Eastbourne primary school 'thrilled that Ofsted have recognised improvements'

Schools are judged on five categories – the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision.

Heron Park Primary Academy, in Hampden Park, was inspected in May.

The school was rated as ‘requires improvement’ in 2018 but following four monitoring visits, it has scored ‘good’ in all categories.

The report says senior leaders ‘provide clear strategic leadership’.

It says: “They have successfully prioritised the right things to improve the quality of education for pupils.”

English and maths have been made a priority so ‘pupils build knowledge well’.

It said ‘targeted training’ has resulted in reading being taught ‘consistently and expertly’.

The school was praised for how it supports pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

The curriculum is ‘ambitious’, says the report, but in some subjects where it is new it is ‘not yet as effective as it could be’. It says more teacher training is needed for this to be ‘implemented consistently’.

The report said: “Pupils do not know as much as they could in all subjects. Leaders have accurately identified these subjects and are working to make the necessary improvements.

“It is clear from leaders’ actions that they are well underway with their work to implement the refined curriculum, but there is still more to do.”

The early years curriculum is ‘developed well’ meaning that ‘children get off to a good start’.

However, the report says: “Leaders know that the early years curriculum needs careful alignment to the wider school curriculum as it is developed.”

The school has a new library which reflects the ‘importance placed on learning to read’, says the report.

Inspectors said ‘pupils mostly work hard and behave well during lessons’ and when they become distracted teachers are ‘quick to deal with this’.

Outside of lessons, personal development for students is ‘planned for carefully’ and there’s a ‘wide range’ of clubs and activities’.

Governors have been given more information which means they are questioning leaders and helping to ‘drive the school forward’.

Head of school Jo Richardson said: “The pandemic has created significant challenges for schools but we have remained absolutely committed to ensuring that Heron Park provides the best possible standard of education. I’m thrilled that Ofsted have recognised the improvements we have made and the positive impact that they are having on all our pupils.”

Thomas McMorrin, executive headteacher, said: “I’m delighted that our new curriculum and expert teaching has been highlighted by Ofsted. This positive report gives us great confidence that we are working on the right things and we will continue to work hard to make Heron Park a truly great school.”

Aurora Academies Trust CEO, Martha Burnige, said: “This report is great news for education in Eastbourne. I am very grateful to the leaders, governors and staff who have driven forward the improvements the school needed to make and am delighted that their hard work has been recognised in such a positive Ofsted report”.

Read the full report here

More Ofsted news from Eastbourne