To Celebrating Success Together

As you are aware we welcomed an Ofsted team to St Paul's last term for two days. During the inspection process they give an indication of their initial evaluation and gradings but then have to go on to write the formal report and get this quality assured. It was a robust, engaging and formative process for us. I am pleased to say that this is now complete and I have attached the full report to share with you prior to it being published on the Ofsted website.

Ofsted 2023 Report

We are all thrilled to say that St Paul's was graded outstanding in all areas. They write that:

'Pupils benefit from attending this inclusive and exceptional school.'

We were first judged as an 'outstanding' school in November 2007 and since then have not had a full inspection but each year an evaluation of our progress and results. The Ofsted framework and regime has changed significantly in this time and is more demanding and has significantly reduced the number of schools being graded as 'outstanding' nationally.

We are very grateful for all that you do, as students and families, each and every day to make St Paul's what it truly is. I am also very grateful for all the staff at St Paul's for their dedication, commitment and care for doing great things in all that they bring to St Paul’s.

After our last inspection we made a moral commitment to seeing this as part of the journey not having reached the destination. The simplistic grading system has been subject of discussion as to whether it is useful in schools and will continue to be debated. To not mark or celebrate this good news would demean the great things that we have done together and something that is worth celebrating and being grateful for.

I believe being 'outstanding' is not about getting a grade on a report, after a few days of inspection, but a deep-rooted commitment to trying to do things better tomorrow than we did yesterday. We are a community of learning and always keen to develop and improve. This lies at the heart of our mission as a Christian community - to build God's kingdom and make the most of the gifts and talents every person is blessed with.

So just for a moment let's give thanks for all the blessings we have by being part of St Paul's and in our lives. Thank you for playing your part in making it such a special place to be.

God bless,

Mr Carter