The John Harrox Primary School, Moulton

Inspection of The John Harrox Primary School, Moulton Broad Lane, Moulton, Spalding, Lincolnshire PE12 6PN

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The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Good Leadership and management Good Early years provision Good Previous inspection grade Good 18 and 19 March 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

John Harrox Primary School is an inclusive and welcoming school. The school encourages all pupils to be caring, courteous, conscientious, considerate and cooperative. These core values are woven throughout the school. Pupils display them through their interactions and in their work. They are recognised for their achievements connected to the values and wear their reward badges with pride.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has high expectations of all pupils. Most pupils live up to these expectations and achieve well. Behaviour in classrooms is calm. Pupils are welcoming to visitors and demonstrate positive attitudes towards their learning. Older pupils enjoy supporting younger pupils. For example, the reading ambassadors relish the opportunity to read to children in the early years. They share stories with enthusiasm and delight.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel safe in school. They are confident that staff will deal with any worries or concerns that they have. Most pupils attend school well. They are enthusiastic about the enrichment opportunities on offer. Pupils enjoy attending a range of clubs and activities, including gardening club, chess club, hockey club and other sport-related clubs and activities.

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

The school has ensured that there is a well-considered curriculum in place. In most subjects, the curriculum identifies the key knowledge that the school would like pupils to learn, from the early years through to Year 6. Pupils are given opportunities to recall their previous learning and to make connections between current and prior learning. In most subjects, pupils develop the sophistication of their thinking. For example, in mathematics, teachers help pupils to understand important mathematical concepts and secure this knowledge in their long-term memory. Staff use a range of strategies to check how well pupils progress through the curriculum. They use this information to adapt future plans to fill any gaps in pupils’ knowledge.

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

Some areas of the wider curriculum are still in the early stages of development. Pupils, particularly those in mixed-age classes, do not develop their subject-specific knowledge and skills as well as they could, for example the skills needed to think like a scientist or historian.

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

The school has systems to help identify pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Staff make suitable adaptations during lessons, which enables these pupils to follow the same curriculum as their peers successfully.

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

The school prioritises reading. Pupils access a range of different texts and stories. This begins in the early years, where a variety of stories are used to develop children’s interests. Pupils read widely and often. Children begin to learn phonics as soon as they start school. Staff who teach early reading have had the necessary training to help them to deliver the phonics programme well. Pupils read from books that contain the sounds that they know. They are 18 and 19 March 2025

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encouraged to read for pleasure. Staff provide effective support for pupils who find reading difficult.

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In the early years, most children benefit from a well-considered learning environment. Children are well cared for. They talk about the kindness they are shown. Children enjoy coming to school and are happy. They work well together. Children develop their skills connected to sharing and independence. At times in the early years, some children do not benefit from opportunities to develop their learning and vocabulary through thoughtful and meaningful interactions with adults. They are not as well prepared for Year 1 and beyond as they could be.

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Behaviour around the school is calm and orderly. There is a small minority of pupils who require additional support in regulating their behaviour. The school has systems in place to support these pupils. However, the school has not ensured that the impact of these strategies has been carefully evaluated. This means that it is not clear how well pupils who need extra help to manage their behaviour are supported.

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Pupils benefit from guidance about how to keep themselves safe. The school has considered pupils’ personal development well. Pupils experience a range of trips and visits to enrich their learning. Older pupils benefit from two different residential visits during which they develop their skills of teamwork and cooperation. Pupils gain leadership skills by taking on different roles. This includes through the school council where they debate and discuss local issues.

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Staff value being part of the school. They feel supported by leaders. Staff appreciate the work that is undertaken in supporting their workload and well-being.

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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 curriculum does not set out clearly the disciplinary knowledge that pupils should learn. This means that teaching does not consistently help pupils to develop the complexity of their thinking. The school should ensure that the curriculum sets out clearly the disciplinary knowledge that should be taught, and when.  The strategic oversight of some aspects of the school’s work does not provide the necessary information to the governing body. This includes work undertaken connected to a minority of pupils who need additional support with their behaviour. This means that the school does not provide the governing body with all the information that it needs to hold the school fully to account for its work. The school and the governing body should make sure that they maintain thorough oversight across all aspects of the provision to aid continual improvement.  The school has not ensured that staff in the early years develop children’s

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

communication reliably during free-choice activities and imaginative play. This means 18 and 19 March 2025

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that children in the early years do not consolidate and build their language skills as quickly as they might. The school must ensure that all staff maximise their interactions with children so that they can develop children’s knowledge, skills and vocabulary consistently through talk.

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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). 18 and 19 March 2025

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Date of previous inspection 9 July 2019, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 The school does not currently use any alternative provision.  The chair of governors has been in post since September 2024.

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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. 18 and 19 March 2025

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 Inspectors met with the headteacher, the deputy headteacher, other school staff and members of the governing body, including the chair of governors. The lead inspector also met with a representative from the local authority.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, mathematics, history and science. 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, listened to pupils read and looked at samples of pupils’ work.  To evaluate the effectiveness of safeguarding, 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.  Throughout the inspection, the inspectors met with groups of staff and considered the

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opinions expressed through the staff survey.  The inspectors considered the views of parents expressed through Ofsted Parent View and met parents at the school gate.

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Inspection team

Roxanne Fearns-Davies, lead inspector His Majesty’s Inspector

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Inspection team

John Slater Ofsted Inspector 18 and 19 March 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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