Ofsted Achievement

Friday 22nd April, 2022

As you will be aware, on Wednesday 23rd February and Thursday 24th February, the academy had a full two-day Section 5 Ofsted Inspection the process of which was very detailed and rigorous.  Following formal notification from the lead inspector, I am now able to share the report with you and the outcome of inspection. 

We are extremely delighted and proud to inform you that the overall judgement is that the academy has moved from Requires Improvement to GOOD in all areas:  

Here are just some of the positive comments made by the lead inspector in the report:

‘Leaders have made Highfields a haven of calm in the heart of the community’

‘Staff work hand in hand with parents and carers to provide support for pupils and their families’

‘Pupils are mature and polite to each other and staff in school. Pupils have a deep understanding of what respect means and how to show it’

‘Leaders have worked with parents and families to make sure that pupils come to school more’

‘Teachers support pupils with SEND effectively because they are clear on their needs and what to do to help them’

‘Leaders are rightfully proud of their hard work to keep children safe. There is a strong culture of safeguarding that all staff contribute to’

Click here to read our report in full. The report is extremely positive and reflects the excellent progress we have made as an academy since our last inspection.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our wonderful staff, leaders, governors and members of the Trust who work tirelessly to keep what is great about Highfields Primary and to implement the positive changes that we have made.  Highfields Primary is indeed a good school and I feel that we all have shared a sustained determination to continue to build on our successes to strive to provide the very best quality of education, and again I thank you all for this shared vision.

I would also like to thank you as parents specifically, who have supported school in all we have been aiming to achieve, which is hugely appreciated. Thank you as well to those parents and carers who spoke to the inspector, or who completed Ofsted’s online survey, ParentView.

Ofsted is only one aspect of how we measure our success – our true measure remains our children. The children remain at the heart of all we do, and the report recognises how important they are to us. We strive to help all children to recognise their talents, build on their strengths, recognise where they may find something tricky and help them to have the skills to move forward from this.  We strive to create caring, thoughtful and passionate pupils who are proud of themselves and the communities they live in, and we are pleased that Ofsted recognised this in their report and praised the school and the pupils for this. We have never, as a team, chased an Ofsted grade, we have just wanted to be a brilliant school – and I know that Ofsted inspections will come and go – what never changes is our high expectations, our passion for learning and education, and our love for every single child in our academy.

As an academy, and with the support of the Trust, we will continue to strive to improve in those areas identified for further improvement.  It is our challenge to see that every element of our work reaches the highest possible levels.  I know that I will have your support in the work we will be doing together to make Highfields Primary Academy exceptional for all our pupils.

This is a fantastic achievement for everyone in our school and the entire Highfields community. I will hope that you will join us in celebrating this great success and spread the word to the entire community just how amazing our academy is and how exceptional its children and staff are.

Mr Benjamin Williams – Head of Academy