Cliffe Hill Community Primary School

Inspection of a school judged good for overall effectiveness before September 2024: Cliffe Hill Community Primary School Stoney Lane, Lightcliffe, Halifax, West Yorkshire HX3 8TW

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Inspection dates: 14 and 15 January 2025

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Outcome

Cliffe Hill 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?

Pupils at Cliffe Hill Community Primary School are valued and well cared for in an inclusive and nurturing environment. Strong relationships are at the heart of everything the school offers, ensuring that pupils feel safe and supported. The school’s values guide its approach, creating a calm and purposeful atmosphere where pupils thrive.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school is dedicated to ensuring that all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), achieve well, regardless of their needs or starting points. New pupils are welcomed with a careful transition plan, ensuring that they settle quickly and are supported from the start.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils respond positively to the school’s high expectations for behaviour. They show respect for one another and take pride in their achievements. Behaviour is excellent. Pupils are focused and motivated to learn. Teachers provide clear guidance and well- established routines, ensuring that pupils stay engaged.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school ensures that all pupils have equal opportunities to develop academically, socially and emotionally. Pupils enjoy school, supported by kind staff. They appreciate the chance to take on responsibilities, such as being school ambassadors. They also learn important life skills through activities such as residentials and sports. Parents and carers appreciate the school’s nurturing approach that supports both academic and emotional growth. 14 and 15 January 2025

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

The school has constructed a carefully thought-out curriculum that is broad and ambitious. This supports all pupils to develop secure knowledge in a range of subjects.

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

Teachers have strong subject knowledge. Lessons are taught with clear explanations. A range of tasks and activities, including group work and effective use of resources, develops pupils’ understanding well. Pupils with SEND, including those in the specially resourced provision, receive tailored support and interventions to fully engage in lessons and school life. Teachers make regular checks on pupils’ learning. They identify gaps so that they can provide pupils with targeted support when needed.

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

Phonics lessons follow a clear structure to help pupils practise and remember sounds. Adult support is effective in addressing misconceptions, so pupils make consistent progress in lessons. Pupils read books that match their reading ability. As they get older, pupils read fluently and confidently. Reading for pleasure is encouraged through activities such as the ‘book hut’ and weekly book clubs, which pupils enjoy.

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

In writing lessons, pupils are encouraged to generate their ideas. They build key vocabulary that helps them to orally rehearse their writing. Handwriting and punctuation have improved following the introduction of a focused approach. This has enabled most pupils to write more confidently and with increased stamina. However, some tasks in writing are not always adapted well enough to meet the needs of pupils of different abilities, including pupils with SEND. As a result, they do not progress as well as they should.

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

In early years, language development is a key focus, with well-trained adults modelling language and using prompts during children’s play. Activities promote children’s independence. Adults interact with children to extend their learning. Children develop a strong curiosity to learn about the world around them.

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

Pupils are encouraged to behave well through rewards, such as ‘star of the week’, and consequences, such as time on the ‘thinking spot’. Staff are skilled at supporting pupils who struggle to meet expectations around behaviour. Pupils are given time and space to understand the impact of their behaviour with a supportive adult. The pastoral team provides consistent support, identifying and quickly removing barriers to learning. Activities such as ‘calm club’ and ‘blob trees’ are deliberately planned to build pupils’ social skills and self-esteem.

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

Recently, the school has put in place a range of strategies to address the high number of pupils who are persistently absent. The school maintains a strong oversight of attendance patterns. It has recently put in place a range of strategies to address the high number of pupils who are persistently absent. However, some pupils do not attend school as often as they should. This means they miss out on essential learning.

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

Pupils benefit from a personal development offer that promotes equality and global citizenship. Pupils take part in community events and charity work, such as collecting for 14 and 15 January 2025

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the local food bank. They learn about different religions, fundamental British values and how to stay safe online and in person.

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The school is proud of its inclusive approach to provide all pupils with the same high- quality learning. Resources are used effectively to provide the right opportunities for pupils. Governors ensure that improvement priorities align with pupils’ needs. The school prioritises staff’s well-being by creating a supportive, family-like environment. Leaders are approachable and committed to supporting staff both professionally and personally.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In English lessons, writing tasks are not always adapted well enough to meet the needs of some pupils, including those with SEND. Where this is the case, these pupils do not make the progress of which they are capable of. The school should support staff to make appropriate adaptations to tasks so that all pupils progress well through the writing curriculum.  Some pupils do not attend school regularly enough. This means that these pupils miss out on important learning. The school should continue to develop the recently implemented systems to improve pupils’ attendance and work with families to ensure that 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 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. 14 and 15 January 2025

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This is the first ungraded inspection since we judged the school to be good for overall effectiveness in March 2020.

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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). 14 and 15 January 2025

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Website www.cliffehill.calderdale.sch.uk

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 10 and 11 March 2020, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school runs a specially resourced provision for pupils with autism.  The school provides a breakfast club run by the school on site.  The school does not use alternative provision.

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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. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and has taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  The inspector met with the headteacher, the deputy headteacher and the assistant headteacher, who is also the special educational needs coordinator.  The inspector met with members of the local governing body. They also met with a representative from the local authority. 14 and 15 January 2025

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 The inspector visited a sample of lessons, met with subject leaders, 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, at playtime 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 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 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

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online survey for parents and carers, Ofsted Parent View. These included comments received via the free-text facility.

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Inspection team

Nicola Beaumont, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector 14 and 15 January 2025

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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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