Hollywell Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Short inspection of Hollywell Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 21 February 2017, I write on behalf of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Education, Children's Services and Skills to report the inspection findings.

The visit was the first short inspection carried out since the school was judged to be good in December 2012. This school continues to be good. The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection.

The school's staffing has remained stable and the ethos of the school has been maintained, creating a caring and supportive atmosphere where pupils can enjoy their learning. Staff members are fully committed to the school and work effe...ctively as a team. Governors are supportive and provide effective challenge to school leaders.

You make sure the school has good resources for pupils to use and enjoy. For example, pupils are enthusiastic readers because the library areas are inviting and well stocked. Pupils have many good-quality texts to choose from.

The new screens in the school entrance area and on the playground are already drawing interest from pupils as they promote healthy lifestyles and pass on information. Pupils have very positive attitudes to learning. They are well motivated to do their best and take pride in their work.

Some pupils explained to me that they have to develop good handwriting and keep their books neat to be awarded a prestigious pen licence. The broad curriculum, organised in themes, sparks their interest and they make good progress as a result. Parents are highly supportive of the school and are very satisfied with the care and opportunities it provides for their children.

They are full of praise for the staff and say their children enjoy coming to school. The recommendations from the last inspection were to continue improving the quality of teaching and to increase the attendance of those pupils who do not always attend regularly. You have successfully maintained good progress for pupils as a result of effective teaching.

There are still a small number of pupils who are persistently absent, but you follow up these absences rigorously and work with external agencies where necessary to support families to improve attendance. Most pupils in key stage 2 make good progress and achieve the standards expected of them for their age. However, in key stage 1 progress is not as rapid and the proportion of pupils who achieve expected standards for their age in phonics and at the end of year 2 is slightly below national averages.

You have identified this as one of your school improvement priorities. Some pupils who are eligible for support via the pupil premium grant do not achieve the standards expected for their age and need to make accelerated progress to catch up with their peers. Although intervention and support is provided, mainly through additional support from teaching assistants, this is not evaluated sharply enough to know what is working most effectively.

Safeguarding is effective. School leaders have ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose and records are detailed and of a high quality. Staff and governors receive training and regular updates to ensure that they are fully aware of the most up-to-date information for keeping children safe.

There is a named governor for safeguarding who regularly monitors procedures and documentation, providing feedback for the governing body about the school's work to safeguard its pupils. The site is secure and well maintained. Pupils are taught how to recognise and manage risk as part of the school's ethos of 'looking after each other'.

The curriculum also includes e-safety, and this is supported by special events such as Safer Internet Day. Inspection findings ? Your school self-evaluation identifies what the school does well and what still needs to improve. You, your staff and the governors are very clear about the school's priorities for improvement.

• You have ensured that teaching remains good and you make regular checks on pupils' progress. Assessment data show that pupils make good progress overall and are working within the standard for their age, and this is reflected in pupils' work. ? Pupils' books are neat and well presented.

Pupils write for different purposes and audiences. They are able to assess their own work against set criteria and can explain the different features they are using in their writing. Mathematics books are neatly set out and show that pupils are developing sound calculation skills.

They are able to use their skills to solve problems in different contexts. Project books show that the standard of work across a range of subjects is consistent. ? Throughout the school, pupils' reading skills are well developed.

A significant proportion of pupils are on track to achieve standards beyond those for their age and this proportion increases as pupils progress through key stage 2. Older pupils read fluently and with confidence. They clearly enjoy reading for pleasure and told me about the 'Ready, Steady, Read' sponsored challenge that encourages pupils to read and raises money for more books.

Pupils also explained that reading is a beneficial leisure activity not only because it is a good way to gain knowledge but it also brings a sense of well-being through enjoyment. ? Phonics is well taught and younger pupils routinely use their phonic knowledge when reading to sound out words they are not sure of. They use similar strategies to spell accurately when they are writing.

• Children start school with variable pre-school experiences, so some do not have the skills and knowledge that are typical for their age. The early years environment is well organised and there are activities that engage and challenge children in all areas of learning. As a result, children settle quickly and make good progress.

• Standards in key stage 1 are not as high as they could be; pupils make steady rather than rapid progress. This is because the pace of learning is not always brisk enough; pupils who finish work are not moved on quickly and therefore do not always make as much progress as they could. ? The rates of progress for disadvantaged pupils vary.

Assessment information is not used sharply enough to evaluate the impact of the support provided. The strategy for the use of the pupil premium grant is not closely aligned to the needs of the specific pupils and so support has not been wholly effective. Next steps for the school Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that: ? the pace of learning in key stage 1 increases so that pupils achieve the standards expected for their age at the end of Year 2 ? the rates of progress for disadvantaged pupils are accelerated by evaluating the impact of support more accurately and ensuring effective use of the pupil premium grant ? attendance improves for the small number of pupils who are persistently absent.

I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children's services for Nottinghamshire. This letter will be published on the Ofsted website. Yours sincerely Jane Salt Ofsted Inspector Information about the inspection During the inspection I carried out a learning walk with you.

We visited all classes and saw some teaching of phonics, literacy and mathematics. I reviewed pupils' books and considered the standard of work and the progress being made by different groups of pupils. I also listened to some pupils read.

I held meetings with you and some members of staff. I also met with two governors. I spoke to a number of parents informally during the inspection and took into account 31 responses to the online parent questionnaire, Parent View.

There were no responses to the online questionnaires from pupils or staff. I reviewed a range of the school's documentation including the school's self-evaluation and improvement plan. I also reviewed some policies and assessment information.

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