26 Jul 2023
Children and staff at High Beeches Primary School in Harpenden wore party clothes and enjoyed an ice cream treat on the last day of term to celebrate being judged ‘outstanding’ in their recent Ofsted inspection report.
The school is currently the only primary in Harpenden to have been awarded the grade since the more rigorous new Ofsted inspection framework came into force in May 2019.
The inspection, which took place at the beginning of June, involved a thorough exploration of the quality of education provided by the school, as well as an inspection of safeguarding practices and procedures, pupil behaviour and wider development, and staff workload and wellbeing.
The report noted the strong family atmosphere at the school, adding “pupils learn and behave exceptionally well”, are highly engaged in lessons and that the youngest children get off to an exceptionally good start. This is attributed to “high quality planning and expert teaching” by skilful teachers and teaching assistants.
Headteacher Jonathan Walker said: “I am delighted with the inspection report which really captured the essence of our school, our fantastic staff team and our lovely children. I would like to thank colleagues, parents and the whole school community, all of whom are committed to providing the very best experiences and opportunities for our children.”
