Staff ‘worth their weight in gold’ at school aiming for outstanding rating

Fakenham Academy. Photo: Fakenham Academy (Image: Fakenham Academy)

The headteacher of a Fakenham school has said “working towards outstanding is my goal” in the wake of its latest Ofsted inspection.

Fakenham Academy Norfolk was rated good by inspectors after a short visit to the school on Wednesday, January 16 - the first since the school was rated good in June 2015.

The report, published on Friday, February 8, said leadership at the school had maintained the good quality of education.

Inspectors said: “Academic standards continued to rise and pupils’ progress increased.”

Fakenham Academy. Photo: Fakenham Academy (Image: Fakenham Academy)

Principal Richard Evans, who has been in post since September 2018, said: “I’m incredibly pleased for the school and the area.

“To have a good school, for people who come to live and work here and run businesses, it’s nice to have a school that’s known to be good.

“It’s a good thing for the town of Fakenham.

Mr Evans said since joining the school six months ago he had “enjoyed meeting all the staff and seeing all the great work that’s being done”.

And he added: “Working towards outstanding is my goal.

“We’ve got really experienced staff who have been here for years who are worth their weight in gold.

“Quite a number of their own children have been through here. Fakenham Academy is a choice destination for education.”

In the report, from Thursday, January 31, inspectors said areas for improvement at the school were to raise progress in mathematics and to further improve the quality of teaching and learning.

But Mr Evans said while progress would be his main metric for measuring improvement at the school “schools are being pinched more and more for results - we focus on what’s best for the children”.

He said: “We have had some staffing changes and the Maths faculty is now stronger than ever.”

Inspectors also noted that a previous fall in the school’s enrolment rates had led to “financial constraints” and said these had provided a “continual challenge”.

But Mr Evans said while the school had halved in size since 2007, the academy was preparing to welcome 135 year seven pupils in September, compared to the 2018-2019 school year’s 121.