Hook Infant School

Inspection of Hook Infant School Church View, Hook, Hampshire RG27 9NR

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The quality of education Outstanding Behaviour and attitudes Outstanding Personal development Outstanding Leadership and management Outstanding Early years provision Outstanding Previous inspection grade Outstanding 1 and 2 April 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

This school holds unmissably high ambitions for all pupils. Children receive an excellent start to their education in early years and continue to flourish throughout the school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Every pupil is valued as an important individual within this caring community. Pupils understand the high expectations that the school has for their success. The school expects pupils to work hard, and they do. They are focused and keen to do well in lessons. Pupils talk enthusiastically about learning. They have a wonderful recall of the important things they have learned. This means that they achieve well and are very well prepared for the move to junior school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils’ behaviour and attitudes to their learning are excellent. They learn this through the school’s ‘values animals’, including Teamwork Tiger and Respectful Rabbit. Across the school, pupils are confident, show kindness and are courteous. Even the very youngest children have impressive levels of self-regulation. They play together very well, taking turns without the need for prompting from adults. Pupils’ horizons are widened through a plethora of well-considered special events and experiences. Parents and carers are overwhelmingly positive about the school. They value how their children are nurtured as individuals.

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

Nothing is left to chance in this school as it continuously refines and refreshes an already strong curriculum. Consequently, the school has a creative and ambitious curriculum which focuses on ensuring that pupils can build and connect knowledge across a broad range of subjects. To enable this to happen, the school has thought carefully about the most appropriate order in which pupils should learn important knowledge. The school has strong systems in place to assess pupils’ progress and to identify any gaps in their knowledge.

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

Teachers deliver the curriculum with real expertise and skill. They design learning that captures pupils’ interests. Pupils revisit key knowledge they have learned regularly, which helps them to recall and deepen their understanding before moving on. Teachers check pupils’ understanding precisely and address any misconceptions or gaps so that they do not continue.

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

Reading is a strength. The school places high importance on ensuring that pupils can read well. Pupils enjoy reading for pleasure in the library and the outside ‘book nook’. Children in the early years learn different rhymes, songs and poems, which support their early reading skills well. From Reception, pupils follow a phonics scheme that increases their confidence and fluency in reading. Pupils are enthusiastic to write, and they do so at length. They have a strong understanding of how to use sentence structure and punctuation. This means that their writing can reflect their understanding.

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

The school has strong processes in place to identify pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Staff use a wealth of strategies to support individual pupils. 1 and 2 April 2025

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Staff break learning down into small steps and provide effective adaptations for learning tricky concepts. Some benefit from additional teaching and highly effective support in the Fox class. Pupils with SEND are included in all aspects of school life.

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Pupils in all year groups display impeccable behaviour. They are polite, friendly and a pleasure to talk to. At playtime, with the thoughtful support of adults, pupils conduct themselves very well. The school continually emphasises the importance of regular attendance. It identifies quickly any pupils who are at risk of poor attendance and provides effective support.

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Warm, nurturing relationships are established as soon as children join the school in the early years. Right from the start of Reception, the school encourages pupils to be curious about the world around them. The school’s provision for pupils’ personal development prepares them well for the future. For example, elections to the school council develop pupils’ understanding of democracy, while charity fundraising such as ‘The Gruffalo’s birthday party’ help pupils build a sense of responsibility. Pupils have an impressive understanding of sustainability through the environmental awareness club, where they improve the biodiversity of the school grounds. This is complemented by special events such as the ‘retrofit house installation’, which allows pupils to make decisions on gas and electricity use making them energy vampires or heroes. This activity helps them make rich connections between what they are learning in science as well as the wider world. Pupils

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learn how to keep themselves safe both online and offline. There is a strong focus on learning to be mentally and physically healthy. Staff care about pupils’ whole well-being.

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Staff are incredibly positive about their work and feel well supported, including with their workload and well-being. Leaders have the full confidence of the school community and are very well supported by an expert governing body.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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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. 1 and 2 April 2025

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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). 1 and 2 April 2025

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 11 and 12 March 2015

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Information about this school

 The school does not currently use any 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. The inspectors discussed the impact of the pandemic with the school and have taken that into account in their evaluation of the school.  Inspectors carried out deep dives in these subjects: early reading, English, mathematics, religious education and science. For each deep dive, inspectors held 1 and 2 April 2025

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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 met with the headteacher and other leaders. The inspector also met with representatives of the board of governors, including the chair of governors and a local authority representative.  Inspectors met with some pupils and members of staff to discuss their views of the school. The inspectors also took their views into account through their responses to Ofsted’s online staff survey.  Inspectors considered responses to the online survey for parents, Ofsted Parent View, including the free-text comments.  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

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safeguarding that puts pupils’ interests first.

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Inspection team

Ginny Rhodes, lead inspector Ofsted Inspector

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Inspection team

Rebecca Mayman Ofsted Inspector 1 and 2 April 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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