Government minister visits Hartlepool's West View Primary School following its 'good' Ofsted report

Baroness Diana Barran, the Government’s Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Education, visited West View Primary School, in Hartlepool, as part of a programme of school visits.

The school, in Davison Drive, was recently judged to be “good” in all areas by the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) with inspectors describing it as a happy school which pupils like with high staff morale.

West View Primary School has 476 pupils on its roll between the ages of two and 11 and is one of eight primary schools across Teesside under the umbrella of Ad Astra Academy Trust.

As part of the visit, Baroness Barran was given a tour of the school by headteacher Lauren Furness and Ad Astra Academy Trust chief executive officer Andy Brown.

Ms Furness said: “It was great to be given the opportunity to talk first-hand to a government minister about the key aspects of our school and what we are doing to help our children get off to the best start in life.

"The minister was really interested to hear about the steps we have taken to improve reading and phonics.

“She was also interested in our learning environment which is inspired by The Curiosity Approach.”

Mr Brown added: “West View Primary School has a long, proud record of positive pupil progress, against a backdrop of some significant challenges.

“The doors are always open at all of our schools to share good practice and I think the minister was suitably impressed with everything which is being achieved at West View.”

West View was judged to be “good” – which is the second highest of four outcomes – following a two-day visit by the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) in March.

It was the school’s first full inspection since it became an academy in 2015 and the first since it was rated “good” in 2009.

The five areas in which the school was marked – quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management and early years provision – were all classed as “good”.

The other Ad Astra Academy Trust schools are Barnard Grove, Brougham and West Park, in Hartlepool, Crooksbarn and Rosebrook, in Stockton, and Ayresome and Sunnyside, in Middlesbrough.