Back to 'Good': school is proud of its improved Ofsted rating

Judith Bentley, headteacher of Heckington St. Andrew’s C of E Primary School said: “We are absolutely thrilled with the Ofsted report, which is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our staff, pupils, parents, and governors."

Ofsted inspectors had visited in 2018 and 2022 and on both occasions found fault with the school, resulting in the ‘requires improvement’ rating, and so Mrs Bentley recognised the achievement in turning things around.

She said: “This achievement reflects our commitment to providing an excellent education for every child that walks through our doors. We are particularly proud that all children get an outstanding start to their primary education at Heckington.

"We are very pleased that Ofsted highlighted our commitment to providing an ambitious curriculum for all of our pupils and that our pupils' personal development is at the heart of what we do. I am very proud to be the headteacher of this school!"

The quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management were all deemed to be of a ‘Good’ standard during the inspection on February 7 and 8. The report, published on Friday (April 26) singled out early years provision as being outstanding.

Inspectors commented that pupils are polite and friendly, enjoy learning in a calm learning environment, expectations of behaviour and work are high with most pupils rising to these challenges.

The report commends the school’s ambition to meet the needs of all pupils and this ambition is being realised.

Attendance is high and pupils feel happy and safe and learning activities capture the pupils’ interest.

Clear plans identify the knowledge that pupils must learn and the order in which they need to learn it with effective monitoring of what pupils know, although in a small number of subjects, this work is not yet complete.

The report added: “Positive attitudes to learning extend throughout the school. Warm relationships between adults and pupils are well established. Classrooms are calm spaces, where pupils focus on their learning.”

Reading is a top priority and the school encourages pupils to recommend books to each other to foster a love of reading.

The curriculum extends beyond the academic through extra-curricular activities, where pupils learn the importance of resilience and teamwork.

However, the report suggested plans for teaching British values are not yet fully developed. “The school should ensure that all pupils have an age-appropriate understanding of the key values that are important in Britain today,” it states.

The report recognises the effective leadership and governance, emphasising that this is a school where leaders are reflective and have a clear vision for future priorities.

Inspectors added that staff are proud to work at the school, feel supported in their well-being and workload, meaning morale is very high.

Parents and carers were also said to express confidence in the school.