Hallfield Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Hallfield Primary School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have created a nurturing and inclusive environment here. Staff look after pupils well and keep them safe. Pupils have plenty of adults they can talk to if they have any concerns.

Staff are used to new pupils arriving at different points in the school year. They make sure that pupils feel welcomed and ready to join in with school activities.

Pupils understand the one simple school rule, which is to 'be kind'.

They are taught about what this means in different settings, such as in the playground or in lessons. Pupils are well behaved and respectful to others. Staff... praise pupils for positive behaviour and for displaying the 'Hallfield values', such as resilience and independence.

Pupils like achieving 'star of the week' and working together to fill the 'marble jar' for class rewards.

Leaders encourage pupils to be tolerant and to celebrate people's differences and similarities. For example, through the 'Tree of Life' project, pupils explore their own background and culture and compare these to others.

Pupils invented their own rules about what it means to be an autism-friendly school. This helps pupils from the specially resourced provision to feel part of the school's community.

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

Pupils study a wide range of subjects, from Year 1 to Year 6.

They enjoy regular lessons in subjects such as art, computing and Spanish from Year 3. The curriculum is ambitious for all pupils and reflects the aims of the national curriculum. Leaders have considered how pupils' subject-specific knowledge and skills develop over time.

In the early years, staff ensure that children learn the foundational knowledge that they need for future learning. For example, children in Reception learn basic map skills, looking at treasure maps from the book 'Pirate Pete'. This helps them in Year 1 geography when they look at maps of their local area.

Teachers follow the planned curriculum and give pupils opportunities to build on previous learning. For example, in mathematics, teachers revisit place value in each year group.Pupils in Year 5, for example, use this prior learning to help them with their work on decimals.

In geography, pupils in Year 4 drew upon their prior knowledge of continents and oceans when learning about the equator and hemispheres. In most subjects, teachers ensure that pupils remember essential knowledge. For example, in the run up to 'Number Day', pupils practise their times tables in earnest as part of a federation-wide tournament.

Sometimes, leaders have not identified the precise knowledge that they want pupils to learn and remember over time. This means that, sometimes, pupils struggle to recall important knowledge that they have been taught.

Staff use assessment effectively to identify and address gaps in pupils' knowledge.

Leaders make sure that appropriate support is put in place for any pupils who need help with their learning, including language skills. Leaders are quick to identify any pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Teachers adapt learning successfully to help pupils with SEND access the curriculum.

In the specially resourced provision, staff and therapists work together well to tailor learning to each pupil's needs. For example, they use well-selected resources to strengthen pupils' language and communication skills.

Leaders prioritise reading across the school and have introduced a new phonics programme.

In the Nursery and provision for two-year-olds, children explore the different sounds that words make through rhymes and stories before starting to learn phonics in Reception through to Year 2. Pupils have frequent opportunities to practise the sounds that they know through reading and writing activities. Staff support weaker readers to catch up quickly.

Staff are getting used to the school's new phonics programme. Occasionally, they do not adhere to the school's new phonics approach with constancy.

Staff take pupils on a variety of educational outings to enhance learning.

Pupils in Year 2, for example, went to the seaside as part of their geography learning on coastal regions. Pupils have fond memories of various visits to the theatre and museums. Leaders organise a range of extra-curricular clubs, such as art, drama and choir.

Leaders work with local charities to extend the range of clubs on offer. The student council and 'young leaders' in Year 6 spoke proudly of their work to develop an outdoor reading area. Older pupils enjoy working with younger pupils in their role as 'sports leaders'.

Staff feel proud to work here. They are well supported by leaders and enjoy the school's close-knit community. Staff appreciate the opportunities they have for professional development, such as working with the federated partner school.

The governing body provides appropriate support and challenge to ensure that staff continue to give pupils a high-quality education.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

The safeguarding team ensures that pupils' well-being and safety have the highest importance.

Staff log any concerns about pupils, no matter how minor they may seem. This helps leaders to build a detailed picture of pupils' circumstances and alert leaders to signs that pupils may be vulnerable.

Leaders are tenacious in following up concerns.

They make effective use of early help to get families the right support as soon as possible, including those who are refugees or seeking asylum. Leaders offer a range of targeted support to help pupils with their emotional and mental health. This includes individual mentoring and art therapy.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Staff are still getting to grips with the school's recently introduced phonics programme and the approach to teaching phonics. The school should ensure that the new phonics programme is embedded and continue to support staff to deliver it constantly well. ? In some subjects, the school has not identified precisely the most important subject content that pupils need to know and remember over time.

Where this is the case, pupils struggle to recall essential knowledge. The school should continue to develop curriculum thinking to ensure that essential subject knowledge is securely embedded in pupils' long-term memory.Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good.

This is called an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act.

Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in October 2013.