Clifton Primary School

Inspection of an outstanding school: Clifton Primary School Burslem Street, Hull HU2 9BP

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Inspection dates: 30 November and 1 December 2021

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Outcome

Clifton Primary School continues to be an outstanding school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

There is a strong sense of community in this school. Pupils are happy and they feel safe. Relationships between adults and pupils are extremely positive. The Clifton ‘Good Citizen’ programme helps pupils to develop the communication and interaction skills they need for later life. Leaders help pupils to develop resilience and self-confidence in their learning.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have high expectations of behaviour for all pupils. Most pupils behave extremely well. A very small minority of pupils occasionally struggle to control their behaviour. Adults deal with this quickly and sensitively. Older pupils act as buddies for younger children. They enjoy this role and take the responsibility seriously.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils demonstrate outstanding levels of tolerance and respect for other pupils and adults. Teachers provide opportunities for pupils to share experiences of their cultural beliefs and celebrations. Provision for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities is first- rate. Teachers skilfully adapt their teaching to enable all pupils to fully access the curriculum. All pupils learn and play together well as part of the ‘Clifton’ family.

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

Leaders have embedded a carefully sequenced, knowledge-rich curriculum from the early years through to Year 6. Comprehensive subject plans identify the essential knowledge and vocabulary that pupils need to learn over time. This provides a strong foundation for later learning.

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

Across all subjects, the precise focus on building vocabulary helps all pupils, particularly those who speak English as an additional language, to talk about their learning. This is especially strong in mathematics lessons. From the earliest stages in Reception, adults skilfully support pupils to explain their mathematical thinking. By Year 6, pupils’ mathematical vocabulary is extensive. 30 November and 1 December 2021

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The introduction of a comprehensively sequenced phonics programme is helping children to establish successful early reading skills from the very start of Reception. Teachers use rigorous assessments to make sure that all pupils make good progress. Additional individual and small-group learning activities help to rapidly close any gaps in learning. Leaders make sure that pupils in key stage 2 who still find reading difficult also benefit from this additional support. The reading leader has used her expert understanding of the programme to help all adults to confidently deliver high-quality phonics sessions. The restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic have reduced leaders’ opportunities to monitor all sessions and address minor inconsistencies in delivery. Leaders are taking swift action to address this.

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Leaders’ work to support pupils’ personal development is exemplary. In religious education lessons, teachers provide opportunities for pupils to understand and appreciate the different life experiences of their friends. For example, Muslim pupils have the opportunity to share their experiences of fasting during Ramadan. Pupils develop an understanding of what it means to be part of a wider British community. A well-developed programme for relationships education helps pupils to understand the importance of tolerance and respect for others. Teachers ensure that they enrich the curriculum through an extensive range of visits and experiences. These include visits to Hull’s local fish trail. This helps pupils to develop an understanding of the city’s rich fishing and maritime heritage. Pupils have visited a local theatre to experience a performance of ‘The Railway Children’. These experiences help to broaden pupils’ horizons.

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Pupils with highly complex special educational needs receive outstanding levels of support. Leaders ensure that these pupils benefit from the expertise of specialist professionals. For example, the Guide Dogs Association supports pupils with sight loss to learn how to navigate safely around school. Leaders ensure that pupils can develop essential life skills through activities such as learning to dress independently and simple food preparation. The multi-academy trust has provided teachers with detailed suggestions for how to adapt every aspect of the curriculum.

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The executive headteacher and head of school are extremely well respected by all members of staff. Subject leaders have flourished under their guidance. They now play an effective role in school improvement. Teachers, including those in the early stages of their career, welcome the rigorous level of challenge and support that leaders provide. This helps them to develop professionally. All staff strongly agree that leaders are considerate of their workload and well-being. Governors hold leaders to account effectively. Their monitoring of the school’s safeguarding practices is exemplary.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders have established highly effective systems to ensure that all adults who work in school are safe to do so. Procedures for the safe recruitment of staff are comprehensive. Leaders prioritise safeguarding in this school. All staff receive regular, high-quality safeguarding training. They know that when they raise concerns about pupils’ welfare and 30 November and 1 December 2021

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safety, leaders will act quickly. Pupils feel safe in school. They have a comprehensive understanding of how to stay safe online.

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Background

When we have judged outstanding, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains outstanding. This is called a section 8 inspection of a good or outstanding school, because it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, 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 deem the section 8 inspection as a section 5 inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the first section 8 inspection since we judged the predecessor school, Clifton Primary School, to be outstanding in July 2016.

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How can I feed back my views?

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. 30 November and 1 December 2021

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School details

Local authority Kingston Upon Hull City Council

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School details

Inspection number 10208988 Type of school Primary

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 Clifton Primary School converted to become an academy school in November 2017. When its predecessor school, Clifton Primary School, was last inspected by Ofsted, it was judged to be outstanding overall.  The executive headteacher took up post in September 2019.  The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is double the national average.  The percentage of pupils who speak English as an additional language is three times the national average.  The school has two early career teachers.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with school leaders and has taken that into account in their evaluation. 30 November and 1 December 2021

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 The lead inspector met with the executive headteacher and head of school, three assistant headteachers, the coordinator for special educational needs, the chief executive of the multi-academy trust and representatives of the governing body.  The lead inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics and religious education. For each deep dive, the lead inspector 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.  The lead inspector also met with the subject leaders for personal, social and health education. In addition, the lead inspector spent time observing pupils’ behaviour and relationships in breakfast club and at morning break.  To judge the effectiveness of safeguarding, the lead inspector scrutinised the single central record, checked the procedures for the safer recruitment of staff and held a

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meeting with the designated safeguarding lead. The lead inspector met with staff to check their understanding of safeguarding and the impact of any training received. Additionally, inspectors met with members of the governing body to discuss their statutory responsibilities.  The lead inspector considered the responses to Ofsted’s survey, Parent View, including 10 free-text responses. In addition, inspectors considered the responses to 36 staff surveys.

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Inspection team

Alex Thorp, lead inspector Her Majesty's Inspector 30 November and 1 December 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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