Huntington Community Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Strong relationships between pupils and staff add to the feeling of community at this school.

Pupils feel safe and happy. They told the inspector that their friends and the staff look after them well. They have a good understanding of bullying.

Leaders and staff deal with the few incidents swiftly and effectively.

Pupils enjoy school. Leaders and staff are highly ambitious for the achievement of all pupils, including those with special education needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and disadvantaged pupils.

The academic, social and emotional support that leaders provide contributes strongly to pupils achieving well in the majority of subjects.

T...eachers' high expectations for behaviour are clear. Pupils behave well.

Classrooms are calm. This allows pupils to do their best in lessons. Pupils, including the youngest, are polite and well mannered.

They speak confidently and articulately with visitors.

Pupils have a good understanding of equality and diversity. Pupils are proud of their responsibilities, for example as members of the school council or as buddies to younger children.

They enjoy the varied range of sports and activities at lunchtime. A variety of visits and after-school activities enhances their learning across the curriculum.

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

Leaders have built an ambitious curriculum.

It includes opportunities to learn in the school's grounds. It is planned well so that pupils extend their knowledge and skills in each subject. Leaders have ensured that their curriculum thinking provides opportunities for pupils' learning to build on prior knowledge and understanding in well-ordered steps.

They have made sure that the knowledge children gain in the early years provides secure foundations for their future learning. Pupils achieve well.

In English and mathematics, leaders check how well the curriculum helps pupils to increase their knowledge successfully over time.

In a number of other subjects, the checks on the curriculum and how well it is implemented are less well developed. This prevents subject leaders from fully understanding the impact of the subject curriculums on how well pupils remember their learning over time.

Teachers check how well pupils are remembering what they have learned in lessons.

This highlights which pupils need more help or guidance. Where more help is needed, teachers typically act swiftly to arrange extra support for learning. However, in subjects other than English and mathematics, assessment strategies are at an early stage of development.

This means that teachers do not have a precise enough understanding of the knowledge that pupils have, and have not, learned.

The teaching of phonics begins when children start in the early years. Teachers develop children's early reading through nursery rhymes and songs, which provide a repetition of sounds and words.

Leaders make sure that pupils learn phonics in a well-ordered manner. Teachers check pupils' recall of the sounds they have been taught previously before introducing new sounds and letters. When pupils' recall is not secure, teachers give effective additional support to make sure that these pupils keep up with their classmates.

By the end of key stage 1, most pupils read fluently and confidently.

Teachers provide lots of opportunities for pupils to read or to listen to stories. This improves their knowledge and understanding of vocabulary.

In key stage 2, leaders ensure that pupils develop their comprehension skills in logical steps. As a result, pupils' understanding of the texts that they read is improving over time. Older pupils read fluently with expression, intonation and a real sense of understanding.

Leaders are skilled at identifying the specific needs of pupils with SEND. They have adapted the curriculum for some pupils providing greater opportunities to meet their needs. Staff are well trained in helping pupils with SEND.

They ensure that these pupils enjoy the same learning as their peers and achieve well.

Children in the early years know the routines to help them work and play safely and purposefully. Pupils across the school concentrate on their learning.

They are keen to do their best. Pupils enjoy the many wider opportunities available to them, including day visits and residential experiences. They participate in a wide range of after-school clubs.

Staff teach pupils to keep themselves safe and healthy.

Staff talked positively about the strong and supportive teamwork in the school. They know that leaders consider their workload when they introduce new initiatives.

They are proud to work at the school.

Governors know the school well. They work productively with leaders to understand how effectively the curriculum is helping pupils to know more and remember more.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Staff know the school's safeguarding procedures well. Leaders provide training and additional information during the year, which helps to keep staff's knowledge of safeguarding up to date.

This helps staff to identify pupils who may be at risk from harm.

Leaders and staff have established strong relationships with families and with a range of agencies. This enables leaders to secure help for families who need it.

Leaders and governors ensure that appropriate risk assessments are carried out as needed, for example when learning outdoors. Through the curriculum, pupils learn about how to stay safe when working online. They also learn about the dangers of smoking and drinking alcohol.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In some foundation subjects, leaders' work to gather information on the impact of the curriculum is at an early stage of development. This means that in these subjects, leaders do not have a clear enough understanding of how well the curriculum is implemented and the impact it has on pupils' learning. Leaders should ensure that in these subjects, they check that the curriculum is well implemented and is helping pupils to build up their knowledge securely over time.

• In most foundation subjects, teachers' assessment information is not always sufficient to highlight what pupils have remembered and are able to do. This means that teachers sometimes do not identify where there are gaps in pupils' learning. Leaders should ensure that they develop their assessment strategies in these subjects so that they ensure that pupils' learning is secure in these curriculums.

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