Hylands Primary School, Romford 'improves significantly' - Ofsted

Hylands Primary School in Granger Way was visited in May for an ungraded inspection and the findings were published on June 17.

The school was deemed 'good' in July 2016 but because inspectors found the school had "improved significantly" since the previous visit, the next one will be a graded inspection.

The report said: "Pupils thrive in Hylands Primary School, which has a close-knit family feel.

"Pupils live and breathe the school’s seven core values in the way they work incredibly hard during lessons and in how they interact during playtimes."

Inspectors said pupils thrive at Hylands Primary School (Image: Hylands Primary School) Inspectors described the school’s commitment to pupils’ personal development as "remarkable" and noted the range of "inspiring experiences" on offer for children such as virtually meeting an explorer from Antarctica or representing the school on a visit to the Houses of Parliament.

Ofsted found that as soon as children start in the early years "they develop a love of learning".

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It said: "High expectations of ‘no one gets left behind’ shapes everything that takes place in this school and pupils rise to these expectations by achieving highly, or when accessing the exceptional enrichment opportunities on offer."

The school has also embedded a "highly ambitious and broad" curriculum that has been "carefully designed" to build on what pupils have learned previously.

Ofsted found children here develop a love for learning early on (Image: Hylands Primary School) Inspectors noted that teachers make regular checks on learning through the Hylands Rewind - an embedded practice, which allows teachers to check pupils’ recall of key knowledge.

Teachers use these checks to decide what to teach next, Ofsted said, and this helps pupils to make connections between what they are learning now and what they already know.

The report added: "The school has responded positively to the increase in the number of pupils who speak English as an additional language and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

"These pupils join and leave the school at various stages of their primary education - nonetheless, these pupils are exceptionally well supported to achieve during their time at school."

Headteacher Steve Bowers said: "We are very pleased with the outcome of the Ofsted visit. 

"The report itself is a very accurate reflection of what we strive for at Hylands - we foster a love of learning, we are committed to personal development and we are proud of our close-knit, family feel."