Thomas Hinderwell Primary Academy

Inspection of Thomas Hinderwell Primary Academy Seamer Road, Scarborough, North Yorkshire YO12 4HF

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Overall effectiveness Inadequate

The quality of education Inadequate Behaviour and attitudes Inadequate Personal development Inadequate Leadership and management Requires improvement Early years provision Requires improvement Previous inspection grade Requires improvement 26–27 February 2020

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What is it like to attend this school?

Historically, pupils have not achieved well enough in this school. Current leaders have worked hard to tackle weaknesses. However, leaders’ expectations of what some pupils can achieve are too low. This includes for some disadvantaged pupils and pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Some pupils do not attend school full time or access a full curriculum. As a result, they do not receive the support they require to meet their needs.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Most pupils say that they enjoy school. They are polite, friendly and welcoming to visitors. Many pupils take part in extra-curricular activities. They enjoy performing in the choir or at dance festivals. They play football, hockey and cricket. However, these activities are not made available for all pupils.

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What is it like to attend this school?

A number of parents would not recommend the school to others. They are concerned about pupils’ behaviour. They are unhappy with the support and curriculum that their children receive.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Some of the pupils behave very well. They say that leaders deal with any bullying. However, staff have logged a very high number of behaviour incidents this academic year. A small number of pupils exhibit extreme behaviour. Actions taken to deal with this have been at the expense of a full curriculum for these pupils.

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better?

The quality of education is inadequate. Pupils’ published outcomes at the end of key stages 1 and 2 have been too low for too long. Many pupils are not well prepared to start key stage 2 or secondary school. Leaders have narrowed the curriculum for a significant minority of pupils. This includes pupils with SEND and some disadvantaged pupils. Too many of these pupils attend school for a very short period of time each week. This arrangement has gone on for too long. As a result, these pupils are falling further and further behind in their education.

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better?

Leaders have been too slow to address some of the areas identified for improvement at the previous inspection. The executive principal has been in post since October 2019. She and trust leaders recognise that there is still much that needs to be done to improve the school. The executive headteacher has put new systems in place to check on a regular basis how well the pupils are learning. She is taking action to improve the quality of education in mainstream classrooms. Pupils who have a reduced timetable are missing out on some curriculum subjects. They also miss out on educational visits and after-school clubs.

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better?

Leaders recognise that older pupils have gaps in their English and mathematics knowledge. This is because, in the past, some teaching did not help pupils to improve. This resulted in pupils falling behind in their learning. The executive 26–27 February 2020

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headteacher has put a programme in place to support all pupils to catch up to where they should be. It is too early to see if this is making any difference.

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Many subject leaders are new to their roles. They have started to tackle the weaknesses within their areas of responsibility. They have redesigned their subject plans to define the knowledge, skills and vocabulary that pupils need. Leaders’ plans identify what pupils will learn and in what order.

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Teachers have recently accessed high-quality training in mathematics and English. This is helping to ensure consistency in teaching across the school. However, the morale of some staff is low. They say that this is because there has been turbulence in leadership and staffing over time.

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Despite attendance being an area for improvement in the previous two inspections, too many pupils are still regularly absent from school. In class, staff manage pupils’ behaviour effectively. However, the pupils with the most challenging behaviour are removed from the classroom. The proportion of pupils excluded this academic year is significantly above the national average. The executive principal is determined to address attendance and exclusion rates. However, there has been insufficient time to see the results of recent actions.

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Children in the early years are confident and behave well. Children have many opportunities to develop their mathematical thinking. This is a strength in Nursery and Reception. Children love to play outdoors, exploring and developing their physical coordination. Children like making up their own stories. Teachers have started to develop children’s vocabulary but there is more work to do to encourage language development. Children play independently. However, sometimes, they do not have a clear purpose to their play. Adults do not intervene often enough to support children’s reasoning skills.

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Previously, pupils have not experienced high-quality teaching of phonics. This means that many pupils have weak reading skills. Leaders have recently reviewed the teaching of reading and phonics. There is now a structured and consistent approach to the delivery of phonics sessions. The leaders for phonics and reading have provided helpful training for staff. In key stage 2, teachers focus on developing pupils’ fluency when reading to help them to catch up.

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The leader for SEND has ensured that learning plans are in place for pupils. Teaching assistants support pupils in class and have good relationships with them. Some pupils with SEND have a reduced curriculum offer. Expectations of what pupils can achieve are not high enough. Many parents of pupils with SEND shared their concerns with inspectors. They said that pupils do not receive the support they need. They are disappointed that pupils miss out on curriculum enrichment such as after-school clubs or educational visits. This is hindering these pupils’ personal development.

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Current leaders have recently started to promote British values across the school. Pupils now learn about faiths, cultures, tolerance, respect, rule of law, individual 26–27 February 2020

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liberty and democracy. Pupils have limited knowledge of this aspect of the school’s curriculum because it is new. Leaders know that there is more work to do in this area.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

The designated safeguarding lead is supported by four deputy designated leaders. Together, they have ensured that safeguarding is high profile across the school. Although pupil absences are high, leaders check that pupils who do not attend school are safe. They do this through thorough systems which track pupils’ attendance. Staff are vigilant in their actions to keep pupils safe.

