Hucknall school celebrating after being rated 'good' in latest Ofsted inspection

Inspectors from education watchdog Ofsted visited the Leen Mills Lane school, back in May and, according to their newly published report, were impressed with what they saw.

The report says: “Pupils say they feel happy and safe at school and it is easy to make friends.

“Staff have high expectations for pupils’ behaviour, they encourage pupils to be thoughtful and care for each other and they expect pupils to apply themselves diligently in lessons.

"The small number of pupils who sometimes struggle to manage their behaviour and emotions receive support for their needs.

"Children in the early years make a strong start to their education.

"Children show high levels of focus and enjoyment in their learning.”

Inspectors praised the way school leaders have updated and revised the curriculum to give pupils “an increasingly rich store of knowledge and skills in all subjects” and the fact a high priority is placed on reading with children beginning learning to read straight away in the early years.

Their report also said school leaders act quickly to identify the needs of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities and that staff were ambitious for SEND pupils to play a full part in school life.

The report found leaders have significantly enhanced the school’s early years provision by the recent addition of the purpose-built nursery class and also promote pupils’ personal development well.

It also noted that staff enjoy working at the school and value being part of a close, supportive team.

The report said: “A few feel that, at times, their workload is hard to manage. However, staff say leaders and governors are approachable and listen to their views.”

The report said the school needed to improve its response to the weak outcomes in phonics in 2022, for Years 1 and 2.

It said: “Some pupils do not consistently read from books that match the sounds they know and some do not learn to read as quickly as they should.

Inspectors also said “pupil passports” for SEND pupils were not precise enough and targets were not measurable and clear.

They said: “Leaders should ensure pupils with SEND receive well-planned, focused support to access the curriculum and achieve as highly as possible.”

The school has been approached for comment.