Hollinhey Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Hollinhey Primary School Bell Avenue, Sutton Lane Ends, Macclesfield, Cheshire SK11 0EE

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Outcome

Hollinhey Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Hollinhey is a welcoming, caring school. Pupils are happy to attend and say that they feel safe and well looked after. Positive relationships are a strength of the school. Pupils show high levels of respect for staff and understand the importance of being kind to each other. Pupils know what to do if they have any worries and are confident that staff will help them with any problems. Pupils confirm that bullying is rare and that if it did happen, it would be dealt with quickly.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy learning. They follow a broad curriculum and talk with enthusiasm about their favourite topics. Pupils have positive attitudes to learning and try hard to produce their best work. Staff enhance the curriculum through well-chosen visits, including to museums in Liverpool and York and to different religious places of worship. Pupils particularly enjoy reading, and older pupils have an impressive knowledge about what they have read and their favourite authors.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are proud of their responsibilities and know that they make a real difference to others. For example, the school council has hosted events to raise money for charity, and Year 6 pupils take their role as a buddy to children in Reception class very seriously.

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

Leaders have designed an ambitious and interesting curriculum. It is well sequenced to ensure that pupils can build and remember learning. They have set out the important knowledge that they want pupils to learn in each subject, from Reception to Year 6. For example, in history, leaders have identified the key concepts, including transport and settlements, that pupils will revisit in each topic. This is helping pupils to deepen their understanding of what happened in the past and how this can affect the future. 28 and 29 March 2023

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Children get off to a great start with their understanding of number as soon as they join Reception. As pupils progress through the school, they develop secure calculation strategies and use mathematical vocabulary well to explain how they have solved a problem. Adults have good subject knowledge and use this to explain and model new learning clearly.

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Pupils enjoy reading and listening to adults read to them. Children have daily phonics lessons as soon as they start in Reception. Adults benefit from expert training and teach early reading well. They make sure that pupils practise reading books that are matched to the sounds they know.

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Leaders know that in the past some pupils did not make as much progress as they should have in some aspects of their learning. This includes in writing. Leaders have developed a new approach to teaching writing and have provided training for all staff. Teachers check how well pupils have understood what they have been taught before moving on. This has had a positive impact on the quality of pupils’ writing in English and in other subjects of the curriculum.

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There are clear systems in place to identify pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff benefit from expert training about meeting pupils’ additional learning and physical and/or emotional needs. Leaders work closely with parents and external agencies to ensure that pupils with SEND get the right support. Pupils with SEND are fully included in all aspects of school life.

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Curriculum activities are carefully adapted to meet the needs of pupils with SEND. These pupils make good progress in most subjects. Occasionally, the curriculum is less well adapted for some other pupils. For example, teachers do not always consider what pupils can already do. This means they do not consistently move pupils on to the next steps in their learning as soon as they are ready. This can limit how much progress some pupils make.

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Pupils behave well in lessons and as they move around the school. They are polite and have excellent manners. From the early years on, routines are established quickly. Pupils in all year groups say that most pupils behave well and that staff treat everyone fairly.

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Leaders prioritise preparing pupils for their future lives. They ensure that pupils are able to express their ideas and opinions confidently while respecting the views of others. The curriculum provides opportunities for pupils to learn about different cultures and religions. Pupils are respectful of people’s differences and are adamant that anyone is welcome at the school, regardless of their race or religion.

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Trust leaders and governors know the school well. They are ambitious for all pupils to be academically and personally ready for their next steps. Staff enjoy working at the school. They feel valued and say that leaders are considerate of their workload and well-being.

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The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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There is a strong culture of safeguarding at the school. Leaders are relentless in ensuring that vulnerable pupils get the support they need. Staff are trained to spot the signs that a pupil’s welfare or well-being might be at risk. Staff are encouraged to report all concerns no matter how small they may be. Leaders respond to concerns in a timely way.

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There are many opportunities for pupils to learn about keeping themselves safe. This includes online safety, road safety and the risks strangers can pose. Older pupils gain an age-appropriate understanding of what makes a safe relationship.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Occasionally, the work planned for some pupils does not match their needs as well as it could. This is because teachers have not considered well enough what these pupils already know and can do. This means that some pupils do not make as much progress as they could. Leaders should ensure that teachers refine their plans to adapt learning to meet the needs of all pupils effectively.

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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 predecessor school, Hollinhey Primary, to be good in February 2012.

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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. 28 and 29 March 2023

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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. 28 and 29 March 2023

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School details

Inspection number 10268417 Type of school Primary

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School details

Website http://www.hollinhey.cheshire.sch.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 The school joined the Aspire Educational Trust in April 2019.  The school does not currently use alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspector met with the headteacher and other members of staff. The inspector also met with two members of the governing body and one representative of the multi- academy trust board.  The inspector met with two assistant chief executive officers of the multi-academy trust. 28 and 29 March 2023

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 The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and history. The inspector discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers and pupils, and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  To inspect safeguarding, the inspector scrutinised the single central record and a wide range of safeguarding documentation. The inspector spoke to the designated safeguarding leaders, staff, pupils and parents.  The inspector considered the responses, including written responses, to Ofsted Parent View, the online inspection questionnaire. They also took account of the responses to the pupil survey and the responses to the staff survey.

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Inspection team

Jo Evans, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector 28 and 29 March 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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