Strong leadership and a nurturing environment have earned praise from Ofsted for a Harrogate day nursery.

Busy Bees on South Drive was rated ‘good’ in all areas in a report published at the end of December.

In her report, inspector Jan Batchelor said:

“Children are greeted warmly by staff when they arrive at the nursery. They are keen to go and find their friends.

“There are plenty of cuddles and reassurance for children who are a little unsettled or new to the nursery. Throughout the day, children are treated with the utmost kindness, care and respect by the nurturing staff team.”

Ms Batchelor praised the many opportunities for learning on offer at the nursery. Both indoor and outdoor spaces were found to be supportive of development, with staff helping children to build on their knowledge and understanding in each age group.

She said there was a “good balance” between staff-led activities and time for independent play.

The inspection, which took place in November, found two areas for improvement, including giving more consistent messaging about healthy eating to ensure children understood it.

It also found children missed out on learning time when they had to wait for meals to be served or for others to take off their coats and wash their hands after being outside.

Read more:

• Praise for ‘lovely’ attitudes at Harrogate nursery after Ofsted visit
• Ofsted praises ‘true family feel’ at village school near Harrogate

Ms Batchelor added:

“Staff’s skilful interactions with children make learning fun and meaningful. They use their knowledge of individual children’s interests to set up effective learning opportunities.

“Staff introduce new vocabulary as children play. They question the children to help develop their thinking skills. Children are always given time to respond.

“Where children are not making as much progress as others, additional support is put in place. Staff work closely with parents and other professionals to ensure that children’s needs are being met as effectively as possible.”

Busy Bees on South Drive – formerly known as Kindercare and still registered under that name with Ofsted – was previously rated ‘outstanding’ in its last inspection, in late 2018. However, Ofsted has since changed its inspection framework for childcare and education settings, meaning they have to meet much higher criteria in order to achieve the top rating.

Responding to the latest report, South Drive centre director Danni Catton said:

“Overall, we felt the inspection went very well and it was great to read that the report highlighted our commitment to the children’s learning and safety, and our effective partnerships with parents. Our team is committed to giving children the best start in life and we continuously strive to ensure the needs of children are being met at all times.

“We are pleased with our ‘good’ rating – we will take the inspectors’ improvements into consideration, and we will continue to work towards achieving an ‘outstanding’.”

Education inspector Ofsted has given its seal of approval for the opening of a new school in Harrogate for pupils requiring additional support.

Strive for Education currently provides alternative provision to 28 students aged 14 to 19 from Harrogate, Ripon and Knaresborough for one to three days a week.

Many struggle in a mainstream school environment due to social, emotional or mental health issues and are at risk of exclusion. Often they are referred to Strive by local schools.

Strive now wants to open as an independent school catering for 18 pupils in September, with a view to expanding numbers. Most of the pupils would be on its roll full-time, rather than sent there part-time by other schools

As part of that process, it underwent a pre-registration inspection from Ofsted in November.

The inspector’s report, published last week, concluded the school “is likely to meet all the independent school standards when it opens”.

Andy Brown

Strive, which was set up by former Harrogate Grammar School assistant headteacher Andy Brown and his wife Sonja in 2020, is now awaiting confirmation from the Department for Education that it can open as an independent school in autumn. Mr Brown said:

“We’ve grown and grown and got to the point where we need to be an independent school. It will make a huge difference for students that require extra provision.

“There’s a huge lack of support for special education needs students who need extra support beyond what mainstream schools can offer.”

Local shortage

Mr Brown said local students requiring additional support currently often had to travel to places such as Leeds or Darlington because of a shortage of local provision.

Students with special educational needs can apply to their local education authority for an education, health and care plan, which identifies their needs and the additional support required.

Those assessed to have the greatest need receive personal budgets, which can be used to fund additional support such as that provided by Strive, which will charge annual fees starting from £25,000.

