Hilmarton Primary School

Inspection of Hilmarton Primary School Compton Road, Hilmarton, Calne, Wiltshire SN11 8SG

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Inspection dates: 28 and 29 February 2024

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Overall effectiveness Good

The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Good 28 and 29 February 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Hilmarton is a welcoming and inclusive school. Staff and pupils have very positive relationships. The school’s vision for pupils to ‘explore, enjoy and learn’ runs through the curriculum. Pupils are enthusiastic and curious to learn new things.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high expectations for pupils’ behaviour. Pupils are polite and well mannered. They hold doors open for visitors and show high levels of respect for one another. Pupils listen carefully and are eager to learn. There is a calm and purposeful environment in classrooms and around the school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel safe in school and learn how to stay safe online. They feel confident to share any worries with trusted adults in school. There is a culture of support and kindness to others, which all at the school model well. One pupil stated, ‘The school is like a family.’

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils benefit from a wide range of trips and external visitors which enrich the curriculum. They contribute to the wider world, for example by raising money for charity. Pupils recognise the impact their work can have on others beyond their school. The school promotes equality of opportunity very well. All pupils are encouraged to take part in everything the school has to offer.

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better?

The school has responded well to address the areas for improvement identified at the previous inspection. Staff have worked collaboratively to develop a broad curriculum. It is ambitious for all pupils. Learning is well designed, so pupils build their knowledge over time. The curriculum starts in the early years. The school has considered what pupils should know by the time they leave primary school.

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better?

Pupils progress well through the curriculum. They can recall their recent learning well. For example, pupils discussed the importance of the Battle of Britain from their recent history unit. Pupils learn to play a range of different instruments in music lessons. The school recognises that the curriculum needs further embedding so that pupils build on what they already know and deepen their knowledge. In some subjects, assessment is not always used with enough precision to check what all pupils know and remember and to inform future learning. This makes it harder for pupils to build their knowledge over time.

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better?

The school prioritises pupils learning to read. Children in the early years start to read as soon as they start school. They learn early sounds well. The books they read match the sounds they have learned. All staff have the expertise needed to teach phonics well. They use assessment effectively to check pupils’ phonics progress. If pupils fall behind, they receive the support they need to help them to catch up quickly. 28 and 29 February 2024

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Pupils’ enthusiasm for reading continues as they move through the school. As they gain confidence, pupils read books to improve their fluency. Texts become longer and more complex as pupils get older. The school encourages pupils to recommend different books and authors to each other. Pupils learn about diversity through the reading curriculum.

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Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are accurately identified. Information about how to support these pupils is shared effectively with teachers. This means that pupils with SEND learn and progress through the curriculum as well as their peers. Pupils with SEND participate in all aspects of school life in this very inclusive school.

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Pupils learn a well-devised personal development programme. They know how to stay safe online and how to keep themselves physically and mentally healthy. For example, a child in Reception explained the importance of eating fruit ‘because it is good for you and makes you healthy’. Pupils celebrate difference. They understand why it is important to treat everyone equally and with respect. Pupils know that a good friend needs to be kind and reliable. The school has a strong pastoral offer to support pupils’ physical and mental health.

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Leadership opportunities for pupils are meaningful. The school council meets regularly and makes a difference to the school. For example, pupils decided that each class would raise money to improve the school. The funds raised are being used to purchase new equipment to improve playtimes. Pupils present their case for being on the school council and are voted on by their peers.

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Governors know the school’s strengths and areas for improvement well. They provide appropriate support and challenge to the school. Staff are positive and proud to work at the school. They work closely together and support each other well. They are reflective and thoughtful about their work. Staff say that the school thoughtfully manages their workload and well-being.

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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 curriculum is not yet being implemented well enough to ensure pupils learn the precise knowledge that has been identified in the curriculum design. As a result, some pupils’ knowledge is not as in depth as it could be. The school needs to ensure that the curriculum is securely and consistently embedded across the school to enable pupils to learn and remember what is intended.  Assessment is still being developed in some subjects. It is not yet used well 28 and 29 February 2024

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enough to check that pupils have remembered the knowledge they have been taught. As a result, some pupils do not build their knowledge well enough over time. The school needs to ensure that assessment is used effectively across all subjects and use this information to inform future learning.

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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). 28 and 29 February 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 6 December 2022, 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

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.  The inspectors discussed any continued impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspectors met with the headteacher, assistant headteacher, special educational needs coordinator and early years leader for the school. Inspectors also met with a range of teaching and support staff.  The lead inspector met with representatives of the local governing board.  The lead inspector held phone conversations with representatives from the local authority. 28 and 29 February 2024

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 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 carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and music. For each deep dive, the inspector discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, 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 discussed the curriculum in other subjects.  The inspectors listened to pupils in Years 1, 2 and 3 read to an adult.  The inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around the school site.  The inspectors gathered parents’ views by considering the responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Ofsted Parent View, and by talking to parents before and after

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school. The inspectors also evaluated responses to Ofsted’s staff and pupil surveys.

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Inspection team

Matt Fletcher, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Ken Buxton Ofsted Inspector 28 and 29 February 2024

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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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