Inspectors praise school where pupils ‘thrive’

Georgetta Holloway OBE, Chief Executive of the Central Learning Partnership Trust, celebrates the Ofsted inspection outcome with Heath Park students.

Inspectors visited Heath Park School in November and, in their report published recently, described it as a ‘harmonious community’ which lives up to its values to ensure that every pupil is ‘always in focus’.

Staff ‘work together effectively to enable pupils to excel and to give them high quality experiences’, with pupil achievement ‘strong’ because teachers know them well and have designed a ‘broad and ambitious curriculum’.

Disadvantaged pupils and pupils with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) achieve well with teachers knowing ‘in detail the support needed to help these pupils succeed’.

Meanwhile, students in the sixth form ‘thrive’ on an ‘ambitious and well embedded’ curriculum – and ‘consistently achieve very highly’ as a result. An increasing number of students from the sixth form have accessed courses at top universities in recent years.

Pupils show ‘considerable understanding and kindness’ to one another and are happy because the school is ‘underpinned by warm and positive relationships’.

The school, which is part of Central Learning Partnership Trust, also ‘puts the interests of pupils first in all of its work’. Leaders check the quality of provision and its impact ‘regularly and diligently’, meaning there is a ‘deep understanding’ of the quality of the school’s work, and how it can be developed.

Meanwhile, pupils’ personal development is a ‘significant strength’ of provision, with students of all ages ‘rightly proud of the many leadership opportunities on offer to them’.

Overall, the inspectors judged the quality of education at Heath Park to be Good, and behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management and sixth-form provision to all be Outstanding.

Heath Park was also recently ranked top in the city for pupils’ Progress 8 score, based on results in subjects including English, Maths, and English Baccalaureate qualifications.

Head of School Adrian Rollins said: “The report reflects the hard work and collaboration of staff, students and parents to ensure that Heath Park continues to succeed at the highest level in the city, the region and on a national level.

“We are incredibly proud of our students and proud that our hard work has been recognised. There are many references to exemplary provision, learning and positive behaviours which typifies what we do on a daily basis at Heath Park.”

Georgetta Holloway OBE, Chief Executive of the Central Learning Partnership Trust, said: “We are all rightly proud of our latest Ofsted report as it highlights the positive ethos that has been a hallmark of the school for many years. We are all privileged to serve such a vibrant and culturally diverse community, which underpins the positivity and drive for excellence that unites all our stakeholders: students, staff, parents and our wider community.

“Heath Park benefits from having an incredibly outstanding staff, many of whom are long standing members of the school and many who are former students. This sense of family, and of belonging, make every day spent in school a privilege and a rewarding experience.”

Councillor Jacqui Coogan, the City of Wolverhampton Council’s Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Education, added: “I would like to congratulate the staff, leadership team, pupils and parents on this brilliant report which outlines the outstanding provision that is on offer at Heath Park.”