Squirrel Hayes First School

Inspection of school: Squirrel Hayes First School Springfield Road, Biddulph, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire ST8 7DF

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Outcome

Squirrel Hayes First School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Squirrel Hayes is a small school where ‘everyone and every child matters’. School staff want the very best for pupils. Strong relationships are one of the reasons that pupils report feeling safe and happy at school. Pupils feel that they are listened to. They trust that those who care for them will always be there when needed.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils benefit from a broad and carefully planned curriculum and are eager to demonstrate what they know. Throughout the school, pupils progress well in their learning. Reading is a high priority, and pupils know how important it is to read well. They love to talk about their favourite books.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils’ attitudes to their learning are positive, and they try their hardest in lessons. They understand the need to be resilient. Pupils behave well and disruption to learning is rare. Pupils who require extra support receive it from highly skilled members of staff who understand them well. Pupils appreciate playing with their friends and are welcoming and caring. They respect and value each other’s differences.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils benefit from the opportunities provided to them to develop their talents and interests. These include ‘flexercise’ and a range of local sports opportunities in their local area.

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

The school has a dedicated team of staff who are committed to doing their best for pupils and the community. Leaders at all levels lead in a calm and systematic manner, which creates a purposeful ethos. Staff know the community well, and they ensure that pupils are at the heart of any important decisions that are made. Parents speak positively about the progress their children make and how well cared for they are. 23 April 2024

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Pupils progress well through the curriculum. The outcomes they achieve reflect the high- quality provision in place, particularly in early reading. In mathematics, the school makes certain that pupils are learning important knowledge in a consistent and logical way so that they understand and remember their times tables. The school’s focus on language development helps pupils share the knowledge they have learned across the curriculum, for example when talking about the world’s continents.

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Children learn to read as soon as they enter the school. Staff are skilled at supporting pupils who need extra help with their reading. This means that most pupils are able to read fluently and accurately by the time they leave key stage 1. Pupils enjoy being read to by their teachers. This adds to pupils’ enjoyment of reading.

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Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are extremely well supported. The school works closely with external agencies to provide training for staff. Pupils with SEND receive high-quality support to access the same learning as their peers. Parents and pupils appreciate the extra support they receive.

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Pupils care about and respect each other. They are very proud of their school and welcome visitors warmly. Pupils talk about the importance of being inclusive. Older pupils understand how to calm themselves and not give up when things are challenging. The school has high expectations of pupils’ attendance, and as a result, there has been some improvement. However, for a small number of pupils, attendance is still not good enough to enable them to benefit fully from their education.

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School staff have thought carefully about the wider development of pupils. The school offers pupils experiences that are carefully chosen to meet the needs of pupils in this school community. The school has developed useful links with local businesses and nearby places of interest. As a result, pupils enjoy and benefit from opportunities to do things locally that they may not otherwise do. These experiences develop pupils’ interests and inspire them to visit again in their own time.

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The school ensures that staff receive appropriate training so they can meet the needs of all pupils. Staff feel well supported and agree that leaders acknowledge their hard work. They know that their well-being really matters and they are listened to. For example, staff feel that assessment is purposeful and used effectively.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Some pupils are missing school too often. This hinders the progress that they make and the standards they achieve. The school should continue to review and develop their strategies, including their work with families and external organisations, in order 23 April 2024

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to improve attendance so that all pupils can benefit fully from their education.

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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 first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good in September 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, looked after children (children in local authority care) and/or children who left care through adoption or another formal route). 23 April 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 25 and 26 September 2018, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 This school does not use 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. 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.  The inspectors met with a range of leaders, including those responsible for the curriculum, teaching and learning, behaviour, attendance, personal development and safeguarding.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics and 23 April 2024

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geography. 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.  The inspectors also considered the curriculum in other subjects.  The lead inspector met with the chair of governors.  The lead inspector also spoke to a representative from the local authority.  The inspectors considered the responses to Ofsted’s online survey, Ofsted Parent View. Inspectors considered the responses to the staff and pupil surveys.

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Inspection team

Stephanie Moran, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Alexandra Beardmore Ofsted Inspector 23 April 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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