Holtsmere End Infant and Nursery School Achieves Flagship Status

April 28, 2026

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Holtsmere End Infant and Nursery School is a mixed school in South Hertfordshire with a warm and welcoming atmosphere, a large playground, a playing field, an outside learning area, and a Forest School. The school is well supported and regarded within the community and offers well-attended provision before and after school hours.

The staff and senior leaders welcome pupils daily, showing every child that they are a valued member of the school community. Staff engage with pupils on an individual level, commenting on changes and hobbies and showing interest. Connection is a central part of the school and Holtsmere End cultivates connection with pupils and families, fostering a strong inclusive environment.

Parents are well engaged and welcome, appreciating what the school does to support children. This is a testament to how staff, pupils and parents feel about being part of Holtsmere End. One family had recently moved from another area and could see the difference in care and understanding.  They felt immediately welcomed and their challenges were acknowledged. They were signposted for internal and external support.

Safe, calm and ready to learn

Pupils feel safe, calm and ready to learn. They are clear on issues such as bullying and are good at supporting and helping one another to regulate. They benefit from a range of activities such as the Together Team at breaktime, an indoor playtime provision with Lego, drawing, and music, and outdoors adult led team games. Holtsmere End provides clubs before and after school, engaging pupils with a wide range of interests from cooking to rock band.

Environments across the school are enabling, purposeful, focused, structured, and aim to develop the whole child. The entire school is attuned to meeting the needs of pupils. Reception pupils are clear on where to go on arrival, with learning stations clearly planned and pupil names on each, allowing for the start of the day to be calm and showing the enabling environment of the school. All the pupils knew where to be and how to be, bringing a sense of safety and belonging. The classrooms are uncluttered, and all resources are accessible.  The Wandle-Land Room is well resourced and ready.  The school understands that for inclusion, they needed to look at where pupils are being taught as well as how. Pupils access support, coaching and guidance both within lessons and outside, in a way which encourages growth.

Training and continuing professional development are prioritised, with staff ready to meet varying needs and confident at adapting lessons and spaces to individual pupils. Adaptable programs of learning are implemented particularly strongly for Maths and English, with opportunities for tailored pre-teaching, live marking and assessment sheets. Teachers know both their pupils and the curriculum well and can use this extensive knowledge to use a variety of strategies and approaches.

Developing SEND Environments

Holtsmere End has worked with deliberate commitment to ensure that their SEND Blossom provision would be successful. Staff collaborated with the Hertfordshire SEND team and a local specialist school to design a provision which ensures that children have the best possible opportunity to achieve. The Forest School and outdoor learning team were part of the plan, working to run an outdoor session for the Blossom provision weekly.

The school learnt from the Blossom provision, developing the Cherry Tree Provision, a hybrid provision. The room is light, low stimulus, well resourced, purposeful and makes a difference to learning, with children transitioning between mainstream and the Cherry Tree provision and partaking in activities which help them regulate and relax. The space is calm and uncluttered and there are learning stations which are designed to meet the complex needs of pupils.

Proactive and dedicated

Holtsmere End Infant and Nursery has plans to continue the Cherry Tree Provision, integrating it with other developments in the school, such as becoming a Little Wandle Champion school. The provision has great potential to continue to grow and develop with hybrid learning and further interventions for vulnerable learners.

Holtsmere End Infant and Nursery is ambitious, proactive and dedicated. They are transparent and open and committed to continuous improvement and inclusion. The school works with outside agencies and ensures that strategies and approaches support learner needs. They are actively working to engage families and pupils and give them access to wonderful opportunities. They should be extremely proud of continuing to hold the IQM Flagship Award and work as a champion of inclusivity.