Harbertonford Church of England Primary School

Inspection of a school judged good for overall effectiveness before September 2024: Harbertonford Church of England Primary School Old Road, Harbertonford, Totnes, Devon TQ9 7TA

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Outcome

Harbertonford Church of England Primary School has taken effective action to maintain the standards identified at the previous inspection.

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Outcome

The headteacher of this school is Jack Pemberton. This school is part of Link Academy Trust, which means other people in the trust also have responsibility for running the school. The trust is run by the chief executive officer (CEO), Nicola Dunford, and overseen by a board of trustees, chaired by Cheryl Diane Mathieson.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy being part of this welcoming and friendly school where there is a strong sense of community. Pupils are polite and respectful. Most pupils behave well. Pupils and staff have highly positive relationships. Pupils are safe and say that they know they can speak to any member of staff if they have concerns. School leaders and staff have high expectations for all pupils. Despite lower results in phonics screening checks in the past, pupils’ achievements are now improving.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils benefit from a rich range of opportunities to help develop their talents and interests. For example, pupils learn to drum. They can attend gymnastics club or the school choir. Pupils learn the importance of eating a healthy and balanced diet. They also learn to stay safe online.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Members of the school council are proud of their achievements. They know they make a valued contribution to wider society through charitable fundraising events such as cake sales and coffee mornings. Pupils have a strong understanding of equality and respect.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Parents and carers are highly supportive. They value the caring nature of the school. 17 December 2024

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

Following a period of turbulence in staffing, the school is now in a position of stability. The new headteacher has brought fresh energy to the school, which has been warmly welcomed by the school community. There is a sharp focus on raising standards for all pupils through high-quality teaching and using assessment effectively to identify gaps in pupils’ knowledge. Some of these changes have not yet had an impact on outcomes and are not reflected in the published phonics outcomes of 2024.

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

Pupils at this school love to read. They say reading ‘allows you to get lost in your own world’. All pupils read books that match their stage of reading. Older pupils talk eagerly about their favourite authors. School leaders have identified the pupils who need extra support with their phonics. Staff provide focused interventions that are personalised to the needs of those pupils to ensure they catch up quickly.

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

The school’s curriculum is broad and ambitious. Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) are well supported and learn the full curriculum alongside their peers. Pupils can recall what they have learned in the past and connect this learning to new ideas. For example, in geography pupils recall knowledge about different countries. They use their knowledge to compare physical features of different places. However, in some foundation subjects the curriculum, and how it is assessed, is not structured as well. This means there is some variation in how pupils’ understanding is checked and how well pupils learn.

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

Generally, the school is calm. The behaviour of most pupils reflects the ambition of leaders. However, these high expectations for pupils’ behaviour are not consistent across school. This means that some pupils have not developed the self-motivation to be independent learners. As a result, low-level disruption is not always addressed swiftly, which means sometimes lesson time is not used as effectively as it could be.

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

Attendance is a priority for the school. Robust systems ensure that when pupils are absent from school, support is quickly put in place. As a result, pupils do not miss important learning, and rates of attendance remain high.

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

In the early years, children benefit from a wealth of opportunities to learn. Staff ensure the choice of activities that children engage in are designed to build knowledge and skills effectively. Experienced staff know when to support children and when to allow them to work independently. As a result, children get off to a strong start.

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

The provision for pupils’ personal development is a strength of the school. Pupils have a strong understanding of fundamental British values. They can explain how these values are reflected in their school. For example, pupils describe their school as ‘democratic, where everyone has a voice’. Pupils appreciate the range of trips on offer. These help them to deepen their knowledge of the subjects they learn. For example, pupils learn much from their visits to SS Great Britain in Bristol and local Stone Age caves as part of their history curriculum. 17 December 2024

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Local governors and trustees bring a wealth of expertise to the school. They are skilled at holding school leaders to account while balancing this with professional support. Staff are supportive of the decisions of school leaders. They say their workload and well-being are considered. All staff are proud to work at the school.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Expectations for pupils’ behaviour are not consistently high across school. As a result, sometimes low-level disruption is not addressed quickly enough. When this occurs, lesson time is not used as effectively as it could be. The school needs to ensure that all staff have the skills and knowledge to consistently manage behaviour well and help pupils build positive attitudes towards their learning, including remaining focused in lessons.  Curriculum design and assessment in a few foundation subjects are not as well organised as in other subjects. This leads to variation in how well pupils understand and remember what they learn. The school should strengthen curriculum design in these subjects so that pupils’ knowledge builds sequentially and securely.

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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 to be 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, 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 for overall effectiveness in March 2019. 17 December 2024

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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). 17 December 2024

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School details

Website www.harbertonford.thelink.academy

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School details

Date of previous inspection 5 March 2019, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school is part of Link Academy Trust.  The school does not currently make use of alternative provision.  The school is of a Church of England religious character. The last section 48 inspection took place in February 2019.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspections are a point-in-time evaluation 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.  Inspectors visited a sample of lessons, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. 17 December 2024

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 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 the headteacher, subject leaders, trustees, members of the governing body and the CEO.  The inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons and around the school site.  The inspectors gathered parents’ views by considering the responses to Ofsted Parent View and by talking to parents. The inspectors also reviewed responses to Ofsted’s online staff and pupil surveys.

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Inspection team

James Gentile, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Matthew Shirley Ofsted Inspector 17 December 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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