Education

Two special schools in Spalding have received funding to enable important improvements to enhance pupils’ learning and recreation. The Garth School in Pinchbeck Road has received a £9,438 grant from The National Lottery Awards for All Scheme for much-needed upgrading work in the playground area and some interactive play panels for use at break times. Meanwhile, The St James’s Place ...

A kids’ club, with 125 children on roll, has raised standards to “good,” according to a recent Ofsted inspection. Pinchbeck Kids Club, at Pinchbeck East Primary School, had been judged “requires improvement” in 2015. A report published this month (March 2017) said: “Following the previous inspection, the manager has made good use of training available to extend the professional development of ...

Pupils at St John’s Primary School in Spalding were thrilled to take a field trip via virtual reality with a visit by Google Expeditions. Students from Years 1 to 6 enjoyed 360 degree and 3D images of places aligned to their learning. A mobile phone slips into the rear of a cardboard viewing device and the teacher is able to ...

Ofsted inspectors say Spalding’s St John’s Primary School continues to be “good”. A report, published following a short inspection on February 1, said the school had maintained its December 2012 rating. The report, to headteacher Paul Reid, said: “You have recently successfully steered the school through a turbulent time of staffing and governance change.” It added: “In 2016, pupil outcomes ...

The mother of an autistic eight-year-old boy is having to consider moving house because Lincolnshire County Council cannot find him a suitable school place anywhere near their home. Rhonwen Humphreys says Lincolnshire County Council has been trying hard but the best offer she has had for Meredydd is a place in Brigg – 67 miles away from their home in ...

South Holland and the Deepings MP John Hayes has been awarded an honorary fellowship by the Royal Chartered Institute For Further Education. In a ceremony at Apothecaries Hall in London, chairman of the institution, the Rt Hon The Lord Lingfield, described it as “an historic occasion” and praised Mr Hayes for his “outstanding work championing vocational training and raising the ...

A Spalding playgroup has received a pat on the back from education watchdog Ofsted – a second successive “good” rating. It represents another big step for 345 Playgroup, which had faced closure due to a lack of children before Georgina Twelves and business partner Brendan Moran bought it in November 2012. Georgina said: “We then worked extremely hard to raise ...

South Holland schools have been praised for significantly improving the quality of leadership, management and teaching. The words of approval came from Chris Russell who is the regional director for Ofsted in the East Midlands. Lincolnshire County Council had identified in 2013 that pupil outcomes in primary schools in rural areas of South Holland were too low and standards in ...

Education inspectors have ruled the new Spalding Academy requires special measures after visiting just six weeks after a full leadership change at the school. An Ofsted report published on Friday (Dec 16) recognises “newly appointed leaders have drawn up plans for improvement quickly and precisely”. However, it deems little improvement has been made at the school since the previous inspection ...

A Spalding student has struck gold at the country’s largest skills and careers event for young people. Rhianna Berry, who is currently studying at Boston College, was awarded first place in the health and social care competition at the WorldSkills UK national finals. The competition, which was organised by Profiles4Care and sponsored by the NHS Leadership Academy, aims to find ...

Pupils across the local area are set to benefit after Spalding Academy became a Beacon School for Holocaust Education. The school has joined the University College London (UCL) Centre for Holocaust Education programme. It will see the school armed with top quality learning materials and methods to deepen teaching about the historic event and highlight the need for modern day ...

Two of South Holland’s pre-schools have been deemed “outstanding” and a primary school has raised its rating to “good,” in recent Ofsted reports. Inspectors praised the quality of teaching at Little Treasures Nurseries, in Haverfield Road, Spalding, as “superb”. It said of the 72-place nursery: “Staff are extremely kind, approachable and dedicated to the children.” The report added: “The provider ...

An RAF bomb disposal unit carried out a controlled explosion on a powder chemical stored at University Academy Holbeach. The visit last Wednesday (November 2) at 2pm followed a nationwide notification two days earlier by Consortium of Local Education Authorities for the Provision of Science Services (CLEAPSS) about a risk if the chemical – known as 2,4-DNP – is not stored ...

Pupils at The Garth School in Spalding have given John Hayes their designs for his official Christmas card this year. Collecting the entries from the special school’s pupils and then carrying out the difficult task of judging them with the help of his family is one of the South Holland and The Deeping MP’s favourite events of the year. Mr ...

Leaders and managers at Thomas Cowley High School in Donington have “taken effective action to maintain high standards of behaviour”, Ofsted found in a recent visit. An interim monitoring report said: “All pupils who spoke with me said they are proud of their school and there is nothing that they would change about it. “Pupils agreed that teachers are the ...

Spalding High School is pressing ahead with its plan to convert to an academy. Following a formal consultation carried out by the governors, this week they voted unanimously to continue the process. Chairman of the governors, Dr Peter Gorton, said: “I would like to thank the students, parents, staff and stakeholders who have participated and shared their views on this matter ...

Spalding Monkshouse Primary School now has two extra classrooms and a new, larger hall. The aim of the project, managed by Lincolnshire County Council, was to expand the school to two-form entry with a capacity of 420 to meet demand for places in the area. Headteacher Sue Goodsell said: “The school hall has been on the children’s wish list since ...

“Children make good progress in all aspects of their learning and development in readiness for school,” Ofsted inspectors have said of a childcare provider. Sunflower Lodge, in Elsoms Way, Pinchbeck, was rated “good”. The report said: “The management team demonstrates passion and dedication to providing the best possible outcomes for children and their families. “Well-qualified practitioners know the children well ...

Work is already under way to turn around a school deemed to “require improvement” in its latest inspection, the new executive headteacher has said. School inspectors said “pupils have not reached the standards they are capable of” by the time they leave Gosberton Academy. A just-published Ofsted report said: “Senior leaders have not secured consistently good teaching across the school. ...

Children “thrive” in the environment of a Spalding nursery and “form close bonds”, according to Ofsted inspectors. Munchkins Kindergarten, in Priory Road, has been rated “good” in its latest inspection report. The report said: “Children settle quickly into the nursery and show they are happy.” It said all children make good progress, the management team monitors children’s progress closely, partnerships ...