St Margaret’s At Hasbury CofE Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils love attending this nurturing and inclusive school. Mutual respect and kindness are part of everyday life. Courtesy and good manners are commonplace.

Pupils enjoy a strong bond with staff. They know staff will help them if they have a concern. The atmosphere is calm and happy, and pupils behave well.

Pupils embody the school's Christian values of love, respect, trust, forgiveness, and courage. They talk about why these values are important. They are lived out in the way that pupils behave.

Pupils understand that difference is something to cherish. They say, 'School teaches us it is OK to be who you want to be.' They listen to the views of one another r...espectfully, even when they disagree.

Leaders have put individual support in place for all pupils in a careful and thoughtful way. This means their high ambition for all pupils is realised. They have ensured that teachers have the skills to enable all pupils to achieve well.

Pupils have many meaningful opportunities to become good citizens. For example, they can become mental health champions and collective worship leaders. Pupils have many opportunities to support charities.

Pupils 'reach out to loneliness' by writing to, and visiting, the local old people's home. In the wider community, pupils helped to gain a preservation order on a tree in danger of being cut down, and have improved facilities for dog walkers so their environment is a more pleasant and a cleaner place.

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

Leaders and staff are aspirational for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

Leaders have created a clear, ambitious and well-designed curriculum. They have set out the important information that pupils need to remember. Leaders have made sure that pupils are learning the right things at the right time.

This allows pupils to build their knowledge to help them make progress.

Leaders quickly identify pupils with SEND. The curriculum is expertly adapted to allow these pupils to access the curriculum and make progress.

Pupils receive the right support at the right time. This allows them to achieve to the best of their ability. Children in the early years also benefit from a well-designed curriculum.

This ensures children are ready for the demands of key stage 1.

Most teachers design appropriate activities that help pupils to know and remember more over time. However, some teachers do not use assessment well enough in lessons to check if pupils have learned the curriculum.

As a result, they do not consistently address any misconceptions that some pupils have about their learning quickly enough. This prevents a small number of pupils from deepening their knowledge across the curriculum.Reading has a high profile.

Children begin to learn to read as soon as they start school in the early years. Leaders have ensured that staff deliver the phonics programme well. Extra support is provided for pupils who need to catch up.

However, the books that pupils read do not always match the sounds they know. This means that some pupils are not becoming fluent, accurate readers. Older pupils enjoy reading and readily accept the challenge to read the wide variety of books recommended to them by their teachers.

Pupils in Year 6 enjoy reading to the children in Reception each week.

Pupils speak confidently about the importance of equality. They know and respect that not all families are the same.

Books in the class library help pupils to find out about life beyond their local community. Pupils talk about the importance of tolerance and fairness. Regular trips and visitors to school enthuse pupils and enrich the curriculum.

Many pupils take part in an excellent range of clubs and cultural visits. Leaders ensure that these opportunities are open to all pupils. Many learn to play musical instruments, including plastic trombones, ukuleles and recorders.

Leaders promote pupils' personal development exceptionally well. There are close links with the church and the wider community. Pupils readily take on additional roles and responsibilities.

These wider experiences help build pupils' character, independence and maturity. Leaders arrange opportunities for many visitors to inspire pupils, including authors and illustrators. Other visitors teach pupils about managing money when they are older, overcoming difficulties and achieving great things, even when times are tough.

Governors know the strengths of the school and what leaders need to do to continue to make it even better. They rigorously challenge leaders on the quality of education. Staff are proud to work at the school.

They recognise that leaders consider their well-being and welfare. They appreciate the actions that leaders take to support their workload.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

Leaders have created a strong culture of safeguarding. Staff receive regular training. They are vigilant and report any concerns swiftly.

Staff work closely with parents to develop trust and to offer early help. Leaders communicate with external agencies effectively to ensure pupils receive timely support. The designated safeguarding leads have created a thorough system to monitor and record all safeguarding concerns.

Appropriate recruitment checks are undertaken to ensure all adults are safe to work in the school.

Leaders have created an appropriate curriculum to help pupils identify and manage risks. Pupils know they can speak to a trusted adult if they need any support.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• Leaders have not ensured that all books that pupils read precisely match the sounds they have learned and know. As a result, some pupils do not have sufficient opportunities to practise and become fluent in the sounds they know. Leaders should ensure that all books are matched closely to individual pupils' phonics skills to enable them to become fluent readers.

• Teachers do not use assessment well enough during lessons to check if pupils have learned the curriculum. As a result, teachers do not consistently identify and address any gaps or misconceptions in pupils' learning. Leaders should ensure that teachers carefully check pupils' learning in lessons so that they can quickly identify and address and gaps or misconceptions.

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