Inspectors visited the Knodishall school on 20th and 21st June, and were impressed by the way leaders enable pupils to feel safe and happy at school – with children stating “the school is like a family and they look after each other.” 

Pupil-led initiatives such as school council, running assemblies and working to support a school in Zambia all came in for high praise in the report, along with their creativity in planning an Evolution Academy Trust-wide pupil parliament and participation in eco council activities. 

Reading was picked out as “an absolute priority for leaders. They want pupils to quickly learn that reading for pleasure is ‘magical’.” Inspectors noted staff are “experts” in teaching phonics, and the sessions they lead are fun and interactive, while “staff continually check pupils’ progress to make sure that any pupils who are not keeping up with the phonics programme receive the right help to catch up.” 

The school’s leaders were also praised for their approach to working with pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), praising the way they are quickly identified and any necessary adaptation are put in place, meaning “as a result, pupils with SEND access the full curriculum.” 

Clare Williams, headteacher of Coldfair Green, said: “As mentioned in the report, the Coldfair Green community does indeed feel like a large family, all pulling in the same direction in order to achieve the best outcomes for our pupils. We are delighted that this has been externally recognised and our aim is to continue to provide an excellent, well rounded primary education for our pupils, as a popular community school with valued and positive local and national links” 

Coldfair Green is part of Evolution Academy Trust. Trust CEO Craig Avieson said: “this is a fantastic achievement for the whole community at Coldfair Green and appropriately highlights the hard-working staff and volunteers who enable children to feel safe, happy and achieve great things. A massive well done to all.”