Hackforth and Hornby Church of England Primary School

Inspection of Hackforth and Hornby Church of England Primary School Hackforth, Bedale, North Yorkshire DL8 1PE

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Inspection dates: 15 and 16 November 2022

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Good 15 and 16 November 2022

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What is it like to attend this school?

This is a happy, caring school with a real family feel. Pupils enjoy each other’s company and play happily together. Pupils try their hardest to win house points or ‘gems in the jar’ for good behaviour and making good choices. Leaders have successfully promoted a strong Christian ethos. Pupils know the school values that include compassion, courage, hope and respect.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils know their teachers want them to work hard and always ‘have a go’. Pupils show this attitude in class. Pupils speak enthusiastically about lessons. Favourites varied from handwriting to science. Most pupils have high aspirations because teachers have high expectations of them.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave well in class and outside. Small numbers of pupils mean everyone can join in games. Pupils help clean desks and lay cutlery for lunch. Pupils have good manners, are courteous and love a chat with a visitor. Pupils say they try to sort out disputes themselves but that teachers will intervene when needed. Relationships are strong. Pupils cannot recall any episodes of bullying.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils learn how to stay safe and about who keeps them safe through visits from some emergency services. Pupils learn about safety near water and being safe in the home. Pupils are clear about potential dangers of being online and how to keep themselves safe in the digital world.

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better?

Leaders, including governors and those from the collaboration, have secured significant recent improvements in the school. Strong leadership from the headteacher has been pivotal. Governors provide challenge and support to leaders. Governors have their own improvement plan because they want to become more effective. Leaders are restless to improve the school further.

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better?

Leaders have put into place a well-planned and sequenced curriculum. The same curriculum thinking underpins all subjects. Key ideas link learning together. Units of work build pupils’ knowledge progressively. New learning links to what they already know. This bespoke curriculum is ambitious and meets the needs of these pupils in this school. Leaders have designed programmes of study to meet the challenges of mixed-age classes.

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better?

Leaders have identified the need to develop teachers’ subject knowledge. There has been progress on this in some subjects. Teachers present subject matter clearly in most subjects. Teachers use assessment well to check what pupils know and remember. Pupils are regularly asked to recall previous learning, so they remember more knowledge in the longer term. In a few subjects, teachers’ expertise needs further support. In these subjects the end points for units of work are unclear for 15 and 16 November 2022

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different age groups in the same class. Teachers occasionally move on too quickly before key knowledge has been grasped by pupils.

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Leaders have taken action to help all pupils to become ‘empowered to read’. Phonics is taught consistently and systematically. This new approach is now embedded. Pupils know how to decode and blend sounds together to read new words. Pupils use books that match their phonics knowledge to practise reading. Pupils enjoy choosing good-quality texts from the ‘book nook’. Pupils listen attentively to a story read at the end of each day. Pupils are quickly becoming fluent readers.

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Pupils behave well in lessons and try hard to pay attention. Any minor off task behaviour is swiftly addressed by teachers. Small numbers of pupils mean teachers miss nothing. Most work is well matched to pupils’ abilities. This includes pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Leaders ensure that additional support for pupils with SEND is bespoke, timely and effective. Teachers make adaptations in lessons as needed. The way information is presented or how work is recorded are typical examples. All pupils learn the same curriculum. No one misses out in this inclusive school.

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Leaders provide pupils with opportunities to develop into strong characters. Pastoral support focuses on pupils’ mental health and well-being. Pupils learn about different types of relationships and staying healthy. Teachers organise trips to local museums, places of worship and places of cultural and historic interest. Leaders maintain a sharp focus on developing pupils’ awareness of cultural diversity. Pupils have a weekly opportunity to learn about issues and events in the wider world, including world conflicts, sporting events and gender issues such as stereotyping.

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Staff are clear on the care and concern leaders have for them. The appointment of a staff ‘wellbeing leader’ and a new ‘wellbeing governor’ are testament to this. Staff enjoy working in the school because of the strong teamwork. Staff know leaders value them and work to make them better teachers.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders make sure staff and governors receive regular safeguarding training. In addition, the headteacher sends out safeguarding updates via email. These help staff to be on the lookout for anything that is unusual or out of the ordinary with pupils. Staff know how to report concerns. They keep a watchful eye on the pupils, who they know very well. The headteacher follows concerns up straight away.

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Safeguarding

The office manager keeps detailed records and vetting checks for new staff. Leaders and governors conduct a range of checks on the first day of each month, including on safeguarding. Pupils learn how to stay healthy and safe. Leaders provide a clear focus on online safety, which includes information and updates for parents. 15 and 16 November 2022

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some foundation subjects, teachers’ subject knowledge is weaker than in others. In these subjects, teachers are unclear on the essential knowledge pupils in mixed-age classes need to learn in each year group at the end of a unit of work. Teachers focus too heavily on reaching the end of a unit rather than embedding learning at each step of the way. Leaders need to make sure that teachers’ subject knowledge is deepened and extended so that teachers are able to adapt the curriculum appropriately, according to the specific needs of pupils in their class.

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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. 15 and 16 November 2022

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School details

Inspection number 10241001 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Website www.hackforthhornby.n-yorks.sch.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 24 October 2019, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is a small village primary school.  There are two classes. One class is for early years and key stage 1 pupils and the other class is for key stage 2 pupils.  The headteacher took up post in September 2021.  The school entered into a collaboration with the Federation of Snape Community and Thornton Watlass Church of England Primary Schools in September 2021.  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. The inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the school. 15 and 16 November 2022

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 Meetings were held with the headteacher, senior leaders from the collaboration, the special educational needs coordinator, curriculum leaders, the early years leader, the office manager and teachers. An inspector met four members of the local governing body, including the chair. An inspector also met a senior education adviser from the local authority.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, art and design, computing and mathematics. For each deep dive, inspectors discussed the curriculum with leaders, looked at curriculum plans, visited a sample of lessons, where available, spoke to teachers and teaching assistants, spoke to pupils and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  An inspector listened to a range of pupils read from different year groups.  Inspectors looked at curriculum plans and spoke to leaders about other curriculum subjects.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour during lesson visits, at breaktime and at

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lunchtime. They spoke to pupils about their views of behaviour.  An inspector looked at the single central record of recruitment and vetting checks. The inspectors spoke to leaders, teachers, governors and pupils about safeguarding.  The views of parents who responded to Ofsted Parent View were considered. Inspectors also considered responses to Ofsted’s pupil survey.  The inspectors met with staff to discuss their well-being and workload. The inspectors considered the responses and comments from Ofsted’s staff survey.

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Inspection team

Phil Scott, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Angela Spencer-Brooke Ofsted Inspector 15 and 16 November 2022

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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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