A SCHOOL’S commitment to improving standards for pupils has been recognised after they received a county award.

Barley School has received the Hertfordshire Quality Standards (HQS) award, and the team from the school collected their prize – a certificate and teddy bear – at a celebration evening held at the Hertfordshire Development Centre in Stevenage.

The HQS is a county council-led scheme which encourages schools to improve and develop their practice, and early years staff at Barley have been working on their application for more than a year.

Class teacher Della Gibson explained: “Taking on the HQS over the last 12 months has been a challenge, and as a team we had to take time to reflect and be honest with ourselves about areas of our work that could be improved.

“We listened to the children in our care, and their parents. We also received external advice during assessment visits and acted on this to improve our setting in order to benefit the children and to make future plans.”