'We couldn't wait to show Ofsted our brilliant school is better than 'requires improvement''

Two months later, and barely out of the coronavirus pandemic, a visit from Ofsted to Welshampton Church of England Primary School would bring with it the dreaded words 'requires improvement'.

The 2021 inspection praised the "calm and orderly" school and the ambitions of the new executive head, granting the school a 'good' rating for three out of five categories.

But inspectors raised concerns about the curriculum that meant 'quality of education' and 'early years provision' was rated 'requires improvement' - which dragged down the overall judgement.

Two and a half years later, Ofsted inspectors returned to the school. In a report published on Thursday, inspectors were full of praise for the small school of just 64 pupils, and bumped it up to 'good'.

Looking back on the 2021 judgement, Mr Crompton said it was a frustrating time.

"It puts two words over the school: 'requires improvement'," he said. "People rarely read beyond that. The report in 2021 was relatively positive, but what happens then is a two-and-a-half-year wait for Ofsted to revisit.

"Meanwhile, intake drops. If a prospective parent sees a school that has a 'requires improvement' rating above the door - you look elsewhere."

A report from MPs in January called for a more “nuanced” alternative to the “totemic” single-phrase judgments, but in April, the Department for Education said there were "no plans" to change the practice, despite widespread criticism.

Mr Crompton said: "It made me and the staff quite sad, we had this brilliant school full of love and life and nurture and joy with teachers who truly care for the children and want what's best for them, and people who didn't want to go through to the door.

"It's hugely frustrating, when numbers drop for an already small school it has an impact on budgets. We couldn't wait for Ofsted to come back, we've been ready for them for ages. We wanted to show off what a brilliant school we had."

In the immediate aftermath of the 2021 rating, Mr Crompton said the school underwent several changes to ensure the returning inspectors saw Welshampton as the school he knew it to be.

"We had all the fundamentals there - supportive parents, great children - but what it hadn't had for a number of years was leadership in curriculum development. On the back of an 'outstanding' judgement many years previously, [the curriculum] needed a fresh pair of eyes.

"The great thing about Welshampton is that it had a great culture from the start. Staff were open to change, to be taken on a journey to make it better, which they all did."

Mr Crompton said the school transformed its safeguarding, brought older systems up to date, and revamped communications with a new website, social media presence and weekly newsletters.

Over the last couple of years, the school has added a new forest school area, a fresh school field and a rubber running track.

"Just because Welshampton is small doesn't mean it couldn't be great,"Mr Cromptonn added.

"I want Welshampton to have all the things a bigger school has. For it to be ambitious and aspirational."

While Mr Crompton was confident that the latest inspection would put Welshampton back in Ofsted's 'good' books, he said the rating still came with a sigh of relief.

He said: "It completely validated the changes we made and gave the leadership confidence in what we were doing and how the school has moved."