The South Hykeham Community Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Outcome

The South Hykeham Community Primary School continues to be a good school.

What is it like to attend this school?

This is a school where pupils love to come and learn. Most attend well. Staff have high expectations of how pupils should conduct themselves and what pupils can achieve.

In class, pupils behave well, listen and concentrate. They are enthusiastic about learning and engage fully.

Parents and carers speak of the school with high regard.

They value the school's supportive ethos. Typical comments include, 'The school is a wonderful nurturing environment. The teachers really care about the children and help them be the best they can be.'



P...upils say the school is a safe place to be. They enjoy playtimes with their friends. They know that if there are incidents of bullying, staff will deal with them.

Pupils who sometimes struggle are supported well by staff. Relationships between staff and pupils are respectful and positive.

Pupils enjoy taking part in some wider opportunities.

Junior road safety officers lead assemblies to teach others how to keep themselves safe near roads. Pupils attend a range of extra-curricular clubs, including gardening and netball. However, since the pandemic, there are fewer opportunities for pupils to enjoy educational experiences that enrich the curriculum.

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

The school wants every pupil to benefit from a good quality of education. A newly developed curriculum ensures that pupils learn key concepts in a broad range of subjects. The school has identified the most important knowledge that pupils need to know and has made sure that this content is sequenced well.

However, there is more work to do to make sure that pupils continue to deepen their knowledge in all subjects over time.

The curriculum is planned carefully to help pupils know and remember important information. Teachers use their strong subject knowledge to teach pupils new content and to model new learning.

There is a clear focus on developing pupils' vocabulary right from the start. Teachers help pupils use key terms accurately in their verbal and written responses. This begins in the early years.

Pupils value opportunities to revisit and recall what they know already. For instance, daily 'fluent-in-5' sessions in mathematics help pupils remember what they have learned before. They can often recall what they have learned more recently.

However, they occasionally struggle to recall what they have been taught in previous years. Ways to enhance pupils' learning through meaningful activities or experiences are being developed.

Reading is a priority.

Right from the start, children in the early years begin to learn to read. Phonics is taught well, so children become fluent and confident readers. Staff are consistent with the language and routines they use.

Pupils respond positively to this. Reading books are well matched to the sounds pupils have been learning. Extra phonics sessions are in place for some pupils to help them keep up.

Pupils enjoy reading and being read to by the adults in school.

Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are well supported to succeed in school. Staff use resources effectively to quickly identify the needs of pupils with SEND and provide them with suitable support.

Pupils with SEND receive the extra help they need so they can learn the same curriculum as their peers.

The school promotes many aspects of pupils' personal development effectively. Pupils have a clear view about what makes people the same or different.

They agree that 'we are all unique, and that is ok'. However, pupils' understanding of different faiths, beliefs and religions is fragile. Opportunities for pupils to take part in educational experiences, or to learn from visitors, are also limited.

Staff are proud to work at South Hykeham Primary School. They appreciate the consideration the school gives to managing their workload and well-being. Governors contribute well to the school team.

Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

What does the school need to do to improve?

(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

• In many subjects, the curriculum is quite new. It is not yet clear how well some of the planned activities enhance the curriculum and support pupils learning.

Occasionally, pupils struggle to recall key concepts they have learned previously. The school must make sure that the curriculum includes a range of meaningful experiences that help all pupils remember what they have learned. ? Pupils are tolerant of others' views and opinions.

However, their knowledge of different faiths and religions is not well developed. The school should ensure that pupils learn about a range of different faiths and religions so that they are prepared well for life in modern Britain.

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 December 2013.

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