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Safeguarding

Staff attend regular training related to safeguarding. This means that they keep up to date with the latest risks and information. They are clear on the procedure to record any concerns about pupils. Leaders take prompt action to follow up concerns.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Historically, the quality of education has been weak. Pupils have not gained the knowledge they need across subjects, particularly those with SEND and some disadvantaged pupils. Consequently, pupils’ attainment, including in English and mathematics, has been below what is expected for their age. Leaders are developing the curriculum offer. Curriculum plans are in place for all subjects and they are being implemented across the mainstream classes in the school. Curriculum leaders have not checked consistently well how successfully these plans are being implemented. Senior leaders have introduced new systems recently to monitor and evaluate the curriculum. All leaders need to embed these systems so that the curriculum is well planned and delivered and pupils achieve well.  Some pupils, including some with SEND and some disadvantaged pupils, do not access a full curriculum. They do not learn a broad range of subjects as

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

exemplified in the national curriculum. Some of these pupils do not have access to a range of enrichment experiences to promote their personal development. Leaders should ensure that the curriculum is urgently reviewed for these pupils to ensure that it meets their academic, personal and social needs and supports them to achieve well.  Until recently, the curriculum has not focused sufficiently well on the promotion of British values. Pupils are only recently beginning to develop their knowledge about these areas. Leaders should continue to implement their plans to improve this area of the curriculum for all pupils so that they are well prepared for life in modern Britain.  Teachers have not provided sufficient opportunities for children in the early years to develop their language skills. This means that children have not been well 26–27 February 2020

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prepared for key stage 1. Leaders should check that teachers are implementing the plans they have in place to provide a language-rich curriculum.  Adults do not support children in the early years well enough to access independent activities. Some children move from one activity to another without a clear purpose. Leaders should ensure that adults support children to develop their thinking and reasoning when they are playing independently indoors and outside.  Despite leaders’ actions, the small improvements to attendance have not been sustained over time. There are still too many pupils absent from school. This includes pupils who are on a partial timetable. Leaders need to develop systems and strategies to ensure pupils attend school each day. They should ensure pupils attend school more regularly to reduce the gaps in pupils’ knowledge over time.  The number of pupils excluded is significantly higher than the national average.

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Leaders have new expectations of pupils’ behaviour. However, these expectations are not clearly understood. Therefore, incidents of pupils’ extreme behaviour remain high. Leaders’ actions to deal with this have resulted in some pupils accessing a curriculum offer which is too narrow. Leaders should ensure that everyone has a better understanding of how to promote positive behaviour. They should establish a clear policy on how to support pupils in managing their behaviour successfully. They should ensure that the curriculum supports pupils to be successful.  Leaders’ failure to improve the quality of education has resulted in many parents expressing concerns about the offer their children receive. This includes support for pupils with SEND. Leaders should ensure that they further improve partnerships with parents. They should keep parents informed about the improvements they are making to the school.

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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 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. 26–27 February 2020

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School details

Inspection number 10121719 Type of school Primary

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School details

Principal Dominique Osborne (Executive Principal)

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School details

Date of previous inspection 14 January 2019, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Thomas Hinderwell Primary Academy is part of the David Ross Education Trust.  Since the previous inspection, there have been considerable changes to the school’s staffing. The executive principal was appointed to support leadership in October 2019. From January 2020, she has been carrying out the principal role for three days per week. An additional vice-principal has been seconded from another academy within the trust. Several curriculum leaders are also new to their roles.

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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

In accordance with section 44(2) of the Education Act 2005, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector is of the opinion that this school requires significant improvement, because it is performing significantly less well than it might in all the circumstances reasonably be expected to perform. 26–27 February 2020

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 During this inspection, we met with the executive principal, vice-principals, curriculum leaders, early years leader, leader of SEND, teachers and support staff. We met with one trustee, the primary director and education director of the multi- academy trust.  We looked in particular detail at early reading and phonics, mathematics, writing, science and physical education. We visited lessons in these subjects with the executive principal, vice-principal and curriculum leaders. We met with pupils and staff. We listened to pupils read and, with leaders, viewed examples of pupils’ work in books. We talked to pupils to find out what it is like to be a pupil in this school.  The lead inspector visited an educational session for pupils being educated off site with the vice-principal.  We scrutinised a range of documents, including the school’s self-evaluation, school improvement plan, curriculum plans, leadership records and minutes of the

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local governing body meetings.  We reviewed safeguarding records, including the single central record of recruitment checks. We met with senior leaders about safeguarding and talked to staff about their role in keeping children safe.  We considered the 40 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, including 39 free-text responses. We considered the 21 responses to Ofsted’s online staff survey. There were no responses to Ofsted’s online pupil survey, but we gathered the views of pupils during the inspection.

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Inspection team

Alison Aitchison, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Richard Crane Ofsted Inspector 26–27 February 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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