Strive is based on North Park Road in Harrogate and has a workshop in Starbeck.

It will continue to use these sites but Mr Brown said it was “definitely looking for a suitable venue to increase our size and additional numbers”.

If Strive’s plans are successful, it will initially have 12 full-time pupils on its own roll.

It also wants to maintain alternative provision for six pupils to fulfil demand for this from local schools.

Read more:

• Still no decision on future of Woodfield school site
• Ripley school praised for ‘swift and effective action’ to address inadequate rating

In this article, which is part of a series on the 12 stories in the Harrogate district that shaped 2022, we look at the controversial closure of Woodfield Community Primary School in Harrogate.

On the last day of this year, Woodfield Community Primary School will officially cease to exist. But in truth, the life has been slowly sucked from the school over the last 18 months.

The school’s prospects had been bleak since an Ofsted report rated it inadequate in 2020.

Under government rules, schools rated inadequate need to join an academy or face closure.

The future of the site remains uncertain.

Hopes were raised when a monitoring report by Ofsted said the school was taking “effective action” to improve. But North Yorkshire County Council, the local education authority, said it was unable to give the school more time because the decision was “out of our hands, because of the system”.

The council eventually revealed plans to amalgamate Woodfield with nearby Grove Road Community Primary School. But the Grove Road governors torpedoed this in April, citing concerns about risk. From this moment on Woodfield’s days were effectively numbered.

The county council opened a consultation on closure and although the idea was met with fury by the trade union Unison, which said closure would be “an absolute disgrace” driven by ideology rather than common sense, and politicians on all sides lined up to say how much the school was needed, the outcome was never in doubt.

June’s poorly attended public meeting.

On a blisteringly hot day in June, council officials held a meeting as part of the consultation. Speaker by speaker methodically spelled out the case for closure — falling pupil numbers, a cumulative deficit of £229,000 in 2023/34 and the Ofsted rating.

Nobody in the room seemed to agree but only about 20 people were there. Parents said it was a done deal and had moved their children elsewhere.

In July the council said it had “no option” but to press ahead with closure.

There were more legal hoops to jump through as formal closure notices were published from September onwards.

The school officially remained open during the autumn term but the only remaining decisions were what to do with the few remaining pupils and staff — as well as the spacious school site.

In October, the council said it would consider “alternative educational uses” for the extensive school site, which many locals suspect will end up as housing. It said:

“The county council will be exploring whether there are alternative educational uses for the school buildings. There are controls around the reuse or redevelopment of school sites, and any alternative uses that are proposed will be the subject of consultation.”

This month, the Stray Ferret asked the council what progress had been made in discussions about the use of the site. A council spokeswoman replied:

“There is no update from our last statements. We are still in discussions about the future use of the site.”

The school does not formally close until the clock strikes midnight on January 1. But the school, synonymous with children’s laughter for 56 years, is empty and its future use uncertain.

Read more:

• ‘Badly let down’ Woodfield school closure confirmed
• Woodfield school site ‘should remain for education’ says MP
• ‘No option’ but to close Woodfield school, says council

Leaders at Ripley Endowed Church of England Primary School have been praised by Ofsted for tackling the school’s inadequate rating.

The school was judged to be inadequate at its most recent full visit by government inspectors in November last year after three consecutive ‘requires improvement’ assessments.  The report was highly critical of the quality of education, leadership and early years provision.

The rating meant the school, which has about 50 pupils, was placed in special measures and forced to seek to join an academy.

Ofsted inspector Marcus Newby conducted a subsequent monitoring visit on November 8.

His report to interim co-executive headteacher Victoria Kirkman, published yesterday on Ofsted’s website, was full of praise for recent improvement efforts by the new leadership team.

Victoria Kirkman

Although the previous judgement cannot be changed as part of a monitoring visit, meaning the school is still rated inadequate and in special measures, the report has raised hopes of an upgrade when the next full inspection is conducted.

