AN ACCRINGTON school has received an excellent Ofsted report, with some areas acknowledged as “outstanding”.
Inspector Martin Newell, who visited the private Heathland School in Sandy Lane, reported that the school provided a good quality of education, enabling children of all ages to make good progress.
The school, which currently has 183 pupils aged between three months and 16 years, has been open since 1994.
A highest grade of “outstanding’’ was awarded for pupil development and behaviour.
The inspector said: “Pupils love coming to school and this is reflected in the above-average attendance rates. The atmosphere of mutual respect between teachers and pupils contributes to an excellent learning environment where pupils thrive.
“Pupils’ behaviour is outstanding. They are polite and courteous and show a genuine care and concern for others.”
The inspector also praised the curriculum, extra-curricular activities, teaching, assessment and pupils’ progress.
He said: “The school is led well by a strong and effective senior management team who ensure its continued development.
“The recommendations of our last report have been acted upon and the school complies fully with the regulations for independent schools. Pupils and their parents rightly express a high level of satisfaction with the school.”
Vice-principal Jacquie Hide said: “We are very proud of this report. This high standard has been achieved by a dedicated team of staff who believe in our school and what it stands for – that every child is an individual and deserves to reach his or her full potential.”
Very few negative points were noted throughout the report, but the inspector suggested that the school may wish to consider providing more formal opportunities to monitor the quality of teaching and learning and possibly think about extending the recently-introduced pupil tracking system to cover all pupils. However, this is not a Government requirement.
