"Outstanding" Ofsted report for Crawley school

By gebrey

A CRAWLEY school for children with special needs has been labelled "outstanding" by inspectors.

Last week, Manor Green Primary School in Lady Margaret Road, was told it had been given the highest possible rating by the education board.

The school for children with special educational needs was given a grade one and labelled as "outstanding" in the report published earlier this month.

Part of the report reads: "It is an orderly and yet vibrant community in which both staff and pupils get great delight from the pleasure of learning.

"Excellent leadership and management ensure that all learners flourish."

The school caters for children with learning difficulties, and all of the 135 pupils have special needs.

Headteacher David Reid said the children are the number one priority.

He said: "I love my job and I really enjoy working here. The way I see it, I can do paperwork at the end of the day.

"I think it is so important to spend time with the children, that's what I aim to do."

The school was officially opened in April 2004, and Mr Reid has been there since the start.

He said: "It is such a special place to work. We were really pleased with our Ofsted report, it puts everything into perspective.

"We had an inspection two years ago, and we were rated good. We were very happy with that result and we were hoping to consolidate that this year.

"When we found out we had been pushed up to outstanding we were ecstatic.

"All of our staff are thrilled and very proud of the report. It is the result of five years of dedicated hard work by everyone involved in the school."

The school boasts colourful displays, a sensory room and even a hydrotherapy pool which it shares with Manor Green Community College, which is also a special needs school for secondary age pupils.

The sensory room is designed to offer a relaxing and calm environment for the children where their minds are stimulated by the different lights and sounds.

School secretary, Julie Bagwell said: "We make it so all our children enjoy the learning we do.

"Our head David Reid, is so popular with the children. He is a great headteacher and you can tell he really cares about the children here."

WHAT OFSTED SAID:

THE Ofsted report gives the school the thumbs-up in several areas

- Excellent quality of teaching and learning across the school.

- Pupils making excellent progress in their personal development.

- An extremely good curriculum

- The school meeting the learning needs of all of its pupils equally effectively.

- Pupils having high levels of self esteem and confidence.