Barrow Hill Primary Academy

Inspection of Barrow Hill Primary Academy Station Road, Barrow Hill, Chesterfield, Derbyshire S43 2PG

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Inspection dates: 18 and 19 October 2022

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Requires improvement Personal development Requires improvement Leadership and management Requires improvement Early years provision Requires improvement Previous inspection grade Requires improvement 18 and 19 October 2022

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy coming to school because they like to be with their friends and teachers. Most pupils play and work together in harmony. Some parents and carers appreciate leaders’ actions to understand and meet their child’s needs. In the words of one parent, ‘It is a community.’

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What is it like to attend this school?

Every morning, all pupils receive breakfast on arrival at school. Pupils know the importance of a healthy diet. They know that staff care for them and will help them with any worries or concerns they may have.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils know the school rules of ‘ready, respectful, safe.’ Bespoke strategies are put in place for those pupils who need additional help to regulate their behaviour. However, pupils told inspectors that some pupils’ behaviour was not consistently good throughout the school day. Although adults sort out any instances of bullying, pupils said teasing and name-calling remain.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Children settle quickly into the early years. They learn to share and independently access resources. However, leaders have not clearly outlined what the children in the early years will know and remember. Subject leaders are at the early stages of understanding how to check if children remember what they have learned.

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better?

Many of the school’s policies, procedures and systems are in their infancy. School and trust leaders recognise that there is further work to do to ensure that their ambitions and expectations are realised. This includes the school’s behaviour procedures and policies. Some parents feel that they are not well informed about the changes in school.

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better?

Leaders have reviewed the school’s curriculum. They have considered the key knowledge that they would like pupils to know and remember. However, leaders have not made checks to ensure that the curriculum is helping pupils to know more over time. Curriculum leaders do not yet have a secure overview of how well the school’s curriculum is being remembered by pupils. They do not yet provide guidance and support for teachers so that they understand how to deliver their subject area in a consistent way.

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better?

Leaders have revised the school’s early reading programme to ensure that all staff teach phonics in a consistent way. Staff have received training. Leaders have ensured that the writing programme links to the sounds pupils learn in their reading. Leaders are reviewing attendance and punctuality procedures to ensure that pupils who need additional help to read are in school every day.

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better?

Relationships in the early years are secure. Children follow routines to help them become independent. For example, they learn to tidy up after themselves. Others 18 and 19 October 2022

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gather the resources they need to mix dry powder paint to create their art. Children enjoy sharing a variety of books. They learn to sing simple songs and rhymes as they play. Leaders are improving the outdoor area to ensure that the whole learning environment is purposeful. However, leaders have not set out precisely what children in the early years should learn, and when. Leaders are supporting staff to develop their understanding of the early years curriculum.

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Leaders are quick to identify the needs of pupils with special educational needs and or disabilities (SEND). Leaders liaise with external agencies to address pupils’ needs. However, some of the targets on pupils’ learning plans are too general. They do not set out clearly and precisely enough what pupils should achieve.

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Pupils learn about healthy relationships. They are beginning to understand values such as respect and tolerance. They learn about different types of families. Pupils understand the importance of looking after their own mental health. They enjoy sharing their achievements in assemblies. They like the different clubs the school offers. However, pupils’ understanding of different faiths and communities is not secure.

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Trustees have received training to help them to understand their role. They are beginning to use the information they receive to hold leaders to account for their actions and decisions.

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Staff are proud to work at the school. They recognise that the recent changes are helping them to improve their teaching. They acknowledge the efforts of leaders to support their workload and well-being.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders know their families well. They seek to understand the wider circumstances of their community. Where leaders have concerns, they communicate these with external agencies in a swift manner.

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Safeguarding

Leaders ensure that all staff have regular training to understand the school’s procedures for safeguarding. Staff know the signs to look for that may indicate a child is at risk of harm. Trust leaders regularly check the school’s policies and procedures regarding safeguarding.

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Safeguarding

Pupils understand how to report any issues online. They know that they should not give out personal information when using the internet.

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 Many of the school’s systems, policies and procedures are in their infancy and are yet to have the desired impact on the education of all pupils, including pupils with SEND. The recent improvements are not embedded. This results in inconsistences in leaders’ actions. Leaders at all levels must ensure that policies, systems and procedures are embedded and communicated with all stakeholders to ensure sustained school improvement.  Many subject leaders do not yet have the confidence and skills to lead their subjects and provide effective guidance and support for teachers. Teachers’ subject knowledge is not consistently strong in all areas of the curriculum. Leaders should ensure that subject leaders develop the necessary experience and skills to lead their curriculum areas effectively, including supporting teachers to deliver the curriculum, so that pupils know and remember more over time.  Leaders have not ensured that pupils’ behaviour is of a consistently high

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standard. Teasing and name-calling are common. There are inconsistences in how behaviour incidents are managed. Leaders must ensure that all staff have the highest expectations for pupils’ behaviour. They must ensure that all adults apply the school’s behaviour systems so that pupils’ behaviour is consistently strong across the school.  The early years curriculum is not yet sufficiently planned and sequenced. This means that staff do not have a clear overview of what children in the early years need to know and when. Leaders must ensure that the curriculum for the early years is well sequenced so that children are well prepared for Year 1.  Leaders have not ensured that pupils have a strong understanding of a range of faiths and cultures. This limits how well pupils are prepared for life in modern Britain. Leaders should ensure that the wider curriculum enables pupils to learn about different communities, faiths and beliefs. They should help pupils to

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understand and respect those who are different to them so that they develop well as young citizens.

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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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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. 18 and 19 October 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10241499 Type of school Primary

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School details

Date of previous inspection 5 March 2019, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Since the last inspection, there have been significant changes in governance and teaching staff. A new head of academy has been appointed.  The school uses no alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded 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 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.  Inspectors held meetings with the head of academy, the director of primary SEND and the early years leader.  The lead inspector met with the chief executive officer of the Cavendish Learning Trust and representatives of the trust board. 18 and 19 October 2022

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 Inspectors sampled school development plans and documents related to the school’s self-evaluation. They sampled records related to pupil’s behaviour, attendance and exclusions.  Inspectors evaluated safeguarding by reviewing the school’s pre-employment checks and other documents, and by speaking with pupils and staff.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics and music. For each deep dive, inspectors met with subject leaders to discuss the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. Pupils were also observed reading to a member of staff.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour during lessons, at breaktime and lunchtime. They spoke to pupils and staff about their views on behaviour.  Inspectors reviewed the staff and parental responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire. Inspectors also spoke to parents at the start of the school day

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Inspection team

Shaheen Hussain, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Stuart Edmonds Ofsted Inspector 18 and 19 October 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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