Haselworth Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

This is a school full of happy pupils. Everyone is welcoming, which helps new pupils to settle in quickly.

Across the school, pupils have strong relationships with the kind and caring school staff. Pupils know that if they have any worries, they can talk to a trusted adult who will help them.

The school has high ambition for all pupils and has prioritised making improvements to the quality of education pupils receive.

Some of this work, including curriculum improvement, has only recently been introduced. This means pupils do not achieve as well as they should in all subjects.

The school has high expectations for pupils' behaviour which are clearly li...nked to the well-known values.

Pupils live up to these expectations and show respect to others. They are enthusiastic in lessons and keen to learn. Over breaktimes and lunchtimes, pupils enjoy physical activities with balls and hoops or playing chess and card games with their friends.

Parents and carers receive regular and useful information about their child's learning through the school's online learning platform. This two-way process establishes strong lines of communication, where parents can also share and celebrate their children's achievements outside school.

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

This small school has experienced periods of instability in terms of its leadership and staffing.

This has affected the capacity of the school to bring about improvement. As a result, pupils' academic achievements are variable and particularly low in mathematics and writing. There is now a settled staff team demonstrating the knowledge and determination to drive necessary improvement.

Recent changes show a positive impact.

Children in the early years benefit from familiar routines and, as a result, are happy and settled. There is a strong focus on supporting children to develop their language and communication skills.

Teaching staff model and encourage appropriate grammar and sentence structure. Children show high levels of independence and resilience with their learning and linked activities. They choose their resources carefully and help with tidying up.

Teaching staff skilfully and subtly support children so they are successful when working as a team and when problem-solving.

The school has a clear focus on teaching reading. As a result, pupils' reading is strengthening.

Staff are trained to teach pupils how to read using a phonics-based approach. This begins in early years, where children have an increasing understanding of letter sounds and formations. They use this knowledge to write simple signs and labels in their environment.

As pupils move through the school, they have opportunities to develop their comprehension skills. However, some older pupils who need extra help do not always have access to reading books at the right level.

There have been recent improvements made to the content of the English and mathematics curriculum.

However, the impact of these changes is not fully realised. This is because pupils have gaps and misconceptions in their learning which are not identified and addressed. Sometimes, pupils struggle with their new learning as they do not have a secure knowledge and skill base to build on.

The school is in the process of establishing systems to review the impact of recent improvements, but this work is not complete.

There are clear and accurate processes in place to identify pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils are well supported with their emotional regulation and well-being.

However, across the curriculum, pupils are sometimes expected to complete tasks and activities which do not contribute clearly to their learning. This lack of precision negatively affects pupils' learning, including those with SEND.

Pupils behave well.

They contribute to the creation of class charters. This means they know the expected learning behaviours. The school's values are well understood by all.

Pupils know the benefits of showing self-belief and resilience in their learning. Those pupils who need additional support in managing their emotions receive it.

The school carefully considers pupils' personal development.

They benefit from their interactions with local groups and services. These include the nearby church, local secondary schools, lifeboat and fire services. There are many sporting opportunities for pupils to participate in, including fencing and family bike-riding sessions.

Pupils take pride in their achievements at a recent cricket festival.

Members of the governing body are well informed. They understand the school's strengths and what needs to improve with urgency.

They have provided stability during unsettled times. The school staff appreciate their training opportunities, including targeted support and development provided by the local authority.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Staff are not identifying or addressing pupils' errors and misconceptions well enough. This makes it difficult for pupils to build on what they know when new subject content is introduced. The school should develop teachers' expertise in spotting gaps in knowledge and then making appropriate adaptations so that pupils move on with their learning.

• The delivery of the intended curriculum often includes weak task design. This means pupils cannot achieve the learning intention. The school should continue to develop teachers' expertise in delivering the curriculum as intended.

• The impact of recent changes to curriculum content has not been evaluated. This means leaders do not know how well pupils are learning. Leaders should continue to embed their monitoring and assessment procedures so they can check pupils are prepared for their next educational steps.

Also at this postcode