Sir Francis Hill Community Primary School

Inspection of Sir Francis Hill Community Primary School Bristol Drive, Lincoln, Lincolnshire LN6 7UE

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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 8 and 9 November 2022

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy and safe at this school. Teachers and support staff know their pupils well and show pupils that they care about them. Pupils receive time during the day to share how they are feeling and any worries they may have. Older pupils record these reflections in their ‘happy confident me’ journals.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have high expectations of all pupils. Both staff and pupils work hard at modelling some of the school values of respect, honesty, resilience and friendship. Pupils know how to be a good friend.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Behaviour in lessons and in and around school is positive. There is a culture of mutual respect between staff and pupils. There are a few pupils who struggle with their behaviour. Staff support these pupils to improve their own behaviour. Bullying does happen occasionally. When it does, staff ensure that they deal with it quickly.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school community prides itself on the provision for music and the arts. All pupils have an opportunity to play an instrument in the school orchestra.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The curriculum is not yet taught consistently well, including in early years. Leaders are not routinely checking how well the curriculum is being taught or what pupils can remember.

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better?

The curriculum is ambitious for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The curriculum is well planned. It is clear what knowledge pupils should learn and when.

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better?

The teaching of music is a strength of the school. The teaching of the rest of the curriculum is not as strong as it should be, including in early years. Not all pupils are able to remember the knowledge they learn in lessons. In some lessons, teachers teach too much knowledge for pupils to be able to understand or remember it well. Some teachers do not consistently use strategies to help pupils remember more about what they are learning.

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better?

Reading starts in early years. Staff do not teach phonics consistently. There are too many pupils who are struggling with their reading. Teachers identify these pupils quickly. The support they provide, however, does not help these pupils to become confident readers quickly enough. The books available for pupils to read do not always match the sounds that they know. Leaders promote a love of reading in school. The library is well stocked with books for all pupils to enjoy.

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better?

Teachers regularly check what pupils know in each subject. They do not always use this information to inform the next steps of pupils’ learning. 8 and 9 November 2022

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Activities in early years do not always build on what children know or can do already. Teachers do not always address misconceptions. On such occasions, they do not ensure that children’s understanding is correct.

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Pupils are proud of their school and are ready to learn. Most pupils say that they enjoy their lessons. Children in early years settle well and follow their routines with ease. All pupils understand the ‘good to be green’ rewards system in school. They work hard to earn house points and ‘gold cards’ for exceptional behaviour.

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Pupils learn about healthy relationships and the need to respect those who are different from themselves. Through completing writing activities, they learn about different cultures. Pupils know about some of the British values. Pupils have an age- appropriate understanding of different faiths. Teachers use texts well to help pupils start to think about jobs and career options. This starts in early years. There are opportunities for pupils to develop their talents and interests through clubs. These include, but are not limited to, clubs for music and the arts, cricket and karate.

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Leaders prioritise meeting the wider needs of all pupils, including those with SEND. The ‘Ark’ provision allows pupils with SEND time to settle and become ready to learn at their own pace. Most teachers adapt their teaching to meet these pupils’ needs.

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Leaders do not regularly check how well pupils learn the curriculum. They have not acted to bring about the necessary improvements in how the curriculum is taught, including in early years.

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Leaders consider the workload and well-being of staff. Governors know the school well. They support the school’s leaders. However, governors do not always challenge leaders as robustly as they should.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders ensure that they prioritise the safeguarding of all pupils. Staff receive regular training and weekly safeguarding updates. All staff know how to identify pupils who may be at risk of harm. There is a strong culture of reporting incidents, no matter how minor they may appear. Leaders work closely with external agencies. Pupils and their families get the right support they need.

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Safeguarding

Pupils know where to get help if they need it. Teachers ensure that they teach pupils how to stay safe. Pupils know how to stay physically and mentally healthy. They know how to keep themselves safe when online. 8 and 9 November 2022

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Leaders have not made sure that teachers consistently use effective methods and approaches to help pupils know and remember more. In early years, the activities teachers set do not always match what they intend children to learn and achieve across each area of learning. In key stages 1 and 2, in some lessons, teachers impart too much knowledge for pupils to be able to remember it well enough. As a result, children and pupils do not always learn new knowledge in a way that helps them to know and remember more over time, including by building on what they already know. Leaders should ensure that teachers understand how best to teach knowledge across the different subjects in all year groups, so that children and pupils can securely build on their learning over time and are well prepared for their next stage of education.  Staff are not consistent in how they teach the school’s phonics programme. Some

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

teachers do not use the pure sounds. Some do not teach the right sounds at the right time. Some pupils who struggle to read receive support that does not enable them to become confident readers quickly enough. These pupils are given books that do not match their phonic knowledge. As a result, some pupils are not becoming confident and fluent readers as quickly as they should. Leaders should ensure that staff have the knowledge and skills to implement the school’s phonics programme consistently well, and to support pupils who are at an early stage of reading. They should make sure that the books pupils read match the sounds they already know.  Some leaders are not monitoring how well teachers are teaching their subjects across the school. As a result, leaders do not have a precise enough understanding of where provision needs to improve to be able to bring about that improvement quickly enough. Leaders should ensure that they have a precise

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

understanding of how well teachers are teaching the curriculum in all subjects, so that all pupils achieve the best possible outcomes.

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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. 8 and 9 November 2022

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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. 8 and 9 November 2022

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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Date of previous inspection

28 June 2017, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 There has been a change of headteacher since the previous inspection.  The school makes use of one registered 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 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.  Inspectors held meetings with the headteacher, deputy headteacher and other school leaders.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in reading, mathematics, music, history and geography. As part of these deep dives, inspectors met with curriculum leaders, visited a sample of lessons, looked at samples of pupils’ work, listened to some 8 and 9 November 2022

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pupils read and held discussions with teachers and pupils. Inspectors also reviewed curriculum documentation for other subjects.  An inspector met with members of the governing body, including the chair.  Inspectors considered the 79 responses on Ofsted Parent View. Inspectors also spoke informally to parents and carers at the school gate. Inspectors considered the responses to Ofsted’s surveys for the school’s staff and for pupils.  An inspector met with the school’s designated safeguarding leads to check the effectiveness of the school’s arrangements to keep pupils safe.  Inspectors examined a range of documentation, including that relating to: safeguarding; governance; recruitment; behaviour; exclusions; the use of pupil premium; the provision for pupils with SEND; and attendance.

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Inspection team

Anita Denman, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Joanna Hall Ofsted Inspector 8 and 9 November 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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