Hunstanton Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Hunstanton Primary School Collingwood Road, Hunstanton, Norfolk PE36 5DY

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Outcome

Hunstanton Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Hunstanton Primary is a welcoming and inclusive school. Pupils are happy and enjoy their lessons. There is a strong sense of community within the school. Pupils are polite and courteous, especially to visitors. They are safe and know that adults are there to help and support them. Most pupils behave well. However, a small number of pupils need more support with their behaviour than others. These pupils get the support they need, which has a positive impact on their behaviour.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school’s curriculum helps pupils achieve the school’s motto of ‘succeed, enjoy, and aspire’. Pupils want to do well. They know their teachers have high expectations of them. Pupils benefit from the many opportunities to develop their interests and talents. They have fun and thrive in the wide array of clubs the school provides. This includes impressive sporting and performing arts activities. Pupils also value the leadership roles they can have.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils have experienced change in the past couple of years. This change has been for the better and in their interests. Nevertheless, although pupils are happy and safe, some parents would like fewer changes in teachers. The school is working hard to provide this stability.

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

The development of enthusiastic, fluent readers is a key priority for the school. Staff get the training they need to teach reading well. The school’s programme for phonics is effective. As pupils learn more sounds, they read with increasing confidence. Children begin learning phonics as soon as they start in Reception. The books that pupils read match the sounds that they know. This helps pupils to practise and apply their phonics knowledge. Staff provide effective support for pupils who are not keeping pace with the programme. These pupils get the support they need to successfully catch up quickly. 2 and 3 July 2024

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The school has constructed a curriculum that is broad, ambitious and designed to meet pupils’ needs. There is also an emphasis on the pupils learning about the area in which they live and being proud citizens of Hunstanton and Norfolk.

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In most subjects, the curriculum identifies the important knowledge that pupils should learn and the best order to teach this in. Learning does not always build on previous knowledge and skills. This can prevent pupils from developing detailed understanding and making connections with what they have learned before. Some subject leaders are new and have not yet had the opportunity to check that pupils are learning what they intend. As a result, in these subjects, pupils are not having the same effective learning experiences as in most others.

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Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) receive effective support. The school quickly identifies their needs and addresses them. The school makes the necessary adaptations to help pupils access the curriculum and learn alongside their peers. This helps pupils with SEND achieve well from their starting points.

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The school has recently reviewed and revised the behaviour policy, which is having a positive impact on improving behaviour further. Staff set high expectations, adopting a consistent approach to behaviour management. Pupils understand this approach. The importance of behaviour starts in the early years, where the children know the routines in their classroom. Staff feel well supported to manage behaviour. There are a few pupils who require help to manage their emotions. Staff have the same high expectations for how these pupils should behave and what they can achieve while making reasonable adjustments where appropriate.

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Leaders monitor absence with rigour. The school regularly emphasises the importance of attendance in newsletters and letters to parents. They work with pupils and families to improve attendance. However, despite some recent improvements, there are some pupils who miss school too often. This means that a few pupils miss out on important learning, which impacts negatively on their social and learning development.

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Leaders are proud of the school’s provision for pupils’ personal development. The school’s ethos sits at the heart of this through assemblies and pupils’ participation in wider enrichment opportunities. Pupils have a range of leadership responsibilities, including school councillors, house captains, librarians, head girl and head boy. There is a clear, well-planned programme for personal, social, health and economic education. This gives pupils the age-appropriate knowledge they need. The school provides a variety of experiences, trips and visitors to help pupils develop new interests. Pupils value the opportunities and experiences the school provides for them.

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Leaders support staff well. They are considerate of staff workload and ensure that this is well balanced. Governors know the school well and provide a good balance of support and challenge to leaders. 2 and 3 July 2024

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In a few subjects, the curriculum is not yet precisely defined or sufficiently well sequenced. The expectations of the curriculum in these areas are not yet explicit. As a result, pupils do not always have the knowledge and skills required to build more complex knowledge. The school must ensure that the curriculum in these areas is sufficiently planned and sequenced to enable pupils to understand and use subject knowledge effectively across the full range of subjects they learn.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In a few subjects, subject leaders do not check what pupils are learning and how well they are learning. This means that pupils have variable experiences of the curriculum. The school must allow subject leaders the opportunity to monitor so they have an accurate understanding of their subject and develop the skills they need to make the improvements required, so all pupils learn more and achieve well.

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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 on 27 and 28 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. 2 and 3 July 2024

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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). 2 and 3 July 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of governing body Jenny McGee Butler

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School details

Website www.hunstantonprimaryschool.co.uk

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 27 and 28 June 2018, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The headteacher was appointed in September 2022.  The school runs before- and after-school care for pupils who attend the school.  The 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. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and has taken this into account in the evaluation of the school.  The inspector met with the chair of governors, other governors, the headteacher, deputy headteacher, special educational needs coordinator, designated safeguarding leads, school subject leaders and staff.  The inspector met with the local authority lead officer for the school. 2 and 3 July 2024

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 The inspector carried out deep dives in early reading, mathematics and geography. These included discussions with subject leaders, visits to lessons, hearing children read, meetings with staff and pupils, scrutiny of pupils’ work and a review of any curriculum documentation.  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 a range of documents, including behaviour logs, attendance records, pupil records, records of governing body meetings, school development plans and school self-evaluation documents.  The inspector considered responses to Ofsted’s pupil survey and Ofsted’s staff survey. The inspector considered responses to the parent survey, Ofsted Parent View, including

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free-text messages and a letter delivered to the school for the inspector.  The inspector spoke with pupils throughout the inspection to gather their views.

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Inspection team

Ashley Best-White, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector 2 and 3 July 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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