We are Locrating.com, a schools information website. This page is one of our school directory pages. This is not the website of Holywell CofE Primary School.
What is Locrating?
Locrating is the UK's most popular and trusted school guide; it allows you to view inspection reports, admissions data, exam results, catchment areas, league tables, school reviews,
neighbourhood information, carry out school comparisons and much more. Below is some useful summary information regarding Holywell CofE Primary School.
To see all our data you need to click the blue button at the bottom of this page to view Holywell CofE Primary School
on our interactive map.
Pupils enjoy coming to this school. They particularly like reading, mathematics, music and history lessons. Pupils learn more about subjects from educational visits, taking part in sports festivals or having specialist teaching.
Clubs like football, choir and computing also extend their interests.
Children in early years make a positive start to school life. They quickly settle in and engage in learning.
Pupils soon become confident readers. By the time they leave school, most pupils achieve well in national assessments. However, leaders recognise that pupils are capable of even more.
The school has recently started to look at how to help pupils secu...re a deeper understanding across all subjects. This work is starting to have a positive impact but is still in its infancy.
The school provides a safe and harmonious place for pupils to learn.
This is underpinned by its Christian ethos. Pupils like to earn 'value stickers', for example for showing service and respect. Pupils, including in early years, know the rules and routines and follow them.
Pupils know any behaviour incidents are dealt with fairly.
Pupils appreciate that their well-being is prioritised. Trained staff oversee pupils' mental and physical health with care.
Pupils with special educational needs and or/disabilities (SEND) have their academic and social and emotional needs accurately identified.
What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?
The school has recently updated its curriculum to ensure that it is suitably ambitious. Staff are responding positively to the revised content and expectations.
They appreciate that leaders have done this in a way that does not increase staff workload. The curriculum outlines the key knowledge pupils need to know and when. Staff address misconceptions.
There are effective interventions for pupils who need support, including pupils with SEND. However, there is still work to do on ensuring that there is enough clarity about the depth of knowledge pupils need to secure. This means that the work some pupils receive in some subjects is not sufficiently effective in extending their learning even further.
Pupils read widely and often. Younger pupils learn the sounds they need to know to develop reading fluency. All pupils have regular opportunities to practise reading with books matched to their ability.
Most pupils who find reading tricky catch up quickly.
Pupils follow the curriculum as intended. The school checks what pupils have learned and identifies any gaps in knowledge.
Pupils can recall prior learning. However, the detail of this is stronger in some subjects than others. Sometimes, staff do not use the checks on what pupils know already to precisely shape the next steps in pupils' learning.
This means there are occasions when learning activities are not adapted sharply enough to address gaps in knowledge or there are missed opportunities to extend pupils' knowledge beyond what they can already do.
In early years, children are taught how to be independent and caring. Children take responsibility for tidying up the classroom and looking after the class pets.
Staff encourage pupils to be curious and support them to follow their interests. There is a strong focus on developing language and listening skills through stories, songs and rhymes. Pupils become confident in the knowledge of early mathematical concepts.
Every pupil with SEND has a tailored support plan with specific targets. Advice from external professionals is acted on. Leaders check carefully how well pupils with SEND are succeeding.
In most cases, pupils with SEND achieve well. However, in a few cases, work set for them is not closely matched to meet their needs quickly enough.
Most pupils behave well.
Incidents of poor behaviour are few and decreasing. This is due to the school becoming more effective at managing the different needs of pupils. A new behaviour approach has just started.
It is already helping pupils better understand how to manage their thoughts and feelings. Lessons are calm and orderly. Staff are quick to provide behaviour reminders if needed.
The school has been effective in working with families to ensure that pupils also attend school regularly.
There is a well-thought-out personal development programme in place. Pupils learn about different cultures and religions.
They understand about democracy and know that discrimination is wrong. The school's focus on its twelve values in lessons and collective worship means that pupils have regular opportunities to reflect on how to develop their moral compass. They show this in their respectful behaviours.
Throughout the curriculum, including the texts pupils read, pupils are exposed to an appreciation of the diverse world they live in.
Governors offer appropriate challenge and support. Their oversight of safeguarding is effective.
Governors visit school regularly. They are working to develop further strategies to monitor the curriculum as effectively as possible.
Safeguarding
The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
What does the school need to do to improve?
(Information for the school and appropriate authority)
• Work is ongoing to update the curriculum to ensure that it provides sufficient opportunity for pupils to secure in-depth knowledge. This work is still in the early stages. Therefore, there are some instances where pupils are not yet learning with the depth leaders intend.
The school needs to ensure that the curriculum explicitly signposts the depth of knowledge pupils need to remember. Leaders, including governors, need to then ensure that pupils across the school are retaining this depth of knowledge securely. ? In some subjects, some pupils, including some with SEND, are not achieving what they are fully capable of.
Work is not always precisely tailored to meet their specific needs. The school must ensure that all staff know how to adapt learning to support these pupils excel. Leaders, including governors, need to check that work set is suitably matched and sufficiently ambitious for these pupils.
