A government minister has praised a Hartlepool primary school following a recent fact-finding mission.
Baroness Diana Barran MBE, the government’s Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Education visited West View Primary School on Friday 9 June as part of a programme of school visits.
The school, in Davison Drive, was recently judged to be “good” in all areas by Ofsted with inspectors describing it as a happy school, that pupils like with high staff morale.
West View Primary School has 476 pupils on its roll between the ages of 2 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 CEO Andy Brown OBE.
Lauren 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.”
Andy 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.”
The other Ad Astra Academy Trust schools are Barnard Grove, Brougham and West Park in Hartlepool, Crooksbarn and Rosebrook in Stockton-on-Tees and Ayresome and Sunnyside in Middlesbrough.
Baroness Diana Barran MBE (left) with Lauren Furness
The tour took in several classrooms at the school