Ofsted: Moreland Primary School in Waterlooville's Ofsted rating upgraded to 'good' from 'requires improvement'

The Waterlooville school – which was marked with a ‘requires improvement’ report in 2019 – received a ‘good’ rating this month following an inspection in November 2022.

Headteacher Alison Syred-Paul said: ‘I am really thrilled with our report because everyone works so hard to provide the best opportunities for our children.

‘We have spent the last four years going from strength to strength and staff have been determined to make this goal a reality. Children at Morelands thrive, create and achieve to be the best that they can be.

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‘We have some development points to work on – in particular raising the attendance of our persistently absent pupils. We are developing a strategy to ensure that children attend school as often as possible. We want to share with all children the great things about our school.’

The latest report from Ofsted found that ‘pupils thrive and achieve because of the high ambitions their teachers have for them’ at the primary school. It also highlighted the ‘warm and inclusive environment’ created by staff and 323 pupils.

Areas noted to still need work in the report were a small number of foundation subjects found to lack ‘ambitious’ activities, inconsistent curriculum sequencing for early years to key stage one and persistent absence among vulnerable pupils.

This inspection was the school’s first since Alison Syred-Paul took up her post as headteacher in April 2019. Alison has commended the staff, pupils, and governors for their role in improving its standing.

The education watchdog’s 2019 report found that ‘ineffective leadership and shortcomings in the quality of teaching, learning and assessment’ had led standards to decline since 2010 when Morelands was rated ‘Outstanding.’

According to data from the Department for Education, 88 per cent of schools are now rated good or outstanding which is 20% higher than in 2010. Inspections carried out by Ofsted in 2021 and 2022 saw more than 300 school lose their ‘outstanding’ status. This followed a change in policy as between 2012 and 2020 an outstanding school was exempt from future inspections.