Stocks Green Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Stocks Green Primary School Leigh Road, Hildenborough, Tonbridge, Kent TN11 9AE

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Outcome

Stocks Green Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy at Stocks Green Primary School. They are safe and comfortable within the kind, caring school community. Staff know pupils well and are delighted by their successes. Relationships throughout the school are warm. They are typified by high expectations and respect, which is central to the school’s rules and values.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils like learning and the school has high expectations for them. They find their work interesting and experiences memorable. They behave well in lessons and are keen to do well. Pupils are motivated by choosing ways of demonstrating their knowledge for example through maths challenges or devising projects to answer ‘The Big Question’ in history.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are positive about the changes that have been made to their playtimes. They enjoy socialising together across the school, dancing to the music, or using the wide range of equipment that has been provided for them. They get along well together. Pupils are active and well supported by the adults who are on hand should they need help.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Parents are overwhelmingly positive about the school. They value the community atmosphere and are excited by the recent initiatives and improvements. One parent summed up the views of many in describing a ‘ genuinely wonderful school, with a new sense of ambition and purpose.’

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

The school has devised an ambitious new vision. Routines, policies, and the curriculum have been revised and strengthened to help deliver this vision for all pupils. Pupils achieve well, including in their end of key stage assessments. New processes have ensured that pupils with special educational needs and/ or disabilities (SEND) have their needs identified clearly. However, there is more to do to ensure that these specific needs are then consistently considered and addressed in lessons so that pupils with SEND always achieve as well as they can. 6 and 7 March 2024

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Staff are very positive about the changes that have been made and the support and training they are getting to deliver them. They appreciate how consideration has been given to their workload through for example, the setting up of subject teams. Morale throughout the school is high. Everyone is united in working towards common goals. A sense of optimism and possibility abounds.

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Reading is at the heart of provision. Pupils learn to read early and well. Staff are experts in early reading. Pupils experience success because books that they use to learn to read have been carefully matched to the sounds that pupils are learning. Regular checks on pupils knowledge ensures that any who start to fall behind are quickly identified and given the support that they need to catch up quickly. Pupils enjoy the wide-ranging texts that are read to them. They have plenty of questions and ideas about the characters and the plots. Pupils are avid readers. They are enthused by the projects which are underway to develop library spaces inside and out.

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The school has ensured that a full curriculum is in place. This starts in Reception and builds pupils’ knowledge well through to Year 6. However, the school is highly ambitious for the curriculum. Some subjects have been recently revised, to improve them still further. The history curriculum, at the forefront of this process, has been expertly developed. It builds pupils historical knowledge alongside understanding of key concepts, such as monarchy and how to be a historian. The school knows that this revised curriculum, which was introduced in September, is at early stages of implementation and will need refining and reviewing by subject teams as it embeds.

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The school has introduced a new behaviour policy. Pupils understand the school rules of being ready, respectful, and safe. Pupils explain this by saying, ‘You have to give respect if you want respect.’ Pupils behave well. The school is an orderly environment. Pupils value the rewards systems that are in place for recognising positive behaviour through the ‘respect points’ system. Pupils say that the introduction of these has improved levels of politeness and consideration. On the playground pupils delight in playing across age ranges, particularly with their linked ‘buddies’.

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The school has developed an extensive personal development programme. Pupils benefit from a well-planned curriculum which helps pupils to learn about themselves and the world. Pupils are enthusiastic about the additional opportunities provided to them. For example, during the inspection some pupils were learning how to ride their bicycles safely and others took part in a science-based trip to another school.

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Governors have a strong understanding of the strengths and needs of the school. They ensure that they have the knowledge and information they need to hold the school effectively to account.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective. 6 and 7 March 2024

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Some subjects have been reviewed and revised. The new curriculums have not yet been fully implemented. The school should continue to fully evaluate the effectiveness of these curriculum changes on pupils’ learning as the revised curriculum embeds.  Although the process of identifying the needs for pupils with SEND has been strengthened, sometimes this is not leading to the right support being in place for pupils. Some pupils are not building their skills and knowledge as effectively as they could. The school should further develop its systematic process to help ensure pupils with SEND achieve as well as they can.

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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 June 2018.

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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, 6 and 7 March 2024

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looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 6 and 7 March 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 19 June 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The headteacher joined the school in September 2022. Several other leaders are new to their posts.  The school does not currently 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. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders and has taken that into account in the evaluation of the school.  During the inspection, the inspector met with school leaders. The inspector also met with the representatives of the governing body and held a meeting with a representative from the local authority.  The inspector carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and history. For each deep dive, the inspector discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, 6 and 7 March 2024

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spoke to pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. The inspector listened to pupils read.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspector: 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 inspector reviewed responses to Ofsted’s parent, pupil and staff surveys and considered a letter from a parent.  The inspector talked to staff to gather their views about the school, including their workload and well-being. The inspector met with several groups of pupils, as well as speaking to pupils during lessons, playtimes and at lunchtime.

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Inspection team

Deborah Gordon, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 6 and 7 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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