New Hinksey Church of England Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Short inspection of New Hinksey Church of England Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 19 March 2019, I write on behalf of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Education, Children's Services and Skills to report the inspection findings. The visit was the first short inspection carried out since the school was judged to be good in June 2015. This school continues to be good.

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. You have an accurate and well-informed understanding of the strengths and development needs of the school. Pupils' progress is analysed carefully and holistically to inform effective improvement plans.

You have developed a... strong sense of teamwork across the entire school community. Everyone is keen to contribute because they know that their contribution is valued. All the staff who completed the Ofsted online survey felt proud to be a part of the school.

Together with your team, you have ensured that New Hinksey is a place where pupils learn from each other and the many opportunities within their local environment. Your strong emphasis on spiritual, moral, social and cultural development celebrates the rich cultural diversity within the school community well. Governors fulfil their duties effectively.

They have a good understanding of the strengths and needs of the school. This knowledge is well informed by analysis of performance information and detailed reports from school leaders. Governors also visit the school regularly to find out things for themselves and to talk to pupils.

Pupils enjoy coming to school. All of those who responded to the online survey or spoke to me said that they enjoy their learning. Their teachers help them to know how well they are doing and the steps they need to take to further improve.

They value their education and the supportive relationships they build with both adults and their peers. A pupil told me, 'It's friendly, everyone is welcome.' When there are fallings-out from time to time, pupils were clear that these are quickly forgotten and that adults give them the support they need to help with successful resolution.

Pupils told me, 'People listen...

in the end it is sorted out quickly.' Parents and carers value the community feel of the school. One parent, writing on Parent View, the Ofsted online survey, typified the views of many in saying that the school feels like 'home from home'.

You have maintained the strengths identified at the previous inspection. The well-developed curriculum is a strength of the school. Pupils enjoy finding out about a range of exciting topics such as 'Winged Wonders' and 'Take One Egyptian Mummy'.

They are excited to share their learning with their peers and parents at regular assemblies. The curriculum has been designed to make good use of the wealth of learning opportunities on pupils' doorsteps. For example, strong links have been made with local museums through regular visits.

Art is a particular curriculum strength and is also well used to connect a range of other subjects, such as history. Many of the pupils who spoke to me told me how much they enjoy using a range of artistic media and their studies of the lives and work of artists. You have addressed the previous inspection issues effectively.

Pupils are proud of their work, which they mostly present clearly and carefully. The most able pupils attain well, particularly in reading. In the 2018 end-of-key-stage national assessments, the proportions of pupils attaining at greater depth in reading at the end of Year 2 and Year 6 was well above proportions seen nationally.

Safeguarding is effective. The leadership team has ensured that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose. All the necessary recruitment checks are carried out before adults can work in school, and comprehensive safeguarding training is completed by all staff.

Safeguarding processes are reviewed regularly by governors, who work effectively with school leaders to ensure that the school's systems and procedures keep pupils safe. All staff and most parents who completed the Ofsted survey felt that pupils were safe at school. Pupils have regular input on how to keep themselves safe, including when online.

The school site has grown from a collection of interconnected buildings. It does not have any allocated parking. Governors are particularly mindful of managing the potential risks to pupils created by this.

For example, they ensure that fire drills are regularly completed and that parents park considerately and safely when dropping off or collecting pupils by car. Inspection findings ? During the inspection, we looked closely together at several aspects of the school's work, including raising pupils' attendance. Attendance has improved.

Current overall attendance is in line with national levels. The attendance of groups of pupils such as disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities has risen from 2018. Bespoke support is in place for the few remaining pupils for whom regular school attendance is a challenge and this is closely monitored by leaders.

• We also looked at the standard of pupils' writing, particularly in key stage 2. Leaders have been effective in raising standards in writing. Across the school, including key stage 2, pupils write at length using well-chosen phrases and rich vocabulary.

Pupils' strengths in reading are well used to support their writing. Spelling, punctuation and grammatical skills are taught systematically and carefully applied by pupils. ? Pupils write widely across the curriculum and for a range of purposes.

Their writing is often enhanced by exciting experiences. This supports them well in developing their skills and enjoying their learning. Writing outcomes on display are of high quality.

Pupils write at length because they are engaged by their tasks and have lots to say. Writing is exuberant, meaningful and exciting. ? We looked closely together at the achievement of disadvantaged pupils.

Current disadvantaged pupils are making good progress across the curriculum from their starting points. Leaders, including governors, have ensured that pupil premium funding is well used to meet pupils' needs. Support for disadvantaged pupils is bespoke and individually planned to include both pastoral and curriculum development.

Provision is carefully and regularly reviewed to ensure that this support is effective. ? Lastly, we looked at the teaching of mathematics across the school. Pupils have sound computational skills.

They have particularly rapid recall of multiplication facts. Pupils enjoy mathematics and work industriously at their calculations, which they complete quickly and accurately. Nevertheless, sometimes they do not move on to apply and deepen this knowledge quickly enough.

When this happens, progress for some pupils is limited. Sometimes pupils do not have enough opportunities for mathematical problem-solving or for developing skills in recording their mathematical reasoning. ? The curriculum provides some opportunities for developing purposeful mathematics skills.

However, these are not as well connected or developed as in some other subjects. Next steps for the school Leaders and those responsible for governance should ensure that the teaching of mathematics across the school is further developed by: ? systematically providing pupils with opportunities to apply their skills and develop mathematical reasoning ? further developing opportunities for using mathematics across the curriculum. I am copying this letter to the chair of the governing body, the director of education for the Diocese of Oxford, the regional schools commissioner and the director of children's services for Oxfordshire.

This letter will be published on the Ofsted website. Yours sincerely Deborah Gordon Ofsted Inspector Information about the inspection During the inspection, we met regularly together. I also met with members of the governing body, representatives from the local authority and the diocese and with staff.

I reviewed documentation, including information about pupils' achievement, the school improvement plan, and safeguarding checks, policies and procedures. Together, we visited classes across the school. In lessons, I observed pupils learning, looked at their books, and spoke to pupils about their work.

I had a meeting with pupils to gather their views of the school and considered 70 responses to the pupil survey. I took into account the views of parents I met on the playground, and I also analysed 64 responses to Ofsted's online questionnaire, Parent View, including 42 free-text responses. I also considered 12 responses to the Ofsted staff survey.