Messing Primary School, one of the first state schools in the country to be sponsored by an independent school, is celebrating the outcome of an Ofsted inspection, which took place in September 2018. The state academy, sponsored by New Hall School, was judged ‘good’ overall, with three areas ‘outstanding’.

Inspectors were impressed with the school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare, and judged this, along with the children’s behaviour, to be ‘outstanding’. They said that pupils love coming to school because everyone is kind. They also praised the consideration, care and respect demonstrated by the pupils towards their peers and to all the adults who work with them.

Leadership and management is ‘outstanding’; leaders were praised for having high expectations of every pupil’s achievements and successfully driving further improvements since the previous ‘good’ Ofsted inspection in 2015. Governors and the New Hall Multi-Academy Trust board share these high expectations of pupil outcomes and staff development.

The two-day inspection found that in Early Years, teaching and leadership was ‘outstanding’ and that every learning activity was focussed on making sure that every child makes the best possible progress in all areas of learning.

Parents and carers are particularly pleased with how the school supports their children and the inclusive community feeling of the school. As one parent said, “this is a gem of a school”.

The report also praised the partnership with New Hall School, stating that “Governance by the local governing body and trust board is extremely effective. Both local governors and the trust board know the school exceptionally well.”

Messing is a small, thriving, village school near Tiptree, Colchester. The school was judged ‘good’ overall and ‘outstanding’ in three areas. Messing Primary School enjoy an excellent reputation in the local and wider community. Present pupil numbers are currently at their highest in the school’s history, with 82 pupils on roll; the school has a total capacity of 84. Messing Primary School, was launched as an academy, part of the New Hall MultiAcademy Trust, in September 2013. At this time, pupil numbers stood at just 40. Alongside support from the New Hall Multi-Academy Trust board, the partnership means that pupils can access facilities at New Hall, such as the 25-metre indoor swimming pool. They also benefit from subject-specific teachers working with staff from Messing to provide a stimulating and challenging learning environment.

In 2015, the school had its first inspection since leaving local authority control and becoming a sponsored academy. The results were testament to the hard work of all involved, with an overall ‘good’ result being achieved, with outstanding leadership and management. The Inspectors praised the school’s ‘extremely rapid improvements over the past two years in all aspects of its work’ and said the leadership and management of the school is ‘outstanding.’

Jackie Halliday, Headteacher at Messing Primary School, said: “We are delighted that the hard work and dedication of the whole school community has been recognised. At Messing Primary School, we offer personalised learning which focuses on the individual needs of all pupils. We are very pleased that the positive impact of this approach on pupil progress and attitudes to learning has been identified in the report. We are very proud of our pupils and they are proud of their school.”

Katherine Jeffrey, Principal at New Hall School, added: “We are delighted to hear of the continued success of Messing Primary School and remain extremely proud of our partnership. It has been wonderful to see the transformation of Messing, under the leadership of Jackie Halliday, with the support of the New Hall Multi Academy Trust, from a school on the brink of closure, to a thriving institution at the centre of the village community. New Hall is delighted to offer its facilities and lessons with specialist teachers for the benefit of the pupils at Messing. I hope that the success of this school partnership will encourage similar sponsorship arrangements by the independent sector.”