Bury St Edmunds School Howard Community Academy is rated 'requires improvement' by Ofsted in first inspection in six years

A school that has been through 'challenging times' now has strong leadership that has helped it to improve quickly, the education watchdog has said.

Howard Community Primary School in Bury St Edmunds was rated 'inadequate' by Ofsted in 2017. Since then it became Howard Community Academy, joining Anglian Learning Trust in April 2020.

Ofsted inspectors visited the school in January and found overall it 'requires improvement' but did rate it 'good' in four of the five sub-categories: behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management and early years provision.

The quality of education was deemed to need improvement, with inspectors saying pupils still have many gaps in their understanding because of a 'legacy' of weaker education.

Leaders have made 'significant progress' to tackle these gaps, but their work is incomplete, the inspectors said.

The school's headteacher Alison Weir was appointed to the role in 2021.

The report said: "Howard Community Academy has been through challenging times since the predecessor school was judged to be inadequate in 2017.

"Prior to joining the Anglian Learning Multi-Academy Trust there have been changes of leadership within the school. This caused instability and unhappiness over several years.

"All that has changed. The school now has strong leadership from school and trust leaders.

"School and trust leaders have a strong and shared vision. They are committed to improving pupils’ outcomes. They have put in place support and training for teachers. This has helped the school to improve quickly."

It added: "Leaders have united, galvanised and enthused the staff through their vision for success. They have worked effectively to build positive relationships with the community.

"Staff and most parents are fully behind the improvements that leaders are driving."

Alison said: “We are delighted with our latest Ofsted report. We have received a great deal of praise for our ethos of high aspirations for all, our strong leadership, and our commitment to strengthening pupil outcomes.

"These characteristics underpin our commitment to providing a safe and nurturing environment, where all our pupils can thrive and develop their love of learning.

“We are very proud of the significant improvements the school has made during the last two years.

"Given a little more time, we are confident that this report highlights that the fundamental processes and improvements are now in place to make Howard Community Academy a ‘good’ school in every element of its work.

“I am beaming with pride at this recognition of the hard work and dedication of our colleagues, families, wider community and Anglian Learning. Our community remains at the heart of our vision and we can all be proud of what we are achieving together.”

The school, which has 163 pupils on roll, was described in the Ofsted report as a 'happy and caring community'.

"It is calm and purposeful," the report said. "Positive relationships are central to the ethos, and pupils behave well in lessons and on the playground.

"Bullying is rare, but when it does happen, adults listen to pupils and act on their concerns. Pupils feel safe."

The inspectors say leaders have high expectations both 'for and of' pupils and students are developing positive attitudes towards learning.

"Due to the education they have received in the past, there are gaps in pupils’ learning," they said. "Leaders have designed a curriculum that accounts for this. It is helping to support pupils to catch up."

The report also said families were involved in pupils’ learning through trips and visits and students' experiences are further enhanced through the

celebration of the school’s core values of 'aspiration, community, experience and nurture'.

Pupils generally behave well in lessons and they are tolerant and respectful towards each other and their teachers, the report continued.

In other positives, the trust has worked effectively with school leaders to identify appropriate support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and the Early Years Foundation Stage was described as 'a bright and engaging environment'.

Jonathan Culpin, CEO of Anglian Learning, said: “I am incredibly proud of the transformation that has taken place at Howard Community Academy.

"Alison, her team, and many individuals across our trust have worked tirelessly to support the academy’s young learners and their families, establishing the academy at the heart of its community as a place where learning feels irresistible and inspiring.”

To further improve, Ofsted said there needs to be work around ensuring learning is tailored to the needs of all pupils, that the recently-adopted phonics programme is taught well by all teachers and there is intensive support for older pupils to help them read confidently and fluently.

School absence was another area highlighted by Ofsted for improvement.