Hunwick Primary School

Inspection of Hunwick Primary School Church Lane, Hunwick, Crook, County Durham DL15 0JX

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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 8 and 9 May 2024

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What is it like to attend this school?

Hunwick Primary School is proud to be part of its local community. Pupils enjoy school. They attend very regularly. Pupils learn important messages about kindness and friendship. They are happy and safe. One pupil spoke for many when he said, ‘teachers listen to us… they genuinely care about our opinions’.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils achieve well. They strive to reach the school’s high academic expectations. Pupils take pride in their work. They behave well and they are quick to settle down to learning. Children in the early years get off to a positive start. They learn to talk about their feelings in morning registration. Children also learn important routines and how to be independent. They make pleasing progress in learning and development over time.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils relish the impressive sports curriculum they experience in school. They take part in a wide range of activities. These include athletics, skipping and golf. Pupils represent the school in sports regularly. Everyone in school celebrates their achievements. Through sport, pupils also learn important transferrable skills. They become leaders and coaches for their peers. Staff in early years also place a strong emphasis on physical development. Children benefit from using equipment, such as trikes, balance beams and stepping stones, that promotes their movement skills well.

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better?

The school is ambitious to provide a high standard of education for its pupils. Over recent years, staff have adapted the curriculum to address the reduction in the number of classes in school. The curriculum is well sequenced. It identifies important knowledge and skills that pupils must learn. In lessons, staff give clear explanations and check pupils’ understanding. Staff also model the use of subject- specific vocabulary. Pupils use this vocabulary when exploring their learning. For example, Year 5 pupils explain fractions confidently using the terms denominator, equivalent and improper.

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better?

Staff make appropriate adaptations to learning for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Pupils with SEND access the same ambitious curriculum as their peers. Regardless of their individual challenges, pupils with SEND achieve well over time. However, the school has not developed a consistent approach to checking the impact of the curriculum. Staff are not clear about which parts of the curriculum work well and which need further refinement.

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better?

The school places reading at the centre of the curriculum. Well-trained staff teach phonics with precision in Reception and Year 1. Staff also support pupils well if they fall behind. This provision leads to strong achievement. Pupils are confident and fluent readers. Older pupils talk with passion about the wide range of books they read. 8 and 9 May 2024

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Early years staff immerse children in reading too. Children enjoy structured opportunities to read with adults throughout the day. Children in Nursery learn, remember and recite the nursery rhyme of the week, such as Hey Diddle Diddle, well. This links to their wider learning seamlessly. Staff provide varied and interesting activities to improve children’s physical development. For example, children enjoyed and benefitted from balancing an egg on a spoon for an extended period of time. Similarly, the children succeeded when searching for items in the rhyme during a treasure hunt. Children work well with their peers as they complete these activities. Staff encourage mathematical links by encouraging the children to count the items they find. The Nursery provision in early years is relatively new. The school is embedding the curriculum in this part of the school.

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Pupils are taught how to keep themselves safe in the wider world. They talk confidently about the risks they can face on and offline. Pupils also have an effective understanding of the importance of fundamental British values. They learn about significant historical figures in assembly, such as Emmeline Pankhurst. Pupils link this learning well to their discussions about equality and tolerance. During social time, pupils play well together. They enjoy a range of physical activities over lunchtime. The pupil-led sports crew develops many of these activities for the benefit of their peers.

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Pupils enjoy and benefit from a range of experiences beyond the academic curriculum. In addition to the school’s exceptional sports offer, pupils learn from educational visits such as the residential in Years 5 and 6. Visitors to school enhance the curriculum further. Pupils’ experience of inspirational science lessons and talks from public services enhance their knowledge well. Children in the early years also enjoy learning about careers from a visiting doctor. This helps them learn about the wider world.

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The school is committed to providing a broad range of learning and experiences for its pupils. Governors support leaders well. They have a sound understanding of the school’s strengths and areas that require further development. Most parents and carers speak positively about the school. They are proud of its inclusive ethos. Staff carry out many different roles in this small school. They are proud of the impact this has on the pupils. Staff are well supported by leaders. Leaders consider staff’s workload when they make changes.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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 The school has not fully developed its approach to quality assurance. Leaders do not have an accurate view of how well some areas of the curriculum are helping pupils to meet the school’s intended outcomes. The school should ensure that a consistent system for checking the impact of the curriculum is implemented.  The implementation of the early years provision in Nursery is relatively new. The school’s ambitious vision for the youngest children is not fully realised. The school should continue to embed the changes to the early years curriculum to support strong progression from Nursery to Reception and beyond.

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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). 8 and 9 May 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 18 December 2018, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 Hunwick Primary School is much smaller than the average-sized primary school.  The school’s Nursery opened to children for the first time in September 2022.  The school does not use providers of alternative provision for its pupils.  Wraparound care is available for families on the school site. This is separately led and managed by an external provider.

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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 pandemic began. Inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school. 8 and 9 May 2024

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 Inspectors met with the headteacher, deputy headteacher and other leaders from the school over the course of the inspection. The lead inspector also met with an adviser from the local authority.  The lead inspector met with the chair of the governing body and five other governors. Documentation relating to governance, including minutes from governors’ meetings, was reviewed.  The inspectors carried out deep dives in the following subjects: early reading, mathematics and physical education. For each deep dive, inspectors 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 lead inspector also discussed the breadth of the curriculum with the headteacher.  The lead inspector met with the leader responsible for early years. The inspectors also spent time in the early years provision across the course of the inspection.

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 The lead inspector met with the headteacher in his capacity as special educational needs coordinator and leader responsible for personal development.  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 groups of pupils formally throughout the inspection and spoke with them informally at social times and in lessons.  A range of school documents was reviewed, including the school’s self-evaluation and the improvement plan.  The inspectors considered the views of pupils, parents and staff gathered through Ofsted’s questionnaires.

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Inspection team

Hannah Millett, lead inspector His Majesty's Inspector

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Inspection team

Jo Warner Ofsted Inspector 8 and 9 May 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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