Huntington Community Primary School

Inspection of Huntington Community Primary School Aldford Road, Huntington, Chester, Cheshire CH3 6EA

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Good 20 and 21 June 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

Strong relationships between pupils and staff add to the feeling of community at this school. Pupils feel safe and happy. They told the inspector that their friends and the staff look after them well. They have a good understanding of bullying. Leaders and staff deal with the few incidents swiftly and effectively.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy school. Leaders and staff are highly ambitious for the achievement of all pupils, including those with special education needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and disadvantaged pupils. The academic, social and emotional support that leaders provide contributes strongly to pupils achieving well in the majority of subjects.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Teachers’ high expectations for behaviour are clear. Pupils behave well. Classrooms are calm. This allows pupils to do their best in lessons. Pupils, including the youngest, are polite and well mannered. They speak confidently and articulately with visitors.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils have a good understanding of equality and diversity. Pupils are proud of their responsibilities, for example as members of the school council or as buddies to younger children. They enjoy the varied range of sports and activities at lunchtime. A variety of visits and after-school activities enhances their learning across the curriculum.

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better?

Leaders have built an ambitious curriculum. It includes opportunities to learn in the school’s grounds. It is planned well so that pupils extend their knowledge and skills in each subject. Leaders have ensured that their curriculum thinking provides opportunities for pupils’ learning to build on prior knowledge and understanding in well-ordered steps. They have made sure that the knowledge children gain in the early years provides secure foundations for their future learning. Pupils achieve well.

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better?

In English and mathematics, leaders check how well the curriculum helps pupils to increase their knowledge successfully over time. In a number of other subjects, the checks on the curriculum and how well it is implemented are less well developed. This prevents subject leaders from fully understanding the impact of the subject curriculums on how well pupils remember their learning over time.

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better?

Teachers check how well pupils are remembering what they have learned in lessons. This highlights which pupils need more help or guidance. Where more help is needed, teachers typically act swiftly to arrange extra support for learning. However, in subjects other than English and mathematics, assessment strategies are at an early stage of development. This means that teachers do not have a precise enough understanding of the knowledge that pupils have, and have not, learned.

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better?

The teaching of phonics begins when children start in the early years. Teachers develop children’s early reading through nursery rhymes and songs, which provide a 20 and 21 June 2023

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repetition of sounds and words. Leaders make sure that pupils learn phonics in a well-ordered manner. Teachers check pupils’ recall of the sounds they have been taught previously before introducing new sounds and letters. When pupils’ recall is not secure, teachers give effective additional support to make sure that these pupils keep up with their classmates. By the end of key stage 1, most pupils read fluently and confidently.

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Teachers provide lots of opportunities for pupils to read or to listen to stories. This improves their knowledge and understanding of vocabulary. In key stage 2, leaders ensure that pupils develop their comprehension skills in logical steps. As a result, pupils’ understanding of the texts that they read is improving over time. Older pupils read fluently with expression, intonation and a real sense of understanding.

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Leaders are skilled at identifying the specific needs of pupils with SEND. They have adapted the curriculum for some pupils providing greater opportunities to meet their needs. Staff are well trained in helping pupils with SEND. They ensure that these pupils enjoy the same learning as their peers and achieve well.

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Children in the early years know the routines to help them work and play safely and purposefully. Pupils across the school concentrate on their learning. They are keen to do their best. Pupils enjoy the many wider opportunities available to them, including day visits and residential experiences. They participate in a wide range of after-school clubs. Staff teach pupils to keep themselves safe and healthy.

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Staff talked positively about the strong and supportive teamwork in the school. They know that leaders consider their workload when they introduce new initiatives. They are proud to work at the school.

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Governors know the school well. They work productively with leaders to understand how effectively the curriculum is helping pupils to know more and remember more.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Staff know the school’s safeguarding procedures well. Leaders provide training and additional information during the year, which helps to keep staff’s knowledge of safeguarding up to date. This helps staff to identify pupils who may be at risk from harm.

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Safeguarding

Leaders and staff have established strong relationships with families and with a range of agencies. This enables leaders to secure help for families who need it.

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Safeguarding

Leaders and governors ensure that appropriate risk assessments are carried out as needed, for example when learning outdoors. Through the curriculum, pupils learn about how to stay safe when working online. They also learn about the dangers of smoking and drinking alcohol. 20 and 21 June 2023

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some foundation subjects, leaders’ work to gather information on the impact of the curriculum is at an early stage of development. This means that in these subjects, leaders do not have a clear enough understanding of how well the curriculum is implemented and the impact it has on pupils’ learning. Leaders should ensure that in these subjects, they check that the curriculum is well implemented and is helping pupils to build up their knowledge securely over time.  In most foundation subjects, teachers’ assessment information is not always sufficient to highlight what pupils have remembered and are able to do. This means that teachers sometimes do not identify where there are gaps in pupils’ learning. Leaders should ensure that they develop their assessment strategies in these subjects so that they ensure that pupils’ learning is secure in these curriculums.

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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. 20 and 21 June 2023

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School details

Local authority Cheshire West and Chester

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School details

Inspection number 10268985 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 7 February 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school does not make use of alternative provision.  A number of governors, including the chair of the governing body, have been appointed since the last inspection.

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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. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with school leaders and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors spoke with the headteacher, the deputy headteacher and with other leaders and members of staff. They also spoke with members of the governing body. Inspectors also spoke with a representative of the local authority.  Inspectors looked at a range of documents and spoke with leaders about the school’s arrangements to safeguard pupils. 20 and 21 June 2023

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 Inspectors carried out deep dives in early reading, mathematics, science, geography and history. They talked with curriculum leaders of these subject areas. Inspectors also visited lessons, looked at examples of pupils’ work, held discussions with teachers and talked with pupils. Inspectors also observed some pupils reading to staff.  Inspectors also considered other subjects. They discussed the curriculums with leaders.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in class and as they moved around school. They also observed pupils in the dining hall and playing outside at breaktime and lunchtime.  Inspectors spoke with two groups of pupils about their experiences at school.  Inspectors looked at the responses to Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text responses. They also met with parents before school to find out their views of the school.  There were no responses to Ofsted’s online survey for staff or for pupils.

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Inspection team

Ian Shackleton, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Paul Edmondson Ofsted Inspector 20 and 21 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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