Glowing Ofsted makes Hapton happy
Steve DownesOne of Norfolk's smallest schools enjoyed high tea yesterday after receiving high praise in a glowing Ofsted report.Hapton Primary School, near Wymondham, was named as the latest 'outstanding' school in the county by inspectors.Steve Downes
One of Norfolk's smallest schools enjoyed high tea yesterday after receiving high praise in a glowing Ofsted report.
Hapton Primary School, near Wymondham, was named as the latest 'outstanding' school in the county by inspectors.
Its accolade makes it the 36th educational establishment in Norfolk with a current top rating - including 25 primaries, four secondaries, five special schools, one nursery and one pupil referral unit.
It also opens the way for Hapton Primary to apply to be fast-tracked to academy status if the school's leaders decide to as soon as September this year, following Tuesday's announcement by education secretary Michael Gove of the rapid acceleration of the programme.
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That issue was far from the minds of staff and students yesterday as they celebrated the report, which saw Hapton Primary given outstanding grades in almost every area, including learning, behaviour, teaching, attendance and leadership.
The 26-pupil school is run by co-headteachers Louise Hinton and Linda McCormick, who supervised the celebration tea yesterday afternoon.
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Inspectors said: 'Parents and pupils are overwhelmingly convinced that this is an outstanding school. They are right. Pupils achieve exceptionally well and make outstanding progress throughout their time in school. At the heart of the school's success is a curriculum that meets pupils' needs exceptionally well.
'Younger pupils benefit greatly from learning alongside their older peers, who in turn show great maturity and sensitivity in their care and support for the younger ones. Behaviour is outstanding and pupils have excellent attitudes to learning.'
Inspectors said that the school had excellent capacity to continue to improve and that everyone in the school strove to make things even better.
Mrs Hinton said: 'We are thrilled with Ofsted's findings. Everyone involved with our school is determined to make it a success and to play their part in helping make Hapton a happy place to learn and grow.
'Our school is very small and this brings its own challenges. Meeting the needs of individual pupils in mixed aged classes means our staff have to be imaginative and resourceful and it is fantastic that inspectors have recognised that staff are able to tailor the work for each child.
'Teachers, support staff, governors, parents and children all play their part and our pupils are a real asset to the school. We are particularly pleased with the feedback we had from our parents, whose support for the school is invaluable.'
