Hillcroft Primary School is “Outstanding” says Ofsted

Hillcroft Primary School has been rated “Outstanding” in all five areas in its recent Ofsted inspection, where inspectors found that leaders have created a strong community and are passionate about giving every pupil the best possible education they can.

Inspectors stated that “pupils thrive at this inclusive and nurturing school” where “staff have high aspirations for all to achieve to the best of their ability”, and “leaders are relentless in their drive to ensure that all pupils can attend school and feel safe and cared for.” The report noted that leaders have planned a highly ambitious curriculum and that children with SEND are accurately identified and remarkably well supported with adaptations made to ensure they have access to the full curriculum offer.

The inspection report commended the “early years provision (which) is exceptional” and highlighted the “relentless focus on reading across the school” which begins when children join the school in nursery and ensures they develop into confident and fluent readers who enjoy a range of genres. 

Inspectors recognised that the “‘STRONG’ values of self-control, tolerance, respect, others (awareness of others), no one left out and growing friendships are deeply embedded at Hillcroft,” commenting that “pupils demonstrate these in their exemplary conduct around the school." They observed that the behaviour of children in all years is exceptional, both during lessons and at break times, with children taking responsibility for their behaviour and demonstrating a clear warmth towards each other.

The inspectors noted that “staff provide a consistently high-quality education for all pupils across all subjects and year groups” and saw that the children showed a real love of learning, with excellent recall and subject knowledge. They noted that the rich personal development curriculum develops character extremely well as well as looking after wellbeing, with both staff and parents valuing the nurturing provision which encourages children to thrive.

Louise Summers, Head of School, said “we are all extremely proud of everything we do here at Hillcroft, and it is fantastic that the inspectors recognised the consistent effort the team put in every day. This report is a credit to the whole school community, and we will continue to work together to provide the best education for all our children, ensuring they are supported, engaged and inspired in their learning.”