Holymead Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Holymead Primary School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud of attending Holymead Primary School. Staff have high aspirations for pupils. The school's values of 'nurture, inspire, achieve' reinforce these expectations.

Pupils thrive, both academically and personally, in this environment.

Pupils feel valued and are enthusiastic about the opportunities to develop their knowledge. Pupils appreciate the variety of experiences they have in the classroom and beyond.

They enjoy sharing what they have learned with visitors and are eager to find out about the lives of others.

Relationships between staff and pupils... are respectful. Pupils are happy and feel safe.

They have confidence in the way that staff manage behaviour. Pupils know that if they have any problems, an adult will listen to them. They say that bullying occasionally happens but, when it does, staff deal with it effectively.

The school provides a variety of experiences for pupils to develop their talents and interests. Pupils are enthusiastic about participating in clubs, such as football, cricket and choir. Older pupils welcome the opportunity to support younger children at play.

This helps them to develop a sense of responsibility.

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

Pupils follow an ambitious curriculum. This begins in Reception and prepares children well for key stage 1.

Pupils enjoy their learning and study a broad range of subjects. Leaders plan visits to local areas of interest to support and enhance the curriculum.

In most subjects, the school has identified the important knowledge that pupils need to learn.

The curriculum is then organised in a way that supports pupils to build their understanding over time. However, in some subjects, the school has not identified exactly what it is that pupils need to know. This does not help pupils to build confidently on what they know already or prepare for what comes next.

The school has carefully considered how best to support children in Reception to learn letters and corresponding sounds. When children first start school, teachers help them to listen to and identify the sounds that start words. They sing songs and nursery rhymes with children to develop their vocabulary.

Staff support them to say and read tricky words. The reading books that children use for practice closely match the sounds they know. As a result, children learn to read confidently.

Those who have fallen behind in their reading are supported to catch up quickly.

A sharp focus on reading runs throughout the school. Teachers read high-quality texts to pupils.

These inspire pupils to read widely. Pupils enjoy the diverse range of books they can choose from the school library and class book corners.

The school is highly inclusive.

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are well supported. Staff receive useful training and additional advice when needed. This means that all pupils learn the intended curriculum.

The school works with a range of external agencies to provide well-planned support for pupils.

Underpinning the curriculum are the carefully considered threads of responsibility, life skills and cultural awareness. The school has engaged with parents and the community in broadening opportunities for pupils to develop more widely.

This a strength of the school. Pupils enjoy learning about a range of cultures that differ from their own. For example, they talk enthusiastically about listening to music from around the globe on World Music Day.

The school ensures that all pupils benefit from the extra-curricular activities on offer. Pupils have a keen sense of citizenship. They are involved in the community and enjoy taking part in events, such as singing at the local 'Christmas switch-on', an annual event.

Pupils have a secure understanding of what is right and wrong. Each classroom contains a class 'Charter,' which sets out pupils' own expectations of behaviour. Pupils appreciate the importance of equality.

They know it is important to be tolerant and celebrate difference.

Staff are proud to be part of the school. They appreciate the consideration given to their well-being and the assistance they receive to manage their workload.

They say that the school has a tangible sense of 'community'.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some foundation subjects, the school has not outlined precisely what it is that pupils need to know and remember.

This means that pupils do not build confidently on what they already know or prepare for what comes next. In these subjects, the school should identify the key curriculum content that will support pupils to build their knowledge over time.

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 May 2018.