‘The inspirational Headteacher is the driving force behind the school’s rapid improvement’. This is the strong opening statement from Longvernal Primary School’s latest Ofsted report.

Longvernal Primary School, for the first time since it opened in 1975, is celebrating ‘Good’ or ‘Outstanding’ in every category in the latest Ofsted inspection which took place in October. The school’s success is particularly outstanding as the school was classed as ‘Requiring Improvement’ just two years ago.

Mrs Courtier, who was previously Assistant Headteacher at Weston All Saints Primary School in Bath, was seconded to the school as Acting Head in May 2014, before being made substantive Headteacher in December 2014. With the support and hard work of the Governors, teaching and support staff, Mrs Courtier has driven forward a programme of rapid improvement. This collective effort has seen Longvernal Primary School dramatically turnaround from a school that ‘Requires Improvement’ in every category of the inspection in October 2013 to ‘Outstanding’ or ‘Good’ in every category.

Pupils were judged to be outstanding with regard to well-being and personal development and good overall in behaviour. Inspectors went on to praise the school with regard to pastoral care and that the school was justified in referring to itself as ‘The Longvernal Family.’ Parental feedback for Ofsted saw a 100% response, stating that they would recommend the school and that their child was happy and safe. The inspector reported that pupils were full of admiration and praise for their Headteacher who they feel has made a real difference to their lives.

“Longvernal has become a school that we, as Governors, are extremely proud of. Our strength lies in the combined efforts of all staff, pupils, parents/carers and Governors alike and it is because of our ‘Longvernal Family’ attitude that we succeed as a school,” said Kelly Antonowicz, Chair of Governors. “The Ofsted inspection has celebrated all our efforts and achievements and has encouraged us to strive for greater future accomplishment and growth.”

‘The school provides a broad, lively and comprehensive curriculum.’ The Headteacher and Governors feel justifiably proud of their school and its pupils. The school also benefits from extensive grounds, including an orchard, which are used for Forest School, which every pupil experiences for two hours per week with their experienced Forest Leader. Outdoor learning is exploited for cross-curricular links, which were seen as an area of strength by the inspector. Their motto reflects a culture of creativity and outdoor learning, ‘Longvernal children learn with mud on their hands and smiles on their faces’.

Kerrie Courtier, Headteacher, adds: “At Longvernal, we strive to give pupils experiences to broaden their horizons; from Year 3 all pupils experience an annual residential camp. Last year, pupils visited the Isle of Wight and this year, trips to both London and France are planned; the latter complementing their specialist-taught weekly French lesson by a native French speaking teacher.”

In addition to already working towards ‘Outstanding’ by targeting specific identified areas, Longvernal is now supporting other schools in its areas of expertise such as SpaG, Forest School and Equality, with school senior leaders recently becoming qualified as Stonewall Champions. Longvernal continues to establish strong links with community stakeholders including Curo Housing, local businesses, the Town Council, RHS, National Trust and local churches and, contrastingly, with Zion Community School in Uganda.