Castercliff Primary Academy in Nelson receives 'good' Ofsted report

Numbers of children attending the school increase each year, with it now welcoming two classes of children into EYFS annually and all year groups being full to capacity.

Part of Pendle Education Trust, the school has successfully bid for significant capital investment in the building and its classrooms to ensure it is able to serve the growing local community around the Marsden Park area.

In recent years, the school has been congratulated by the Secretary of State for School Standards for the progress children make from Key Stage 1 to the end of Key Stage 2. EYFS teacher, Rebecca Murton was also named as one of 80 Pearson National Teaching Award Silver winners from across the UK for her outstanding commitment to changing the lives of the children she works with.

Whilst academic standards continue to rise at Castercliff, staff are also committed to providing children with access to a variety of extra-curricular activities at lunchtime and after school. These include dance, dungeons and dragons, musical theatre, coding, sports clubs and the school choir which is regularly invited to community events, including singing for residents at the care home across the road from the school.

The school also works closely with Burnley FC in the Community and its children have been lucky enough to feature on Football Focus and Match of the Day after meeting first team players and the former Prime Minister, Theresa May, when she visited Leisure Box.

During their time at Castercliff, children also complete the 10 categories in the Pendle Education Trust Pledge which aims to help children have amazing adventures during their time at primary school and create long-lasting memories. Examples of this includes visiting theatres, being outdoor explorers, discovering a range of future careers and being part of environmental projects.

Castercliff Primary Academy Principal, Mark Sherwin said: “It’s a privilege to come into work each day at Castercliff and see the smiles on the faces of our children and staff.

“With the support of the Pendle Education Trust team, this wonderful school has made huge progress over the past few years. We have strong relationships with the parents and carers of our children and love working in partnership with them to ensure their children receive the best possible start to their education. We look forward to continuing this fantastic journey.”

Ofsted inspectors also noted that in a small number of subjects, “leaders have not given sufficient thought to the essential knowledge that pupils must learn and in what order they should learn it.”

Anita Ghidotti, chief executive of Pendle Education Trust, said: “We love having Castercliff Primary Academy as part of our family of schools and witnessing how hard our staff work to support, encourage and challenge our children so they know they can aspire to achieve anything they set their minds to!”

“We were delighted that Ofsted recently experienced being part of our family and heard from our children about how they feel part of one big family when they come to school.

“The inspector commented that the school’s ‘Shine’ motto perfectly describes our friendly and welcoming school where every child is encouraged to do their very best. We couldn’t have summed it up any better ourselves.”