Staff and students at two Castle School Education Trust (CSET) schools are celebrating recent success with their Ofsted inspections. Both The Castle School in Thornbury and Mangotsfield School in North East Bristol have been rated “Good” in reports published at the beginning of 2022.

The Castle School was the first school to join the trust in 2013 and Mangotsfield School joined in 2015. The aim of CSET is to create a partnership of schools that support each other and develop a shared best practice. This is the first time Mangotsfield School has been judged Good by Ofsted in its history.

Will Roberts, CEO of CSET, is delighted. “These recent inspections are an achievement for the whole CSET Partnership. It truly demonstrates our commitment to improving and strengthening the provision available in our schools.

“It is important to us that our schools retain their individual identity, but at the same time we are able to share the same values across the schools. That is to provide a great education for every child giving them every opportunity to reach their full potential.”

Six of the seven schools in the Trust are now rated as ‘Good’ by Ofsted, demonstrating the impact of CSET with only one of the schools having been judged ‘Good’ at the time of joining the trust. With Marlwood showing further significant improvements since it was removed from Special Measures in 2019, all schools are on track to be judged  a ‘Good’ or better  by the end of this year.

At Mangotsfield School, Ofsted highlighted the strength of school leadership, the ambition of staff and students to achieve and the strong curriculum in the school. The report states that staff, pupils and parents at the school feel that “the school is a much better place to learn.” The Ofsted Inspection team described Mangotsfield as a “community focused, ambitious school.”

The inspectors also commented that academic expectations in the classrooms were high and that, “Leaders strive to ensure that pupils achieve their potential. Staff share this ambition. Across the curriculum, teachers structure learning well, enabling pupils to remember and understand what they learn.”

The Ofsted Inspectors had positive observations to make at how Castle School had adapted to provide a consistent education offer in the past challenging years, commenting that school leaders have, “ensured high standards in pupils’ behaviour. They have gained the confidence of staff. Parents and carers have noticed the positive difference that leaders have made. For example, many parents highlighted the high standard of remote learning provided during restrictions in place because of the COVID-19 pandemic.” 

The Castle School Education Trust (CSET) includes Marlwood School, Castle School, Downend School, Mangotsfield School, Charfield Primary School, Lyde Green Primary School and Severn Beach Primary School.

For more information visit www.cset.co.uk