortunately closed, many of those parents chose Netherthorpe as their first preference for relocation of their children's education. This showed a great rise in confidence as previously many of the parents had moved their pupils away from Netherthorpe Primary School. Staff were encouraged and people wanted to work at Netherthorpe School. We currently have a very strong and effective staff with very efficient teachers and teaching assistant in every class.

Two years after being placed in Special Measures, we were classed as "a Good School with effective teaching giving good value for money". In December of 2003 we had another OFSTED Inspection. The results of this were very positive, classing our school as very good. The report spoke about the school adding a great deal of value to the pupils' education as well as moral/social aspects. Care of the pupils, in all its forms, was regarded as a great strength. The Local Education Authority, in its Annual Performance Review of Spring 2004, commented that this is a very good school with strong leadership and a very good level of value added education.