Hucknall National Church of England (VA) Primary School

Hucknall National Church of England (VA) Primary School Montague Road, Hucknall, Nottingham NG15 7DU

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Overall effectiveness Good

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Requires improvement

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This is a good school

 School leaders have made good use of external support and partnership advice. This has raised the quality of leadership at all levels to the good standard now seen.  Governors use their excellent knowledge of the school to make regular evaluations on how the quality of teaching makes an impact on pupils’ learning.  The quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good. Leaders provide good support for teachers and use performance management systems effectively to develop teachers’ skills. Over time, this has improved outcomes for pupils.  Children in the early years achieve well. They make good progress and outperform their peers nationally. A higher than average proportion achieve a good level of development in preparation for Year 1 learning.  Phonics (letters and their sounds) is well taught. Daily sessions and high-quality support underpin pupils’ good progress in reading.  Behaviour is good and pupils frequently show their

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This is a good school

positive attitudes to learning. Attendance has risen to above the national average.  Pupils’ personal development and welfare are good. The school provides high-quality care and support to ensure that the most vulnerable pupils feel safe and secure. As a result, these pupils make good progress.  Pupils now make good progress from the early years through to the end of Year 6. This means that pupils’ attainment is rising across the school.  Recent Year 6 results show that pupils’ attainment is broadly in line with their peers nationally in the new writing, mathematics, spelling, punctuation and grammar tests.  Additional government funding for disadvantaged pupils is used effectively. Achievement gaps in pupils’ attainment in school are closing rapidly because disadvantaged pupils make good and better progress.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Teachers’ management of pupils’ behaviour lacks consistency in lessons and around the school site.  Additional challenge for the most able pupils varies between classes and subjects.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around the school by ensuring that teachers are quick to tackle off-task behaviours and remind pupils of their high expectations of behaviour and conduct.  Improve the quality of teaching, learning and assessment so that the most able pupils reach the highest standards by ensuring that: teachers allow pupils to move on to the most challenging activities which stretch them, so that they make more rapid progress and reach the same high standards as their peers nationally school leaders develop a whole school programme to stimulate and extend the most able pupils in all areas of the curriculum.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

 Senior leaders have welcomed the high-quality support and partnership work with a network of schools. This has raised the quality of subject leadership and created a more cohesive and close-knit leadership team, which drives school improvement.  Leaders provide good support for teachers and use secure performance management systems to develop the skills of all teachers. This is one of the main reasons why the quality of teaching has improved and, consequently, so have pupils’ achievements.  Staff morale is high and staff freely express their praise and support for the changes in the school, and many comment on the high value which is placed on their own professional development.  The school reviews all aspects of its work thoroughly and leaders and governors have an accurate view of the school’s current priorities. The headteacher and deputy meticulously check and collate assessment information for every pupil and share this with class teachers. This provides senior leaders with a

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

thorough and accurate view of how well pupils are performing and any dips are quickly identified and acted upon. The pace of improvements remains swift and focused on key priorities from the school improvement plan.  The school’s motto ‘growing together in learning, love and faith’ is firmly embedded into the ethos of the school and pupils get along with each other well. Pupils are all treated equally and accept each other’s differences. Discrimination is very rare and pupils frequently show their regard and care for each other.  Leaders at all levels ensure that school policies are followed closely. For example, teachers apply the marking policy consistently, resulting in pupils correcting and improving their work.  Communications with parents are good. Parents are involved in many of the school’s activities and attend workshops which help them with their children’s learning. Parents make a strong contribution to the life

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

of the school and many parents expressed their positive praise and support for the school during the inspection.  The school’s new curriculum contains a good balance of English, mathematics and topic work, enhanced by a good selection of enrichment activities. Pupils enjoy the wide range of sports on offer and celebrate sporting successes through their weekly sports report, which is read out in the Friday assembly. Leaders are in the process of developing a whole-school programme to enhance the learning and achievements of the most able pupils. This is currently in the early stages of development.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is well promoted. This is a happy and friendly school, underpinned by the values of its Christian ethos. Pupils learn about others’ faiths and beliefs through their topic and pastoral work, enhanced by a rich programme of trips and visits. Pupils involve

