Spring Cottage Primary School

Inspection of Spring Cottage Primary School Dressay Grove, Spring Cottage Estate, Hull HU8 9JH

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Inspection dates: 29 and 30 November 2023

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Overall effectiveness Outstanding

The quality of education Outstanding Behaviour and attitudes Outstanding Personal development Outstanding Leadership and management Outstanding Early years provision Outstanding

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Overall effectiveness Outstanding

Previous inspection grade Not previously inspected under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Overall effectiveness Outstanding

The executive headteacher of this school is Andrew Rhodes. This school is part of Horizon Academy Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer, Michael Dodd, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Michelle Kermeen.

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Overall effectiveness Outstanding

Ofsted has not previously inspected Spring Cottage Primary School under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. However, Ofsted previously judged Spring Cottage Primary School to be outstanding, before it opened as Spring Cottage Primary School as a result of conversion to academy status. 29 and 30 November 2023

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What is it like to attend this school?

The Spring Cottage values of respect, determination and happiness underpin everything everyone does. Pupils recognise that these values influence their highly positive attitudes to learning.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave with exemplary levels of respect for each other, adults and visitors. There are three simple school rules that pupils know and apply in their lives. Pupils consistently endeavour to ‘do the right thing’.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school’s exceptional curriculum is designed to meet the specific needs of the Spring Cottage community.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils can apply for a wide range of leadership opportunities provided by the school. These roles have a noticeable impact on pupils. For example, the well-being ambassadors support pupils at playtime, and the reading ambassadors encourage reading in the key stage 1 reading shed. The ambassadors have a high status in the school community. These pupils are excellent role models.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school exudes inclusivity. The two specially resourced provisions for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) provide exceptional learning support for pupils with autism or communication needs. Leaders include these pupils, where possible, in the life of the school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Everyone loves Maggie, the school dog. She is instrumental in enabling pupils to openly talk about their worries or difficult issues. Pupils recognise that Maggie’s presence enhances their well-being. There is high-quality pastoral support for pupils.

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better?

The school’s curriculum is incredibly ambitious. Leaders redesigned the curriculum after the pandemic to ensure that knowledge, skills and vocabulary are sequenced effectively from Nursery to Year 6. The school identifies the essential knowledge in each topic that enables pupils to build a depth of knowledge and skills over time. Teachers have a secure and common understanding of the curriculum structure. The school’s approach to teaching lessons is consistent across the school. One aspect of every lesson is continuous feedback. This ensures that high-quality oral feedback from adults provides pupils with specific information on how to improve.

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better?

The school checks that pupils are remembering the essential knowledge throughout a topic. For example, in the first week of a unit, teachers refresh pupils’ knowledge. Following new learning, pupils have in-depth discussions with teachers about what they have learned. Finally, teachers use a quiz to check that pupils have retained the knowledge in their long-term memories. This is an extremely effective tool that informs teachers if there are gaps in pupils’ knowledge.

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better?

The school has prioritised the teaching of early reading. There is a dedicated story 29 and 30 November 2023

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session every day. The school has a comprehensive set of age-appropriate books that reflect a range of genres and authors. These books are shared to encourage a love of reading. Pupils’ reading books match the sounds that they know. This helps to build their confidence as independent readers. Teachers swiftly identify pupils who need more support to practise their phonics. They receive extra, personalised sessions every day, which ensures they catch up quickly.

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The school has exceptionally high expectations for pupils. In mathematics, teachers encourage pupils to solve complex mathematical problems in different ways, explaining their mathematical thinking clearly. The quality of work in pupils’ mathematics books is of a high quality.

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The school has created two specially resourced provisions, Springboard and Spring Meadows, for pupils with SEND. These dedicated settings have impacted positively on the progress, attendance and behaviour of pupils with complex needs. Relationships between adults and pupils in the specially resourced provisions are caring and nurturing. Pupils with SEND follow the same curriculum as their peers with appropriate adaptations. Teachers have high expectations of their work.

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The early years curriculum is ambitious for children in Nursery and Reception. It focuses on ensuring that children develop a wide vocabulary and communicate effectively. It prepares children extremely well for Year 1. Children deeply engage and sustain high levels of concentration in play-based activities. Adults consistently model routines. As a result, children display good levels of self-control.

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Pupils receive an extensive personal development curriculum. They particularly appreciate the ‘open floor discussions’ teachers facilitate. These are lessons where pupils debate in an open and courteous manner relevant topics. Pupils respect the views of others. There are ‘50 things to do’ at Spring Cottage before pupils leave in Year 6. These support character development and the acquisition of life skills, such as learning to cook or making a video for social media.

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The local governing board recognises the strengths in the school’s approach to inclusivity in supporting pupils with high level SEND. Meeting with subject leaders helps the governors assure themselves that the school has identified the right priorities for sustained improvement.

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The school provides high-quality professional development for staff, including those early in their teaching career and support staff. Leaders coach staff to meet their individual training needs. The school is instrumental in working collaboratively with other trust schools. This leads to continual curriculum improvement.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 29 and 30 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 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). 29 and 30 November 2023

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School details

Local authority Kingston Upon Hull City Council

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School details

Headteacher Andrew Rhodes (Executive headteacher)

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School details

Website www.springcottageprimary.hull.sch.uk

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School details

Date of previous inspection Not previously inspected

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Information about this school

 The school joined the Horizon Academy Trust in 2017.  The executive headteacher is also the deputy CEO of the trust.  The school does not use any alterative providers.  The school has two specially resourced provisions for pupils with SEND on site. Springboard is a provision for key stage 2 pupils with autism. Spring Meadows is a setting for early years and key stage 1 pupils with communication and interaction needs.  The school has nursery provision for three-year-old children.

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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.  This was the first routine inspection the school received since the COVID-19 29 and 30 November 2023

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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 executive headteacher, head of school, curriculum leaders, staff and pupils.  Meetings were also held with representatives of the local governing board, the CEO and the chair of the trust.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, physical education, art and design, and history. For each deep dive, 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.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, 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

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culture around safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.  The views of parents, staff and pupils were considered from meeting with them and from the responses to Ofsted’s questionnaire.

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Inspection team

Alison Stephenson, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Gordon Watts Ofsted Inspector 29 and 30 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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