Walton Holymoorside Primary School

Inspection of Walton Holymoorside Primary School Holymoor Road, Holymoorside, Chesterfield, Derbyshire S42 7DU

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good

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Overall effectiveness Good

Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Not previously inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Overall effectiveness Good

The headteacher of this school is Ian Holmes. This school is part of Learners’ Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Matt Freeston, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Steve Welsh. 7 and 8 November 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils love their school. They are very enthusiastic about their learning and are happy. One pupil, typical of many, said, ‘If I could choose, I wouldn’t go to any other school.’ Pupils are respectful to adults and to each other. Strong relationships permeate the school. Pupils model the school values, which include respect, responsibility and resilience.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school is ambitious for all pupils to do well and achieve their best. Adults set clear expectations of behaviour and learning. Pupils live up to these expectations. They work hard in lessons and behave well. Pupils feel safe here. They are encouraged to talk about how they feel. Pupils know that there is a trusted adult they can talk to if they have any worries.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school gives pupils many opportunities to explore their interests. They enjoy the extra activities like football, judo and coding clubs. Pupils raise money for different charities. They are proud of their responsibilities. These include mini leaders, reading ambassadors and eco committee members.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Parents and carers speak highly of the school. Typical comments included, ‘This is a lovely, thriving school, where the staff know the children well.’

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better?

The school works with determination to provide the best for all pupils. Over the last two years, the school has made significant progress in raising their expectations of pupils’ learning and behaviour. The school offers a broad and interesting curriculum. The curriculum identifies the important knowledge pupils need to learn right from the start of nursery. Careful thought has been given to what pupils should learn and remember in each subject. Pupils review what they have learned before so that they can use this knowledge to help them tackle new learning.

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better?

The school uses different ways to check how well pupils understand what they have learned. In some subjects, the school makes good use of these checks to see how well pupils are learning what is intended. In a few subjects, this is not as well established. The school is less clear about how well pupils are faring or how effective teaching is. Staff have not yet had sufficient opportunities to check pupils’ learning of the intended curriculum in some subjects. Therefore, the school does not always have the full sense of what precise knowledge pupils have understood or remembered in these subjects.

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better?

Reading is a top priority in this school. In the early years, adults help children to develop a love of reading. Staff help pupils to master phonics quickly and to become fluent readers. Pupils’ books are matched to the sounds that they know. The school has invested in carefully chosen books for pupils to read. When pupils struggle to read, skilled adults provide the right support to help them catch up. Many pupils are reading ambassadors. Older pupils love reading stories to the younger children. This 7 and 8 November 2023

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role is highly valued, and pupils take pride in contributing to the positive culture of reading.

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The school identifies pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) quickly. Pupils with SEND receive support to learn the same curriculum as their peers. They have individual support plans that contain advice on how to support individual needs. Some aspects of these documents are not always precise enough to ensure that pupils receive the bespoke support needed to achieve as well as they might.

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The school has a carefully considered approach to supporting pupils’ personal development. Pupils learn age-appropriate knowledge of healthy relationships. They learn about healthy eating and maintaining an active lifestyle. They also learn how to keep themselves safe, including when online. Pupils talk about difference and diversity with considerable maturity. One pupil, echoing the views of others, said, ‘If we were all the same, it would be very boring.’ Adults and pupils model the school’s vision. They are ‘welcoming, helping, progressing and smiling’.

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Harmonious relationships between staff and pupils create a strong foundation for learning. Pupils are cooperative and keen to participate. They follow routines well. Pupils are polite. They have beautiful manners. They hold doors open for each other. Pupils treat adults with respect.

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Trustees and those responsible for governance are knowledgeable about the school. They visit the school often, providing support and challenge for leaders. All members of the school work well together to continue to improve provision for pupils. Staff are positive about the school. Their workload and well-being are a priority for the school.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some subjects, the school does not always have a clear overview of whether pupils have learned the key curriculum content successfully. This means that the school is not always able to use this insight to adapt the curriculum accordingly. The school should ensure that assessment is used effectively in order to evaluate how well pupils are learning the knowledge, skills and vocabulary intended in all subjects.  A small number of SEND support documents are not as specific as they could be. As a result, some pupils with SEND do not achieve as well as they could. The school should ensure that all SEND documents provide the full information for staff to ensure that these pupils achieve as well as they could. 7 and 8 November 2023

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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’ is used to mean pupils with 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). 7 and 8 November 2023

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School details

Website www.thelearnerstrust.org/walton- holymoorside-primary Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 Walton Holymoorside Primary School converted to become an academy in June 2019. When its predecessor school, Walton Holymoorside Primary School, was last inspected, it was judged to be good overall.  The school is part of the Learners’ Trust.  The school does not use any alternative provision.

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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

Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school’s education provision. 7 and 8 November 2023

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 This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  During the inspection, the inspectors met with the headteacher, the deputy headteacher and a range of staff.  The lead inspector met with the chief executive officer of the multi-academy trust, members of the board of trustees, the trust improvement partner, and governors, including the chair of the governing body.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in early reading, mathematics, history and computing. For each deep dive, the inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. The inspectors also met with the leaders of science and art. The lead inspector observed pupils

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reading to a familiar adult.  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.  The inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around school. They considered responses to Ofsted Parent View, including free-text comments. The inspectors met with groups of staff and pupils and considered responses to Ofsted’s staff and pupil survey.

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Inspection team

Kirsty Norbury, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Peter Johnston Ofsted Inspector 7 and 8 November 2023

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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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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