Houghton Regis school celebrates a ‘good’ Ofsted report - after improving from inadequate and requires improvement

A Houghton Regis primary school has shown it is going in the right direction after being rated as ‘good’ in its latest Ofsted inspection.

Lime Tree Primary Academy, then the Hawthorn Park Community Primary School joined the Tennyson Learning Community In March 2021 following an inadequate Ofsted judgement in 2017 and a “requires improvement” judgement in Jane 2019.

The school has now been found to be ‘good’ in all categories.

Lead inspector Lynne Williams said pupils take a great pride in being part of this school and are kind and welcoming.

She said: “From the early years, children show great consideration for each other. In lessons, pupils behave well and are attentive. They know their teachers want them to do well. They work quietly with whatever tasks their teachers give them. They explore new vocabulary and learn new skills. Occasionally, these tasks are a bit too complicated. When this happens, pupils wait sensibly for help or willingly have a go but do not do as well as they could.”

She said the trust has a clear, ambitious vision for the school on Parkside Drive. Working with governors and staff, they are making the right changes to improve things for pupils.

She said: “The curriculum is developing rapidly. Where the curriculum is most effective, the school’s planning is detailed and sets out what pupils will learn and need to know at every stage. In these subjects, teachers get the right training and support to teach the curriculum well.”

But she added a word of caution: “In subjects where the curriculum has been introduced more recently, there is more to do to ensure that leaders’ planning is sufficiently clear about the most important learning and how to check that pupils know and remember this. In these subjects, teachers do not always make adjustments to take account of what pupils already know or any gaps in their learning. As a result, some pupils do not achieve as well as they could in these subjects.”

The school plans its support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) with a few pupils getting bespoke support, she said.

“A range of interventions are in place to address key skills in number and reading, including for pupils with SEND. Adults give extra help and explanations in class for most pupils with SEND. Most pupils with SEND join in lessons with their peers. They occasionally struggle to access the tasks they are given. However, systems to evaluate how well the support in place is improving outcomes for pupils with SEND overall are not well established.”

Claire Lewis, Interim Head Teacher said: “The recent, rapid improvements made at Lime Tree Primary School have taken the work and commitment of all of our school community.

Executive Leaders, Teachers, Support staff, Governors, parents, carers, and most importantly - our pupils, have held and sustained high aspirations for themselves and others, resulting in improvements across the board.

“We are delighted with the recent Ofsted judgement and the improved outcomes for our pupils which contributed towards this judgement, with this encouraging grading, we will continue to go from strength to strength”

Visit the Ofsted website to view the full report.