St Hardulph’s Church of England Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

St Hardulph's Church of England Primary School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

This is a school where pupils 'go into school happy and come out happy'. Pupils enjoy coming to school.

They describe the school as being 'like a family'. Relationships between staff and pupils are highly positive.

Pupils behave well.

They have good manners and show respect towards each other. Expectations of behaviour are clear. Pupils behave well in lessons and around the school.

Pupils know how the behaviour system works. They really value the rewards that they can receive. They strive to earn their stickers because they want to achieve ...'headteacher's awards' in assembly.

They understand that choices have consequences.

Playtimes are 'fun and safe'. Pupils are emphatic that there 'is no bullying at our school.'

Pupils know the difference between 'falling out' and bullying because they know the forms that bullying can take. They are confident that leaders would quickly act if any incidents did occur.

The school is proud of its community links with the church and with Breedon Quarry.

Pupils talk excitedly about visiting the quarry and learning about the local community. They enjoy linking up with other communities beyond their own, including 'Farmer Time' with a dairy farmer in Aberdeen.

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

Leaders have high ambitions for all pupils to do well.

Leaders are proud of the curriculum they offer. In the last year, they have put new curriculum plans in place across all subjects. In some of these subjects including maths and phonics, the curriculum is well planned and sequenced.

However, in a small number of subjects, leaders have not yet made clear the most important pieces of knowledge that pupils need to know and remember over time. Pupils do not always remember their learning accurately. For example, they can sometimes get confused about what order things happened in history.

Phonics is well planned and sequenced. The curriculum sets out the sounds that pupils will learn and in what order. However, it is not consistently well implemented.

Some pupils do not reliably use their sounds to build words when they are reading their books. Leaders do not check that adults identify when pupils make mistakes and correct them quickly. Pupils do not repeat and practise their sounds, so that they remember them.

However, pupils that fall behind in their learning are identified quickly. They are given the help they need to help them become confident and fluent readers.

The teaching of reading is prioritised as soon as children start school.

Staff support parents of children in Reception Year to know how the school teaches reading and how they can help them at home. The school values highly reading for pleasure. Adults help pupils to develop a love of reading.

Careful thought has gone into choosing books for the new library in order to provide pupils with books from a wide and diverse range of authors. The reading curriculum supports pupils to become successful readers. Pupils are encouraged to tackle and understand increasingly complex texts.

Adults in the early years understand the needs of the children well. They plan learning to build on what the children know and can do. The curriculum across the early years shows how learning builds steadily, so children are ready to start Year One

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are well supported by adults across the school.

Leaders know the pupils really well. When pupils need additional support, plans are put into place quickly, so that they get the help they need to access the curriculum.

Leaders ensure that the curriculum promotes pupils' personal development.

Pupils learn about what discrimination looks like and who might be likely to experience it. They talk with respect about differences between people and how their school is inclusive for everyone. Pupils are confident that everyone in school is treated equally.

They understand that sometimes this means some pupils need different things to help them.Pupils have a good knowledge of the British values and what they mean.

Parents and carers have positive views of the school.

They describe the school as having 'a caring spirit where children of all abilities can thrive and be supported.'

This is a very small school, where all staff have to take on a number of roles. Staff know that leaders are very mindful of their workload and well-being.

They feel supported and cared for. Governors are involved in the life of the school and visit often. They ask challenging questions of leaders and make regular checks that what leaders tell them is accurate.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Pupils feel safe at school. The school is a nurturing environment where adults know pupils and their needs very well.

Leaders prioritise safeguarding. There is robust and regular training for all staff. They know how to raise concerns and understand these need to be recorded quickly.

Safeguarding leaders act on concerns without delay.

Pupils learn how to keep themselves safe, including when they are learning or playing online.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Leaders have introduced a new phonics scheme.

A small number of staff are still learning its processes and how to implement the scheme consistently well. Not all pupils are having their mistakes picked up quickly enough or practising their sounds often enough to make sure that they remember them securely. As a result, they find it hard to use these sounds when they read their books.

Leaders need to ensure that all staff have the right knowledge and training, so that the scheme is always well implemented. ? Leaders have planned out the curriculum in all subjects. However, they have not yet identified all the precise knowledge that they want pupils to learn and remember.

Pupils enjoy their learning but they are only able to recall some aspects of what they have learned in the wider areas of the curriculum. Leaders should ensure that the curriculum identifies the key knowledge that they want pupils to know in each lesson and ensure the knowledge builds in a logical sequence, so that pupils successfully remember what they have learned.

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 second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in March 2012.