Head praises 'fantastic staff' after good Ofsted for Carlisle school

Robert Ferguson Primary School has been rated as ‘good’ by Ofsted since 2012 and their latest report following their visit in January praised all aspects of school life including staff, students and school leaders.

Headteacher of Robert Ferguson Primary School, Mr Graham Frost, praised his ‘fantastic, well-established’ staff after the report’s publication.

“The key thing is about our long-term vision and being able to see it through” said Mr Frost.

“The fantastic staff team are united in their determination to provide an extensive range of opportunities  - a long-standing commitment to enable every child to excel according to their interests.”

Mr Frost pointed to the wide range of activities that the school puts on to enable the pupils to experience as rounded an education as possible.

The school has invested in sport and has a ‘great association’ with Carlisle United alongside introducing a vegetable garden tended to by the pupils and expanding their art opportunities to include ceramics.

Children are encouraged to take up extra-curricular activities (Image: Robert Ferguson Primary School)The report itself, which was the first since the Covid-19 pandemic, praised the extra-curricular opportunities the school has to offer alongside the ‘broad curriculum’ that the school teaches.

“Leaders are passionate about providing all pupils with a broad range of experiences to support their personal development” the report said.

“Leaders have prioritised the teaching of reading. Children begin to learn to read as soon as they enter the early years.”

As well as praising the teaching, the report also highlighted that staff are ‘proud’ to work at the school.

“Leaders are considerate of staff’s workload and well-being. Governors know the school well and provide effective support and challenge to leaders. Staff are proud to work at this school.”

This was headteacher, Graham Frost’s sixth inspection by Ofsted since he became headteacher.

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Ofsted normally inspect schools every four years and they can either be ‘outstanding’, ‘good’, ‘requires improvement’ or ‘inadequate’.