Carr Hill Community Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Carr Hill Community Primary School Carr Hill Road, Gateshead, Tyne and Wear NE9 5NB

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Outcome

Carr Hill Community Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Carr Hill Primary is a happy and caring school where pupils love to learn. Their positive attitudes towards fellow pupils and staff create a typically calm and purposeful learning environment.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel safe. They value the high levels of pastoral and academic support that staff give them.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils’ positive behaviours are an absolute strength of this school. Pupils are polite and courteous to all members of the school community. Bullying is rare at this school. When it does occur, staff sort it out quickly and effectively.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders are ambitious for all pupils in school, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Leaders ensure that the curriculum is taught well and meets the needs of all pupils. Pupils enjoy the learning that their teachers provide. They are keen to answer questions and to take part in educational activities.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils receive a very good diet of wider personal development. Leaders are highly committed to offering many varied and rich experiences for pupils. Pupils value the different opportunities they have to extend their learning beyond the classroom. This includes, for example, educational visits to London, the Scottish borders and the Houses of Parliament, an art club run by a nationally known gallery, football, dance, singing and multi-sports clubs.

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

Leaders have established a well-ordered and well-designed curriculum, from the early years to key stage 2, that meets pupils’ needs, including those with SEND. Leaders have thought carefully about what pupils need to learn in each area of the curriculum. They have broken down the planned learning into small steps. These steps help pupils to build 4 and 5 May 2023

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the planned body of knowledge and skills over time. Leaders have also identified the vocabulary associated with each subject area. For example, Year 3 pupils in mathematics use numerator and denominator confidently. Pupils make strong progress across a range of subjects over time.

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Staff ensure that pupils with SEND access the full curriculum. Teachers adapt plans and provide additional resources to support this. As a result, pupils with SEND learn a great deal.

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Teachers regularly check how well pupils have learned and remembered essential knowledge. However, on some occasions, teachers do not identify or address gaps in pupils’ learning sufficiently well. Consequently, a few pupils develop misunderstandings and misconceptions. Leaders are determined that all pupils learn to read well. All staff deliver the phonics curriculum very well. They make sure that pupils practise their reading by using books that closely match the sounds they know. Staff support pupils with gaps in their reading knowledge to catch up quickly. Across school, pupils talk positively about the opportunities, and the range of books, they have to read in school. For example, at breaktime, pupils sit together to enjoy reading independently or listening to an adult reading.

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Children in early years settle into routines quickly. They learn to take turns, and they share equipment well. They learn to read, write and understand mathematics very well. For example, children are confident in talking about different shapes, including identifying how many sides or corners they have and where they can see them around their classroom. Children enjoy reading and listening to a wide variety of books, rhymes and songs. This helps them to develop their phonic skills. Staff work with parents and carers to identify any children with particular needs. Support for these children is then quickly put in place.

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Pupils show very positive attitudes in their lessons. They behave extremely well, and there are no disturbances to their learning. There is a calm atmosphere across the school, which enables pupils to learn.

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Pastoral development is a strength of the school. Leaders have designed and implemented an extensive personal development curriculum. Pupils have their learning brought to life through carefully planned visits and experiences. For example, the school choir performed at the ceremony in Gateshead for people who are taking on British nationality. Pupils are highly supportive of each other. They are very conscious of the challenges some pupils may have experienced before coming to this country and to their school. Pupils develop a strong understanding of fundamental British values. Pupils recognise that everyone is different and that difference should be celebrated. As one pupil said, ‘We might be different on the outside, but we’re all the same inside.’

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Governors understand the school and the community it serves very well. The expertise of governors contributes successfully to improvements in the quality of education. Staff 4 and 5 May 2023

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appreciate the support they receive from leaders. They feel valued and appreciated. Staff welcome the strong sense of family and teamwork they experience.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Pupils’ safety is of the utmost importance at this school. Leaders provide thorough training and regular safeguarding updates for staff. Staff know precisely what to do if they are concerned about the safety or welfare of a pupil. They follow the school’s robust reporting procedures. When necessary, leaders work with external organisations to ensure that pupils promptly get the specialist support they need.

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Safeguarding

The governor with responsibility for safeguarding provides highly effective support and challenge to leaders.

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Safeguarding

Leaders adapt the curriculum skilfully to ensure that pupils are taught to keep themselves safe. Pupils say that they feel safe in school.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 On some occasions, teachers do not consistently check if pupils have learned and remembered the essential knowledge contained within the curriculum. Consequently, some pupils develop misconceptions and misunderstandings. Leaders should ensure that teachers identify and address any deficits in pupils’ knowledge as a matter of course and remedy any misunderstandings well.

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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 September 2013. 4 and 5 May 2023

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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. 4 and 5 May 2023

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School details

Inspection number 10269178 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 27 February 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school offers a breakfast club.  Leaders do not make use of any alternative provision.  There is a higher-than-average proportion of pupils who are eligible to receive pupil premium funding.  The number of pupils who speak English as an additional language is above average.

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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 this into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspector met with the headteacher, deputy headteacher and senior leaders. She also met with subject leaders. She met with a range of leaders who are responsible for the school’s pastoral and personal development. 4 and 5 May 2023

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 The inspector met with a group of governors including the chair of governors. Some governors were met through a remote meeting. She met with a representative of the local authority.  Deep dives were carried out in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and physical education. For each deep dive, the inspector met with subject leaders, visited lessons, talked to pupils and looked at samples of pupils’ work. She observed adults reading with pupils in Years 1 and 2.  The inspector met with all staff to gain their views on curriculum, workload, well-being and behaviour. She took account of responses to the online staff survey.  The school’s policies and procedures to keep pupils safe were reviewed by the inspector. She discussed safeguarding with staff and governors.  The inspector took account of parents’ responses to the online survey, Ofsted Parent View. She also took account of the responses to the online Ofsted surveys for pupils

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and staff.  Different groups of pupils talked to the inspector about their experiences in school.

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Inspection team

Anne Vernon, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 4 and 5 May 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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