A Norfolk junior school run by St Benet’s Multi Academy Trust – part of the Diocese of Norwich’s education arm – has been labelled Outstanding in its latest Ofsted report, after its previous inspection had resulted in Requires Improvement status.
Following its latest visit to St Mary’s Church of England Junior Academy in Long Stratton, the education inspectorate’s findings included that “pupils love coming to this school” and that the school provides a “calm, quiet environment where pupils are happy and exceptionally well cared for”.
This represents marked improvements across all areas of the school’s operations according to Ofsted, compared to its prior 2023 report.
Laura Richardson has been headteacher at St Mary’s since January 2024, during which time she has assembled a new leadership team and worked closely with Mark Carlyle, Improvement Director for St Benet’s Multi Academy Trust.
Alongside a commitment to “deliberate, intentional decision making” in all aspects of school strategy, Laura explains that the Christian values of love and forgiveness have also played a key role in altering the school’s culture:
“I came into a school that was not liked by the community. Nobody had anything nice to say about it. We’ve worked so hard at building those relationships with our families, with our community, to a place now where everyone feels supported.
“We tell the children that they are loved and that we will forgive them when they make mistakes.
“Families come in here and we will have conversations around issues such as housing, financial hardship, domestic violence, those kind of things. And that was really evident in our Ofsted report – the inspectors were blown away by the report that came back from the parents because they obviously couldn’t believe the contrast from the last findings in 2023.”
St Mary’s had been a standalone academy until 2021, when it joined St Benet’s group. It currently has 159 children attending across four year groups, with 31% of pupils having SEND requirements.
The full Ofsted report for St Mary’s Church of England Junior Academy can be found here.