Local Schools: The Good The Bad And The Ugly!

By eelman | Thursday, August 26, 2010, 14:33

Jumping for Joy

Actually, there aren’t any bad ones – not really bad anyway. There might be a few ugly schools depending on your views on architecture, and there were some dame awful eyesores built in the 60s and 70s but I’m not sure if any survive in the Ely area today… or do they? On the up side, according to Ofsted there is plenty of good one out there.

No matter how small a criticism we receive of our children, the old protective/offensive mode tends to kicks in, and that goes for the reputation of the schools our children attend. No one wants to send their child to a poorly performing school, in what some might consider a bad area with ant-social problems but unless we are prepared to pay for our children to attend a private school, most of us don’t have the choice, as they say, schooling for our kids is a post code lottery.

I need your comments on this article, I’ve researched the Ofsted reports for schools in the Ely area but I need some genuine feedback from parents and teachers, so if you work at one of these schools or your child goes to one, let us know what you think.

My son goes to St Andrews Primary School in Soham and I would recommend it to anyone. Although I am not a religious man the school prides its self on its Christian environment. At first I was unsure about sending our child to a religious school, it felt hypocritical of me but then again, myself and my wife are the other side of the coin so-to-speak, our son will grow up with a broad understanding of people’s beliefs and he will be able to make informed choices for himself.

I admire St Andrews for its Christian values, they teach the children to be kind and respectful of others, in a caring environment ‘where all are valued and every child matters.’ This clearly works because I have never seen any fighting or unruly behavior when taking or picking my son up from school, all of the children seem happy and obviously have a great deal of fun. The Head Teacher, Mr Liddington, is a very approachable man with a hands-on approach to his work; I have seen him on several occasions on the chilliest of mornings, outside the school in his shirtsleeves greeting the children and parents, making himself available for informal chats about any issues a parent may have.

The high standards in teaching and managing the school is reflected in St Andrews Ofsted report when last inspected in April this year. Overall rating: 2 = Good.

Capacity for Sustained improvement 2 = Good

Other Ely Primary Schools worth looking at are:

Spring Meadow Infant School, Ely

Last inspected in 2008, overall rating: 2 = Good

The Weatheralls Primary School, Soham

Last inspected September 2009, overall rating 3 = Satisfactory Capacity for sustained improvement 2 = Good

Fordham CofE Primary School, Fordham

Last inspected March 2010, overall rating 1 = Outstanding

Capacity for Sustained improvement 1 = Outstanding

Isleham Church of England Primary School

Last inspected - Interim report July 2010, overall rating 1 = Outstanding

Ely St Mary's CofE Junior School, Ely