Honeybourne Primary Academy

Inspection of a good school: Honeybourne First School School Street, Honeybourne, Evesham, Worcestershire WR11 7PJ

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Outcome

Honeybourne First School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

This is an inviting school where visitors feel welcome. Pupils are polite, confident and well mannered. They are always happy to help others. Pupils are cheerful and enjoy coming to the school. Pupils say they feel safe because their teachers care for them.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders and teachers have high expectations for all pupils. They want every pupil to do their very best in all aspects of school life, not just the academic. Pupils rise to these high expectations.

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What is it like to attend this school?

There is a very calm atmosphere around the school. Pupils work hard in lessons. They walk sensibly around the corridors and play cooperatively with their friends on the playground. Pupils say: ‘One of the best things about school is being with your friends. It’s like a family.’

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils have a clear understanding of the different types of bullying, including cyber bullying. Bullying hardly ever happens, but, when it does, pupils say that staff deal with it straight away.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Parents and carers are overwhelmingly positive about all aspects of school life. Several parents informed inspectors that they had moved their children to this school. They say they do not regret this decision. Parents say: ‘Teachers go over and above to help our children.’

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

Children in the Nursery and Reception classes are happy, settled and keen to learn. Teachers make sure that learning is interesting. Staff plan activities that build on what children already know. The classrooms are warm, colourful and well resourced. This helps children to learn. The relationships between adults and children are positive and nurturing. Staff care for children well. Staff maintain close relationships with parents 21 January 2020

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throughout the early years. Parents value this. Parents like the electronic communications that show them at first hand what their children are doing in the school.

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Leaders and staff have worked hard to develop the curriculum. In many subjects, including English, mathematics, science and modern foreign languages, learning is planned and ordered to develop pupils’ knowledge and skills over time. Teachers are clear about what they need to teach and when they need to teach it. Lessons build on what pupils have learned in the past. Pupils can see connections between what they have learned before and what they are learning now. For example, in mathematics, pupils use different approaches to solve a problem because they have learned a range of strategies in the past. Pupils knowledge and skills build well over time in these subjects.

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In some subjects, such as design and technology and computing, the order of learning is not as well planned. Leaders and staff have been working on these curriculum areas, but there is still more to be done. Pupils are not achieving as well as they could in these areas.

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Curriculum leaders have been the driving force behind the development of the curriculum. They have used their secure subject knowledge and leadership skills to achieve this. They support staff when required. However, in some subjects, leaders do not have the leadership skills and the required subject knowledge to develop the curriculum in their subject areas further.

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Teachers make learning interesting and explain concepts clearly. Teachers use effective questioning to explore pupils’ understanding and deepen their learning. In most subjects, teachers match the work to pupils’ needs closely. The most able pupils are well challenged, especially in English and mathematics. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are fully included in all aspects of school life. When required, well- trained staff provide extra help and support.

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Leaders place reading at the heart of the curriculum. Most pupils read confidently and fluently from an early age. Phonics is taught throughout early years and into Years 1 and 2. In nearly all instances, staff teach phonics well. Staff provide extra support for any pupils who fall behind. The school is working hard to create a love of reading. This is something it is keen to develop further.

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Staff organise a range of trips, clubs and special events. Pupils speak enthusiastically about trips to the beach, their visit to Warwick Castle and the range of after-school clubs, including yoga. Special activities linked to the curriculum make learning memorable. For example, pupils remember the time when they picked blackberries that they later used to bake a crumble pie.

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Leaders work hard to improve the school. Those responsible for governance support leaders well. Staff value the training they have received. They say it helps them to become better teachers. Staff say that leaders are very considerate of their well-being. They say that workload is manageable and has a purpose. 21 January 2020

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

All staff are aware that keeping pupils safe is everyone’s responsibility. It is their highest priority. Staff are knowledgeable, because leaders provide suitable safeguarding training and updates. Consequently, all staff know what to do if they have a concern about a pupil’s welfare. Staff record and pass on all concerns to safeguarding leads. Leaders deal with these concerns appropriately. Staff seek advice and support from external agencies when required. This makes sure that pupils get the best possible timely help. Leaders check staff’s suitability to work with children before they start to work at the school.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The school’s curriculum is designed effectively in most subjects, including English, mathematics, science and modern foreign languages. However, in some of the foundation subjects, the curriculum is not as well developed. Consequently, pupils do not achieve as well as they could in these subjects. For this reason, the transition arrangement has been applied. The school needs to build on the work already started to develop these areas of the curriculum further. These subjects need to be clearly planned and sequenced to build on pupils’ existing knowledge and skills over time.  A few leaders do not currently have the leadership skills and required subject knowledge to develop their subjects effectively. This is limiting the development of the curriculum in these areas. The school needs to ensure that these leaders possess the knowledge and skills needed to lead the development of the curriculum in the subject

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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 second section 8 inspection since we judged the predecessor school Honeybourne First School to be good on 29–30 May 2012. 21 January 2020

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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 are the school and you are 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. 21 January 2020

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School details

Inspection number 10122590 Type of school Primary

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School details

Website www.honeybourneschoolacademy.co.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 14 June 2016, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this school

 Honeybourne First School became an academy on 1 June 2013.  The school is a stand-alone academy.  The school has a Nursery that admits two-year-olds.

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Information about this inspection

 The lead inspector held regular meetings with the headteacher and met with two members of the governing body, including the chair.  The lead inspector held meetings with the special educational needs coordinator and the leader who is responsible for early years.  As part of the inspection, we completed deep dives in these subjects: design and technology, reading and mathematics. We met with groups of pupils, curriculum leaders and teachers to talk about the quality of education at the school.  We visited classrooms. Many of these visits were with curriculum leaders.  An inspector listened to several groups of pupils read. 21 January 2020

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 We spoke with pupils formally and informally about their learning and experiences at the school. We looked at pupils’ work in a range of different subjects to see how well the curriculum is applied.  We checked documents relating to safeguarding, including the checks that leaders make on staff’s suitability to work with children prior to employment. We checked that safeguarding policies and procedures are implemented effectively across the school.  We talked to parents after the school day. The lead inspector considered the 40 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire Ofsted Parent View and the 24 free-text responses received during the inspection.  The lead inspector considered the 18 responses to Ofsted’s staff survey.  We considered a range of documents. We looked at the school’s self-evaluation, school improvement plans, school policies, curriculum documents and published information about pupils’ performance.

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 The lead inspector looked at published information on the school’s website.

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Inspection team

Wayne Simner, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Russell Hinton Ofsted Inspector 21 January 2020

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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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