The report to Ms Kirkman said “leaders have taken swift and effective action since the previous inspection” and said she had “instilled confidence in staff and parents”.

It said there had been “extensive changes to staffing” that have brought about “strength and stability”, adding:

“You have wasted no time in addressing the previous weaknesses of the school’s curriculum.

“The school’s existing approach to phonics and early reading is now taught with precision. Reading books match pupils’ phonic knowledge accurately. The strategies that children develop in their youngest years, such as segmenting and blending, are used with confidence. Pupils enjoy reading.”

Read more:

• Ripley primary school seeks to join academy after ‘inadequate’ rating
• Nidderdale primary school still ‘good’ under new head, says Ofsted

Ms Kirkman said:

“We are delighted with the outcome of the recent Ofsted monitoring visit at Ripley, which recognised the significant and rapid school transformation since the previous inspection.

“This is due to the hard work of all stakeholders in working together to ensure future success of the school and the life chances of  children in the federation. We now focus on the next  inspection and continue our relentless drive for further school improvement.”

Ms Kirkman is also executive headteacher at Admiral Long and Birstwith CE Schools, which have recently been inspected and judged as ‘good’ by Ofsted.

A village primary school near Harrogate has been praised by Ofsted for its strong values and family feel.

All Saints’ Church of England Primary School in Kirkby Overblow was ‘good’, according to inspectors who visited for the first time since it joined the Yorkshire Causeway Schools Trust in 2018.

In their report, published this week, they said:

“Pupils embody the school values well. These values help pupils to understand the importance of never giving up, being a good friend, working hard and looking out for others.

“There is a true family feel in the school. Teachers expect pupils to try their best and behave well. Most pupils expect this of themselves.

“Bullying is virtually non-existent. Pupils play together with good humour. Break times are energetic for some, and calm and relaxed for others.”

The report said the curriculum was well-designed, pupils’ learning was secure, and there was a strong focus on making all pupils fluent readers from an early age.

All areas of the curriculum are taught to all pupils, inspectors said, so even those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) have the opportunity to learn and succeed. The report said pupils’ needs were identified early, allowing the school to put in place extra support.

Read more:

• Rapidly growing Killinghall school praised by Ofsted
• Pateley school rated ‘good’ by Ofsted after major changes

Addressing areas to improve, inspectors recommended the school’s leaders could further refine the curriculum to fill in some gaps in pupils’ knowledge.

The report added:

“Pupils benefit from a variety of opportunities to support their broader development. They aspire to a role of responsibility. This can be as a well-being officer, sports leader, worship ambassador, charity officer or eco-warrior…

“Pupils play a key role in the community. They recently raised money for people in Ukraine through an event in the local church. Pupils have raised funds for a school in Africa and visited places of worship for other faiths…

“Staff say they enjoy working in school because leaders make sure they have a sensible workload. Leaders have restructured subject leadership. This has reduced the number of responsibilities for each teacher.

“Staff morale is good. Staff support each other. Communication is strong. Teachers say that they are willing to take a risk because there is no fear of criticism.”

The report has been welcomed by the school, whose base leader Sarah Honey said she was proud of everyone in the school. She added it was a”a very special place to work”.

Headteacher Amber Andrews, who has been in post since 2018 and also leads North Rigton Primary School, said:

“We were delighted to receive such an encouraging and complimentary report, which recognised how the whole school community embodies our values and praised the work that we had put into creating our own bespoke curriculum.

“All children are able to access this curriculum making it inclusive to all – no child misses out. Inspectors documented the excellent standard of behaviour of the children both in class and whilst playing, adding ‘pupils play together with good humour’ and value the beautiful outside space.”

Killinghall Church of England Primary School has been rated ‘good’ in its first full Ofsted inspection for 10 years.

The village school has doubled in size from 95 to 183 pupils since its last full inspection in 2012.

