Hindley Green Community Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Hindley Green Community Primary School Thomas Street, Hindley Green, Wigan, Lancashire WN2 4SS

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Inspection dates: 19 and 20 January 2023

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Outcome

Hindley Green Community Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Hindley Green Community Primary School is a nurturing school where leaders and staff care passionately about the whole community. The school’s values thread through all aspects of school life. Pupils, and children in the early years, are kind and polite. They feel safe and they enjoy coming to school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

If pupils need help when they are upset, staff provide effective support. Leaders and staff are effective role models and have high expectations for pupils. As a result, pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), rise to these expectations and behave well around the school and in lessons.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are curious and keen to learn and they achieve well. Lessons are rarely disrupted due to behaviour. Pupils say that bullying is extremely rare. Where reports of bullying occur, they are taken seriously by school leaders and investigated thoroughly.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy the extra responsibilities that leaders give them, such as being part of the school council, and acting as reading ambassadors or classroom monitors. They are looking forward to trips to Winmarleigh and London.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy taking part in lots of different clubs, including coding, dance and steel pans club. They also enjoy looking after the school chickens.

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

Leaders have created an ambitious curriculum. It is aspirational for pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND. Leaders make sure that learning is ordered logically in order to build on what pupils have learned previously. This helps children and pupils to develop their knowledge and skills across the curriculum.

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

Teachers have strong subject knowledge. They check pupils’ learning regularly and carefully address errors and misconceptions. Typically, pupils can recall their prior learning, knowledge and skills. However, in some subjects, teachers do not revisit some 19 and 20 January 2023 aspects of earlier learning often enough. This means that some pupils struggle to recall previous learning and make links with new ideas.

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

Leaders prioritise reading. The school’s phonics programme is delivered well by staff and helps to foster a love of reading among pupils. Children learn to read as soon as they start school. Staff teach pupils to learn and practise sounds using well-chosen books. Staff ensure that those pupils who fall behind in reading receive appropriate support. Leaders show a relentless dedication to ensuring that no pupil is left behind. To this end, those staff who deliver support for pupils in reading are knowledgeable and well trained.

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

Across the school, there is a calm and orderly environment. Children in the early years quickly adopt the clear routines to help them play and learn in a purposeful way. Pupils across the rest of the school behave well. They listen carefully in class and are well behaved around school. They concentrate on their learning. Pupils are keen to do their best.

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

Leaders ensure that there is a strong focus on pupils’ wider development. Pupils learn to be caring, active and responsible citizens through the broad range of opportunities available to them. These include trips, clubs and helping to support residents in the local community. School councillors, well-being warriors and reading ambassadors are keen to take on and embrace the responsibility of their roles.

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

Leaders identify children and pupils appropriately and use external agencies to offer advice and guidance. Pupils with SEND work with skilled and compassionate adults, who ensure that they are integrated with their classmates as much as possible. They follow the same curriculum as their peers, with activities that are adapted where appropriate. Parents and carers are fully involved in the process.

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

Enthusiastic and cheerful staff feel well supported by leaders. School leaders receive strong support from the trustees and the local governing body. Those responsible for governance offer appropriate levels of support and challenge to leaders.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

There is a strong culture of safeguarding. Staff are alert to the signs that may indicate a pupil is at risk of harm. Leaders identify and assess risks to pupils’ welfare effectively.

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Safeguarding

Leaders work efficiently with external agencies. This helps to ensure that pupils and their families get the support they need promptly.

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Safeguarding

Staff and governors receive appropriate safeguarding so that their knowledge remains up to date.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

19 and 20 January 2023  In some subjects, teachers do not revisit key knowledge with enough frequency or afford pupils sufficient opportunity to recall earlier learning. This means that pupils sometimes do not remember some aspects of the curriculum sufficiently well. Leaders should make sure that teachers revisit essential parts of the curriculum so that pupils embed this essential knowledge into their long-term memory.

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Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good. This is called an ungraded inspection, and it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on an ungraded inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection, which is carried out under section 5 of the Act. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the ungraded inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the second ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in June 2014.

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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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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. 19 and 20 January 2023

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School details

Inspection number 10241848 Type of school Primary

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School details

Date of previous inspection 12 September 2017, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Leaders use specialist provision on a part-time basis for a very small number of pupils.  The school is part of Quest Academy Trust.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection that the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and took this into account in her evaluation of the school.  The inspector spoke with the principal, other leaders and members of staff. She also spoke with members of the governing body, including the chair of governors, and trustees including the chair of the board of trustees.  The inspector looked at a range of leaders’ documentation, including self-evaluation and safeguarding documents. The inspector spoke with leaders about the school’s safeguarding procedures.  The inspector carried out deep dives in early reading, mathematics and science. She talked with curriculum leaders, visited lessons, looked at examples of children’s and 19 and 20 January 2023 pupils’ work, held discussions with teachers and talked with children and pupils. The

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Information about this inspection

inspector also observed some pupils reading to trusted staff.  The inspector observed children and pupils’ behaviour in class and as they moved around school. She also observed pupils playing at breaktimes.  The inspector spoke with groups of children and pupils about their experiences at school.  The inspector considered the responses to Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text responses. She also met with parents before school to find out their views of the school.  The inspector considered the responses to Ofsted’s online survey for staff. There were no responses to Ofsted’s online survey for pupils.

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Inspection team

Rebecca Sharples, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector 19 and 20 January 2023 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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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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Inspection team

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