Harrogate's New Park Primary Academy celebrates glowing Ofsted report

What a year it's been for Harrogate's New Park Primary Academy - the school has secured £1 million in funding to transform its buildings, and now Ofsted has rated the school '˜good' across all areas in their latest inspection report.
Headteacher Robert Mold with pupils at the community farm, celebrating the school's glowing Ofsted report.Headteacher Robert Mold with pupils at the community farm, celebrating the school's glowing Ofsted report.
Headteacher Robert Mold with pupils at the community farm, celebrating the school's glowing Ofsted report.

The school has also been busy spearheading a number of new innovative projects, including a community farm - which aims to get pupils thinking more about where their food has come from.

The £1 million funding awarded to the school will be used to replace the roof and windows across all the buildings, adding to a raft of improvements that have already been made - including the refurbishment of the school’s reception area, and creating new toilets, a meeting room and a foyer space.

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New Park has also invested heavily in early years provision, completing a full renovation of the nursery and reception classrooms and the outdoor area.

Welcoming the school’s Ofsted report from the inspection carried out in September, headteacher Robert Mold said: “This is a fantastic achievement for the school, the staff, and the community that we are part of.

“This improvement in standards across the school has national significance. Very few schools are able to show such rapid progress, and we are determined to maintain these high standards for all our children.

“I am immensely proud of the staff team at New Park. They have embraced the changes we put in place last year, and have proven themselves a highly skilled, dedicated, and caring group of professionals.

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“And of course the job is never finished, and there are many exciting projects that we are embarking on this year. I am confident that we will never be a school that sits on its laurels, and we will continually strive to be the best in all that we do, for all of our children.”

Although the school’s community farm hasn’t been up and running for long, it’s already been well-received by pupils, staff and the wider Harrogate community. It already has rescue hens, and pigs and pygmy goats will be arriving any day now.

Mr Mold said: “The reaction’s been really positive, and it’s really important to us that we work closely with the community on a project like this. I think the potential that we have got here in our small school to have an impact in the community is really exciting.

“We just want to use all of the spaces and available land that we do have to its full potential.”

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Mr Mold said the school has big plans to transform its former dining hall, currently used as a storage room, into a thriving community centre and family learning space - a project that will form part of the £1 million renovations.

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