Inspectors praised the way it had coped with the challenges presented by rapid growth and said leaders had created “a highly inclusive school community where pupils are valued” and pupils “are happy and feel safe”.

The school was rated ‘good’ in five of the six areas assessed and ‘outstanding’ for early years provision.

The report, published on Tuesday, said:

“Children get off to an excellent start in the early years. Most pupils behave well. They show kindness and consideration for others.

“Bullying is not a problem in the school. Pupils know that they can talk to any of the adults in school if they are worried about something. They are confident that adults will act quickly.”

Leaders, they added, had created “an ambitious curriculum”, staff were described as “skilled” and safeguarding arrangements were found to be “effective”.

Read more:

• Pateley school rated ‘good’ by Ofsted after major changes
• Frances Atkins’ new Killinghall restaurant secures place in Michelin Guide

Sarah Bassitt, who has been headteacher for 12 years, said:

“We are really pleased, especially after the challenges presented by covid and flooding to the key stage two classrooms from February to May this year.

“I’m particularly pleased with the early years assessment and the comments saying we are caring and the pupils are happy.”

Areas for improvement

Ofsted identified two areas for improvement: ensuring expectations for pupils’ behaviour “are consistently high across the school” and ensuring “processes for identifying and monitoring pupils with special education needs are consistently strong and that targets are precise”.

Ms Bassitt said the school had already adopted a new plan for pupils with special education needs.

Marion McCormick, co-chair of governors at the school, said:

“We have a great deal of pride in the hard work and commitment that has led to this very good result.

“The report reflects the enthusiasm and high standards that embody all that the school stands for.

“The strength and resilience shown by the headteacher and her team to achieve this following a major flood throughout key stage two deserves huge praise.”

A Pateley Bridge primary school has been rated ‘good’ by Ofsted.

St Cuthbert’s Church of England Primary School has undergone major changes over the last 18 months.

A new executive headteacher and deputy headteacher were appointed in April last year and in January this year the school became part of the Upper Nidderdale Primary Federation.

The federation also includes Glasshouses Community Primary School and Fountains Earth Church of England Primary School in Lofthouse.

Ofsted inspectors visited St Cuthbert’s for two days last month and their report, published yesterday, said the school “has been on a journey of improvement over the last 12 months” and rated it good in all areas.

They described the school as “a safe and caring place” and said pupils had caring attitudes, behaved well and don’t tolerate bullying. Staff have high morale and feel well supported.

Safeguarding arrangements are described as effective and leaders are praised for introducing “a well-considered and ambitious curriculum to the school” and for having “high expectations” of pupils.

The report says:

“This school has been on a journey of improvement. Pupils, staff, parents and carers acknowledge the changes that have been made. Leaders are committed to ensuring that this journey continues at pace.”

The report also highlights how the school provides good opportunities for personal development but says it should provide a wider breadth of extra-curricular opportunities, such as after-school clubs and activities

Nicola Thornber

Executive headteacher Nicola Thornber said:

“This report recognises the hard work and drive that leads to excellent outcomes, while developing the pupil’s character as part of a supportive and caring school community.

“Despite the new rigorous inspection framework where judgements are harder to achieve, combined with the ongoing demands of the pandemic, this report recognises the excellent work, progress and achievement the school has made. Our inspiring federation staff team and pupils work tirelessly together to provide an excellent education.”

Chair of governors Abi Broadley, said

“We, as the governing board, are delighted that this final inspection across the Federation highlights the skill, competency and hard work of the executive headteacher, leadership and staff team.

“As governors, we have seen first-hand the positive impact on pupil behaviour and educational quality, that means that each child at St Cuthbert’s has an excellent opportunity to develop and thrive. We look forward to continuing to support the school’s leadership to build on this strong foundation.

A village school in Nidderdale continues to be ‘good’, following the latest visit from Ofsted inspectors.

Birstwith C of E Primary School has maintained the ranking since 2012 and now receives “ungraded inspections” from Ofsted to ensure its standards remain high.

In its latest report, published this week, inspectors said the school had strong links with parents and pupils were “excited” about coming to school. They said:

“A Christian ethos is at the heart of this Church of England school. Leaders encourage staff and pupils to treat each other with respect and dignity.

“Leaders regularly remind pupils of the gospel verse describing Jesus giving a new commandment: ‘Love one another as I have loved you.’ Pupils try very hard to live up to this. As a result, bullying is extremely rare.”

The report praised headteacher Victoria Kirkman, who led a curriculum review before joining the school in September 2021. Inspectors said this enabled her to “hit the ground running” and that the curriculum was well-established, even where new subject leaders had recently joined the school.

However, they said in some areas the curriculum was not ambitious enough and some opportunities were missed to build on pupils’ knowledge and ensure learning met the needs of all pupils.

Read more:

• Nidderdale school celebrates top rating from inspectors
• Ofsted finds ‘good’ village school near Knaresborough is ‘like a second home’

Inspectors particularly commended the school’s special educational needs provision, led by Miss Kirkman. They said:

“Leaders use diagnostic tests skilfully. Pupils’ moderate learning difficulties are assessed so that each pupil’s specific processing difficulties are accurately identified.

“The Senco [special educational needs coordinator] gives teachers ideas to meet each pupil’s needs. Teachers adjust the curriculum accordingly. This may be by simply allowing pupils more thinking time before expecting a response to questions. It involves presenting information in smaller chunks.

“Teachers provide sensory breaks or music therapy for pupils who need them. This precise approach is helping pupils with SEND to make good progress.”

Responding to the report, Miss Kirkman said:

“Since September 2021 there has been significant work undertaken at Birstwith School by all stakeholders to ensure the children are happy, safe and secure including: health and safety, safeguarding, the quality of the curriculum and provision for SEND pupils. We are delighted that this hard work has been recognised.

“We could not have done this without the continued drive, commitment and unwavering support of all stakeholders and their unwavering support for the significant changes in the best interests of their children. As as a Church of England school, we are proud that it was recognised that ‘a Christian ethos is at the heart of this school’.

“Of course, there is always an area to continue to develop, however we had already identified this and already have plans in place to address – the focus being our ‘most-able pupils’.”

Birstwith school is partnered with Admiral Long C of E Primary School in Burnt Yates.

Miss Kirkman was also appointed executive headteacher at the three federated primary schools in Ripley, Beckwithshaw and Kettlesing earlier this year.

Ripley and Beckwithshaw received ‘inadequate’ ratings from Ofsted at the beginning of the year and Miss Kirkman said there had been “significant and rapid, positive improvements” to both, with the results of an interim Ofsted inspection due to be published soon.

The site of Woodfield Community Primary School should continue to be used for education in future, according to Harrogate and Knaresborough’s MP.

Andrew Jones said he has been working to ensure that will be the case after the school closes its doors for good on December 31.

Mr Jones told North Yorkshire County Council‘s Harrogate and Knaresborough area constituency committee he had already spoken to people interested in using it for education. He said:

“The story of Woodfield is a sad one because that school has been losing numbers for quite some time, like many years. It got down to one child.

“I don’t want to see that site lost for education provision and I’ve made some suggestions, contacted the council with those suggestions, been contacted by educational providers interested in the site, and have put the two together. I’m hoping we will see continued education on that site at the earliest opportunity.”

Woodfield has been forced to close after being rated ‘inadequate’ by Ofsted. It was told it must join an academy trust, but failed to secure a deal and its closure was confirmed last month.

Mr Jones said its facilities, including “significant grounds” and the community library on site, meant “the ingredients for a really good school are there”.

Asked by councillors about the approaches he had had, Mr Jones said they were from people “interested in opening a facility for special educational needs” .

