Hampden Park primary school rated 'good' after Ofsted inspection

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, which is part of Aurora Academies Trust, was inspected in May and scored 'good' in all categories.

In September 2018 the school was rated as requiring improvement, and has had four monitoring visits since.

The report says pupils are 'proud of their school' and happy. Student also have the opportunity to 'develop responsibilities'.

The report praises staff, calling them a 'dedicated and ambitious team' which have brought improvements to the school which means pupils now have a good standard of education.

The report says English and maths are 'well ordered' and early years curriculum is 'developed well'.

The report says: “Teachers know what to teach and when. They quickly spot any gaps pupils have in their knowledge and provide the support pupils need to understand and catch up. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are carefully supported so that they experience success.”

The report says in some subjects 'the curriculum is new and is not yet fully in place'. This results in students not knowing 'as much as they could in all subjects' but staff are working to make the 'necessary improvements', the report says.

The report says pupils work hard most of the time and behave but occasionally interest can be lost. However, the report says: “Teachers are usually quick to deal with this and to re-engage pupils in their learning.”

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’m very proud that it recognises the fact that children at Heron Park are well taught, well cared for and well prepared to make their transition to secondary school when the time comes. 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.”

Director of education James Freeston said: “We’re pleased that Ofsted have recognised the value of Heron Park being part of Aurora and the strength of the collaborative work that we have been doing on developing the curriculum. Being part of a strong group of schools has helped share the work we have been doing and develop some amazing expertise. Aurora remains fully committed to supporting Heron Park in fully implementing the improved curriculum offer.”

Keep up to date with Ofsted reports in the area here

More education news in Eastbourne