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

themselves in a variety of charity work and make good cultural links, such as with the school in Burundi. Values, such as generosity and trust, are highly visible and reflect British values, which pupils know and celebrate.  The school accesses a good range of expertise and support through the teaching school alliance partnership and works closely with an outstanding school. The local authority and diocese provide high- quality support for the school. This package of support continues to enhance and develop the skills of leaders and teachers across the school.  The governance of the school Governors know the school exceptionally well. They visit regularly and use their insightful knowledge to link the quality of teaching with how well pupils are achieving. Governors refer to key priorities identified in the school improvement plan to sharply align their visits and retain a high focus on raising achievement.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

Governors bring a good range of skills and expertise to their work and provide excellent support and training for new governors. They look closely at how performance management is used to develop staff and have welcomed support from the partnership schools. Governors ensure that additional funding received for disadvantaged pupils is used effectively to raise their attainment and progress. Governors have supported the appointment of a full-time child and family support worker to work with vulnerable families and see how this has raised the attendance for disadvantaged pupils. Link governors evaluate key areas of the school’s work and maintain close contact with school leaders and staff. Governors check that additional funds to raise the involvement and ability of pupils in physical education and sport are having a positive impact and see that every class benefits from the expertise of the sports coach.

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Effectiveness of leadership and management is good

 The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. School leaders have good partnerships with parents and external specialists and safeguarding systems and practices are secure. Safeguarding training for staff and governors is up to date and the designated safeguarding governor makes thorough checks on all safeguarding practices. Governors know exactly what to do in the event of a safeguarding concern and staff have all of the information they need to provide effective support for pupils in their care.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

 School leaders have placed a strong emphasis on raising the quality of teaching and learning, and have provided good support for teachers to help them to improve. This is the main reason why teaching is now good.  Pupils understand what they are learning about, because teachers explain the learning objective and link this with previous work. Pupils follow the ‘must, should, could’ format and frequently check their own work against the success criteria. This gives them an accurate idea of how well they are performing and enables them to develop a good understanding of what they must do to improve further. This has contributed to the rise in pupils’ good achievements.  Pupils are keen learners and their positive attitudes and engagement make a strong contribution to the positive and productive learning climate in most classes.  Pupils frequently make their best efforts to be successful, because teachers increasingly express their

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

high expectations and belief in what pupils are capable of. For example, in a Year 6 English lesson, pupils were expected to write a set of searching interview questions after watching a short, animated clip with minimal explanation from their teacher. The piece challenged views on stereotypes and involved the sensitive subjects of bereavement and war. Pupils wrote with accuracy and skill, showing their emotional maturity and well developed attitudes to learning.  Mathematics is taught well and the whole school focus on improving arithmetic skills is helping pupils to successfully develop their problem-solving abilities. In the older year groups, teaching assistants address pupils’ misconceptions through afternoon booster sessions, so that pupils do not fall behind and are ready for the next lesson.  Pupils enjoy reading and their well-developed phonics skills lie at the heart of their high levels of

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

confidence and fluency. The school makes good use of a specialist reading teacher and her direction of the reading programme encourages a healthy sense of competition among pupils. The most able readers are carefully identified in each year group and provided with more challenge to further develop their reading skills.  Teachers plan activities which provide suitable stretch and challenge for the most able pupils. Pupils are often keen to be directed to the ‘could’ and ‘could plus’ tasks, but are not always permitted to move on to them. In the lessons where this occurs, pupils’ achievements are limited and their progress slows.  Teaching assistants are very well directed and make an excellent contribution to the pupils’ learning and progress. They know pupils well and are receptive to their needs, providing an effective balance of support at the right time. As a result, they help to ensure that pupils with special educational needs

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is good

and/or disabilities make good progress.  Pupils appreciate and value homework, which is regularly set from the Reception Year through to Year 6. Homework is used well to consolidate and complement classwork. Teachers offer a good variety of activities, from phonics and reading to family learning project work and online mathematics tasks. Parents speaking with inspectors and expressing their views through surveys are pleased with the homework programme.

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Personal development and welfare

 The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good. School staff take the time to get to know pupils and their families well and this helps pupils to feel a part of the whole-school community.  Teachers’ good knowledge of pupils lies at the heart of the well-crafted, tailored support provided for the pupils with additional needs and those who are disadvantaged. An integral link formed by the school’s child and family support worker has strengthened relationships with vulnerable families and raised attendance for these pupils.  The school places a strong emphasis on pupils’ health and emotional well-being, and has a good network of specialists to call upon to support those who are potentially most vulnerable. The deputy headteacher leads on the use of the pupil premium and works closely with the special educational needs coordinator to make sure that pupils and their families receive regular help and support.

