London Fields and Horizon schools praised by Ofsted
Bahar Altun,12, gets in some rowing training at Horizon School. Photograph: The Learning Trust
Two Hackney schools have experienced a dramatic turnaround in standards according to their recent Ofsted reports.
London Fields Primary School has leapt from being a failing school in ‘Special Measures’ to achieving an “Outstanding” Ofsted report, whilst Horizon School, which caters for pupils with special educational needs, has achieved a “good” rating, when previously it was only “satisfactory”.
The changes in the schools’ fortunes have been attributed to good leadership in both cases.
Ofsted praised Kt Khan, head teacher of the Horizon School, for “reinvigorating the school, leading by example and giving a clear sense of direction to its work”.
The report said that “pupils make excellent progress in their learning” and that “parents were overwhelmingly pleased with the school and its impact on their children”.
Greg Wallace from the Best Start Federation took over as Executive Head of London Fields Primary School in 2007. Ofsted said the Federation had a “profound effect on driving improvement, because it provides the school with an exceptionally high level of expertise”.
Pupils’ achievement was described as “outstanding, not only in their acquisition of literacy and numeracy skills, but also the skills needed to learn effectively. The quality of teaching is consistently excellent across the school.”
Head of School, Caroline Brittain, said, “I am very proud of my school. All the staff work extremely hard and are determined to give the children a first class education. I am pleased for them that this has been acknowledged and I know that the school will continue to grow from strength and strength.”
Horizon School head teacher Kt Khan said, “We are on our way to becoming an outstanding school and are looking forward to being a Centre of Excellence for young people with complex needs.”
Related: