We have now received the final report from Ofsted following their visit on February 25 and 26.

This was an ‘ungraded inspection’, which means its aim was to ascertain whether Backwell had upheld the standards shown in the last visit (January 2020) when it was judged to be ‘Good’.

I am very pleased to report that, in the new report, Ofsted states that ‘Backwell School has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection’.

This is the headline from a report which we think is an accurate summary of the school’s many strengths. The report echoes our own evaluation and the quality assurance we carry out using external experts: highlighting very good behaviour and attendance at the school, high-quality teaching and subject knowledge, wonderful extracurricular opportunities and strong personal development for our pupils. The report also identifies areas for further improvement and, here too, the points raised match our own assessment – focusing on how teachers can be even more effective in checking for understanding and supporting those pupils with particular needs.

Thank you to parents and carers for contributing to the visit by completing the parental survey.