Welcome  

On behalf of the children and staff I would like to welcome you to Hollybush Primary School.  I am very proud of our beautiful school learning environment, our newly launched curriculum and the high standards of personal development and behaviour achieved by our children.  The school values of ‘nurture, respect, and aspire’ underpin our strong and positive school ethos and are the foundation of the school,  We are delighted that the 2021 Ofsted inspection team recognised this:  

Hollybush Primary School is a happy and welcoming school. Pupils feel safe here. The chosen values of ‘nurture, respect, aspire’ promote a sense of caring for others and prioritise mental well-being.” Ofsted September 2021.  

Hollybush Primary school is committed to sustainability and contributing positively to the community and the environment   We know that sustainability and awareness of protecting the future of the environment is important to our pupils and awareness of the world and global issues is threaded through our curriculum.  In 2021 we were the first of 12 schools in Leeds to complete the solar for schools project with an ambitious installation of solar panels that will work towards making Hollybush carbon neutral. 

My aim as Headteacher is for the school’s nurturing ethos to build resilience and wellbeing to underpin children’s perseverance, progress and aspiration for the future.   

“Teachers develop strong relationships with children and have taken time to ensure that they [children]  are settled and happy in school.” Ofsted, September 2021, 

“Behaviour has been transformed at Hollybush. The school environment is calm and purposeful. Teachers have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour. Pupils are polite and respectful.” Ofsted September 2021. 

We are proud of our newly launched curriculum, which is based on first hand visits and experiences to inspire children’s interest and develop broad and rich knowledge, skills and ambitious vocabulary. The curriculum is also designed to strengthen children’s identity and sense of place.  This was recognised and celebrated by Ofsted in 2021:   

‘…visits to places such as Kirkstall Abbey or the River Aire develop pupils’ knowledge and a sense of pride and belonging to Leeds. Teachers encourage pupils to build on this knowledge when learning about other locations in the wider world.” Ofsted September 2021. 

At Hollybush we are very excited about the new broad and ambitious Early Years curriculum launched in October 2021 to take children into year 1 and beyond. We were already working on this new curriculum at the time of the September 2021 inspection and the curriculum has now been fully launched with support from governors including our local councillor.   

“Teachers develop strong relationships with children and have taken time to ensure that they are settled and happy in school.”  Ofsted September 2021. 

This promises to strengthen the great work that is already taking place in Early years and we were delighted that that the inspection team observed how safe, happy and settled children are in Early Years, and the effectiveness of our Early Years learning environment.  

"Children feel safe and happy in early years. Teachers develop strong relationships with children and have taken time to ensure that they are settled and happy in school."  (Ofsted September 2021) 

"Much has been done to organise an effective learning environment both in Nursery and Reception. The children are settled and happy, (Ofsted September 2021) 

We very much look forward to welcoming you to our school,

Mrs Haddon  

Acting Headteacher