Dear Parents
Following our recent Ofsted Inspection, I am delighted to be able to share the final report, in which the first line states, ‘Pupils thrive at Horsmonden Primary Academy.’
The ethos of the school really shone through and Ofsted noted ‘A culture of personal growth permeates and supports all aspects of school life.’ This led to them grading our Personal Development as ‘Outstanding.’
Another area graded ‘Outstanding’ was Leadership and Management, where Ofsted found, ‘The school is highly ambitious for its pupils. There is a relentless focus on improving standards and provision.’
The changes to our curriculum to incorporate the Primary Years Programme Framework were commended and inspectors found ‘The curriculum is helping pupils to strengthen children’s knowledge and understanding’ and ‘Teachers systematically recap on key concepts to help ensure pupils understand vital knowledge before building on new ideas’.
This led to Ofsted grading Quality of Education as ‘Good.’ I am fully aware, as detailed in the report, that ‘sometimes children have insufficient understanding of some of the key knowledge’ and our focus is on ‘continuing to support teachers in adapting the curriculum to help pupils deepen their knowledge and skills across the whole curriculum’. This is an on-going priority and the Inspectors acknowledged that this takes time.
Our ‘clear behaviour policy supports everyone in knowing what is expected’ and was celebrated and noted that ‘The school is calm and orderly throughout.’ The grade awarded for Behaviour and Attitudes is ‘Good.’
I am delighted with the report and grateful to the staff for all their efforts, as always. I feel it celebrates everything we are proud of at Horsmonden, as well as validating our own judgments that this is a securely ‘Good’ school with ‘Outstanding’ Leadership and Management, and Personal Development.
Kind regards
Hayley Sharp | Principal
