Horbury Primary Academy

Inspection of a good school: Horbury Primary Academy Northfield Lane, Horbury, Wakefield, West Yorkshire WF4 5DW

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Outcome

Horbury Primary Academy continues to be a good school. However, the inspector has some concerns that standards may be declining, as set out below.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy and safe. They told me that if they are bullied, teachers and other adults help them. A few parents disagree with this. However, almost three quarters of those parents who responded to Ofsted’s survey agree that leaders make sure that pupils behave well at school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Most pupils are learning to read successfully. This is not true for all pupils. Some do not meet the standard required for their age. Some teachers are not teaching early reading well enough. When pupils are stuck, and cannot read fluently, this puts them off reading. This makes their learning in other subjects harder.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy mathematics. They say it is interesting because the lessons are challenging. Pupils really have to think about their mathematics work, and they like this. Pupils are not learning as much in many other subjects. Sometimes teachers give pupils work that is too easy. When pupils find lessons boring, they do not behave as well as they should. A few pupils can be very disruptive.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils really enjoy physical education. They love the extra clubs and competitions on offer. North Yorkshire Sport gave the school an award for getting all pupils to take part in regular physical activity.

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

Leaders do not expect enough of pupils. Leaders have not planned the sequence of learning well in subjects like history. They have only just begun to work on this. This means that pupils have gaps in their knowledge in many subjects. Leaders are not building on what pupils already know. This is switching pupils off. Leaders want children to learn to read quickly and successfully. Reading books now have 2–3 October 2019

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words in them that closely match the sounds that pupils know. Many pupils can read them. However, too many pupils are still struggling. Leaders and teachers are not all sure about the letters and sounds which Reception children and Year 1 pupils need to know and by when. Teachers and other adults do not know the national curriculum well enough. Sometimes pupils who have fallen behind are taken out of phonics (letters and the sounds they represent) lessons. Leaders are not checking to make sure that these catch-up sessions are high in quality. Most children leave Reception with the right phonics knowledge for their age, but Year 1 teachers are not building on this successfully. Teachers are not giving pupils who are struggling with their reading the help that they need to catch up. Leaders are not checking carefully enough to make sure that the least confident pupils are learning to read well. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are being given the extra

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help they need. Leaders expect the best from pupils with SEND. The special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) supports teachers and teaching assistants to do their best for pupils with SEND. Teaching assistants are now part of planning meetings. This means that all teachers and teaching assistants understand each pupil’s plan. The SENCo, the SEND team and the learning mentor work closely together to check that pupils with SEND are achieving well. There are a few pupils who struggle to control their behaviour. Some of these pupils have social and emotional needs. The multi-academy trust does not want to permanently exclude pupils unless it is necessary. They have developed their own alternative provision for pupils within the multi-academy trust. Some of their specialist staff visit to give leaders and teachers new ideas to help them support pupils whose behaviour is challenging. Leaders make sure that if pupils do get very angry, the other pupils in the lesson are safe.

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They make sure that there is hardly any disruption to learning. Pupils know right from wrong. They understand ideas such as justice and fairness and enjoy taking leadership responsibility in school. Leaders have not thought as carefully about how pupils will learn about different cultures. Pupils cannot remember what they have learned about different faiths or beliefs that others may hold. Children in Nursery and Reception are happy and settled. Nursery children get off to a flying start with their reading. Some Reception teachers have high expectations in phonics, but this is not always the case. Teachers do not always spot children who need extra help quickly enough. Teachers and other adults have excellent relationships with children and this is helping children to thrive in the early years. Children know how to behave and take turns. Children are excited to learn, and they join in enthusiastically.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

The multi-academy trust makes sure that all the proper checks are done when staff are 2–3 October 2019

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appointed. There is a culture of safeguarding. Leaders have recently provided safeguarding training for all staff. Everyone knows the signs to look out for if pupils have experienced harm. The safeguarding team is experienced. Many senior staff have the necessary training to take the lead. This means that pupils are safe when the principal is not in school.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The teaching of early reading and phonics is not yet good. Teachers in Reception and Year 1 are not consistently following termly expectations for the teaching of grapheme– phoneme correspondence and word reading. Leaders need to ensure that all English subject leaders, and all teachers, understand the national curriculum expectations for the teaching of early reading. They should ensure that all teachers are sticking to the school’s phonics programme.  Leaders should make sure that the phonics programme is taught at the right pace to enable all pupils to read fluently and confidently by the end of key stage 1. Leaders should identify children who fall behind the programme’s pace from the very beginning of Reception so that they receive timely support to help them keep up with their peers.  Pupils who struggle to read, including in Year 2, rely too heavily on overt sounding and blending. They cannot read familiar words quickly and accurately. Leaders should

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

ensure that all pupils in key stage 1 are given more frequent opportunities to reread familiar books in school and at home. This will build pupils’ fluency and confidence. It will also increase pupils’ enjoyment and love of reading.  Leaders should ensure that phonics in Reception and Year 1 is high in quality. If leaders are taking Year 1 pupils out of the daily phonics session, leaders should check that teachers and teaching assistants are providing the smaller group with phonics teaching that is high in quality. This will help pupils to catch up quickly.  Leaders should implement their plans to redesign the wider curriculum. Leaders should continue to review the sequence of learning in all subjects. They should check that the curriculum is ambitious and engaging enough for all pupils.

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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 a section 8 inspection of a good school or non-exempt outstanding school. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find some evidence that the school could now be better than good or that standards may be declining, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will convert the section 8 inspection to a section 5 inspection immediately. 2–3 October 2019

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This is the first section 8 inspection since we judged the predecessor school, Horbury Primary School, to be good on 14–15 May 2013.

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How can I feed back my views?

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 10110754 Type of school Primary

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School details

Website https://horburyprimary.accordmat.org/

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 This school was registered as an academy converter on 6 December 2016.

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Information about this inspection

 I met with the chief executive officer, three governors and two trustees of the multi- academy trust. I also met the executive principal and two deputy headteachers, the SENCo, other members of the team supporting pupils with SEND and with curriculum leaders. I met with several teaching staff and lunchtime supervisors.  A meeting was held with leaders who have responsibility for safeguarding, including the learning mentor. Pupils’ safeguarding records were discussed and evaluated. I met the director of human resources for the multi-academy trust who maintains records linked to recruitment and staff training.  I selected three subjects for closer scrutiny. These subjects were reading, mathematics and history. I spoke to pupils about their learning and heard pupils read. I visited lessons and discussed pupils’ work with curriculum leaders.  I spoke to four parents before school and reviewed the 72 responses left by parents

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Information about this inspection

through Ofsted’s Parent View survey. I considered the 23 responses given by teachers through the staff survey. There were no responses to the pupil survey. 2–3 October 2019

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Inspection team

Tracey Ralph, lead inspector Her Majesty’s 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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