Hunsley Primary

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

Hunsley Primary continues to be a good school.

The headteacher of this school is Lucy Hudson. This school is part of The Education Alliance, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school.

The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Jonny Uttley, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Karen Dow.

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are sociable and friendly at Hunsley Primary. They greet visitors with a smile and a warm welcome.

Leaders have created a positive culture for attendance. Pupils' attendance is high. They enjoy coming to school.

The school has high expectations for pupils' learning a...nd behaviour. Pupils benefit from an ambitious curriculum. Adults build nurturing relationships with pupils.

Pupils know who they can go to when they have a concern or a worry. They are safe. Parents and carers comment positively on the care their children receive.

One parent said, 'The teaching team genuinely care about the pupils, their learning and well-being.'

Pupils behave well around school and in lessons. They have positive attitudes towards their learning.

Pupils listen to their teachers and respond quickly to instructions. This begins in the early years, where children follow a clear set of routines.

Pupils know how to keep themselves safe online and in their local community.

Pupils take on responsibilities, including well-being ambassadors, eco-warriors and sports leaders. They are proud of these roles and other pupils know how they make a difference to the school. Many pupils participate in a wide range of extra-curricular activities.

These include sporting, dance and choir clubs. Pupils follow their interests and develop their talents. Parents appreciate the range of events on offer for their children.

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

The school's curriculum is ambitious for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). It has been carefully planned from Reception Year through to the end of key stage 2. The curriculum identifies the key knowledge that pupils should learn and in what order they should learn it.

Across subjects, knowledge is taught clearly. Teachers provide exciting and engaging activities in lessons. The school has effective systems in place to identify the additional needs of pupils with SEND.

These needs are well-understood by adults, who provide pupils with effective support. Parents of children with SEND value the communication with school and the support that their children receive.

In phonics and mathematics, teachers regularly check how well pupils are learning the intended curriculum.

Pupils build on their prior learning. They build up secure and detailed knowledge over time. For example, in Years 5 and 6, pupils remember the times tables up to 12.

Teachers use assessment well to identify gaps in pupils' learning in areas such as reading and mathematics. However, strategies for checking pupils' knowledge in the wider curriculum are less well developed. This means that it is not always clear what pupils need to learn next or where they have gaps in their learning.

The phonics and early reading curriculum are taught by well-trained, experienced staff. Children in Reception learn phonics as soon as they start school. Pupils build up their phonics knowledge quickly and effectively.

Pupils get the support they need to catch up well. Books are well matched to the sounds pupils are learning. Staff support pupils to apply their phonics knowledge to read texts accurately and with understanding.

The school is a calm and purposeful place to learn. Pupils engage well with adults right from the early years. Pupils understand that being 'good to be green' helps them to behave sensibly.

They celebrate with their friends when they earn their place on the blue or purple board. Pupils enjoy earning rewards for their sticker chart. At social times, pupils enjoy the range of activities on offer to them in the playground.

They move around the school site with care.

The school provides a wealth of activities to support pupils' wider development. Regular development days expand pupils' knowledge of the world around them.

As a school within a new housing development, leaders are keen to develop a sense of community. Pupils engage with activities in the local area. This includes collecting for a food bank with the nearby care home, opening the local supermarket with a member of the Olympic team and helping to plant pumpkins at the 'Brough in Bloom' event.

Through their actions and conduct, pupils demonstrate some of the fundamental British values. For example, they have a clear understanding of equality and respect. However, fundamental British values are not taught explicitly enough to ensure that pupils fully understand them.

Leaders promote well-being for all staff, with a dedicated senior leadership post for this responsibility. Staff are appreciative of the steps taken by leaders to reduce workload. Those with curriculum and leadership responsibilities value the time they are given to develop their roles.

Leaders at all levels are proud of the journey of the school. They are committed to establishing the school within the growing community. Governance is strong.

The local governing body and board of trustees have the necessary training and experience to support and challenge the work of 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 subjects, the school's systems to check what pupils have learned are not fully developed.

This means that the school does not have a secure understanding of how well pupils are learning important knowledge and skills. The school should continue to enhance how it checks how well pupils are learning the intended curriculum. ? The school does not teach fundamental British values with sufficient clarity.

This means that pupils' understanding of British values is underdeveloped. The school should take further action to teach these values more clearly and to deepen pupils' understanding in this area.

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 first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in July 2018.

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