Ash Green Community Primary School

Inspection of a school judged good for overall effectiveness before September 2024: Ash Green Community Primary School Mixenden Road, Mixenden, Halifax, West Yorkshire HX2 8QD

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Inspection dates: 22 and 23 October 2024

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Outcome

Ash Green Community Primary School has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Ash Green Community Primary School is a safe, caring place for pupils. Positive and nurturing relationships between staff and pupils ensure that pupils are valued and supported. Pupils trust adults to take care of them.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high expectations for pupils’ learning and behaviour. There is an inclusive environment where all pupils regardless of their needs or circumstances access an ambitious curriculum. The school makes sure that pupils at both sites follow the same curriculum and have the same opportunities. Pupils experience the same learning and activities and achieve well.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The care that staff provide for pupils, parents and carers is highly evident. Staff build strong relationships with parents right from the early years. Parents welcome and appreciate this level of care. The pastoral team offers a range of support including access to local services. Pupils know and respond well to the expectations for behaviour. They show politeness and respect to adults and each other.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy coming to school. They appreciate the positive support from adults. Pupils know the importance of friendship and kindness. They know how to keep themselves safe online and in the local community. Pupils are proud to take on leadership roles, including school councillors, lunchtime helpers and play leaders. 22 and 23 October 2024

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

The school makes decisions in the best interests of the pupils. The curriculum is well sequenced and identifies the specific knowledge that pupils need to learn. Pupils typically enter school with lower-than-expected speech and language skills. The curriculum focuses on developing oracy and subject specific vocabulary. In lessons, pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) and those who speak English as an additional language benefit from carefully adapted resources. Staff quickly identify and address pupils’ needs including those with SEND. Tailored interventions are designed to ensure pupils have the support they need to achieve well. Specialist staff provide this support. ‘The Hive’ offers a safe, calm space for pupils who need additional support.

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

The curriculum has been adapted to take account of the local context. For example, in history pupils learn about the Piece Hall and the Halifax Gibbet. Staff’s appreciation and understanding of effective training and coaching shows through across the school. The school promotes shared ways of working for staff. These practices combine and ensure that the curriculum is implemented consistently well. Teachers build pupils’ interest by engaging them in real life tasks. For example, pupils wrote a letter to the director of the British museum to explain their knowledge of the Romans.

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

The reading and mathematics curriculums are well structured. They are adapted carefully to meet the needs of all pupils. The school has focused on embedding the key knowledge to ensure pupils’ knowledge builds over time. Regular checking by adults in lessons means that pupils’ learning is moved on. Well trained adults provide effective support. Misconceptions are quickly addressed.

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

Reading is a high priority. Phonics is consistently taught through a multi-sensory approach from Nursery, using actions, pictures, and visual cues. Reading books are well-matched to pupils' phonic ability. Pupils read accurately using the sounds that they know. The writing curriculum focuses on high quality texts. However, pupils’ understanding of the basic skills in writing are less secure.

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

The school has worked effectively to secure improvements to the early years since the last inspection. The ‘just threes’ provision ensures children make a strong start. In the early years, children develop early communication and language skills well. They are immersed in stories, songs and rhymes. Children cooperate well and access learning independently. Activities are carefully chosen to give children chances to explore and be curious. Adults provide support by encouraging language development across all areas of the provision. Children with specific needs successfully access support through the ‘The Burrow’.

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

Pupils listen to teachers and contribute enthusiastically in lessons. Adults regularly praise pupils for behaving well. Pupils value the rewards they receive including weekly certificates. Routines are firmly embedded. Movement around school is calm and orderly. When playing outside, pupils are active. They happily engage in structured activities, such as climbing, scooters and ball games. 22 and 23 October 2024

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Pupils have positive attitudes to learning. The school works closely with families to improve rates of attendance. However, some pupils do not attend school often enough. This means they miss out on essential learning.

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The school has a comprehensive offer to supports pupils' personal development. This includes personal, social, health and economic education lessons, assemblies, extracurricular activities, and opportunities for leadership and citizenship. Enrichment activities enhance the curriculum and build pupils’ interest of the local and wider area. These include visits to local museums, residentials and a trip to London. Daily clubs, such as choir and dance, encourage pupils to develop their talents and interests.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The English curriculum does not specifically set out well enough the basic skills for writing, including grammar, punctuation and handwriting. As a result, pupils are not able to write with accuracy. The school should ensure that the curriculum identifies these basic skills clearly and progressively so that pupils build fluency in the basic skills and are able to write independently with confidence and fluency.  Attendance for some pupils is too low, including those who are disadvantaged. This means that pupils are missing out on important learning and other aspects of personal development. The school should ensure that their ongoing work with families is strengthened so that all pupils attend school regularly.

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Background

Until September 2024, on a graded (section 5) inspection we gave schools an overall effectiveness grade, in addition to the key and provision judgements. Overall effectiveness grades given before September 2024 will continue to be visible on school inspection reports and on Ofsted's website. From September 2024 graded inspections will not include an overall effectiveness grade. This school was, before September 2024, judged good for its overall effectiveness.

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Background

We have now inspected the school to determine whether it has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at that previous inspection. 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's work has improved significantly or that it may not be as strong as it was at the last inspection, then the next inspection will be a graded inspection. A graded inspection 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, 22 and 23 October 2024

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behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the ungraded inspection a graded inspection immediately.

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This is the first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good for overall effectiveness in November 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). 22 and 23 October 2024

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 15 and 16 November 2018, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school operates across two sites with provision for pupils aged 3 to 11 at each site.  The school does not use alternative provision.  There is a breakfast and after-school club run by the school on site.  The school runs childcare provision for Nursery children before and after their Nursery sessions.  The school has a Nursery for three- and four-year-old children.  The school has a specially resourced provision for up to five pupils with speech, language and communication needs from the ages of three to five.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time judgement about the quality of a school's education provision. 22 and 23 October 2024

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 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 that into account in this evaluation of the school.  The inspector met with the headteacher, deputy headteacher and both assistant headteachers.  The inspector met with representatives from the governing body and a representative from the local authority.  The inspector visited a sample of lessons, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. They held discussions about the curriculum and spoke to staff. The inspector heard pupils read to a familiar adult.  The inspector observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons, around the school and at lunchtime. The inspector spoke with pupils about their views of the school and their learning, behaviour and safety.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, the inspector: reviewed the single

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central record of recruitment checks; met with the designated safeguarding leads; 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 considered responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire for staff and pupils. They also took into account the views of parents and carers using Ofsted’s online survey for parents and carers, Ofsted Parent View, including comments received via the free-text facility.

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Inspection team

Nicola Beaumont, lead inspector His Majesty's Inspector 22 and 23 October 2024

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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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