Hallfield Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Hallfield Primary School Hallfield Estate, London W2 6JJ

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Outcome

Hallfield Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders have created a nurturing and inclusive environment here. Staff look after pupils well and keep them safe. Pupils have plenty of adults they can talk to if they have any concerns. Staff are used to new pupils arriving at different points in the school year. They make sure that pupils feel welcomed and ready to join in with school activities.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils understand the one simple school rule, which is to ‘be kind’. They are taught about what this means in different settings, such as in the playground or in lessons. Pupils are well behaved and respectful to others. Staff praise pupils for positive behaviour and for displaying the ‘Hallfield values’, such as resilience and independence. Pupils like achieving ‘star of the week’ and working together to fill the ‘marble jar’ for class rewards.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Leaders encourage pupils to be tolerant and to celebrate people’s differences and similarities. For example, through the ‘Tree of Life’ project, pupils explore their own background and culture and compare these to others. Pupils invented their own rules about what it means to be an autism-friendly school. This helps pupils from the specially resourced provision to feel part of the school’s community.

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

Pupils study a wide range of subjects, from Year 1 to Year 6. They enjoy regular lessons in subjects such as art, computing and Spanish from Year 3. The curriculum is ambitious for all pupils and reflects the aims of the national curriculum. Leaders have considered how pupils’ subject-specific knowledge and skills develop over time. In the early years, staff ensure that children learn the foundational knowledge that they need for future learning. For example, children in Reception learn basic map skills, looking at treasure maps from the book ‘Pirate Pete’. This helps them in Year 1 geography when they look at maps of their local area.

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

Teachers follow the planned curriculum and give pupils opportunities to build on previous learning. For example, in mathematics, teachers revisit place value in each year group. 11 and 12 July 2023

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Pupils in Year 5, for example, use this prior learning to help them with their work on decimals. In geography, pupils in Year 4 drew upon their prior knowledge of continents and oceans when learning about the equator and hemispheres. In most subjects, teachers ensure that pupils remember essential knowledge. For example, in the run up to ‘Number Day’, pupils practise their times tables in earnest as part of a federation-wide tournament. Sometimes, leaders have not identified the precise knowledge that they want pupils to learn and remember over time. This means that, sometimes, pupils struggle to recall important knowledge that they have been taught.

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Staff use assessment effectively to identify and address gaps in pupils’ knowledge. Leaders make sure that appropriate support is put in place for any pupils who need help with their learning, including language skills. Leaders are quick to identify any pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Teachers adapt learning successfully to help pupils with SEND access the curriculum. In the specially resourced provision, staff and therapists work together well to tailor learning to each pupil’s needs. For example, they use well-selected resources to strengthen pupils’ language and communication skills.

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Leaders prioritise reading across the school and have introduced a new phonics programme. In the Nursery and provision for two-year-olds, children explore the different sounds that words make through rhymes and stories before starting to learn phonics in Reception through to Year 2. Pupils have frequent opportunities to practise the sounds that they know through reading and writing activities. Staff support weaker readers to catch up quickly. Staff are getting used to the school’s new phonics programme. Occasionally, they do not adhere to the school’s new phonics approach with constancy.

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Staff take pupils on a variety of educational outings to enhance learning. Pupils in Year 2, for example, went to the seaside as part of their geography learning on coastal regions. Pupils have fond memories of various visits to the theatre and museums. Leaders organise a range of extra-curricular clubs, such as art, drama and choir. Leaders work with local charities to extend the range of clubs on offer. The student council and ‘young leaders’ in Year 6 spoke proudly of their work to develop an outdoor reading area. Older pupils enjoy working with younger pupils in their role as ‘sports leaders’.

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Staff feel proud to work here. They are well supported by leaders and enjoy the school’s close-knit community. Staff appreciate the opportunities they have for professional development, such as working with the federated partner school. The governing body provides appropriate support and challenge to ensure that staff continue to give pupils a high-quality education.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

The safeguarding team ensures that pupils’ well-being and safety have the highest importance. Staff log any concerns about pupils, no matter how minor they may seem. This helps leaders to build a detailed picture of pupils’ circumstances and alert leaders to signs that pupils may be vulnerable. 11 and 12 July 2023

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Leaders are tenacious in following up concerns. They make effective use of early help to get families the right support as soon as possible, including those who are refugees or seeking asylum. Leaders offer a range of targeted support to help pupils with their emotional and mental health. This includes individual mentoring and art therapy.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Staff are still getting to grips with the school’s recently introduced phonics programme and the approach to teaching phonics. The school should ensure that the new phonics programme is embedded and continue to support staff to deliver it constantly well.  In some subjects, the school has not identified precisely the most important subject content that pupils need to know and remember over time. Where this is the case, pupils struggle to recall essential knowledge. The school should continue to develop curriculum thinking to ensure that essential subject knowledge is securely embedded in pupils’ long-term memory.

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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 October 2013.

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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. 11 and 12 July 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. 11 and 12 July 2023

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of governing body Christopher Pearson

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School details

Headteacher Aaron Sumner (Executive Headteacher) Claire Dunnet (Head of School) Website www.hallfieldschool.org.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 6 March 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 In September 2022, the school joined with one other local primary school to form the North Westminster Federation. The executive headteacher oversees both schools in the federation. The head of school took up post in September 2022.  The federation has a single governing body.  The school has a specially resourced provision, which opened in September 2021. The provision has places for up to eight children aged three to five and caters for children diagnosed with autism.  The school has a nursery provision for two-year-olds, offering part-time funded places for up to 15 hours per week.  Some pupils arrive part-way through their primary education, at various times throughout the school year.  Leaders organise and manage a school breakfast club.  Leaders do not use any alternative provision. 11 and 12 July 2023

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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 her evaluation of the school.  The inspector met with the executive headteacher, the head of school and other members of the school leadership team, including leaders with responsibility for safeguarding and pupils with SEND. Discussions were held with different groups of staff and pupils.  The inspector met with members of the governing body, including the chair, and had a discussion with a representative from the local authority.  The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, geography and mathematics. For each deep dive, the inspector discussed the curriculum with leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. The inspector listened to a sample of

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Information about this inspection

pupils read.  The inspector spoke to leaders about other curriculum areas and reviewed curriculum documentation in music, computing and art. The inspector visited lessons and sampled pupils’ work in a range of subjects.  The inspector considered a range of documentation, including leaders’ evaluation of the school and the school development plan.  The inspector spoke with leaders, pupils and staff about the arrangements for safeguarding and reviewed safeguarding documentation, including pre-recruitment checks.  The inspector considered responses to Ofsted’s online survey of parents’ views, Ofsted Parent View, and responses to the online staff and pupil surveys.

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Inspection team

Jude Wilson, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector 11 and 12 July 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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