Dunswell Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Dunswell Primary School

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Beverley Road, Dunswell, Hull, East Yorkshire, HU6 0AD

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Outcome

Dunswell Primary School continues to be a good school. However, inspectors have some concerns that one or more areas may be declining, as set out below.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders want the best for pupils at this small village school. Their caring ethos is delivered using their school vision of ‘value, nurture and fulfilment through support, harmony and praise’. Well-established systems and routines result in a settled start to the school day. Positive and considerate relationships between staff and pupils are evident in each classroom.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy school. They feel safe and well cared for. Pupils are clear that this is more than a school to them. When asked what is special about Dunswell Primary School, one pupil said, ‘This is not like a normal school, this is our family.’ Pupils say that bullying does not happen very often. If there are any issues, pupils are confident that staff will sort things out quickly. Pupils behave well and are polite and respectful.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Parents speak highly of the school. All parents who inspectors spoke with said that they would recommend the school. Many explained how the school sits at the heart of their village community. Parents of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) particularly value the support that is available to them. One parent expressed gratitude at how the special educational needs and/or disabilities coordinator (SENCo) and support staff ‘help my child through every stage of education including future transition to secondary school’.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils know that reading is an important part of their education. They say that they love reading. They are able to talk about a variety of books that they have enjoyed reading in school and at home. However, the phonics programme being delivered in early years and key stage 1 is not effective enough to support pupils who are behind with their reading. 2 July 2021

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

Currently, the school’s approach to the teaching of early reading and phonics does not help pupils to become fluent readers. Pupils are not able to apply their phonics knowledge accurately to read unfamiliar words. In some cases, the books are not well matched to pupils’ needs. Staff have not had training to deliver a systematic phonics programme. This means they do not have the expertise needed to meet the needs of all pupils. Staff do not make the best activity choices or use of resources to make sure that pupils get enough practice in each phonics session. Adults do not consistently encourage pupils to use their phonics knowledge when reading. Pupils resort to other strategies, such as using the pictures to guess what words might be. This hampers pupils’ progress when learning to read.

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

The mathematics curriculum sets out the key knowledge and skills that pupils will learn from their start in school to Year 6. The work in pupils’ books shows that most lessons follow this planned sequence of learning. Pupils have positive attitudes to their learning in mathematics. Whole-school approaches to modelling calculation strategies and the use of apparatus help pupils to know more and remember more as they move through the school.

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

In physical education (PE), the curriculum is well sequenced. Pupils build on their knowledge year on year. Teachers work together with a PE specialist from the trust to structure their lessons. This is done with care in order to match the needs of mixed-age classes. Pupils in key stage 2 are able to talk about the things they have learned in previous lessons. They understand and use the correct key vocabulary. For example, pupils spoke about the technique and stance required for a forehand or backhand volley in tennis.

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

Leaders are in the process of reviewing the wider curriculum. They have identified the knowledge and skills pupils need to know in most subjects. Leaders have considered how this knowledge needs to be sequenced over time so that pupils know more, remember more and can do more. The next step is to prioritise how the wider curriculum is delivered so that pupils achieve well in a range of subjects over time. Leaders understand the importance of delivering a well-planned curriculum so that they prepare pupils for the next stage of their learning.

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

Leaders and staff promote pupils’ personal, spiritual, moral, social and cultural development well. Pupils understand the importance of respect and tolerance. Staff carefully consider and plan experiences and tasks that are relevant to the local community. Many of the usual opportunities available to pupils have been disrupted by the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic. However, leaders have shown determination. They provide a rich range of activities to support the personal development of their pupils.

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

Pupils with SEND receive well-planned support for their additional needs. Leaders and staff actively encourage pupils with SEND to take a full part in the life of the school. The SENCo liaises closely with staff and parents. This additional understanding of the wider context of each pupil helps her to adapt the curriculum effectively according to pupils’ needs. 2 July 2021

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Leaders and governors place a high priority on supporting all staff. Staff explained that they work hard because they want to. They feel that school and trust leaders care about their well-being.

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In discussion with the headteacher, we agreed that curriculum development and the teaching of early reading and phonics may usefully serve as areas of focus for the next inspection.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

The headteacher has established a strong culture of safeguarding in school. Leaders talk with confidence about work they undertake to keep pupils safe both online and offline. Pupils are able to explain this articulately. Safeguarding practice is regularly reviewed by the headteacher and the trust safeguarding team. Governors receive and discuss safeguarding updates at every meeting. Leaders have strong systems for raising and following up concerns. They liaise regularly with external agencies, including the local authority.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 How pupils learn to read is a priority. The approach to delivering phonics is inconsistent in early years and key stage 1. Leaders need to agree a systematic whole-school approach to teaching pupils to read, and all staff need training in the chosen phonics approach. Leaders need to implement the new programme fully and check that it is delivered with consistency in phonics sessions. This will support all children to get off to a strong early start when learning to read.  The wider curriculum is in the early stages of development in some subjects. Leaders should ensure that the curriculum clearly sets out what pupils should know and in what order. Subject leaders can then check that their subject is implemented consistently well throughout school. This will support pupils in achieving ambitious outcomes.

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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 or outstanding school. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find some evidence that a good 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 July 2021

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This is the first section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good on 7 and 8 July 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.

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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 here .

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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 July 2021

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School details

Local authority East Riding of Yorkshire

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School details

Inspection number 10183964 Type of school Primary

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School details

Date of previous inspection 7–8 July 2015 under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Dunswell Primary School is part of the Edukos Trust.  The academy is much smaller than the average-sized primary school.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation.  Inspectors met with the headteacher, other senior leaders, the SENCo, curriculum leaders and a range of staff and pupils. Inspectors spoke with members of the governing body, a representative of the local authority and the chief executive officer of the Edukos Trust.  Inspectors looked closely at the quality of education in early reading, mathematics and PE. This involved speaking with leaders, pupils and staff, visiting lessons, listening to pupils read and reviewing samples of pupils’ work.  To evaluate the effectiveness of the safeguarding arrangements in the school, inspectors spoke to many members of staff and pupils. The lead inspector met with the 2 July 2021

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designated safeguarding lead to discuss the school’s policies and procedures. During these meetings, records were scrutinised, including those relating to the safer recruitment of staff. Case files were sampled to explore how the school identifies and supports pupils at risk of harm. Inspectors also spoke with a range of pupils and staff to evaluate the school’s safeguarding culture.  The views of staff were considered from conversations and 16 responses to Ofsted’s online staff survey.  An inspector spoke to some parents at the start of the inspection. The 17 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, including 15 written responses, were taken into account.

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Inspection team

Zoe Lightfoot, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Chris Cook Her Majesty’s Inspector 2 July 2021

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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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