School “thrilled” to retain good Ofsted rating

The oversubscribed Hart School is celebrating after Ofsted inspectors highlighted it as being harmonious, inclusive, welcoming and friendly as it ratified its rating as a good school.

Principal Ms Rachael Sandham said she was “thrilled” that The Hart School, whose motto is We Can, We Will, We Do”, and is on a steadfast journey to becoming brilliant, had retained its good Ofsted rating.

The publication of the rating, which followed an inspection in June, comes hot on the heels of the school’s personal and caring approach to welcoming all of its new starters, last month, going viral.

The video of Principal Sandham and the school’s therapy dog Rufus individually welcoming each pupil under a celebratory balloon arch has racked up almost 200,000 views so far and received hundreds of amazing comments, including: “How lovely to see caring, committed staff. Lucky pupils!”

“School and trust leaders have high expectations for pupils” – Ofsted

The school, whose core HART values are “Happy, Ambitious, Resilient and Tolerant”, takes great pride in nurturing and developing pupil’s individual strengths, skills and talents both within and outside the classroom.

And it’s something that Ofsted also took time to highlight within its report saying: “The Hart School is an inclusive, welcoming and friendly school. The school’s motto is ‘we can, we will, we do’ and leaders provide many opportunities, both in and out of the classroom, for this vision to be realised.

“School and trust leaders have high expectations for pupils. They have an ambitious vision for the quality of education that pupils should receive.

“They have a carefully crafted curriculum that ensures pupils learn well in lessons. In addition they provide many opportunities outside the classroom to build pupils’ resilience, knowledge and skills.”

The Hart School is proud to empower students to be the very best that they can be

Principal Sandham said: “After our Ofsted visit in June, we are thrilled that The Hart School has retained its ‘Good’ Ofsted rating, and that the report highlights that our school is harmonious, inclusive, welcoming and friendly. 

“It is brilliant to see recognition of our carefully crafted curriculum, new behaviour policy and extensive extracurricular opportunities. Thanks, to all of our incredible students and staff who go above and beyond every single day. This is the recognition they deserve.”

She added: “Everyone at The Hart is passionate about providing the best possible learning opportunities and experiences to enable every student to achieve their full potential and together we look forward to building on all our successes as we continue on our journey towards being a brilliant school. We Can, We Will, We Do.”

Nicole McCartney, director of education at Creative Education Trust, which the school is a part of, said it was “very proud” of the continuing success of the school.

“I want to offer a huge congratulations to The Hart School, at CET we are very proud of this success,” she said.

“Rachael and her team work so hard to deliver a brilliant education for students, and this report echoes that. I look forward to working with her as The Hart School goes from strength to strength.”

The school, which celebrated some record exam achievements this summer, will hold its annual open days on October 10 and 12. Visit https://www.hartschool.org.uk for more or email [email protected].