Hoylandswaine Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Hoylandswaine Primary School Haigh Lane, Hoylandswaine, Sheffield, South Yorkshire S36 7JJ

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Outcome

Hoylandswaine Primary School continues to be a good school. However, inspectors have 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 polite, articulate and confident. They behave well in lessons and on the playground. They are eager to be chosen for the ‘friendship award’ by being a good friend to others. Bullying is rare, and pupils are kind to each other.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders prioritise pupils’ wellbeing. They have appointed new staff to focus on this aspect. This has made a positive difference to pupils. Through playtime drop-in sessions, staff help pupils to sort out any disagreements. Pupils also appreciate the new ‘worry box’, where they can post any concerns. Pupils trust adults to help them with any issues.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils take on leadership roles with maturity. Pupil wellbeing ambassadors and school councillors are proud contributors to the school. For example, school councillors work with leaders to plan extra-curricular clubs. All pupils then have opportunities to develop their interests, including in sports, choir and languages.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are keen to learn. They are interested in the topics they study. Leaders try to tailor the curriculum to prepare pupils for the future. For example, pupils learn about finance and ethical issues such as fair trade. However, the curriculum is not planned as well as it should be. This means that pupils do not always achieve their potential.

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

Leaders have made sure teachers have detailed knowledge of the subjects they teach. Teachers explain concepts well. In some subjects, including phonics and computing, leaders have planned the curriculum carefully. In these subjects, teachers have clear plans that tell them what to teach and when to teach it. However, this is not the case for all subjects. This hinders pupils’ progress in some subjects, including mathematics.

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

Pupils enjoy reading. They choose books by their favourite authors or those 2 October 2019

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recommended by their friends. Teachers appreciate their recent training on developing pupils’ understanding of books. Pupils are keen to share in their whole-class story. Teachers often choose stories linked to other subjects, such as history or science. However, these class texts are not planned out coherently across the school. This means that pupils do not experience a wide variety of authors, texts and themes.

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Some adults are experts in teaching phonics. They sequence learning to build pupils’ knowledge systematically. Most pupils become fluent readers. However, some pupils who struggle with reading are not well supported to catch up. During phonics lessons, they do not have enough practice in reading words. Also, the books they use to practise contain sounds they do not know. These shortcomings hamper both their confidence and their fluency in reading.

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In mathematics, leaders have not mapped out pupils’ learning precisely. This means that teachers do not always teach concepts in the most appropriate order. They do not consistently build on what pupils already know. Also, they do not make sure that pupils’ work gets harder as they move through the school. These factors mean that some pupils do not achieve as well as they should in mathematics.

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Teachers have had ongoing training in art. They are now knowledgeable about art and artists. They pass this on to pupils well. Pupils use their existing knowledge to create high-quality work. For example, Year 1 pupils’ clay sculptures of kookaburras show great detail and accuracy. However, leaders have not put a whole-school plan in place for art. This means that art is not covered in as much breadth as it should be.

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Leaders make sure pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are well supported. Drawing on the expertise of external agencies, leaders create clear plans for pupils. Leaders think carefully about the curriculum for each individual. They make sure pupils have extra time to practise crucial knowledge. They balance this with time to learn alongside their classmates. This benefits pupils’ learning and self-esteem.

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Children who have just started in Reception class have settled well into routines. They are happy and confident. During teacher-led sessions, they join in well. They especially enjoy chorusing repeated phrases which reinforce their learning. However, the activities they choose independently are often too easy. Due to this, children sometimes flit between activities. Also, these tasks do not allow for practise of reading, writing and mathematics knowledge.

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Leaders, including governors, have added a parent support adviser to the staff team. This member of staff is available to liaise with parents. Teachers told us this allows them more time to focus on teaching. They feel well supported by leaders.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders have made sure that keeping children safe is at the forefront of everyone’s minds. Adults are well trained in safeguarding. This makes them vigilant to the risks that pupils 2 October 2019

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may face. Leaders are swift in speaking to external agencies where necessary. Leaders have expertise in online safety. They have shared this with pupils and parents. Pupils are knowledgeable about how to stay safe on the internet. Governors bolster this culture of safeguarding. They hold leaders to account well for this aspect. In doing so, they make sure that effective safeguarding is maintained.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In phonics, leaders have not made sure that all adults have suitable expertise. They should share the expertise which exists in the school. They must make sure that all pupils, particularly the weakest readers, benefit from effective phonics teaching. Leaders should also ensure that the books pupils use to practise early reading contain the sounds they know.  Leaders have not ensured that the curriculum is coherently planned. They must make sure that all subjects reflect the scope and ambition of the National Curriculum. They must also sequence learning in each subject so that pupils build their knowledge of important concepts.  In the early years, leaders must ensure that the activities for children’s independent learning are suitably demanding. These activities should also offer children the opportunity to consolidate and extend their knowledge, including in reading, writing and mathematics.

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Background

When we have judged a school to be good or outstanding 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.

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Background

This is the first section 8 inspection since we judged Hoylandswaine Primary School to be good on 2–3 June 2015.

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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. 2 October 2019

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

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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 October 2019

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School details

Inspection number 10088943 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 2–3 June 2015

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Information about this school

 This school is a smaller-than-average sized primary school. It runs a breakfast club for pupils.  Very few pupils are disadvantaged.  The vast majority of pupils are of White British heritage.  The proportion of pupils with SEND is average.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors met with the headteacher, senior leaders, subject leaders and other members of staff. We also met with a group of governors, including the chair of the governing body. We took account of the 11 responses to Ofsted’s survey for staff.  We observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around the school, including at breakfast club, playtimes and lunchtimes. We gathered pupils’ views about the school through formal and informal discussion.  We scrutinised a range of documentation, including the school’s self-evaluation and improvement plans and safeguarding documents. We also evaluated information relating to pupils’ behaviour and attendance. 2 October 2019

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 We took account of the 37 responses to Ofsted’s parents’ questionnaire, Parent View, as well as the 27 free-text responses.  We looked in-depth at the following subjects: reading, mathematics and art. In doing so, we visited classes across all year groups and reviewed pupils’ work. We spoke to pupils about their learning and listened to them read. We also met with teachers.

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Inspection team

Karine Hendley, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Simon McCarthy Ofsted Inspector 2 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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