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Personal development and welfare

 Pupils feel very safe in school and incidents of bullying are rare. Pupils speak with confidence about how seriously this is taken by teachers and adults in the school. Pupils learn about the different types of bullying through assemblies, topics and pastoral work, and understand how to stay safe online. Pupils know what to do if they feel unsafe and how to report any concerns about cyber bullying.  Pupils are encouraged to talk about their problems and value the opportunities to resolve issues through friendship groups and nurture activities organised by the school’s specialists. This contributes to pupils’ good levels of confidence and their expressions of pride at being a part of ‘Team National’.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils have positive attitudes and get along well with each other and with staff. They enjoy and value coming to school and this shows through their above average attendance rates.  The school environment is typically orderly, and pupils understand the school rules and frequently show that they know how to conduct themselves well. On occasions, staff are slow to offer behaviour reminders in class and around the school and this results in off-task chatter and boisterous behaviour around the school at breaktimes and moving between sessions.  Pupils get along well with each other and speak highly of their teachers and adults in school. Pupils understand the school’s values, such as trust and generosity, and say that this helps them to understand how to be a better person. This promotes a happy and harmonious ethos, where mutual respect is regularly shown. Year 5 and 6 pupils act as responsible role models at lunch tables and serve their

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Behaviour

younger schoolmates daily. This shows their mature and caring natures and is typical of the spirit of the school.

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Outcomes for pupils are good

 Pupils now make good progress across the school because school leaders have placed a strong emphasis on improving the quality of teaching and learning since the previous inspection. As a result, more pupils than previously are now on track to reach the standards expected for their age by the end of the year.  In recent years, Year 6 pupils’ progress in reading, writing and mathematics has improved. The proportions making the progress expected in writing and mathematics was close to the national figure, as was the proportion achieving more than expected progress in writing. Their reading progress was below expected levels. Regularly timetabled reading support sessions have now raised achievements in previously weaker areas. In 2015, pupils’ improved progress contributed to the higher proportion of pupils gaining Level 4 in reading, writing and mathematics than in the previous year.  The proportion of current Year 6 pupils who have reached the new expected standard in mathematics,

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Outcomes for pupils are good

writing, spelling, punctuation and grammar tests is in line with the national average. This shows their good achievement from their starting points in the early years.  School assessment information and pupils’ current work indicate that most groups of pupils are making good progress from their starting points through each key stage and more pupils than previously are making rapid progress in all subjects.  Pupils in Year 1 show an improved grasp of the principles of reading because the quality of phonics teaching is now securely good. Results in the national phonics screening check have previously been below average. However, current pupils are now reading at levels considerably ahead of their predecessors.  In 2015, the most able Year 6 pupils made good progress in reading and writing and were slightly behind their peers nationally in mathematics. In class, opportunities are sometimes missed to move pupils on to

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Outcomes for pupils are good

the most challenging activities provided and this limits what they can achieve.  Pupils who are disadvantaged and are eligible for support from the pupil premium funding make at least good progress in almost all year groups. School information shows that disadvantaged pupils are rapidly closing the attainment gaps with their non-disadvantaged peers as they move through the school and their progress accelerates. In 2015, attainment gaps compared with non-disadvantaged pupils nationally were successfully closing in all subjects for Year 2 and Year 6 pupils. At the higher levels, Year 6 pupils narrowed learning gaps in all subjects compared with non-disadvantaged pupils nationally. They made more progress in mathematics than their classmates and others nationally and outperformed their peers in achieving more than expected progress in reading.  Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities make good progress because their needs are

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Outcomes for pupils are good

understood well. Appropriate support is put into place and, as a result, a high proportion make the progress expected to enable them to reach the appropriate level for their age by the end of the school year.  The small number of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds, and the very small number of those who speak English as an additional language, make good progress. In 2015, Year 6 pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds outperformed their peers nationally at the higher level in reading, writing, spelling, punctuation and grammar tests.  Aspirations are rising across the school and adults regularly communicate their raised expectations of what pupils can achieve. Teachers encourage pupils to help themselves to improve and this prepares Year 6 pupils well for the next steps in their move to secondary school.

