Ixworth School celebrates ‘good’ report from Ofsted

Students and teachers at Ixworth School, part of the Seckford Education Trust, are celebrating after achieving a “good” judgement from Ofsted.

Following an inspection on September 17 and 18, Ofsted inspectors gave high praise to the school’s inclusive environment, strong teaching, wide-ranging extra-curricular activities and for successfully providing students with “a foundation for life”.

Inspectors described the school as a “very happy community” where “pupils arrive promptly because they enjoy school” and parents and carers are pleased with their school choice.

“School leaders want every pupil to do well”, and to leave as “confident” young adults who are “well prepared” for their next step in education, employment or training, they said.

Ixworth School, last inspected in 2017, has made “huge improvements” with “strong” teaching that inspires pupils to think and “learn rapidly” and students achieving well at GCSE in a wide range of subjects.

Inspectors also highlighted the school’s range of extra-curricular activities, such as the Duke of Edinburgh Award, learning British Sign Language, or preparing for a school drama production, where pupils are encouraged to discover new interests beyond academic subjects.

As a small school environment, “pupils and teachers all know each other very well”, “bullying is rare” and “pupils feel safe” with everyone working together to support and care for each other.

Mark Barrow, the headteacher, said: “We are very proud that the Ofsted team found our school to be good in all areas. This is vindication of the incredible hard work and professionalism of all the staff, the hard work and behaviour of our students and the support of our parents and carers. We have high aspirations for our students and we’re committed to providing a safe, challenging and nurturing environment where each and every student can learn and thrive.”

As part of their inspection, Ofsted inspectors spoke with the headteacher and senior leadership team as well as teachers, parents, carers and students.

Ofsted inspected four key areas – quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management – all of which were rated “good”.

Ixworth School, on Walsham Road, opened in 2014 as part of the Seckford Education Trust, which also includes Beccles and Saxmundham Schools.