A NEW head teacher has joined staff and pupils at a York primary school to celebrate an "outstanding" double inspection.

Jane Nellar, the former head teacher at Stockton-on-the-Forest Primary School, has taken over the headship at St Lawrence's CE Primary School, in Heslington Road, as the school is celebrating its Ofsted and SIAS (Church School's) Inspections.

The school has been judged "outstanding" - the highest possible grading - by both Ofsted and the Diocese of York in both the inspections, which recognise the hard work and the dedication of the staff, pupils and school community.

Helen Dumville, who, as acting head teacher, led the school through the inspections, said: "These reports are an accolade to the whole team, whose dedication and hard work provides the highest quality care and education for our pupils.

"We are delighted our philosophy that Every Child Matters and our strongly Christian ethos have been recognised in this way.

"David Thewlis, who was head teacher at the school for 20 years, left at Christmas, but what we have achieved is due in no small part to the inspirational leadership which he provided and we are delighted to have achieved these two outstanding reports as a legacy to his time here.

"Jane Nellar, who took over the headship of the school this term, is delighted to celebrate the wonderful achievements of this outstanding school and looks forward to working with the staff, children and community to further this success."

Ofsted inspectors rated St Lawrence's as an outstanding school where every child is nurtured. The report says:

  • Progress is excellent because of the high quality of the teaching
  • St Lawrence's puts the child at the centre of everything it does
  • A powerful and influential school council is very active in pursuit of healthy and safe living
  • The result is a harmonious community that knows how to sort out its differences.

On points to improve on, the inspector said she was struggling to find any. She said staff should use all available data on pupil's academic and personal development to judge the effectiveness of all initiatives.

Meanwhile, the National Society Statutory Inspection of Anglican Schools said:

  • St Lawrence's CE Primary School exudes a feeling of warmth, care and love, is overtly and proudly Christian in all its interactions and thrives within an amazingly diverse community
  • Experiencing worship at St Lawrence's is spiritually uplifting
  • The school is held in high regard within the local and wider communities.