Hapton Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School

Inspection of Hapton Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School The Street, Hapton, Norwich, Norfolk NR15 1AD

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Overall effectiveness Requires improvement

The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Requires improvement Leadership and management Requires improvement Early years provision Requires improvement Previous inspection grade Good 6–7 June 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

Hapton is a happy school where everybody is valued. The school’s Christian values are at the heart of pupils’ experiences. Pupils are safe and well cared for. They have several adults they can talk to if they have any worries. Pupils know the difference between bullying and falling out between friends. They know it does not happen in their school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave well in lessons and at social times. At playtimes, pupils play well together. They care about each other in this small school. All pupils, including children in Reception, talk to visitors with confidence. For example, younger pupils enjoyed sharing their learning about bees collecting nectar to make honey.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils learn a broad range of subjects. However, in many subjects, the curriculum is not yet ensuring that pupils know more and remember more over time. As a result, pupils across the school do not learn as well as they could. This includes in the personal, social and health education (PSHE) programme.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils take on leadership roles, such as being part of the school council. In addition, they enjoy the extra-curricular opportunities on offer and like going on trips and residential visits. Pupils were enthusiastic about a visit to the puppet theatre to see ‘Cinderella’.

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better?

Significant turbulence in leadership and staffing since the previous inspection has resulted in shortcomings in the quality of education. Interim senior leaders are bringing much-needed improvements and introducing a new curriculum. Many changes are either new or not fully embedded. In some subjects, including in the early years, leaders have not identified the small-step knowledge that pupils need. Consequently, pupils’ learning does not build on what they already know. Staff are not confident or well trained in the delivery of some subjects. They are unclear about what pupils have learned. Pupils in mixed-age classes often complete the same activities. This is despite some older pupils being ready for content and activities that would better deepen their understanding.

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better?

Where the curriculum is more clearly sequenced and activities align to the planned curriculum, pupils learn well. For example, in mathematics, older pupils confidently solve problems involving co-ordinates. In this subject, teachers check what pupils know and support them with the next steps in their learning.

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better?

Subject leaders have started checking the impact of the wider curriculum. They are developing the essential skills and knowledge to improve their subject areas. Currently, leaders lack a clear oversight of the strengths and weaknesses of the whole curriculum. They do not know how well pupils learn in foundation subjects or the specific areas to improve, such as how teachers make and use assessment. 6–7 June 2023

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Leaders have a clear passion to promote a love of reading. They are linking high- quality texts to topics across the wider curriculum. Pupils of all ages enjoy sharing these texts in class.

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The teaching of early reading is a strength in the school. Children begin to learn to read straight away in the Reception Year. Pupils read books closely matched to the sounds they know. Staff ensure that pupils revisit and practise these sounds. This helps pupils read with fluency. Staff are well trained and swiftly identify pupils who fall behind. As a result of effective catch-up sessions, pupils get back on track quickly.

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The special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) oversees effective support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff review plans regularly with pupils, parents and professionals. Teachers make appropriate adaptations that allow most pupils with SEND to keep up with the pace of learning. Those pupils requiring more tailored support receive this to help them achieve their targets.

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Pupils’ behaviour is delightful. Staff oversee a simple approach to rules and routines. Pupils know these and it creates a calm, purposeful environment at all times of the school day. Leaders have developed robust systems to improve pupils’ attendance. They are working with families to help them get their children to school every day and on time. This is having a positive impact.

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Pupils learn how to develop positive relationships, be tolerant individuals and be respectful citizens. Their voice is heard in the school and they take decisions, such as deciding which charities to support. However, the new PSHE curriculum has only just been introduced. Leaders know that there are gaps in what pupils have learned in this area. They have adapted new plans to take this into account.

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The interim executive board, with support from the local authority, has provided much-needed stability. It knows the strengths and weaknesses in the provision. Despite the many recent changes, staff morale is high.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Leaders prioritise the safeguarding of pupils. There is a strong culture of safeguarding within the school. Leaders make sure that all staff know how to keep pupils safe. Staff are vigilant and swiftly pass on any concerns they may have about pupils’ safety and welfare. Leaders are tenacious in pursuing the right support for any pupil at risk from harm. They work well with a range of external agencies to ensure the safety of pupils.

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Safeguarding

Leaders have robust recruitment procedures. They make appropriate checks on visitors and contractors. 6–7 June 2023

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Pupils learn about the risks that they may face, including when online.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Some subjects, including PSHE, are not taught as well as they should be. Some plans lack clarity and some are new. Staff have not had sufficient guidance to teach the whole curriculum well. This includes for delivering the curriculum to mixed-age classes, including for children in the early years. Pupils’ knowledge and skills are less well developed than they should be. Leaders need to ensure that planning and staff training enable pupils to develop the intended knowledge and skills.  In many subjects, teachers do not use assessment well enough to check what pupils know, including when they are ready to attempt more complex tasks. Consequently, in some subjects, pupils do not learn as much as they could. Leaders must ensure that teachers use assessment well in all areas of the curriculum so that learning builds on what pupils already know.  Subject leaders do not review the effectiveness of the implementation of the

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

curriculum well enough. Consequently, they are unable to evaluate how well pupils are learning the curriculum. Leaders should determine how best to evaluate the curriculum, including how to check and support teachers with choosing high-quality activities that help pupils to apply the knowledge and skills they need to learn.

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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. 6–7 June 2023

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School details

Inspection number 10268683 Type of school Primary

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School details

Appropriate authority Interim executive board

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School details

Chair of Interim Executive Board Kay Swann

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School details

Website www.federationschools.org/hapton/

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School details

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

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Information about this school

 The school is part of The Saints Federation.  The headteacher currently works in an executive capacity across the three primary schools in the federation.  The interim executive board was appointed in June 2022.  The school has a designated religious character of Church of England. Its most recent Section 48 Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools took place on 24 November 2015 and graded the school as good. The school’s next section 48 inspection will be within eight school years.  Leaders currently do not use alternative provision for any pupils.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. 6–7 June 2023

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 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and geography. For each deep dive, inspectors met with subject leaders, looked at curriculum plans, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. The lead inspector also listened to a sample of pupils read to a familiar adult.  Inspectors also looked at curriculum documentation and spoke to leaders about the PSHE curriculum.  Inspectors held meetings with leaders, including the executive headteacher, SENCo, members of the interim executive board, a representative from the diocese and a representative from the local authority.

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 The lead inspector reviewed a range of school documentation and policies, including minutes from interim executive board meetings, the school’s self- evaluation document and information relating to pupils’ attendance and behaviour.  To inspect safeguarding, inspectors scrutinised the single central record of recruitment and vetting checks, reviewed records, and spoke to the designated safeguarding leader, teachers, support staff and pupils.  Inspectors spent time observing and speaking to pupils, including at breaktimes and lunchtime.  Inspectors gathered parents’ views by speaking to some of them at the beginning of the school day and by reviewing four free-text responses submitted to Ofsted’s online survey, Ofsted Parent View. Inspectors also took account of seven responses to Ofsted’s staff questionnaire. There were no responses to the Ofsted pupil questionnaire.

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Inspection team

Jo Nutbeam, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Carol Dallas Ofsted Inspector 6–7 June 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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