Accrington Hyndburn Park Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy coming to Hyndburn Park Primary School.

They try their best to live out the school's vision of dream, believe and achieve. Staff quickly forge trusting relationships with children when they join the school in the early years. Positive relationships between pupils and staff are strengthened further as pupils progress through the school.

Pupils said that they can talk to staff about any worries that they may have. They know that staff will listen carefully to what they have to say. Staff take the time to get to know pupils well.

This helps pupils to feel safe in school.

Leaders have high expectations of pupils, including those with special... educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils live up to these high expectations and focus well on their learning.

This helps them to achieve well.

Pupils explained that they understand that bullying comes in different forms. They said that, if bullying happens, they trust their teachers to deal with it quickly.

Staff ensure that unkind behaviour does not happen again.

Through the curriculum, pupils learn about a range of other faiths and cultures. They understand the importance of tolerance.

Each pupil is extremely proud of their 'park pledge', a record of their personal and wider achievements.

What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Leaders have carefully designed an ambitious curriculum that meets the needs of pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those pupils with SEND. Leaders have constructed subject curriculums so that pupils build logically on the skills and knowledge that they have learned in the early years.

Recently, school leaders have made some changes to how the curriculum is organised. In some subjects, leaders check that teachers deliver these curriculums as intended and that pupils learn and remember earlier content. That said, in a small number of other subjects, leaders do not routinely check how well curriculums are being delivered by staff.

As a result, leaders do not ensure that some teachers receive sufficient guidance to deliver these curriculums as well.

Leaders have put in place effective assessment systems to help teachers to identify learning that pupils may have missed or forgotten. Highly knowledgeable and skilled governors support and challenge school leaders well to make sure that pupils access the curriculum and achieve well.

Staff are trained appropriately to support pupils with SEND. Leaders have effective mechanisms in place to identify pupils' additional needs at the earliest opportunity.This means that staff can provide these pupils with appropriate extra help to learn alongside their classmates.

Leaders have prioritised the teaching of reading throughout school. Staff in all classes read well-chosen books to pupils every day. Staff challenge pupils to read a broad range of texts during their time in school.

Recently, school leaders have introduced a new phonics programme and trained staff appropriately to deliver this well. As a result, there is consistency in the teaching of reading, including in the early years.

In the early years, children enjoy listening to stories and rhymes.

Staff support children to understand the relationships between letters and the sounds that they represent. Staff are skilled in being able to support children and pupils to build on their earlier reading knowledge and become confident and fluent readers. Pupils take home books which match the sounds they have learned in class.

Pupils enjoy taking on additional responsibilities such as being members of the school council or taking on the role of playground buddies and well-being monitors. They learn about other faiths and cultures. This helps them to better understand life in modern Britain.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, pupils enjoyed participating in a wide range of curriculum enrichment experiences to develop their talents and interests. For example, pupils took part in various sporting clubs, gardening, music and art clubs. Leaders are beginning to re-establish some of these clubs.

Nevertheless, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the breadth of curriculum enrichment experiences that pupils have accessed in recent years. As a result, some pupils do not have a wide range of opportunities to develop their talents.

Pupils behave well in lessons.

Teachers can get on with delivering the curriculum without worrying about interruptions. Children in the early years quickly adapt to the high expectations that leaders have of their learning and behaviour. The school environment is calm and purposeful.

Pupils respond positively to instructions from staff.

Staff said that leaders and governors are considerate of their well-being. For example, staff said that leaders have reviewed some of their policies to reduce their workload.

Staff feel valued and appreciated by leaders.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders ensure that staff are trained well so that they understand their responsibilities to keep pupils and children safe.

Staff know how to record and report any safeguarding concerns swiftly. Leaders and staff know pupils and families well. Strong links between leaders and relevant agencies ensure that vulnerable pupils and their families receive appropriate support.

Pupils are taught how to keep themselves safe online and both in and out of school. They are confident who to turn to if they need help. Pupils know that they can talk with staff or their peer 'well-being monitors'.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, leaders have not reintroduced some aspects of the personal development curriculum. As a result, some pupils do not have enough opportunities to develop further their sporting and artistic skills and abilities. Leaders should ensure that these pupils have enough opportunities to hone their talents and interests.

• In a small number of subjects, where leaders have made changes to the curriculum, they have not checked on how well these changes are being implemented by all teachers. This means that, in these subjects, some teachers do not receive sufficient guidance to deliver these curriculums as intended. Leaders should ensure that teachers benefit from appropriate support to deliver amended curriculums consistently well.