by Tim Nuttall
Following a recent Ofsted report, rating the school “good” overall, members of staff and pupils at Roos C E Primary School have secured a trio of awards in recognition of the school’s continuing excellence in embedding academic skills, careers promotion and physical activity among pupils.
The school has been awarded The Basic Skills Quality Mark for Early Years and The Basic Skills Quality Mark for Primary, the Primary Career Mark and the School Games Mark Gold Award.
Headteacher Aimee Christian said: “I am delighted that the school has been successful in the reaccreditation of these awards, which are recognition of the hard work which goes on every day in school, making Roos C E Primary the best it can be.
“A huge thank you to the staff, community and, most of all, the wonderful children here at Roos C E Primary for making this possible and for the effort and dedication they have given.”
The Basic Skills Quality Mark for Early Years and The Basic Skills Quality Mark for Primary awards offer nationally recognised accreditation for schools and their communities, celebrating a commitment to continually improving standards.
Examples of this at Roos include phonics displays used in other subject areas, consistency with the basics of spelling, handwriting and sentence structure that can be evidenced across the curriculum, and the application of skills from one subject in another, such as the use of maths skills in science.
This work was also recognised in the school’s recent Ofsted report, where effective leadership was praised for the emphasis on the core subjects of reading, writing and mathematics, which results in “purposeful and active lessons that support all pupils to succeed”.
Meanwhile, in recognition of its successful work to promote careers, the school has also recently achieved the Primary Career Mark. This award has been secured through the encouragement of children to develop a strong understanding of pathways into the world of work.
Inspiration and ambition drawn from this was commended in the school’s recent Ofsted report, which said: “Leaders place a strong focus on early careers education. Local and national employers, including those in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics industries, inspire pupils to be ambitious in thinking about their future careers. For example, an aquarist from The Deep presented a day in the life session. Similarly, teachers have linked visits to a major film studio with careers in this industry.”
Finally, Roos C E Primary has also recently secured the School Games Mark Gold Award. The School Games Mark aims to put physical activity and competitive sport at the heart of schools – providing young people with the opportunity to compete and achieve their personal best.
Although opportunities for external competition were understandably difficult, during the pandemic, Roos C E Primary promoted intraschool competition through challenges, including how many skips could be completed with a rope and how many baskets could be scored with a basketball.
As restrictions began to ease, Roos pupils were once again able to compete against peers at externally held events, such as the Brownlee Triathlon at Hymers College.
Interschool competition remains a focus at Roos C E Primary in the current academic year thanks to the school’s membership of the Withernsea cluster of the School Sport Partnership. Led by staff at Withernsea High School, in partnership with Active Withernsea, the cluster brings primary pupils from Roos, Withernsea, Keyingham and Patrington together for a series of ongoing interschool sporting events.
