Hawkshead Esthwaite Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Hawkshead Esthwaite Primary School Main Street, Hawkshead, Cumbria LA22 0NT

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Outcome

Hawkshead Esthwaite Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy attending this happy and caring school. The school has a tangible family feel. Pupils live out the school motto of ‘together we can make a difference’. They know that their teachers care about them. Everyone is proud to be part of the learning community.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high expectations for the achievement of pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils strive to live up to these expectations and try their best during lessons. Pupils achieve well. Children in the early years get off to a good start to their education. The recently opened Nursery class is warm and welcoming.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils behave well. They are respectful and polite. Pupils support each other during lessons and when on the playground. They build positive relationships with others.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils develop a love of the outdoors and the many opportunities that this brings. For example, they enjoy building shelters and experiencing activities such as pond dipping and charcoal making. Pupils enjoy trips and visits beyond the local village, including residential visits to cities across the country.

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

The school has ensured that there is a well-thought-out, ambitious curriculum for pupils, including those with SEND. The school is clear about the important information that pupils should learn and when this should happen. This enables pupils, including children in the provision for two-year-olds, to develop their skills and knowledge across all subjects over time.

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

Teachers deliver the curriculum effectively. They have secure knowledge of the subjects that they teach. Teachers choose appropriate activities to engage pupils in their learning. 13 March 2024

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However, in a small number of subjects, teachers do not use assessment strategies effectively to check how well pupils are learning. As a result, they do not address misconceptions in some pupils’ understanding quickly enough.

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The school knows pupils well and is quick to identify the additional needs of pupils with SEND. It works well with external agencies to support these pupils and to meet their needs. However, teachers are not entirely clear about how to refine adaptations made to the delivery of the curriculum so that pupils with SEND access this to the best of their ability. At times, this limits the learning of these pupils.

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Reading is at the heart of everything that the school does. From the start of the early years, children, including those in the provision for two-year-olds, are encouraged to develop a love of reading. Pupils read books that match their phonics knowledge. Staff identify pupils who fall behind in the phonics programme and provide support to help them catch up quickly. As a result, most pupils develop into fluent and competent readers. Older pupils spoke with confidence about the books that they have read and the authors that they enjoy.

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Pupils demonstrate positive behaviour. Lessons are calm and purposeful. Pupils in the mixed-age classes, including in the Nursery class, learn well together. They know that positive behaviour is expected each day.

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The school has given detailed thought to how to support pupils’ personal development. Pupils, including those with SEND, access a wide range of high-quality clubs and activities that include yoga, lacrosse and music. Pupils relish their roles as school councillors. They organise many events such as weekly morning walks, coffee mornings and an assembly where pupils brought in their pets from home.

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Attendance is a high priority for the school. It works with parents and carers to make sure that pupils attend school regularly.

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In this small school, staff have many areas of responsibility. The school is mindful of this and works to help staff fulfil their roles well while supporting their well-being and workload. There is a culture of mutual trust and care among staff. Governors provide effective support and challenge to the school.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The school has not fully developed strategies that allow teachers to check where pupils have missing or insecure knowledge in some subjects. As a result, teachers do not address some pupils’ misunderstandings as quickly as they should. The school should strengthen its assessment procedures so that teachers check what pupils know and 13 March 2024

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address any errors or misconceptions in a timely manner.  In some subjects, teachers do not have a complete understanding of how to adapt the delivery of the curriculum for pupils with SEND. At times, this hinders these pupils from learning as well as they should. The school should enable teachers to deepen their knowledge and skills in adapting the curriculum for pupils with SEND to ensure that these pupils can access the full curriculum effectively.

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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 July 2014.

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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). 13 March 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 9 January 2019, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school provides a breakfast and after-school club for pupils.  The school does not use any alternative provision.  The school offers educational provision for two-year-old children.

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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 is 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.  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.  Inspectors conducted deep dives into these subjects: early reading, mathematics and science. For each deep dive, they discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited 13 March 2024

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a sample of lessons, spoke with teachers, spoke with some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. They listened to pupils from Years 1 to 3 read to a familiar adult.  Inspectors met with the headteacher, subject leaders and teachers.  An inspector met with members of the governing body, including the chair of governors.  An inspector spoke with a representative of the local authority.  Inspectors spoke with pupils during meetings and around school about their experiences of school.  Inspectors considered the responses to Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text comments. They also reviewed the responses to Ofsted’s surveys for staff and for pupils.

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Inspection team

Emma Jackson, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Annie Douglas Ofsted Inspector 13 March 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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