Haxey CofE Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Haxey CofE Primary School The Nooking, Haxey, Doncaster, South Yorkshire DN9 2JQ

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Outcome

Haxey CofE Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

This is a welcoming and friendly school. Pupils feel safe and happy. They also feel cared for by staff. Pupils are respectful and know the importance of courtesy. Bullying is rare. If it does happen, pupils know teachers will deal with it quickly. Attitudes to learning are strong. The school’s ethos is prominent. All adults and pupils work well to promote it. There are positive relationships between adults and pupils. Parents and carers are pleased with the school. They feel staff and leaders are approachable and listen to their concerns.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff make sure pupils know they can talk to them if they have a problem or want advice. There is new provision in the school to support pupils’ emotional well-being. There are a wide range of leadership opportunities for pupils. This means pupils feel very involved and take ownership of their time at school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils respect each other’s opinion. They also have a strong understanding of different faiths, cultures and lifestyle choices. This understanding leads to tolerance, respect and celebration of diversity.

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What is it like to attend this school?

At playtime, behaviour is good. But some pupils who prefer not to play ball games do not always get enough access to the playground. This is because the many ball games take over much of the space.

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

Reading is well taught. Pupils learn to read as soon as they start school. Adults are trained to teach phonics well. They check pupils’ acquisition of phonics knowledge regularly. This means pupils get the right support when they need it. Pupils report that they love to read. Story time promotes a love of reading. Parents are also given access to a wide range of books to take home and read to their children. Pupils learn how to use their phonics knowledge to read and to spell. Mathematics is well taught, and the curriculum matches pupils’ needs well. Teachers explain and model mathematical processes well. Pupils are given regular opportunities to use and apply their skills. At 26–27 November 2019

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times, when teachers give pupils work to do independently, they give them too long to do it. At these times, the pace of learning is sometimes too slow. This mainly affects the more able pupils who could move on more rapidly.

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Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are well supported. Their needs are well understood. Their progress is regularly checked so leaders and teachers can see where they may need to give further support. There is a wide range of strategies used to help these pupils. All this helps pupils with SEND to make good progress in their learning and achieve well.

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Children in the early years enjoy a varied and inspiring curriculum. This makes them curious learners. Staff make good use of the indoor and outdoor space to make sure there are a range of activities. These activities promote strong skill development in the children and reinforce children’s reading and mathematical skills. Children enjoy the activities staff plan for them.

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Curriculum plans for science show good coverage of the skills and knowledge that pupils need. Scientific knowledge and the use of key scientific vocabulary are well taught. But there is not enough focus on developing pupils’ scientific skills. Not all teachers implement this aspect of the curriculum well. Some staff’s subject knowledge is not strong enough, particularly in planning activities to closely match the needs of the most able pupils. Leaders are not fully aware of those teachers in need of additional training, and in which specific areas of the curriculum.

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There are high expectations of behaviour, which leads to positive attitudes to learning. Even when the pace of learning is too slow, pupils conduct themselves well. Where pupils struggle to manage their behaviour, the school supports them well. They also work effectively with parents.

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Staff feel well cared for. They report that leaders listen to them if they report a concern. However, the leaders and governors are not able to say if there is more they can do to support staff’s well-being. This is because they wait for staff to report an issue and do not make their own checks. In the same way, there is no mechanism to ensure that staff’s training needs are fully understood.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

There are regular safeguarding training events for staff and governors. This makes sure they know what to do if they have a concern. Leaders make sure staff, parents and pupils know the local safeguarding risks.

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Safeguarding

Checks are made on all people who work and volunteer in school. These are robust. The checks are well maintained on the single central register.

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Safeguarding

Staff know which pupils may be at risk of harm. They report any concerns quickly. Leaders work with external agencies to make sure pupils and families get the support 26–27 November 2019

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Pupils are taught how to keep themselves safe in different situations. For example, pupils know how to stay safe when using the internet. They also know potential dangers in their community. For example, they are taught about road safety.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Curriculum plans for subjects beyond English and mathematics are not always coherently planned. Sometimes pupils’ subject-specific skills are not developed alongside pupils’ knowledge. Leaders must make sure that there is high-quality curriculum planning and teaching in all subjects, so pupils can acquire skills and knowledge in all subjects quickly.  At times, teachers do not set the right pace for learning when pupils work on their own. This can slow learning down especially for the most able pupils. Leaders must ensure that teachers plan activities to meet pupils’ needs and offer appropriate challenge, especially for the most able pupils.  Teachers feel well cared for and they are well trained around behaviour management and safeguarding. However, some of their training needs in subject areas are not well understood, which means some subjects are not taught as well as others. Leaders must check teachers’ training needs, so they can implement the well-planned

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

curriculum successfully and consistently. Furthermore, they need to actively check how well staff’s well-being needs are met.  There is strong behaviour in all areas of school, but at playtime, not all pupils have the same access to the playground. Leaders must make sure that ball games do not dominate the playground, so all pupils can play games of their choosing and that a range of equipment is available.

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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.

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Background

This is the first section 8 inspection since we judged Haxey CofE Primary School to be good on 10–11 May 2016. 26–27 November 2019

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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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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. 26–27 November 2019

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School details

Inspection number 10110843 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 Mrs Susan Coggon

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School details

Date of previous inspection 10–11 May 2016

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Information about this school

 The school is smaller than the average-sized primary school.  The proportion of pupils with SEND is below the national average. The proportion of pupils with an education, health and care plan is well above average.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils is below average.

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Information about this inspection

 I met with the headteacher and several senior and middle leaders throughout the inspection. I met with several teaching staff, office staff and kitchen staff.  A meeting was held with leaders who have responsibility for safeguarding. Documents around processes and policies relating to pupils’ safety were also checked. I also checked records of staff recruitment and staff training.  I agreed with the headteacher to carry out a review of mathematics, reading and science as part of the inspection. Together with curriculum leaders, we completed connected inspection activities that included lesson visits, work scrutiny and discussion with leaders, pupils and teachers. I spoke to six parents at the start of the school day. I considered the nine free-text responses from parents. I also considered the 38 responses from parents on Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, and reviewed 26–27 November 2019

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Inspection team

Fiona McNally, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 26–27 November 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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