Hartsholme Academy

Inspection of Hartsholme Academy Carrington Drive, Lincoln LN6 0DE

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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 Good

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

Previous inspection grade Not previously inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005 7 and 8 February 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

Most pupils are happy to be part of Hartsholme Academy. They work hard to earn house points that reward their efforts. Pupils love to receive the ‘Star of the week’ award. In lessons, most pupils behave well and say that they feel safe. Some pupils say that the behaviour of others on the playground makes them feel less safe.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff care for the pupils and want the best for them. Pupils value the kindness of the staff, including the new headteacher. They say, ‘She listens to us and gets lots of things done.’ However, some pupils are missing valuable opportunities to learn because they do not attend school often enough.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils say that bullying sometimes happens. Most pupils are confident that staff will sort out incidents of poor behaviour and bullying. However, some pupils feel that staff could do more to support them in this regard. Pupils appreciate the ‘worry monsters’. These help them to share their concerns.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders are ambitious and have high aspirations for pupils. This includes pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Leaders are working to make improvements to the curriculum. They are taking action to ensure that the whole curriculum is well planned and sequenced.

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better?

The new headteacher has a clear vision for the pupils in school. Staff share this vision. Leaders are working well to bring about improvements in many areas of school. They are further ahead in some respects than they are in others. In some subjects, the curriculum is well sequenced. Leaders have identified the precise knowledge that they want pupils to learn and when. In other subjects, leaders have not made sure that the curriculum is well crafted. They have not identified the essential knowledge that pupils should learn. Learning does not always build on what pupils already know. In these subjects, pupils do not achieve as well as they could.

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better?

Children make a strong start in the early years. They show high levels of independence and curiosity. Staff know the children’s needs. Adults and children have positive relationships. The early years curriculum is well designed and sequenced. Early years staff are trained well to teach the curriculum. Children are happy and confident. They take pride in their achievements.

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better?

Leaders understand the importance of reading. Children in the early years experience a wide variety of books, stories and rhymes. The books that the children read are well matched to the sounds that they know. They begin to learn to read as soon as they start school. The phonics programme is well sequenced, and staff who deliver phonics are well trained. Staff provide support for pupils who need to catch up. They ensure that pupils read often. However, some older pupils find reading 7 and 8 February 2023

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difficult and do not like reading. This is because the books they have to read are not well matched to their reading abilities.

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Leaders work with external agencies to provide support to help pupils with SEND access their learning. Some pupils, however, say that they do not always attend school because they find their learning difficult. Staff do not provide pupils with the help and resources that they need to help them learn successfully. This is also the case for some pupils who speak English as an additional language. Leaders have not identified their specific needs. As a result, the support that these pupils receive is not as effective as it could be.

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Pupils usually behave well in lessons. Some pupils’ attention can wander when the learning does not engage them. On the playground, the behaviour of some pupils concerns others. Some pupils struggle to behave with respect, and make others feel unsafe. Leaders are determined to improve some pupils’ attendance. However, too many pupils do not attend school often enough. They are missing out on vital learning.

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Pupils talk with pride about their leadership opportunities. These include being school councillors and prefects. Pupils talk about difference and diversity with respect. One pupil said, ‘If you believe in one faith and someone else doesn’t, you can still be friends.’ Pupils learn about keeping themselves safe in the local area. Leaders ensure that pupils experience some activities to support their personal development. However, many activities happen by chance rather than being linked to a well-sequenced curriculum.

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Staff are proud to work at the school. Leaders are mindful of staff’s workload. Teachers in the early stages of their career receive effective support from leaders. Staff are positive about the new headteacher’s arrival.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders know vulnerable pupils and their families well. Leaders ensure that staff receive regular training to ensure that they can identify if a pupil might be at risk of harm. Staff report any concerns about pupils’ safety promptly. Leaders work with external agencies, when necessary, to ensure that pupils are safe from harm. They ensure that they make the appropriate checks on adults before they work with pupils.

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Safeguarding

Pupils learn how to stay safe when using the internet. They learn about risks to themselves in the local area, including keeping safe near the local lake. 7 and 8 February 2023

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some subjects, leaders have not identified and mapped out the precise sequence of knowledge that pupils should learn and remember. Consequently, pupils are not building on previous knowledge that will enable them to know more and remember more over time. Leaders need to make sure that the essential knowledge that pupils need to know and remember in each subject is clear and carefully set out.  Some pupils struggle to read fluently and do not like reading. This is because the books that they are reading are too hard. Leaders need to ensure that these pupils access books that match their phonic knowledge so that they can develop their fluency, confidence and enjoyment in reading.  The proportion of pupils who are regularly absent from school is too high, including disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND. These pupils are missing out on vital learning. Leaders should continue their work to reduce this so that

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

the systems in place to help all pupils attend as well as they can are successful.  A few pupils show disrespect to their peers, and some pupils do not think that incidents of bullying are dealt with effectively by staff. This makes some pupils feel unsafe in school. Leaders need to support staff in managing incidents more effectively so that pupils’ behaviour and attitudes continue to improve.  Leaders have not thought carefully about a planned range of experiences to develop pupils’ talents, interests and cultural experiences. Pupils’ wider curriculum experiences are inconsistent and disjointed. Leaders should develop a programme of wider curricular activities that support pupils’ personal development and help pupils to develop their interests and cultural experiences.

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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. 7 and 8 February 2023

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School details

Website https://hha.harbourlearningtrust.com

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 The principal was appointed in January 2023.  The school joined Harbour Learning Trust in November 2018. The most recent inspection of the predecessor school, Hartsholme Academy, took place in April 2018, when the school was judged to be inadequate.  The school uses one registered alternative provider.

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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 have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  During the inspection, the inspectors met with the principal, the vice-principal and a range of staff, including early career teachers. 7 and 8 February 2023

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 The lead inspector met with members of the governing body, including the chair of the governing body. She also met with representatives of Harbour Learning Trust.  To evaluate the effectiveness of the school’s arrangements for safeguarding, the inspectors reviewed school policies, procedures and records. The inspectors met with the designated safeguarding lead and spoke with staff, governors, trust representatives and pupils about the school’s approach to keeping pupils safe.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in early reading, mathematics, history, geography and art. For each deep dive, the inspectors met with subject leaders to discuss the curriculum, spoke with teachers and spoke with pupils about their learning. The inspectors visited lessons and looked at samples of pupils’ work. The lead inspector observed pupils reading to a familiar adult.  The inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around school. They

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considered responses to Ofsted Parent View, including free-text comments. The inspector met with groups of staff and pupils and considered responses to Ofsted’s staff and pupil surveys.

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Inspection team

Kirsty Norbury, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Lea Mason Ofsted Inspector 7 and 8 February 2023

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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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