Herbert Strutt Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Herbert Strutt Primary School Thornhill Avenue, Belper, Derbyshire DE56 1SH

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Inspection dates: 18 and 19 October 2023

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Outcome

Herbert Strutt Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Herbert Strutt Primary School is a happy place with a strong sense of community. Pupils enjoy positive relationships with staff and each other. The school is calm and orderly. There are well-established routines in place to support all pupils to behave well. Pupils enjoy receiving badges and other rewards that they can earn for demonstrating the school’s values. Pupils are polite and friendly. They display mature and tolerant attitudes. Everybody feels welcome.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The ambitious curriculum provides pupils with a broad range of learning experiences. In the early years, children benefit from a curriculum that matches their interests. In key stages 1 and 2, pupils enjoy learning about interesting topics. They experience opportunities to be ‘investigators’ in history lessons, ‘explorers’ in geography lessons and ‘creators’ in art, design and music lessons. Pupils are well prepared for their next stage in education.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Many pupils take on positions of responsibility in the school: ‘mini leaders’ organise playtime activities, ‘i-vengers’ lead assemblies about internet safety and ‘seekers’ identify pupils who deserve rewards for kindness. There is an active school council that meets to discuss issues that affect pupils. All pupils take part in activities to raise funds for playground equipment.

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

The school is ambitious for what all pupils can achieve. In the early years and key stage 1, knowledgeable staff support children to quickly learn to read. Pupils practise reading from books that are well matched to their stage of reading. Staff provide good support for pupils that need extra help with reading. This support continues into key stage 2 so that all pupils can gain the reading knowledge they need to access the curriculum. Pupils in all years enjoy listening to stories and reading for pleasure. 18 and 19 October 2023

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There is a well-developed curriculum for mathematics. The school has clearly identified the knowledge that pupils need to learn at each stage. Staff explain concepts clearly. Pupils are encouraged to discuss what they have learned with each other. There are lots of opportunities to practise the skills that they have learned. Staff routinely check what pupils have learned and address misconceptions quickly. They regularly revisit important knowledge. This helps pupils deepen their understanding and remember what they have learned. In the early years, children enjoy learning about numbers and patterns. Staff help them to develop their number sense through interesting activities. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) access the same lessons as their peers. Staff support them well in lessons when they need it.

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The curriculum for foundation subjects is designed to give pupils lots of time to study interesting topics. These topics are linked to the high-quality texts that pupils study in their English lessons. For example, pupils learn about World War II in history while they study texts about the war. This helps pupils to gain knowledge about the past while they develop their reading and writing skills. However, the curriculums for some foundation subjects do not identify well enough the subject-specific knowledge and concepts that pupils need to learn. The school has not considered how pupils will build knowledge in these subjects over time. This means that pupils remember knowledge insecurely and struggle to make links between topics they have learned.

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Disruptions to learning are very rare. Staff have high expectations for pupils’ behaviour. When pupils do not meet these expectations, staff use fair and consistent routines to help pupils reflect on and correct their behaviour. Pupils who struggle to regulate their behaviour receive effective support.

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The curriculum supports pupils’ wider personal development. In personal, social and health education (PSHE) lessons pupils learn how to keep themselves safe and healthy. In assemblies, they learn about British values, diversity and equality. All pupils have opportunities to go on trips that support their learning and offer them interesting experiences. These include a residential trip for Year 6 pupils where they take part in a range of outdoor activities. Some pupils take part in sporting activities after school. However, there are not many extra-curricular activities for pupils to develop other interests. Pupils said that they would appreciate a wider range of opportunities.

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Staff are happy and proud to work in the school. They appreciate the way the school supports them to manage their workload. Governors work effectively with the school and understand their statutory duties.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 18 and 19 October 2023

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some foundation subjects, the school has not precisely identified the important knowledge that pupils need to learn. The curriculum does not help pupils to develop a depth of knowledge in these subjects. Pupils do not securely remember what they have learned. The school needs to make sure that important knowledge is identified in all subjects of the curriculum. Furthermore, the school needs to develop robust routines for checking pupils’ learning and make sure that pupils build knowledge securely over time.  There are not many activities for pupils to take part in beyond the academic. Pupils do not get many opportunities to develop wider talents and interests. The school should make sure that they provide a range of activities to meet the interests of pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND.

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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 June 2018.

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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. 18 and 19 October 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’ is used to mean pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND); pupils who meet the definition of children in need of help and protection ; pupils receiving statutory local authority support from a social worker; and pupils who otherwise meet the criteria used for deciding the school’s pupil premium funding (this includes pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years, looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 18 and 19 October 2023

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Website http://www.herbertstrutt.derbyshire.sch.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection 20 June 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school uses one unregistered alternative provider.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision.  This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspector met with the headteacher and other school leaders.  The inspector met with representatives of the governing body, including the chair.  The inspector spoke to a representative of the local authority.  The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: reading, mathematics and history. For each deep dive, the inspector held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and 18 and 19 October 2023

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looked at samples of pupils’ work. The inspector listened to some pupils reading to members of staff.  The inspector also discussed the curriculum in some other subjects.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspector/inspectors: reviewed the single central record; took account of the views of leaders, staff and pupils; and considered the extent to which the school has created an open and positive culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  The lead inspector spoke to leaders about the curriculum for personal, social and health education (PSHE) and spoke to some pupils to hear their experiences.  The lead inspector spoke to leaders about the curriculum for the early years and visited the Reception class.  The inspector considered responses to pupil and staff surveys as well as Ofsted Parent View.

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Inspection team

John Spragg, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector 18 and 19 October 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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