Hopton Primary School

Inspection of Hopton Primary School Woodend Road, Mirfield, West Yorkshire WF14 8PR

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Early years provision Good Leadership and management Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

This school was last inspected 14 years ago and judged ‘Outstanding’ under a previous inspection framework. This reflected the school’s overall effectiveness under the inspection framework in use at the time.

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Overall effectiveness Good

From then until November 2020, the school was exempted by law from routine inspection, so there has been a longer gap than usual between inspections. Judgements in this report are based on the current inspection framework and also reflect changes that may have happened at any point since the last inspection. 7 and 8 June 2022

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils at Hopton Primary School are safe and happy. They enjoy coming to school and attend regularly. They get on well with each other and are respectful towards members of staff. A comment from one pupil, typical of others, was that ‘This is a safe place to learn and make friends.’

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What is it like to attend this school?

The vast majority of pupils behave well in and out of lessons. There have been no suspensions or exclusions for many years. Occasionally, however, pupils’ behaviour does not meet leaders’ expectations. When this happens, support is put in place to address concerns. Pupils say that bullying is infrequent and concerns are managed well by leaders. However, the records leaders keep on these incidents, as well as other incidents of poor behaviour, could be more robust.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils study a range of subjects. The plans in place for each subject are detailed and well thought through. The majority of lessons are exciting and challenging, but this is not always the case. Although the amount of time some pupils have to learn subjects such as modern foreign languages and computing has been limited, leaders have clear plans to address this.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are taught to read very well from an early age. The books they read match the sounds they have been taught. However, most younger pupils are unable to take these books home to further embed this learning. Many parents and carers are frustrated by this.

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better?

One of the major recent priorities for leaders has been to review and relaunch the school’s curriculum. Extensive work has taken place to consider the ways topics are taught across different year groups and how topics are best sequenced. Subject leaders have been guided to ensure that their subject plans are detailed, with the most important aspects of learning prioritised and revisited. These plans are now in place for most subjects, and build up from learning in the early years.

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better?

Pupils’ experiences in lessons are mostly positive. However, there is variation in the implementation of teaching plans within lessons. Some teachers, for example, do not follow the plans with fidelity, which limits the progress pupils make in individual subjects. Some pupils have limited opportunities to write at length. Others do not study subjects such as music and computer science as often as leaders have planned. As a result, some pupils are not fully benefiting from the overall curriculum ambition.

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better?

Earlier this academic year, leaders changed the approach taken to teaching pupils to read. Staff and pupils have bought into the new scheme with gusto. Although the books younger pupils read in school match the sounds they have been taught, the majority of pupils in key stage 1 only have access to electronic copies of these books to read at home. Many pupils are not benefiting from this option, and leaders’ plans 7 and 8 June 2022

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to address this are of utmost importance. Notwithstanding this limitation, pupils are taught well to read.

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In the early years, leaders have linked key topics with the local context in which pupils live and learn. The ‘water’ topic, for example, has explicit links to the local canal. Staff interactions with children are positive, and high levels of staff presence help to ensure that children are fully engaged in their learning. Leaders are continuing to develop their ‘milestone’ points, which are used to help monitor the progress children make in the early years setting.

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Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) receive effective help at school. Leaders work with pupils, parents and external agencies to ensure that pupils’ needs are met. Leaders have plans to broaden SEND training for staff. This is to help ensure that they continue to meet the increasing needs of pupils.

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Pupils have access to a range of opportunities to enrich their learning at school, including through the personal, social, health and economic education (PSHE) curriculum. Pupils enjoy it when they go on trips, and many are excited about the forthcoming visit to the Great Yorkshire Show. There are several extra-curricular opportunities on offer, including running, boxercise and gardening clubs. However, some pupils do not feel that the options are fully aligned to their own interests and talents. Pupils know about the values it is important to show when living in modern Britain. However, their awareness of the similarities and differences between different faiths is limited.

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Pupils, parents and staff all speak favourably about the way the headteacher has created a supportive, welcoming and calm school environment. Staff enjoy working at the school, and embrace the school’s values of ‘respect’, ‘honesty’ and ‘effort’. The headteacher and other school leaders are supported by a dedicated group of governors. They bring both academic and wider commercial expertise to support leaders with school improvement. Leaders are regularly challenged by governors, who are keen for the school to be as good as it can be.

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Parental engagement with school is well embedded. One comment from a parent, typical of many others, was that ‘This school is a credit to everyone that works within it and we as a community are so proud to have it.’ Large numbers of parents and other family members come into school regularly to listen to their children read.

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Some parents, however, find the multifaceted methods of communication difficult to keep on top of. They find it difficult to find information on the school website. Leaders have planned changes to the structure of classes for the next academic year. There remains work to do to ensure that the curriculum is fully prepared for these changes. Some parents do not yet understand the rationale for these changes and how their child will benefit from them.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 7 and 8 June 2022

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Pupils are taught about how to stay safe at school, in the community and online. A recent rail safety event, for example, highlighted the risks of playing on or around train tracks. This is important, as the school is situated adjacent to a busy railway line. Staff are aware of the signs to look out for that may suggest pupils need additional help. Safeguarding leaders ensure that pupils receive the help they need, including from external agencies where necessary. Leaders ensure that staff are suitable to work with children before they are appointed to their posts. Minor administrative errors in the recording of these checks were corrected during the inspection.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Aspects of the school curriculum are very new. Although plans are in place to ensure depth and quality in terms of what is taught, these are not currently being implemented consistently in the classroom. Some pupils have limited recall of some of what they have been taught, including aspects of computing and languages, and their knowledge of different faiths is minimal. As a result of these shortcomings, the impact of the curriculum is limited. Leaders should ensure that these points are addressed as they embed their new curriculum plans.  Parental engagement with the school is strong. However, some parents are anxious about the planned changes to combine classes across year groups. Others struggle to access the information they need from the school website. Many are disappointed about not being able to take physical books home to help embed the learning of phonics. Leaders should further understand the frustrations

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

some parents have, and put plans in place to address these matters.  Leaders take appropriate actions to respond to incidents of bullying and poor behaviour. However, the associated record-keeping is limited. This is restricting the knowledge leaders have of the type and frequency of incidents. It limits the ability of governors to monitor the actions leaders are taking. Leaders should review how they record incidents and use this information more strategically to help further improve standards of behaviour at 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 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 . 7 and 8 June 2022

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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. 7 and 8 June 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10229024 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 10 and 11 June 2008

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Information about this school

 The school does not use alternative providers of education.

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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 had received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders, and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspectors met with the headteacher and several other school leaders. Inspectors spoke to many members of teaching and non-teaching staff, in addition to representatives from the school’s local governing body. The lead inspector also met with a representative from the local authority.  To evaluate the quality of education, deep dives were carried out in reading, mathematics, physical education and history. In all subjects, inspectors met with subject leaders, looked at curriculum plans, visited lessons, spoke to teachers, talked to pupils about their learning and looked at samples of their work. Aspects of other subjects, including science and PSHE, were also reviewed.

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 The inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around the school site. They also spoke to pupils to discuss their experiences at the school. Records of attendance and behaviour incidents were reviewed.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the school’s policies, procedures and other records were reviewed. The checks that the school makes when appointing new staff were scrutinised.  The views of staff who responded to Ofsted’s survey were also considered. The 61 responses to the parent and carer survey were also considered, along with the views of parents spoken to on the school site.

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Inspection team

James Duncan, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Chris Pearce Her Majesty’s Inspector 7 and 8 June 2022

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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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