Ice creams all round! York school celebrates as head says his pupils ‘are all superstars’

Staff and pupils at a York school are celebrating after a very positive Ofsted report.

Lord Deramore’s Primary School in Heslington was graded as ‘Good’ by an inspector, in a report just released.

And the inspector wrote in her report: “Pupils at Lord Deramore’s receive an outstanding education.

“They are immersed in an exciting and rigorous curriculum. Leaders provide a broad range of experiences to help pupils remember the curriculum and to develop wider skills.

“This holistic approach helps pupils to mature into articulate, caring young people who are well prepared for life in modern Britain.”

Other plus points in the Ofsted report include:

• “Pupils feel safe and valued”
• “Behaviour is excellent in lessons. Pupils are highly engaged in learning”
• “Teachers and teaching assistants have expert subject knowledge”
• “The support for pupils with SEND, including some pupils who have a high level of need, is exceptional”.

Headteacher James Rourke has written to parents to share the good news. “Our inspection went extremely well and we are all very pleased with the outcome,” he wrote.

“During the verbal feedback, the inspector offered ‘huge congratulations’ to the entire school community.”

He praised his staff and the children: “This inspection outcome is a true testament to the hard work, dedication and talent of the entire staff team and governing body.

“As headteacher, I feel truly blessed to work with such exceptional colleagues.

“The real stars of this whole inspection process, however, were your children – ‘articulate’, ‘caring’ and ‘confident’ children who display excellent behaviours, play nicely with one another and are highly engaged in their learning.

“They are all superstars and we will congratulate them all on Friday afternoon with a visit from a local ice cream van.”

And Mr Rourke said: “Whilst the inspector did not flag any areas for improvement, we will continue to work on aspects of the school which could be strengthened further in preparation for their next visit.”

Lord Deramore’s Primary School is a local authority maintained school in City of York Council, with 216 pupils aged between 4 and 11.

More than 20 languages are spoken at the school which “is a wonderfully multicultural community,” the inspector said.

You can read the full Ofsted report here.