Horn’s Mill Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

The school is highly ambitious for the achievement of pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

The academic, personal, social and emotional support that the school provides contributes strongly to how well pupils achieve.

Pupils enjoy coming to school. They described it as a big family.

There are strong relationships between pupils and staff. Pupils are polite and well mannered. They speak confidently and articulately with visitors.

Pupils are proud of the positive contribution that they make to their school and to the wider community. For example, they enjoy litter picking at the loc...al park, in partnership with the parish council.

Classrooms are calm and purposeful.

This allows pupils to do their best in lessons. Pupils are inquisitive and display highly positive attitudes towards their learning.

Pupils have a very well-developed understanding of equality and diversity.

They revel in their many responsibilities, including as head pupils or members of the school council. A rich variety of visits and after-school activities enhances pupils' learning across the curriculum. For example, during the inspection, pupils were thoroughly engaged in rehearsals for a musical extravaganza.

Pupils also spoke with pride at their involvement in a mathematics competition at the local high school.

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

Children get off to a flying start in the Reception class. The provision for children's development in the early years is exceptional.

Staff know children well and establish excellent routines that support children's learning very well. The curriculum is highly ambitious and designed to engage children, who are inspired to learn and focus well. Children use their mathematical and phonics knowledge confidently and fluently.

They relish talking about and explaining the work that they are doing. They are very well prepared for their move into key stage 1. The school builds highly positive relationships with parents and carers from the start of the children's learning journey.

The school has designed an ambitious curriculum that meets the needs of the diverse school population. The governing body has effective systems to support and challenge the school to further improve the quality of education that pupils receive.

The curriculum carefully sets out the knowledge and vocabulary that pupils should learn across all year groups.

However, in a few subjects, it is less clear what pupils should achieve by the end of each topic. This hinders teachers from knowing what pupils should know and be able to do. This makes it difficult for teachers to build on pupils' prior knowledge.

Staff have secure subject knowledge. In most subjects, they use effective strategies that enable pupils to secure and recall their learning. For example, additional teaching and revisiting prior learning in many subjects help pupils to build a secure understanding of new concepts.

Teachers check that pupils have understood what has been taught.

Typically, pupils progress well through the subject curriculums. They achieve well overall.

However, the high absence rates of some pupils have a negative impact on how well they learn. The school knows the barriers that prevent some pupils from attending regularly. It works effectively with families to ensure that pupils are in school and learning all that they should.

There is high ambition for pupils with SEND. The school ensures that these pupils are swiftly identified. Pupils receive effective support during lessons so that they can access the same curriculum as their peers.

Reading is an important part of school life. Well-trained staff deliver the phonics programme effectively. They quickly identify pupils who may need additional support.

Pupils, from the start of the Reception Year, accurately learn the sounds that they are taught. They use their phonics knowledge to help them confidently read unfamiliar words. Older pupils develop their fluency further to become successful, independent readers.

Pupils' behaviour is excellent. They follow routines impeccably. Pupils are resilient when faced with challenges, and they work hard during lessons.

Pupils are determined and focused.

The programme to support pupils' personal development is exceptional. Pupils become confident individuals, with a strong sense of moral and social purpose.

For example, they value the opportunities to work and sing with pupils from other schools. The school shares news stories with pupils to help them gain a deep understanding of events that happen around the world. Pupils know how to keep themselves healthy.

In addition, they have a strong understanding of how to keep themselves safe when online. The school encourages pupils to celebrate difference and to feel empowered to be who they want to be.

Staff are proud to work at the school.

They feel well supported. For example, staff worked collaboratively to design the curriculum. This helped to reduce their workload.

Positive teamwork permeates the school. Parents and carers are overwhelmingly full of praise for the nurturing approach taken 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 few subjects, the endpoints that the curriculum is building towards are not clearly defined. This hinders teachers from designing learning that helps pupils to build on their prior learning. In these subjects, the school should set out what pupils are expected to know by the end of each topic so that they can build their knowledge over time.

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