A Challenge Partners Review that took place at Heston in November concluded: “The Quality Assurance Review found indicators that Heston Community School appears to have moved beyond the Good grade as judged by Ofsted in the School’s previous Ofsted report January 2012 and is working within the Outstanding grade.”

Additionally, the Business Education and ICT Team were confirmed as a Quality Area of Excellent Practice.

Headteacher, Phil Ward said: “This is excellent news and I am immensely proud of my colleagues and students. The comments from the review team are superb and a true reflection of the work we do here … Congratulations to all and well done Heston! ”

Here are some of the comments the team made:

“The strong evidence of a strategic and successful drive to improve teaching, learning, and achievement indicates that improvement strategies are ‘outstanding’”

“… pupils were making flying progress and the lesson was a joy to behold.”

“The general conduct of pupils in and around the classroom was very good and pupils were unfailingly courteous when asked questions.”

The Challenge Partners Review is not an Ofsted inspection and should not be viewed as a mock inspection. The strength of the review lies in how it allies the rigour and professionalism of Ofsted with the care and collaborative approach of a partnership. This is a joint exercise between the review team and the school. All observations and meetings include a member of the school being reviewed working alongside the reviewers. Discussion about the findings and even the writing of the report are a collaborative effort between the review team and the school’s senior leadership team. This approach enables honest and open conversations about where the school is and where it is going, to the benefit of all concerned.

Click here to read a copy of the full report.