Read more:

• Council to explore ‘alternative educational uses’ for Woodfield school
• ‘Badly let down’ Woodfield school closure confirmed

Councillors on the area constituency committee also asked him what was being done to address the gap in funding which saw North Yorkshire placed 144th out of 151 local authorities in terms of its funding for special educational needs.

Liberal Democrat councillor Chris Aldred, who represents the High Harrogate and Kingsley division, said:

“The council is lobbying the local MPs and I understand they’ve written to you. Are you able to give any further update?

“I’m guessing that links into the groups you’ve been talking about, but has there been any real progress on finding that additional money to support North Yorkshire County Council and those people that need that additional funding?”

Mr Jones said he had been working closely with leaders at North Yorkshire County Council to ensure they accessed as much funding as possible.  He said:

“I endlessly lobby on behalf of our area because we do have some individual challenges. Sometimes they can be funding, sometimes it’s the high population density in one area – Harrogate and Scarborough – but the low population density for the rest of our county, which does present operational challenges.

“I can’t say that everything has changed but I can say that this is work in progress and is one of the areas where I’m working with the leadership team of the council and will continue to do so.”

He added:

“I think we will hear more about spending at the autumn statement. Just recognise that our area has fantastic educational provision and I will continue as I have to support the funding formula and the educational providers.

“You get one chance with education for children. That’s why it has to be the best we can do and that’s the approach I’ve taken throughout my time in parliament.”

Three village primary schools in the Harrogate district face an uncertain future after plans to become part of a multi-academy trust fell through.

Beckwithshaw Primary and Ripley Endowed C of E schools are both required to become part of an academy after they received ‘inadequate’ ratings from Ofsted this year.

The two schools are federated, along with Kettlesing Felliscliffe Primary School, and as Church of England schools are also part of the Leeds diocese.

However, plans to join Elevate Multi Academy Trust (MAT) from the beginning of this month fell through shortly before the start date.

In a letter to parents, Anne Vetch, vice-chair of the schools’ interim executive board (IEB), said:

While Ripley and Beckwithshaw schools are required to join a MAT because of their Ofsted ratings, Kettlesing Felliscliffe, which is rated ‘good’, is not. A consultation with parents was held earlier this year over whether to remain part of the federated schools and join the MAT.

Since the two ‘inadequate’ ratings were given last year, the three schools had had two interim executive headteachers since the spring: Victoria Kirkman and Chris Whitehead.

Mr Whitehead left during the October half-term, having expected the schools to become part of the MAT immediately afterwards. Ms Kirkman has stayed on part-time as co-executive interim headteacher, alongside her role as head of Admiral Long and Birstwith primary schools.

She will be joined by Rebecca Foy, who has been the schools’ special educational needs coordinator.

Read more:

• Beckwithshaw primary school rated ‘inadequate’ by Ofsted
• Ofsted rates Ripley primary school as ‘inadequate’

Parents have been invited to an information evening on December 5, when representatives of the IEB, North Yorkshire County Council and the Leeds diocese will explain what could happen next.

The situation has followed a similar pattern to Woodfield Community Primary School, which was rated ‘inadequate’ and then failed to find a MAT to join. With falling roll numbers and just one pupil now attending, the school will close at the end of December.

However, leaders of the three federated schools said they are determined to find a trust to join and have confidence in the education provided by the schools.

In a statement issued through North Yorkshire County Council, Robert Ling, chair of the interim executive board at the three schools, said:

“We would like to reassure parents that we have increasing confidence in the educational standards at the three schools, which have fully responded to issues raised by Ofsted and are now firmly on an upward trajectory.

“With good quality teaching and strong leadership in place, children at all three federated schools are currently achieving in their education and feel school is a safe, happy place to be. The continued support of parents will enable the federation to look positively to the future.

“We recently received an interim Ofsted inspection and look forward to the results of this visit.

“We have returned to the regional director to resume our search for a multi-academy sponsor. In the interim the focus of all involved with the schools is on delivering the best possible educational experience for all of our children.”