A PRIMARY school in York has been rated good in its first Ofsted inspection in 15 years.

Hempland Primary Academy has been judged ‘good’ in all areas by Ofsted following a two-day inspection, having previously been an 'outstanding' school.

Head teacher, Abbie Innes, said she was incredibly proud of the school community, and of the hard work and dedication of children and staff.

The 426-pupil school in Heworth was last inspected in 2006, and has been exempt from regular inspections since 2010.

After Stuart Outram retired in 2017 after 14 years at the helm, Hempland had two head teachers before Lee Haynes took over in 2020 as interim head.

Mrs Innes, then deputy head, had day-to-day responsibility until taking over the top post in September 2021.

The report noted the school's 'very new leadership team'.

"There has been a high turnover of staff in recent years and a period of instability in the senior leadership team.

"Leaders have made rapid improvements during the last year to construct a well-planned and sequenced curriculum. Subject leaders have developed a curriculum that builds on what pupils have learned and prepares them for future learning."

Inspectors said subject leaders are 'skilled and knowledgeable', and had led staff training to establish clear expectations and share good practice while staff were proud to work there and felt supported.

They said teachers in the early stages of their careers were 'overwhelmingly positive' about their professional development.

Mrs Innes said: "There have been many changes in Ofsted criteria since our last inspection, with the focus moving away from just being about data and outcomes.

"We feel this report is a fair reflection of where we know we are as a school. The education climate and the Ofsted framework are vastly different today and there has also been the impact of Covid-19.

"We are extremely proud that, despite the disruption to normal school life over the past 18 months, the snapshot that Ofsted saw of our school was an overwhelmingly positive one.”

Inspectors assessed the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes of pupils, their personal development, the early years provision and leadership and management, judging all of these areas and the overall effectiveness of the school to be good.

They said: “Pupils talk very positively about their school. They describe their teachers as caring, and learning as fun. Pupils understand and apply the school values of respect, opportunity, ambition and resilience to all they do."

Inspectors noted that behaviour is 'generally good'. "The school is calm, and pupils have positive attitudes to their learning."

The report also praised the inclusivity of the school, in particular, the planning and adaptations for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

Inspectors highlighted the teaching of phonics and early years curriculum planning as areas for development for the school.

Chair of governors, Susanna Dale-Simmonds, said: "The staff work incredibly hard to ensure that we can give the children the best possible start to their school life and that is what we will continue to do at Hempland for the remainder of this academic year and in the future.”

Since Ofsted resumed regular inspections in September 2021, three out of four previously outstanding schools have been re-classified. Ofsted has stated that this is, in part due to the new, more rigorous standards of the amended inspection framework.

Hempland Primary is a founding member of Pathfinder Multi Academy Trust, a partnership of ten church and community schools serving more than 4,000 students and their families across York.

To read the full report, visit https://reports.ofsted.gov.uk/provider/21/142844