Thomas Hinderwell Academy, Scarborough: Ofsted recognises ‘continued progress’ at Yorkshire primary school

Ofsted has said the Thomas Hinderwell Primary Academy in Scarborough continues to improve. A monitoring visit by the watchdog has found leaders at the school, on Seamer Road in Scarborough, have made progress in improving the school.

Inspectors commended the principal, Chloe Webster, for introducing “a number of changes” and for improving the curriculum alongside other leaders. Ofsted said that as a result, the school’s capacity to improve the quality of education that pupils receive had increased. They also noted steps that have been taken to improve behaviour within the school.

A report states: “There is now a clear and well-understood approach to behaviour, which is having a positive impact.”

Chloe Webster, principal at the Thomas Hinderwell Primary Academy, said: “We are all proud of the progress that has been made at Thomas Hinderwell since our last Ofsted inspection, just over 12 months ago. Our strong and continued progress is a testament to the hard work, commitment and determination of the whole school community.”

She added: “Thank you to all our staff, pupils, and parents and carers for their support. We will continue to use Ofsted’s reflections to ensure that all our pupils receive the very best education and learning experience.”

Ofsted said last month’s monitoring visit took place because it previously received a judgement of “requires improvement” at its last inspection and before that was judged “inadequate”.

Inspectors also said the school should take further action to ensure the proportion of pupils who are “persistently absent from school decreases further so that more pupils can access their full learning entitlement”.

However, the report noted various areas of improvement and changes ranging from playground “zones” to consideration for staff workloads and well-being.

Simon Rose, director of primary education at the David Ross Education Trust, said: “The strong progress Thomas Hinderwell has made was highlighted in the previous Ofsted report and it is excellent to see Ofsted’s acknowledgement that this progress is continuing. Well done to all our staff, pupils and the wider school community.”