Hyde Church of England Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

This is a small school with big ambitions for its pupils.

Without a doubt, pupils gain a great deal from Hyde being one of three schools in Forest Edge Learning Federation. The collective and collaborative thinking about the curriculum builds their learning systematically from Reception onwards, giving them a strong start in life. Pupils benefit from opportunities to learn and socialise with others of the same age, including by taking part in residential and sporting events.

As one parent commented, the school 'provides a positive and nurturing environment'.

Pupils flourish socially and emotionally. The 'Roots' curriculum does indeed give them 'strong roots t...o grow tall'.

They learn and revisit their understanding about boundaries, respect, self-regulation, resilience, focus and independence as they move up the school. Leaders promise that every pupil will have '50 special experiences', ranging from singing round a campfire to visiting an art gallery, and from stargazing to making a film.

The school has, though, maintained its own distinct identity.

The simple school rules of 'be safe, be kind, be ready' underpin daily life. Pupils understand how to keep themselves safe in their rural setting. They learn, care for and play happily alongside friends of different ages.

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

A commitment to everyone's learning is the golden thread running through the school's strengths. Governors have a comprehensive programme of training and visits to school to ensure that they understand their role and the school's work. The federation makes effective use of national and local training programmes and networks for leaders.

Ongoing professional development for all staff at Hyde is linked closely to the school's current priorities, ensuring that teaching is knowledgeable and pupils' learning and development are at the heart of everything. No wonder that staff say, 'Everything we do feels like it has a purpose.' The school's strong stance on punctuality and attendance means that most pupils are in school and on time to make the most of the day ahead.

The attention given to pupils' wider development is something special. Leaders have meticulously designed a programme that nurtures pupils' social and emotional attributes and attitudes in a deliberate manner. It is both explicitly taught and part and parcel of everyday expectations.

Pupils acquire a mature understanding of concepts such as justice, power, diversity and sustainability, and are not afraid to offer a well-founded opinion. They develop confidence and character as they present their learning outcomes to an audience or pitch their ideas to the business world.

The curriculum is well designed from early years onwards to build pupils' knowledge and skills systematically.

Early reading skills are taught accurately and methodically from the beginning of Reception. Staff are skilled at noticing any pupil who is faltering and quickly picking them up for extra input. Additional teaching successfully helps those who need more support.

Reading beyond the phonics programme is well structured to expose pupils to a range of fiction, fact and poetry. Leaders have carefully considered why mathematics and writing outcomes were not as good as they might be last year. Their work with staff to improve pupils' recall of mathematical facts and the systematic development of writing skills is already having a notable impact.

The project-based approach to teaching some subjects is more than the sum of its parts. Overarching philosophical questions such as 'Who drives change, designers or consumers?' and 'How do our beliefs drive our actions?' encourage deeper thinking. The '50 special experiences' incorporate visits and visitors that enhance learning and bring the curriculum to life.

Leaders ensure that all pupils benefit from the same curriculum. Any additional needs are carefully considered. Training for staff is helping them to hone their skills in adapting teaching to help pupils overcome barriers.

The federation has carefully identified what learning pupils need to retain in order to make links with what comes next in each subject. Training ensures that staff are up to date with thinking about how pupils remember and recall what they have been taught. They check pupils' learning as they go along and adapt teaching day to day accordingly.

Activities have been designed to keep pupils' learning in different subjects 'on the boil' between projects, but have only recently been introduced. Thus, although pupils know what subjects they learn in each project, they tend to remember the big ideas ahead of the subject-specific detail.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• The potential of the project-based approach to the curriculum is not fully realised. Pupils do not readily recall key learning from subjects they have not studied for a while. The school needs to continue its work on retrieval strategies to ensure that pupils routinely revisit and embed their subject-specific learning.

• Over the past couple of years, the focus has been on the development of a broad curriculum rather than the core subjects. Staff have not benefited from the same level of professional development to enhance their teaching of writing and mathematics until recently. The school needs to ensure that nothing distracts from its well-considered plans to further improve pupils' learning in these areas.