Portway Infant School
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Dear Parents,
We received the final copy yesterday and are now permitted to share with you the outcome of our long awaited two day inspection that took place on 14th & 15th May 2024. The report will be published on the Ofsted website within five working days.
The inspectors concluded that Portway Infant School is Outstanding in all areas – Quality of Education, Behaviour & Attitudes, Personal Development, Leadership and Management and Early Years, resulting in an Overall Effectiveness of Outstanding for the school.
We are delighted to have retained our ‘Outstanding’ grade and thrilled the hard work, dedication and professional standards of the Portway team, and the unwavering support and commitment from the Portway community, have been validated through an extremely rigorous process.
Over the last 10 years only 28% of previously Outstanding schools retained their Outstanding rating. Overall the number of schools with an Outstanding grade is falling as those previously exempt, as we were, are inspected for the first time in more than a decade. Current Ofsted data shows the number of Outstanding Primary schools nationally has dropped to 12% and this is expected to fall further as more exempt schools are inspected. I share this data to emphasise what an achievement it is to maintain such high standards consistently year on year and achieve a second Outstanding judgement, in every area, particularly at a time when the benchmark for ‘outstanding’ is at the highest level it has ever been. We are immensely proud of our achievement.
The final report is attached and you will see it opens with a quote from a parent. We were so pleased to see this because it reflects the much valued partnerships we have with parents.
Please take some time to read the report, it reflects our whole school community working together to give our children the education they deserve.
We are delighted with the inspection outcome, however, please be reassured we will continue looking for areas to improve - as recognised in the report, “…(Portway) are unwavering in their determination to provide the very best education to all pupils.”
May I again take this opportunity to thank you all, not just for your support with the inspection but your continued support. So proud to be Portway!
You can view our latest Ofsted report by clicking here: Ofsted Report - May 2024
On Saturday some of our year R families visited our Forest School site for some fun and woodland crafts. We were lucky with the weather as it was slightly overcast but dry.
Our morning started with a brief introduction into Forest School and a safety brief, all of our Portway children knew the rules. The first demonstration was Hapa Zome which is a Japanese ancient art form of leaf bashing. We talked a lot about knowing what we are picking and identifying leaves and flowers before we pick them. We also talked about not picking wild flowers as in some cases they are protected by the Wildlife and Countryside act. Families also had the opportunity to make spring mobiles and clay flower prints.
Our final activity was toasting brioche buns (link to Paris Olympics 2024) on the open fire. They were enjoyed by all, along with a hot chocolate!
Miss Birmingham
Forest School Lead
