21
Jan
Hampsthwaite school praised for 'family feel' by Ofsted
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A Harrogate village primary school is celebrating a successful Ofsted report.
Hampsthwaite Church of England Primary School was awarded 'good' ratings for its quality of education, leadership and management, and personal development.
The school also received two 'outstanding' ratings, for its behaviour and attitudes and early years provision.
The government inspection, which took place in December, was completed under the recently revised Ofsted framework which removed the use of grades for overall effectiveness from their graded inspections.
Inspectors described the primary school as “a school where the pupils are placed at the heart of everything".
Headteacher Amy Ross and her staff team were praised for being a significant reason why pupils’ behaviour and attitudes to learning were rated as “outstanding".
The report said:
Strong, nurturing and positive relationships ensure that pupils feel happy and safe. Staff care deeply for the pupils and know all the children and families well.
Parents say, ‘this isn’t just a school; it’s a family.’ The school’s values of belief, respect, friendship, support and creativity are lived and breathed by pupils and adults alike.
The strengths of the school for all year groups were highlighted throughout the report, which said:
Adults skilfully create ‘awe and wonder’ for the children. They ask skilful questions and offer effective guidance to support children in all areas of the curriculum. Children concentrate on every aspect of learning and are keen to learn. Children make rapid progress in early years and achieve at least as well as they should for their age.
The curriculum is broad and ambitious for all pupils. Teachers work closely with the families of pupils with special educational needs and disability to put effective support in place. The school has provided effective training to support staff’s expertise in delivering the curriculum in English and mathematics.
The report acknowledged the priority given to reading, including the incentives of raffle prizes for those who read widely and often as well as the school's regular Big Reads, where parents are invited in to promote their love of literature with students.
The report noted that the school also holds a special place in the community.
Pupils work with a local community dance group each year to create a school performance and learn Makaton so they can engage with neighbours with disabilities.
Pupils are active in the local community through opportunities to sing with other local schools and hold ‘coffee and connect’ mornings for parents.
Ms Ross said:
I am so proud of everyone at Hampsthwaite Church of England Primary School and am thrilled that our school has been recognised as having exceptional strengths, which include ensuring that we provide the best possible foundation for our youngest children.
We are a proud member of Yorkshire Causeway Schools Trust whose mission is ‘Ambition, Learning and Enrichment for All’ and this was noticed by the inspectors who stated, ‘the leaders, the governing body and the trust work harmoniously to ensure a clear and ambitious vision for the school’.
We have an inspiring team of staff and pupils at school who work tirelessly together to enable our children to flourish, and I am delighted that the inspectors were able to recognise this.
Yorkshire Causeway School Trust chief executive Jane Goodwin commented:
This Ofsted outcome is testament to the strong ambition and engagement of children, staff and families; “a school where the pupils are placed at the heart of everything”. Recognition of early years and behaviour and attitudes as outstanding is a real accolade to the quality of provision in school, complemented by the fantastic offer for personal development, quality of education and leadership. Hampsthwaite Church of England Primary School is a great example of a school flourishing within its village community.
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