Herne Hill School, London Herne Hill School, London
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Two reception children working with their teacher
Latest ISI inspection

Continued strong endorsement

The latest in-depth ISI inspection of June 2024 has once again delivered a strong endorsement of Herne Hill School’s ethos, staff, curriculum, modus operandi, facilities and resources. We recommend reading the inspectors’ findings in detail to gain a comprehensive picture of our provision.
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As a long-standing member of the Independent Schools Association (ISA), one of the associations making up the Independent Schools Council (ISC), Herne Hill School is regularly inspected by the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI), which is approved and monitored by the Department for Education.

June 2024 ‘Full Educational Oversight Inspection’

On Monday morning 10 June 2024, our Headteacher Ngaire Telford was informed that a team of five ISI inspectors would be coming to school the next day to carry out a Full Educational Oversight Inspection under the new inspection ‘Framework 23’, which was introduced in September 2023. Under this framework, a single routine inspection about every three to four years combines looking at both educational quality in its broadest sense and regulatory compliance with the Independent Schools Standards,

Over the ensuing three days, the inspectors scrutinised all aspects of our provision by carrying out an extensive review of our processes, documentation and records; numerous first-hand lesson and other observations; interviews with school leaders, staff and pupils; as well as analysis of confidential survey responses from as many as 171 parents and 46 staff. 

Their report has just been released and will be available publicly on the ISI website from 11 September 2024. We invite you to read it in detail so that you could ascertain for yourself the strong endorsement the inspectors delivered of our ethos, staff, curriculum, modus operandi, facilities and resources.

Please note that under the Framework 23, ISI no longer provide overall judgments/grades such as the previous ‘excellent’, ‘good’, ‘sound’ or ‘unsatisfactory’. Instead, they provide detailed, nuanced evaluations and reporting on four sections. The extent to which a school can meet the relevant standards of any section is at best ‘met’ – and we have indeed ‘met’ all standards.

Highlights from the June 2024 inspection report

The rich descriptions provided by the inspectors in all four sections paint a comprehensive picture of our provision, and we highly suggest reading their findings in full. To gain a quick overview, you can also see below the first paragraph(s) of each of the four sections. 

  • Leaders have the necessary knowledge, skills and understanding to carry out their responsibility to actively promote the wellbeing of pupils and ensure that the Standards are met consistently. Leaders place their shared aims and values as a specialist provider of early years education at the centre of strategic planning. They use relevant research and thorough evaluation of the school’s current strengths and areas for development to inform changes, including the continuous evolution of early years practice.

  • The school’s aims and ethos, as illustrated through the ‘golden rules’, are reflected in curriculum policy and implemented through careful planning. Curriculum plans do not discriminate and consider the needs of pupils. The decision taken by leaders to have topics such as ‘time detectives’ across the whole school at the same time has provided a structure that enables teachers to link their teaching to inspirational stimuli.

  • Leaders and teachers routinely consult with pupils of all ages about which topics they would like to learn about. They match these preferences to the curriculum plans, integrating concepts such as the water cycle and non-fiction writing about habitats of sea creatures. Topic-based individual and collaborative projects in art develop aesthetic and creative understanding. As a result, pupils are highly engaged in their learning and make good progress in lessons.
  • Pupils in Years 1, 2 and children in the early years develop a wide range of physical skills and coordination due to carefully planned and regular outdoor activities, including climbing, water play, sand play and painting. They participate in these activities with confidence and when met with activities not going to plan, they adapt with resilience. Teachers are on hand to support and intervene when appropriate, allowing the children to develop physical skills and emotional resilience.

  • Leaders have integrated the golden rules across the school. Adults model the language of these rules and the moral attitudes they embrace. Pupils of all ages understand what the rules mean, and the vast majority follow them. As a result, pupils behave well towards each other. When low-level behavioural issues such as calling out occur in lessons, teachers respond gently and calmly, reminding pupils of the relevant golden rule and encouraging changes in behaviour. Incidents are recorded and potential trends explored to identity next steps, which can include additional staff training.
  • Role play areas support ‘real life’ practice for children in the early years, developing their understanding of key aspects of life such as sharing and negotiation. Children problem-solve, work collaboratively and ask for help when needed.
  • Pupils of all ages are curious about the world around them. Adults foster caring and nurturing relationships with children and model how to act in social situations. Pupils mix regularly and comfortably with peers. They take turns and wait patiently for their turn, understanding that not everyone can have a go at the same time. They co-operate with each other to achieve common goals and are supportive when managing success or disappointment. Leaders make sure pupils develop curiosity about the world through curriculum opportunities such as science and assemblies.

March 2020 ‘Focused Compliance and Educational Quality Inspection’

For an additional historic perspective on the consistency of our provision, you can also view below the last ‘Focused Compliance and Educational Quality Inspection’ carried out in March 2020 under the previous inspection framework.

The inspectors had determined that Herne Hill School was fully compliant with all regulatory standards and awarded our provision the highest possible outcome of ‘excellent’ in all categories: “The quality of the pupils’ academic and other achievements is excellent, as is the quality of their personal development.”

Please note that at the time, whilst having continuously provided for Kindergarten aged children since the school’s foundation in 1976, we did not yet have our dedicated Kindergarten facilities at 99 Herne Hill, which opened in summer 2021. We believe that 99 Herne Hill’s highly conducive pedagogical environment has enabled a further step-function improvement in our provision from what was already ‘excellent’.