The South Hykeham Community Primary School

Inspection of a good school: The South Hykeham Community Primary School Wath Lane, South Hykeham, Lincoln, Lincolnshire LN6 9PG

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Outcome

The South Hykeham Community Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

This is a school where pupils love to come and learn. Most attend well. Staff have high expectations of how pupils should conduct themselves and what pupils can achieve. In class, pupils behave well, listen and concentrate. They are enthusiastic about learning and engage fully.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Parents and carers speak of the school with high regard. They value the school’s supportive ethos. Typical comments include, ‘The school is a wonderful nurturing environment. The teachers really care about the children and help them be the best they can be.’

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils say the school is a safe place to be. They enjoy playtimes with their friends. They know that if there are incidents of bullying, staff will deal with them. Pupils who sometimes struggle are supported well by staff. Relationships between staff and pupils are respectful and positive.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy taking part in some wider opportunities. Junior road safety officers lead assemblies to teach others how to keep themselves safe near roads. Pupils attend a range of extra-curricular clubs, including gardening and netball. However, since the pandemic, there are fewer opportunities for pupils to enjoy educational experiences that enrich the curriculum.

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

The school wants every pupil to benefit from a good quality of education. A newly developed curriculum ensures that pupils learn key concepts in a broad range of subjects. The school has identified the most important knowledge that pupils need to know and has made sure that this content is sequenced well. However, there is more work to do to make sure that pupils continue to deepen their knowledge in all subjects over time. 1 November 2023

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The curriculum is planned carefully to help pupils know and remember important information. Teachers use their strong subject knowledge to teach pupils new content and to model new learning. There is a clear focus on developing pupils’ vocabulary right from the start. Teachers help pupils use key terms accurately in their verbal and written responses. This begins in the early years.

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Pupils value opportunities to revisit and recall what they know already. For instance, daily ‘fluent-in-5’ sessions in mathematics help pupils remember what they have learned before. They can often recall what they have learned more recently. However, they occasionally struggle to recall what they have been taught in previous years. Ways to enhance pupils’ learning through meaningful activities or experiences are being developed.

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Reading is a priority. Right from the start, children in the early years begin to learn to read. Phonics is taught well, so children become fluent and confident readers. Staff are consistent with the language and routines they use. Pupils respond positively to this. Reading books are well matched to the sounds pupils have been learning. Extra phonics sessions are in place for some pupils to help them keep up. Pupils enjoy reading and being read to by the adults in school.

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Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are well supported to succeed in school. Staff use resources effectively to quickly identify the needs of pupils with SEND and provide them with suitable support. Pupils with SEND receive the extra help they need so they can learn the same curriculum as their peers.

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The school promotes many aspects of pupils’ personal development effectively. Pupils have a clear view about what makes people the same or different. They agree that ‘we are all unique, and that is ok’. However, pupils’ understanding of different faiths, beliefs and religions is fragile. Opportunities for pupils to take part in educational experiences, or to learn from visitors, are also limited.

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Staff are proud to work at South Hykeham Primary School. They appreciate the consideration the school gives to managing their workload and well-being. Governors contribute well to the school team.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In many subjects, the curriculum is quite new. It is not yet clear how well some of the planned activities enhance the curriculum and support pupils learning. Occasionally, pupils struggle to recall key concepts they have learned previously. The school must 1 November 2023

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make sure that the curriculum includes a range of meaningful experiences that help all pupils remember what they have learned.  Pupils are tolerant of others’ views and opinions. However, their knowledge of different faiths and religions is not well developed. The school should ensure that pupils learn about a range of different faiths and religions so that they are prepared well for life in modern Britain.

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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 December 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.

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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). 1 November 2023

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 3 November 2020, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school does not use any alternative provision.

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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.  Inspectors met with the headteacher and other leaders.  The lead inspector met with five members of the governing body, including the chair. She also spoke with a representative of the local authority.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in the following subjects: early reading, mathematics, and geography. For each deep dive, inspectors met with subject leaders to discuss the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke with teachers, spoke with some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. 1 November 2023

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 Inspectors spoke with parents. Account was taken of the responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Ofsted Parent View. Inspectors also spoke with groups of pupils and staff.  Inspectors considered pupils’ behaviour at various times of day, including in lessons, around the school site and at lunchtime. Inspectors also scrutinised behaviour logs and records of pupils’ attendance.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the 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.

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Inspection team

Heidi Bastock, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Adrian O’Malley Ofsted Inspector 1 November 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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