Pyrland School has welcomed the results of an Ofsted monitoring inspection, which has praised the “rapidly improving” quality of education. We were visited at the end of September and the resulting observation is published this week. It notes that staff are “overwhelmingly positive” about recent changes and that behaviour has been “transformed”.
The inspectors particularly singled out the progress made by senior leaders to improve the school since it was given the support of the Midsomer Norton Schools Partnership (MNSP) earlier this year. They highlighted the improvements in pupil behaviour and the “harmonious environment” in lessons and around the school, after noting that since the previous inspection in January 2025 there have been “substantial changes” to the leadership of the school.
The report said: “The quality of education that pupils are receiving is rapidly improving. The curriculum now identifies the key knowledge that pupils need to learn. Learning is sequenced so that pupils can build on what they already know and can do. The curriculum takes into account the gaps that pupils have as a result of the previous weak curriculum. A new shared approach to assessment has been established so that gaps in learning and progress through the curriculum can be identified.
“Leaders have prioritised reading. Pupils read daily to improve their fluency and enjoyment of texts. Pupils who struggle with reading are provided with effective support. A range of strategies, including a new phonics programme, has been implemented to support pupils to read well.
“Extensive external support has been provided by the MNSP multi academy trust. School staff feel that the trust has provided the expertise needed to tackle the serious issues identified at the January 2025 inspection. The school has utilised the resources available to it effectively. This includes working with staff in other schools within the multi academy trust. Leaders feel that this had been instrumental in supporting the school to develop its curriculum and improve behaviour across the school.”
Executive Head Teacher Mark Lawrence said: “I’m really proud of the whole Pyrland community. This rapid improvement is thanks to the hard work of our staff, plus the support and efforts of students and their families. Pyrland is an amazing community school and these really positive comments from Ofsted demonstrate a turning point for us. I’m looking forward to seeing the school go from strength to strength.”