The Brookfield School goes from good to outstanding in 2 years

Children, staff, governors and parents are celebrating following the publication of an Ofsted inspection report which judges the school to be outstanding, the highest accolade the inspection team could give.

The Brookfield School caters for 70 children aged five to sixteen who have emotional, behavioural and social difficulties, with each having an individual education and behaviour plan.

In the Ofsted report, the inspectors judged the school to be outstanding across the board. The school's philosophy is built around mutual respect and understanding with a focus on building self-esteem. This was praised along with the school's warm and welcoming ethos which was attributed to the pupils' excellent behaviour and personal development. The report said the school has a very caring atmosphere and pupils thrive because they are highly valued. As a result, the advances pupils make in learning to manage their behaviour are outstanding.

The inspection report said that on entry to the school many of the pupils have significant difficulties with learning and struggle with attendance, but during their time at Brookfield School almost all pupils achieve well with many making excellent progress. The achievement of all pupils in their personal development, particularly their behaviour, is outstanding.

Pupils' achievements were attributed to the excellent quality of teaching and learning and the report stressed that relationships are very strong with teaching assistants playing a valuable part in helping the pupils' learning.

The school's leadership and management were also praised as outstanding.

"I am so proud of our children," said Mrs Oremi Evans, head teacher. "They always give their best and never let the school down which is a sign of the respect they have for the school," she continued.

Explaining why the school had been so successful, Mrs Evans added "If children respect themselves and others and they are in a caring environment, the learning falls into place because they are happy to learn."

Councillor Jenny Hyde, cabinet for children and young people, said: "Congratulations to Brookfield School for such an amazing achievement. The staff and governing body have worked hard to make sure some of our most vulnerable children are given the best possible start in life. Many achieve qualifications and most will go on to continue their education.

"The Ofsted inspectors have clearly identified that Brookfield School is making an incredible impact on its children's education and personal and social development. It is heartening to hear that such dedication is making a real difference to children's lives."

The school is now in the process of submitting its bid to become a specialist school for behaviour management. If successful, they hope to invest in additional sporting facilities for the children and to support other schools around the county who have children with similar difficulties.