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Early years provision is good

 Children in the early years make consistently good progress. Children enter with skills and abilities below those expected for their age. By the end of the Reception Year the proportion of children attaining a good level of development has risen to above the national average. This upward trend is continuing and the children currently in the Reception Year are working ahead of their predecessors. This means that disadvantaged children have outperformed their disadvantaged peers nationally for the first time. This represents good progress.  The quality of teaching is good and has been strengthened by the appointment of the early years leader. Equally, good support from teaching assistants means that children quickly settle and focus on learning. The early years team is becoming more confident in assessing precisely what children can do. As a result, teachers are beginning to provide more stretching activities to raise achievement further.

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Early years provision is good

 Early reading skills are effectively taught through daily phonics sessions. Children use their phonics skills well to write simple sentences and adults’ clever organisation of writing activities, such as writing football rules and listing teams, have raised boys’ interests and standards in writing.  Adults in the early years form a close-knit team and plan activities which take children’s interests into account. Consequently, both the indoor and outdoor areas provide exciting and stimulating learning environments in which children happily engage.  The early years staff are skilled in identifying where additional help is needed and careful in providing children with strategies to help themselves cope. An example is a child using her ‘time out’ option to work away from the main group and calm herself with an interesting writing task. Stimulated by an open suitcase, she put great thought into creating a detailed list of holiday items to pack into the case.

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Early years provision is good

 Teachers and early years staff encourage safe play, both inside and outside the classroom, and, as a result, children behave well and feel safe. Adults make good use of stories such as ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ to teach important messages about not being out alone. Communications with parents are good and there are many opportunities for them to get involved in their children’s learning.  School routines are well established and children understand teachers’ marking symbols and respond to comments to correct their work. Homework patterns are established early on and this ensures that children are ready and prepared for the move to Year 1 when the time comes.

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School details

Unique reference number 128075 Local authority Nottinghamshire Inspection number 10009136 This inspection was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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School details

Type of school Primary School category Voluntary aided Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 419 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Julie Breedon Headteacher Helen Bent Telephone number 01159 632678 Website www.hucknallnationalceprimaryschool.co.uk Email address headteacher@hucknallnational.notts.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 19–20 March 2014

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Information about this school

 The school is an oversubscribed, above average-sized primary school.  Most pupils are of White British heritage and speak English as their first language.  The proportion of pupils who are disadvantaged and, therefore, supported through the pupil premium is below the national average. The pupil premium is additional government funding to support pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and those who are in the care of the local authority.  The proportion of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities is slightly above average.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which are the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6.  Before- and after-school clubs are run from the school site and are managed by an external provider. These are inspected separately and the reports are located on the Ofsted website.

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Information about this school

 The school is part of a teaching schools alliance and works closely with an outstanding school.  The school meets requirements on the publication of specified information on its website.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed learning in 29 lessons, four jointly with the headteacher and deputy headteacher. Inspectors looked closely at support in and out of class for pupils who need additional help with their learning.  Inspectors listened to pupils read in class and attended two school assemblies.  The inspection team looked closely at pupils’ work in every class and spoke with pupils about their work.  Inspectors spoke informally with parents at the start of the inspection and took note of their views through the 71 responses to the online questionnaire, Parent View, and an email received from a parent during the inspection.  Inspectors spoke with pupils around the school and met with a group of pupil parliament members and a group of vulnerable pupils.  Staff expressed their views by speaking with inspectors and returned 30 online questionnaires for analysis.  The lead inspector met with a group of three governors and also spoke with the local authority adviser

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Information about this inspection

to discuss their work with the school. Inspectors spoke with school leaders responsible for English, mathematics, assessment and for coordinating the provision for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities. They looked at the work of the nurture room staff and spoke with teaching assistants about their roles.  Inspectors checked the school’s documentation on attendance and behaviour and looked closely at records of assessment of pupils’ progress and those relating to monitoring of safeguarding. They looked at records of governing body meetings and how the school manages staff performance.

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Inspection team

Aune Turkson-Jones, Lead inspector Ofsted Inspector Graham Boyd Ofsted Inspector Philip Garnham Ofsted Inspector guidance ‘Raising concerns and making a complaint about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/publications/complaints-about-ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Inspection team

You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when and as part of the inspection.

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Inspection team

You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk , or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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Inspection team

achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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