St Nicholas Church of England Primary, Hurst

Highlights from Latest Inspection

What is it like to attend this school?

This is a friendly and welcoming school. Staff work hard to ensure that pupils feel safe and happy.

The school's values of believing and achieving through respect, honesty, courage and kindness are known to all. Pupils respond well to the high expectations regarding their behaviour. Pupils enjoy being greeted at the gate by the school dog, who is in school frequently.

Children quickly settle in and learn school routines well. Pupils in Year 6 take their role of mentoring Reception-age children seriously.

Pupils say they enjoy coming to school because they love being with their friends and learning about the world.

The school has high academic expecta...tions, which pupils strive hard to meet. Pupils are enthusiastic when talking about their learning. Those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) achieve well during their time at this school.

The school grounds and rural location are well used to develop the wider curriculum. 'The Professor's Garden' at the front of the school celebrates the natural diversity of plants and animals in the area. Pupils enjoy taking on responsibilities and show great enthusiasm for their roles.

They enjoy supporting the local community, for example by collecting food for the local food bank.

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

The curriculum covers all of the content set out in the national curriculum. It is adapted to meet the needs and interests of pupils who attend this school.

For example, Year 6 pupils observe and measure features of the nearby River Thames as part of their geography fieldwork. Staff have worked hard to ensure that in most subjects they have carefully considered the knowledge that pupils need to know in order to make gains in their understanding. However, in a few subjects, staff are still identifying the important knowledge they want pupils to learn.

In Reception, the curriculum is carefully planned to prepare children for their future learning. In the rest of the school, most curriculum subjects are well designed. Teachers carefully check pupils' understanding and make sure that pupils have ample opportunity to review their previous learning.

This enables pupils to fully embed their understanding and make meaningful links between lessons and subjects. However, in a few subjects, staff are still considering what strategies work best to help pupils remember long term the content they have been taught. In these subjects, pupils do not consistently recall knowledge as fluently as they could.

Methods used to identify pupils with SEND are sometimes unclear. However, this does not impact on pupils' learning, and pupils with SEND learn well alongside their peers. This is because staff are precisely aware of their needs.

Where necessary, the curriculum is successfully adapted.

Reading is a priority in the school. From the early years, children develop an understanding of the sounds of letters and how to blend them together to make words.

Pupils enjoy reading and quickly become fluent readers. Those who have fallen behind are given additional support to catch up. Pupils access a range of books in the school libraries.

Visiting authors also help to develop pupils' reading experiences when reading their books aloud to pupils.

Pupils behave well in lessons and learning is rarely disrupted. Pupils' behaviour seldom falls below the school's expectations.

However, on those rare occasions, timely support is put in place and pupils are helped to understand the impact of their actions on others.

The provision for pupils' personal development is exceptional. Pupils access a rich range of experiences, including on residential trips.

Staff focus carefully on developing pupils' interests and talents and provide many opportunities for these to be further developed. There are numerous extra-curricular clubs that cater for sports, music and craft interests. Pupils are encouraged to take part in local community events, such as singing and dancing at the Hurst Show and playing in the band at the end-of-year family event.

Pupils learn about significant issues affecting the wider world. Leaders ensure that pupils are given many opportunities to consider their future careers. Parents come into school and talk about the world of work and the range of options that are available.

There are numerous opportunities for pupils to take on leadership roles. The school council, for example, has helped to fundraise for climbing equipment in the playground.

Staff are positive about the support they have from those with leadership responsibilities at the school.

All staff who replied to the survey are proud to work at the school. They say their workload and well-being are always considered. Those with governance responsibilities, including members of the local governing body, have a clear oversight as to what is working well and what needs to improve further.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In a few subjects, the school has not identified, or considered how to check, the important knowledge it intends pupils to learn. This means that pupils' learning is sometimes variable.

The school needs to identify the knowledge it intends all pupils to learn and help them to integrate new knowledge into larger ideas. The school also needs to check how well pupils have recalled the essential content and adapt its teaching accordingly so that all pupils know more and remember more over time. ? Some subject leaders are new to their roles.

They are still developing their understanding of what works best and what needs to improve further. This means that they are not able to consistently evaluate the effectiveness of the curriculum.The school should ensure that it provides high-quality training and development so that staff can successfully implement and evaluate how well pupils are learning the intended curriculum.

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