Howes Community Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud of Howes Community Primary School. They feel safe and know that the adults in school care for them. The school's values of showing friendship, respect, integrity, equality, nurture and determination are understood by all.

The school has aspiration for everyone, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). However, the curriculum is not yet fully developed in all subjects. Pupils do not yet benefit from a high enough quality of education in a number of curriculum subjects.

Pupils behave well around school. They help and support each other. Pupils enjoy taking on responsibilities and know that they have a voice which is li...stened to.

For example, the school council requested the outdoor gym which helps pupils to keep fit and healthy.

Pupils value the role of Roux the 'dog mentor', which includes spending time with pupils who might struggle with some aspects of school life. This boost pupils' confidence and helps them to develop life skills.

Many pupils enjoy the range of lunchtime and after-school clubs. From dance to 'knit and natter', pupils are offered opportunities to develop talents and discover new interests.

Parents and staff are very positive about the school.

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

There have been recent changes to the school, which in many aspects have improved pupils' experiences.

The school prioritised improving early years. Here, children get off to a strong start.

Activities are chosen carefully to develop children's vocabulary and interests. They delight, for example, in driving recycling trucks, collecting 'rubbish' and sorting it into different containers. Potential barriers to learning are quickly identified and the school supplements activities to meet children's individual needs, including where pupils speak English as an additional language.

A new phonics scheme is in place and staff are trained to deliver it. While there are some small inconsistencies in some phonics lessons, pupils enjoy learning how to read. This starts in Nursery, where children learn to hear, and make, the sounds they will need when beginning to read.

Regular checking on pupils' reading means that those at risk of falling behind are identified. Extra support is put in place to help them to catch up.

The school has overhauled the curriculum in other subjects.

For example, in physical education (PE) and mathematics, what pupils are to learn has been identified clearly.The curriculum is well sequenced so that pupils can build on what they have learned previously. Pupils in Year 5, for instance, use their previous learning about methods of addition when solving problems.

While improvements in core subjects are apparent, they have not yet had the necessary impact on pupils' outcomes in national assessments.

This more successful approach is not yet consistent across the curriculum. In some foundation subjects, the school has not identified clearly enough what pupils are to learn and how they are to build on this progressively.

As a result, pupils in several year groups study the same work at the same time, with the same outcomes. Some lessons are organised so that learning becomes confused between different subjects. At other times, pupils do not have opportunities to practise skills they have learned.

While the school knows that there is work to be done to continue to develop the curriculum in these subjects, it has not recognised the extent of the deficiencies.

The attendance of some groups of pupils has improved. The school has implemented measures to bring about improvements.

However, the number of pupils, including vulnerable pupils, who are persistently absent is too high and increasing. This means that these pupils miss important aspects of their education.

This is an inclusive school.

The additional resource provision for hearing impaired pupils provides a nurturing environment and skilful support to enable pupils to access much of their learning alongside their classmates. Pupils are proud to share the 'poster prompts' around school which help them to learn British Sign Language. Other pupils with SEND are well supported to access the curriculum.

Their needs are quickly identified, and they are fully included in all aspects of school life.

Pupils benefit from a range of opportunities for personal development. Voting for school councillors provides pupils with an understanding of life in modern Britain.

Pupils learn about keeping safe, including online. They have a clear understanding of other cultures and faiths. Opportunities such as inter-school sporting competitions and public choir performances allow pupils to shine.

There is a strong sense of community amongst the staff team, who are all very proud to work at 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 some foundation subjects, the curriculum is still being developed.

The important and distinct skills and knowledge pupils need to learn in each of these subjects and how pupils' learning will progress across year groups have not been identified sufficiently well. Where this is the case, pupils experience disjointed learning with few opportunities to build on their learning over time. The school needs to ensure that there is a well-planned, progressive and well-sequenced curriculum in place for every foundation subject.

• The school had not identified the extent of the deficiencies in the curriculum for some subjects. As a result, they have not identified that pupils are not achieving high-quality outcomes. The school should ensure that they evaluate the curriculum effectively and that this impacts positively on pupils' achievement of high-quality outcomes.

• The percentage of pupils who are persistently absent from school is too high and has increased over time. This means that a significant number of pupils, including some who are the most vulnerable, miss large periods of their learning. The school should ensure that they continue to explore how they can support pupils who are persistently absent so that they attend school more often.