Harcourt Primary School

Overview

Harcourt Primary School is described as “proudly inclusive” with a “happy, welcoming ethos” where pupils “relish school.” Leaders maintain high expectations for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, fostering a “palpable sense of community and belonging.” The school meets the expected standard across most areas, with inclusion rated at a strong standard.

Strengths

• Inclusion is “at the forefront of the school's work,” with “highly effective and targeted support” for disadvantaged pupils and those with barriers to learning.
• Pupils demonstrate “consistently positive attitudes to learning” and “behave very well,” reflecting a culture of “high expectations, respect and tolerance.”
• The curriculum is “ambitious, broad and balanced,” with teaching that “revisits and reinforces prior learning regularly” to ensure secure knowledge.
• Staff benefit from “thoughtful” training based on reliable research, supporting “high morale” and a “positive, cohesive sense of community.”
• Safeguarding standards are met, with an “open culture” where concerns are “actively identified, acted upon and managed.”

Areas to improve

• Leaders should ensure teachers “consistently make highly effective and well-informed choices” about delivering the reading and mathematics curriculum to raise standards further.
• Further work is needed to ensure recent developments in reading and mathematics are “consistently embedded across the school.”

Safeguarding

The report states that “safeguarding standards are met,” noting that leaders have established an “open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility” and that “pupils are made safer and feel safe.”