Hunts Cross Primary School

Inspection of Hunts Cross Primary School Kingsthorne Road, Liverpool, Merseyside L25 0PJ

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Requires improvement Early years provision Requires improvement Overall effectiveness at previous inspection Good 2–3 October 2019

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy being at Hunts Cross Primary School. Teachers plan a wide range of activities to help pupils become confident and resilient youngsters who are ready to take on life’s challenges.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils understand how to keep themselves safe at school, at home and in the area where they live. Pupils said that staff take good care of them while they are at school. Their parents and carers agree with this view.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Parents, staff and pupils say that behaviour has improved. Most pupils respond well to the challenging activities that some teachers present. Pupils said that bullying is rare.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders expect pupils to do as well as pupils in other schools. They know that pupils do not achieve as well as they should, especially at the end of key stage two. Leaders have focused on reading and mathematics because they know how important these areas are. Other areas of the curriculum are at an early stage of development.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Children in the early years do not do as well as they could. This is because teachers do not use what they know about the children well enough to get their learning off to a brisk start.

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better?

The new headteacher knows exactly what needs to happen to improve the school. Staff who completed the staff survey said that they feel well supported by leaders in their work to make sure that improvement continues.

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better?

Pupils are successful readers because leaders have made sure that reading is taught well. Staff are well trained. Pupils who are struggling to read in key stage 1 are helped to catch up. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are supported well. In key stage 2, teachers read books with pupils that capture their interest. These books also challenge their thinking and their reading skills. The improvements to reading have not had a chance yet to show in the tests at the end of key stage 2.

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better?

In mathematics, teachers follow a clear plan that sets out the steps of learning. Pupils’ work shows that they are developing the mathematical knowledge they need to succeed in the next stage of their learning.

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better?

In other subjects, the curriculum on offer to pupils is at different stages of development. Subject leaders have produced plans for teachers so that they know what should be taught in each year group. These plans are not precise enough in identifying exactly what pupils should know. This sometimes leads to learning which does not build on the knowledge pupils have already acquired. Pupils do not develop 2–3 October 2019

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their knowledge and understanding as well as they could in all subject areas as they move through the school.

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Leaders ensure that disadvantaged pupils access extra activities that broaden their experiences. Leaders have made sure that pupils develop strong personal skills, qualities and attitudes. Teachers plan activities that help pupils prepare to live in the modern world. For example, teachers use stories that help older pupils to think and talk about moral dilemmas.

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Pupils are keen to make a difference to their local and wider community. They have a good understanding of democracy. Teachers have made good use of the many different cultures that pupils belong to in the school. This has helped pupils understand and value diversity in the world.

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Leaders have put new systems in place to reward pupils who behave well. Pupils value these rewards and try hard to achieve them. Pupils and their parents talk about how behaviour has improved at the school. Pupils behave well in class, as they move round the school and at breaktimes. They are friendly, polite and respectful. Weaknesses in the curriculum cause some pupils to lose interest and not give of their best.

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Children in the early years are well cared for by adults. Children behave well and can take turns and share toys. However, they do not achieve as well as they could by the time they leave Reception. Leaders in the early years do not use information that is available to them about what children know and can do before they start school. Teachers take too long finding out this information for themselves. This gets in the way of children building on their knowledge and skills. At times, teachers do not make it clear to children what they want them to learn. During some activities, adults do not give the challenge or support the children need.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

All staff and governors are well trained in how to keep pupils safe. They know what to do if they have any concerns. They follow up concerns raised if they feel action taken by other agencies is not good enough.

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Safeguarding

Leaders ensure that pupils learn about how to keep safe. They have made sure that pupils are well prepared to deal with some of the challenges that they might face in their local community. Pupils understand how to protect themselves when they are online. They know how social media can be used safely. 2–3 October 2019

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Clear plans are in place for English and mathematics. In other subjects, leaders have drafted plans which map out what pupils need to learn in each year group. However, the plans are not specific enough to support pupils’ progress. Leaders should revisit the curriculum plans to make sure that it is clear what pupils need to know and remember in each year group.  Teachers need to ensure that they use what they know about pupils’ prior learning and what is expected from pupils by the end of the year to shape their planning. They need to build on what pupils have learned before so that pupils know and remember more as they move through the school.  Leaders in the early years do not ensure that children begin their learning quickly enough. Leaders do not make effective use of information available from the nursery that most children attend. Leaders should ensure that teachers use this information to support children to develop as well as they can in all area of

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How can I feed back my views?

or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use Ofsted Parent View information when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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How can I feed back my views?

If you’re not happy with the inspection or the report, you can complain to Ofsted .

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. 2–3 October 2019

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School details

Inspection number 10082042 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of governing body Mr David Philips

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School details

Date of previous inspection 17 September 2014

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Information about this school

 Since the last inspection, there have been considerable staffing changes. An acting headteacher (the current deputy headteacher) was put in place to cover periods of absence of the previous headteacher. This ensured a period of stability until a new headteacher was appointed. The current headteacher took up her position in January 2019. Since then, a significant number of new members of staff have been appointed, many of these to new leadership posts.

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Information about this inspection

We carried out this inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this inspection

 We spoke with the headteacher, the special educational needs coordinator, a small group of governors, including the chair of governors, and a representative from the local authority.  We looked at a range of documentation for safeguarding, including: the school central record of staff and visitors; training records of staff; records of safeguarding; and samples of records of individual pupils.  We focused closely on reading, mathematics, history and science. We talked to 2–3 October 2019

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leaders of these subject areas. We visited lessons. We looked at examples of children’s work. We talked with teachers and pupils about what they were learning.  We also looked at pupils’ workbooks in other subject areas and class record books.  We observed pupils’ behaviour at breaktimes and lunchtimes. We observed them in assembly and as they moved around the school.  We spoke to pupils about their experiences at school.  We looked at the 21 responses to Ofsted’s Parent View questionnaire and the 18 free-text responses from parents to find out their views of the school. We spoke with parents as they dropped their children off at school.

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Inspection team

Claire Cropper, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Jennie Platt Ofsted Inspector 2–3 October 2019

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regulates and inspects to 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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