Highfield Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Highfield Primary School has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at Highfield Primary School learn about the importance of 'safety, caring, achievement, resilience and friendship.' They understand these values and live by them every day.

Pupils benefit from positive relationships with staff. They trust that staff will help them with any concerns that they may have. Pupils feel, and are kept, safe.

The school prioritises pupils' well-being. Pupils benefit from high-quality pastoral care. As a result, the school is a harmonious and happy place.

The school has high expec...tations and offers all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), an ambitious curriculum. Pupils are keen to live up to the high expectations of their teachers. They enjoy their learning and most achieve well across the curriculum.

Pupils' behaviour and attitudes to their education are excellent. In lessons, they listen carefully, take pride in their work, and strive to do their best. At playtimes, pupils enjoy playing together.

Pupils benefit from a rich set of activities, including visits to the local area and residential trips to support their wider learning. They have lots of opportunities for leadership in school, such as house captains, eco-warriors, and school council.

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

The school prioritises reading.

The early years environment includes many opportunities for children to use letters and language. Pupils who are at an early stage of learning to read get the support they require to read with confidence. The school recognises that there is still some work to do to ensure the impact of the reading curriculum is consistently strong.

However, pupils are already benefiting from a coherent approach. This helps them to swiftly develop their phonics knowledge and develop a love of reading.

The school regularly reviews their curriculum to ensure it meets the needs of all pupils, including those with SEND.

In most subjects, the school has carefully identified the knowledge and skills that pupils should learn over time from the early years to Year 6. In a small number of subjects, this is less well defined. The school is still in the process of evaluating the impact of the curriculum.

As a result, in these subjects, some pupils' recall of what they have been taught is not as secure as it could be, and some do not achieve as highly as they could.

Staff promote high-quality conversations in classrooms. Typically, teachers explain concepts clearly and make careful checks on pupils' learning.

This helps them to identify and quickly address any gaps or misconceptions that arise. The school's focus on developing pupils' subject-specific writing skills and handwriting means that pupils' work is of a very high quality across the school. Pupils are exceptionally proud of their efforts.

Pupils with SEND receive the additional support that they need to progress well through the curriculum.

The school has developed clear rules and routines that help to create positive, calm classrooms. This starts at the beginning of the early years, where staff support children to develop useful learning behaviours, such as turn taking.

As a result, pupils can focus on their learning.

Attendance and punctuality are a very high priority at Highfield. Leaders thoroughly analyse the causes of any absence and work closely with families, and external partners, to successfully bring about improvements.

The school prepares pupils well for their future lives. It teaches them the importance of good physical and mental health. Pupils understand what constitutes a healthy relationship and how to communicate how they feel from an early age.

Pupils learn to challenge a range of stereotypes. From the early years, pupils use the school grounds to grow seasonal food. Pupils can attend a broad range of clubs to develop musical, artistic, and sporting talents.

Governors bring expertise to their roles and know the school well. They have supported the school in making changes to increase the ambition of the curriculum. Governors share the school's vision for continual improvement.

Their approach to school improvement is well considered. In nearly all areas, published results are improving and, in most cases, are in line with national results. Leaders consider the impact of school changes on staff workload.

For example, staff were consulted on recent changes to the marking and feedback policy. As a result of this collaborative ethos, staff feel valued and well supported by the school.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In a small number of subjects, the impact of the school's curriculum is not as strong as it could be. This means that, in these subjects, some pupils do not build on their knowledge and skills over time as well as they could. The school must continue its work to design and implement these subjects well so that pupils know more and remember more across all subjects.

Background

Until September 2024, on a graded (section 5) inspection we gave schools an overall effectiveness grade, in addition to the key and provision judgements. Overall effectiveness grades given before September 2024 will continue to be visible on school inspection reports and on Ofsted's website. From September 2024 graded inspections will not include an overall effectiveness grade.

This school was, before September 2024, judged to be good for its overall effectiveness.

We have now inspected the school to determine whether it has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at that previous inspection. 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's work has improved significantly or that it may not be as strong as it was at the last inspection, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection. A graded inspection 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 for overall effectiveness in July 2015.

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