Holme-upon-Spalding Moor Primary School

Inspection of Holme-upon-Spalding Moor Primary School High Street, Holme-upon-Spalding Moor, York, North Yorkshire YO43 4HL

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Inspection dates: 28 and 29 January 2025

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The quality of education Requires improvement Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Requires improvement Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Good 28 and 29 January 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils are happy at this rural school. Relationships between pupils and teachers are positive and respectful. All staff have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour. Although pupils say that bullying happens from time to time, they recognise that adults do all they can to sort it out. This helps them to feel safe.

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What is it like to attend this school?

In a short space of time, leaders have made many positive changes. The school’s values of teamwork, resilience, ambition, consideration and kindness are understood by all pupils. Pupils are attentive and engaged during lessons. They work hard. The school provides opportunities for pupils to contribute to the life of the school. For instance, some pupils are members of the school council, while others value their roles as house captains.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils’ understanding of the protected characteristics and of the many different faiths and beliefs in modern Britain is not secure. Sometimes, the language choices pupils make during playtimes can be inappropriate. Not all pupils recognise the impact of the words they use on others.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school is highly ambitious for pupils to achieve well. However, these aspirations are not yet realised by pupils in all subjects.

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

Leaders are determined to improve the quality of education that pupils receive. They have a detailed picture of the school’s performance. Governors are well informed and check the impact of actions to improve the school. The school puts the best interests of pupils at the heart of improvement actions. Leaders are making a real difference to the school. Staff are rightly positive about the changes leaders are making. They feel valued.

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

The school has acted swiftly and decisively to review a significant proportion of the curriculum. In some subjects, such as mathematics, the curriculum is more established than in others. This starts in the early years, where children learn to count and recognise shapes as they play. The mathematical knowledge that pupils learn is carefully sequenced so it builds on what they already know. This gives pupils the opportunity to practise the skills they need. It helps them to remember what they have been taught. Where needed, the curriculum is adapted for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). As a result, these pupils progress well through the curriculum.

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

In other subjects, the curriculum is less developed. The essential knowledge that the school wants pupils to know is not mapped out and taught in ways that help pupils build their knowledge over time. As a result, pupils have gaps in their knowledge and understanding.

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

Pupils with SEND are supported well. The school identifies their needs accurately and puts appropriate help in place. This includes through the recently introduced provision in ‘The Den’. The school makes teachers aware of the strategies that can support individual pupils. The activities pupils complete are well matched to their learning needs. 28 and 29 January 2025

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The school has prioritised reading. Staff have received the training they need to teach the school’s phonics programme. Pupils who are falling behind are identified quickly and given the extra help they need to catch up. However, for some pupils, the books they read are too difficult. During phonics lessons, pupils’ mistakes are not corrected consistently. Older pupils enjoy the books they share as a class. This encourages them to read texts by different authors. They welcome the changes the school is making to give them better access to a wider choice of reading books.

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In Nursery, children are immersed in rhymes and songs. Staff in the early years support children effectively. They encourage children to play and learn together through gentle encouragement, celebration and high-quality talk. Children in Reception enjoyed going on an imaginary car journey to the jungle to see the exotic animals they had learned about. The early years is awash with books. This motivates children to retell the stories that staff share. Every week, parents and carers are usefully invited into school to read along with their children. This promotes a love of books from an early age.

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The school promotes science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) learning effectively. Supported by visitors, pupils learn to build go-karts and investigate wind turbines. The school’s relationships and sex education and health education curriculums help pupils develop an age-appropriate understanding of healthy relationships. However, the personal, social and health education curriculum does not provide enough opportunities for pupils to experience the world beyond their school. The curriculum does not develop pupils’ understanding of the protected characteristics sufficiently well. In addition, pupils’ awareness of different cultures, beliefs and faiths are not developed as well as they could be.

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The school is doing everything it can to prioritise and tackle poor attendance. Pupils’ absences are analysed carefully. The school’s approach is thorough and robust. It is having a positive impact on rates of pupil attendance. However, persistent absenteeism remains stubbornly high. The school rightly continues to prioritise this work.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 In some subjects, the sequencing of knowledge pupils should learn is not clear enough. As a result, new learning does not build on what pupils already know, and this leads to gaps in pupils’ knowledge and misunderstandings. The school should ensure that, in all subjects, knowledge is sequenced logically and lessons build more precisely on what has been taught before.  When teaching phonics, pupils’ mistakes are not picked up consistently. The books that some pupils read are too difficult. Consequently, pupils are not able to read with the 28 and 29 January 2025

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fluency needed to practise the sounds they have learned. The school should sharpen the teaching of the phonics programme to ensure mistakes are addressed quickly and that the books pupils read accurately match the sounds they know.  The school’s curriculum does not provide enough opportunities for pupils to experience the world beyond their immediate locality. Pupils’ understanding of the importance of protected characteristics is underdeveloped as is their awareness of different cultures and beliefs. As a result, some pupils do not appreciate the impact of the actions and words they use. The school should provide greater opportunities in the curriculum to broaden pupils’ understanding of protected characteristics and of other cultures, faiths and beliefs.

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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). 28 and 29 January 2025

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School details

Local authority East Riding of Yorkshire

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Chair of governing body Caroline Pickard

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 17 and 18 December 2019, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005.

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Information about this school

 The headteacher joined the school in September 2023.  The school does not use alternative provision.

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Information about this inspection

The inspectors carried out this graded inspection under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. During a graded inspection, we grade the school for each of our key judgements (quality of education; behaviour and attitudes; personal development; and leadership and management) and for any relevant provision judgement (early years and/or sixth form provision). Schools receiving a graded inspection from September 2024 will not be given an overall effectiveness grade.

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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. 28 and 29 January 2025

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 Inspectors met with the headteacher and members of the governing body, including the chair of governors.  A meeting was held with the local authority school improvement partner.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in the following subjects: early reading, mathematics and history. For each deep dive, inspectors held discussions about the curriculum, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. Inspectors also discussed the school’s work in some other curriculum areas.  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.  An inspector visited the school’s breakfast club and spoke to parents at the start of the

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school day.  Inspectors reviewed responses to Ofsted’s parent survey, Ofsted Parent View. They also considered responses to Ofsted’s staff and pupil surveys.  To evaluate pupils’ behaviour, inspectors visited lessons, analysed behaviour records, met with groups of pupils and observed their play at breaktime and lunchtime.

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Inspection team

Chris Pearce, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

Jonathan Glazzard Ofsted Inspector 28 and 29 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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