THE COUNCIL has been praised by Ofsted after the number of highly rated schools in the borough rose in the last three months.

Almost three out of every four schools in Bracknell Forest are now rated good or better by the schools’ watchdog following a string of positive inspections from October to December.

Ofsted rated Cranbourne Primary School as ‘outstanding’ in November 2018, meaning nearly one in five schools in the borough now have the highest rating.

A report produced by BFC’s People department read: “The overall percentage of good and outstanding schools is improving over time, obviously dependant on the number of school inspections that actually take place.

“During this quarter we have demonstrated real success. It has been four years since a school was judged outstanding as a new judgement within Bracknell Forest.”

Fox Hill Primary School was rated ‘good’ in September 2018 having previously been graded as ‘requires improvement’, and according to Ofsted, Bracknell Forest Council was instrumental in helping the school to achieve this rating.

The watchdog’s report relating to the school’s inspection read: “The local authority provides robust support that helps leaders, including governors, drive further improvements at Fox Hill.

“The schools, standards and effectiveness partner assist the head teacher in validating her evaluations of teaching and learning and implementing successful strategies to ensure that most pupils maintain strong rates of progress across the curriculum. The local authority has been a highly effective partner in Fox Hill’s long-term improvement journey.”

BFC was commended in the Ofsted report for Sandy Lane Primary School too, which received a monitoring visit from the body in December 2018.

The corresponding report read: “Since the previous inspection, the local authority has given timely and effective support. It has worked alongside the governing body to ensure that an experienced interim headteacher was appointed prior to the present headteacher starting. This has enabled previous underperformance and weak teaching to be addressed quickly.

“The governing body has been instrumental in generating the rapid change at the school, following some well-founded concerns. Governors have worked closely with the local authority to support staffing changes. Consequently, it is now a rapidly improving school.”

Following a short inspection for New Scotland Hill in February 2018, BFC was praised for the training it had given governors and the support it had given to the head teacher and teachers.