Halton Holegate CofE Primary School

Inspection of Halton Holegate CofE Primary School Station Road, Halton Holegate, Spilsby, Lincolnshire, PE23 5PB

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Requires improvement Early years provision Requires improvement Previous inspection grade Good 2 and 3 November 2021

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What is it like to attend this school?

Halton Holegate is a small, nurturing, and welcoming school. It has a ‘family feel’. Pupils enjoy coming to school. They say they like learning, and their teachers care for them. Pupils feel safe in school. They know how to keep themselves safe, including when learning online. Staff know their pupils well; relationships between adults and pupils are positive.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave well. They are confident that adults will listen to their worries and address any of their concerns. Pupils say bullying does not happen, but if it did adults would swiftly deal with it. Pupils understand and behave in ways that demonstrate the school’s values. They have strong friendships and respect each other. One pupil told inspectors: ‘We are all different in looks, but we are all the same inside.’

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy the various activities on offer, such as the gardening club and choir. Leaders ensure pupils have lots of different learning experiences beyond the classroom.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils learn and remember more in some subjects than others. This is because leaders have not done enough to ensure that the curriculum is well planned in every subject.

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better?

Leaders’ curriculum plans for reading and mathematics set out what pupils should learn and know as they move through the school. Reading is a school priority. Teachers choose reading books that suit the pupils’ interests. Pupils say they enjoy reading. Younger pupils read books that are closely matched to their phonic knowledge and skills. Pupils use their phonics skills accurately to help read new and unfamiliar words. Consequently, pupils are becoming more-confident readers as their vocabulary grows.

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better?

Pupils enjoy their learning in mathematics. Curriculum plans are set out so that pupils revisit previous learning often. This means that pupils are being helped to grasp the key knowledge in the subject.

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better?

Leaders make sure that pupils learn in a wide range of subjects. Pupils talk enthusiastically about their science learning. Older pupils enjoy learning about properties of materials. Pupils are able to discuss what they had learned in their lessons. Younger pupils were able to tell inspectors about their knowledge of different types of rocks.

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better?

In some subjects, the curriculum plans do not identify precisely what leaders want pupils to learn and know. The teaching in these subjects is not as sharply focused on ensuring that pupils learn the intended knowledge. This results in pupils not 2 and 3 November 2021

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being able to remember clearly what they have been taught. For example, in history and religious education, pupils can remember the interesting activities they have completed during lessons. However, they are less secure in recalling the knowledge that they were supposed to learn.

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Children in the early years enjoy attending school. They learn and play happily together. Staff nurture children’s love of school from the day they start. Leaders have created a well-equipped and attractive area in the early years where children can learn. Inspectors observed the children developing their fine motor skills while learning about fire safety. Leaders have high ambitions for the children to succeed. These are reflected in the content of their curriculum plans of what they want children to know. However, the order in which the curriculum is delivered is still being refined. This is to ensure that children revisit aspects of the learning more frequently to deepen their understanding and support their development further.

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Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are well supported. Pupils access the same curriculum as other pupils. Staff only make adaptations to the curriculum where necessary. Adults deliver interventions that are well matched to meeting the needs of pupils with SEND.

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Pupils’ personal development is promoted well and is a strength of the school. Leaders provide pupils with many opportunities to broaden their horizons beyond learning on the school site. Pupils told inspectors about the many educational visits they attend. Pupils can also access a range of clubs, such as in sports, music, and gardening. Pupils are proud of the work they do as school, eco and faith councillors.

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Pupils learn about the school values. Pupils show respect for each other, regardless of their gender or religious beliefs. One pupil told inspectors, ‘All children respect each other no matter what religion we are.’ Pupils understand the concept of democracy. They were able to talk about the fairness of voting.

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Leaders have been successful in ensuring that pupils’ attendance rates have improved over time. Nevertheless, the proportion of pupils who are regularly absent from school remains stubbornly high. Leaders are working with parents and carers to tackle this issue.

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Governors have many different skills that they bring to their roles. They support and challenge school leaders effectively. Governors are mindful of teachers’ workload. They place a high priority on securing pupils’ and teachers’ well-being. Both early career teachers and recently qualified teachers feel fully supported by leaders and governors.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders have made sure that all staff know what to do if they have any worries about a pupil. Staff are well trained on safeguarding matters. They know the 2 and 3 November 2021

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school’s procedures for raising concerns about a pupil. Leaders make sure the necessary checks on adults are carried out before they start working at the school. Pupils know how to keep themselves safe. They understand road safety, stranger danger and keeping themselves safe online.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Leaders have begun to revise the curriculum, but in subjects other than reading and mathematics the curriculum is not well sequenced. Current outline plans need to be expanded upon so that they give more detail. They need to include the knowledge and skills that pupils need to gain in each year group. They need to set out for staff what to teach and when to teach it. The implementation of the plans needs to ensure that pupils build knowledge sequentially in all subjects.  While leaders have high ambitions for children in the Nursery and Reception Years, the curriculum plans are not coherently planned and sequenced. Current plans do not build on what children have previously been taught and can do. The plans need to set out how children can gain cumulatively sufficient knowledge and skills for their future learning.  The number of pupils absent from school has reduced since the previous inspection.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

However, the proportion of pupils who are regularly absent remains high. Leaders should continue with their work to reduce this further so that all pupils can access the full curriculum.

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How can I feed back my views?

or to find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View 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. 2 and 3 November 2021

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School details

Inspection number 10200242 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Website www.haltonholegateprimaryschool.co.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 27 September 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 This is a smaller-than-average-sized voluntary controlled primary school.  The school received its section 48 inspection in November 2019, when this aspect of the school’s work was graded as good.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school has received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with school leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation.  During the inspection, inspectors met with the headteacher, who is also the special educational needs and disabilities coordinator (SENDCo), the early years leader, and curriculum subjects leader. Inspectors spoke with teachers from across all year groups. Inspectors also met with members of the governing body, including the chair of the governing body. Inspectors spoke to a representative from the local authority. 2 and 3 November 2021

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 Inspectors spoke with several groups of pupils to talk about their learning across the curriculum.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in the following subjects: reading, mathematics, science, and history. For each deep dive, inspectors met with subject leaders, looked at curriculum plans, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, inspectors reviewed school policies, procedures, and records. Inspectors spoke with the designated safeguarding lead. Inspectors also spoke to staff, governors, and pupils about the school’s approach to keeping pupils safe.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around school.  Inspectors considered 19 responses to Ofsted Parent View. Inspectors also considered the views of staff from meetings with groups of staff.

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Inspection team

Kirsty Norbury, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Rebecca Jackson Ofsted Inspector 2 and 3 November 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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