Hawsker Cum Stainsacre Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Hawsker Cum Stainsacre Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Hawsker Cum Stainsacre Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School is an inclusive, welcoming place for all pupils to learn. When new pupils join the school, they settle quickly and soon feel part of the school's family. Positive and respectful relationships between adults and pupils are seen across the school.

Leaders have high expectations for all pupils. The school's behaviour policy, written in consultation with parents and carers as well as the school council, sets out clearly how pupils should conduct themselves. It is we...ll understood by staff and pupils, who say that behaviour has improved since its introduction.

Pupils behave well. Classrooms are calm, settled places for pupils to work. At breaktimes, pupils enjoy exploring the vast amount of space available to them.

They play well and safely with pupils of different ages.

Pupils told inspectors that bullying does not happen. Leaders' records show that this is the case.

Leaders and staff are vigilant to signs of potential bullying. They act swiftly to address changes in patterns of behaviour. Pupils know that they can speak to an adult if they have a worry or concern.

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

Since the arrival of the headteacher, leaders have reviewed and improved the school's curriculum. Leaders identified weaknesses in the school's previous curriculum which did not support pupils to know more and remember more over time. As a consequence, in some subjects, pupils have gaps in their learning.

Leaders have adopted a systematic approach to address curriculum weaknesses. They have developed most curriculum subjects since their arrival. Their actions are having a positive impact on pupils' learning.

Leaders prioritise the teaching of reading in the school. All teachers and teaching assistants have been trained in the teaching of phonics. They support pupils effectively to learn how to read.

Pupils read books that match their phonic knowledge. They learn to read with increasing fluency and accuracy from an early stage. Leaders use assessments to identify gaps in pupils' phonic knowledge.

They provide timely support that meets pupils' needs. Leaders have identified key texts for pupils to study as they progress through the school. Over time, pupils experience a range of genres and authors.

They enjoy finding new books to read on the reading swap trolley.

Teachers' strong subject knowledge in most subjects enables pupils' misconceptions to be addressed quickly. Leaders recognise that some subjects, such as design and technology, are at an early stage of development.

In these subjects, staff are not confident to teach some curriculum content. To address this, leaders have introduced commercial schemes to support teaching. Teachers have used these schemes to improve their own subject knowledge.

Children in Reception gain a secure understanding of counting to 20, with many exploring beyond this. Activities provide plentiful opportunities to explore number and early mathematical concepts. During the inspection, children used containers well to investigate their capacity, using the language of 'full' and 'not full'.

Teachers adapt the curriculum well for the mixed-age classes. Pupils in mixed-age classes complete tasks that challenge and support their learning at an age-appropriate level. For instance, during the inspection, pupils in key stage 1 investigated vehicles and axles.

At the same time, children in Reception designed and painted a large fire engine. Adults used this time to explore what the children had learned following a recent visit to the local fire station.

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) benefit from the school's nurturing approach.

Staff know pupils well and adapt the curriculum to meet their needs. Leaders have identified pupils' barriers to learning and have strategies in place to address these. However, the small steps required to support pupils with SEND have not been clearly identified for pupils or adults.

As a consequence, some pupils with SEND do not benefit from support that precisely meets their needs.

Governors know the school well. They have prioritised key areas of development for the school and check the progress of these regularly.

Governors consider the impact of their decisions on staff workload. They take action to prevent staff becoming overwhelmed by changes in school.

Pupils develop a respectful understanding of other faiths and cultures.

They recently learned about, and took part in, Eid celebrations. Most pupils attend the extra-curricular clubs on offer. Pupils carry out leadership roles such as school councillor, respect ambassador and worship leader responsibly.

They organise fundraising events for charity and participate in local celebration events in Whitby. Pupils are proud to be members of, and represent, their school.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders have established a strong culture of safeguarding in the school. Staff are alert to the principle that 'it could happen here'. Training and regular updates for staff enable them to remain vigilant to concerns raised by pupils, parents and staff.

Leaders conduct thorough checks of adults to make sure that they are suitable to work with pupils. They use statutory guidance appropriately and consider it in the context of the school.

The school's personal, social and health education curriculum teaches pupils how to keep physically and mentally healthy.

Leaders have identified contextual risks for pupils, such as water safety and how to stay safe online. Pupils learn about these topics regularly.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Leaders have not precisely identified the small steps of progress that pupils with SEND need to make.

Actions are too broad and do not inform teachers how they can support pupils in their next steps in learning. Leaders should ensure that the important steps that pupils with SEND need to take are known by teachers and pupils. ? Some subjects are not as established as others.

In these less-established subjects, there are gaps in pupils' learning. Leaders should continue their work to refine the curriculum so that pupils benefit from learning the important knowledge that leaders have identified.

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 June 2013.