Hertford Primary School

Inspection of Hertford Primary School Lynchet Close, Brighton BN1 7FP

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The quality of education Good Behaviour and attitudes Good Personal development Outstanding Leadership and management Outstanding Early years provision Outstanding Previous inspection grade Good 25 and 26 March 2025

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy coming to this welcoming school. There is a warm, respectful atmosphere between pupils and staff where pupils feel secure. They rightly trust the staff around them to help if they feel worried about anything. Pupils appreciate the highly skilled staff who provide a wealth of clubs and wider experiences of exceptionally high quality, which encourage pupils’ interests. Social times in the school’s well-developed grounds are harmonious. Older and younger pupils build shelters together and play happily in the mud kitchen.

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What is it like to attend this school?

The school has extremely high expectations for pupils’ personal development and academic achievement. Staff know pupils well and are expert in providing an effective balance of nurture and challenge. As a result, many pupils who have significant barriers to learning and attending school, thrive here.

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What is it like to attend this school?

High expectations for behaviour are taught as soon as children start in Reception. They learn consistent routines throughout the school. Pupils follow the school values, showing consideration and kindness to one another. Staff help pupils to build their confidence when learning new ideas. Most pupils focus well during lessons. They show resilience and determination when they face challenges and persevere with new tasks.

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

Leaders and staff have successfully steered the school through the challenges of the recent amalgamation of the infant and junior schools, ensuring a coherent vision and developing harmonious community links.

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

Despite the number of recent changes, the school has maintained a relentless focus on the improvements that help pupils’ achievement most. It has continued to refine the reading, writing and mathematics curriculums so that pupils master the most important knowledge, and their learning builds securely over time. The curriculum in the wider subjects is coherently sequenced. In most subjects, the school has identified precisely what pupils must understand. However, in some wider curriculum subjects, the precise knowledge and skills are less well defined. Consequently, some pupils have gaps in their learning and do not achieve as well as they could.

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

The school places a strong emphasis on reading. Children learn through captivating stories right from Reception, where they chant rhymes, sing songs and explore new words at every opportunity. Children begin to learn phonics as soon as they start in Reception. In lessons, adults systematically check that children understand new learning and practise it until it is securely embedded in their long-term memory. Staff pick up on any children who struggle and adapt their teaching so that no one is left behind. Some pupils who need it have tailored reading support until they are fluent readers.

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

Teachers have secure subject knowledge. They explain the curriculum in ways that pupils can understand. The school uses resources well to support pupils to access the curriculum and deepen their understanding. Staff quickly identify pupils with special educational 25 and 26 March 2025

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needs and/or disabilities. In Reception, staff have a secure understanding of how young children develop. Staff are intently focused on helping children to learn the most important aspects of the curriculum. Children get off to an excellent start in Reception and are well-prepared for their learning in key stage 1.

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The school is developing the ways that staff check pupils’ understanding. In subjects where the precise knowledge pupils should understand is clear, staff check pupils’ understanding effectively. Staff use resources and adapt their teaching so that all pupils learn the same, ambitious curriculum. However, in some subjects, checks that staff make on what pupils have learned are not used well enough to inform future learning. Subsequent learning activities do not match what pupils need to learn. As a result, some pupils find activities either too hard or too easy which means they do not achieve as well as they could.

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Pupils behave well. They understand the school values and strive to live up to them. They show high levels of responsibility as they use the school’s extensive playground equipment. Some pupils struggle to come to school due to emotional or physical barriers. The school understands families’ needs and does all it can to support pupils’ regular attendance.

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The school caters exceptionally well for pupils' personal development. A broad, high- quality offer of wider opportunities brings pupils huge benefits. Most pupils take part in local arts festivals, inter-school sporting and multi-skills events. Pupils are taught the life skills they need to work with others. Pupils learn how to eat and exercise to stay healthy. They understand the importance of positive relationships and that there are different kinds of families. Pupils know how to keep themselves safe from harm when using the internet.

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Governors have supported the school effectively to drive forward the ambitious vision for pupils’ changing needs. They have an accurate understanding of the school’s challenges and strengths. Governors carry out their statutory duties well. There is a shared determination to ensure that all pupils, no matter their barriers to learning, are educated equitably and achieve highly.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 Staff do not consistently check what pupils understand during lessons. As a result, the work pupils are given is sometimes too easy or too hard. This means that some pupils lose concentration, develop gaps in their learning and do not attain as well as they could. The school should ensure that all staff are trained to check systematically for 25 and 26 March 2025

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pupils' understanding and reshape their teaching, so all pupils achieve the ambitious aims of the curriculum.  In a small minority of foundation subjects, the essential knowledge that pupils must understand is not fully identified. As a result, some pupils develop gaps in their learning and do not achieve as well as they could. The school should support staff to further refine some subjects so that pupils learn equally well across all subjects in the curriculum.

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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). 25 and 26 March 2025

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School details

Appropriate authority The governing body

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School details

Website www.hertford.brighton-hove.sch.uk

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School details

Dates of previous inspection 13 and 14 February 2019, under section 5 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 In September 2024, Hertford Junior School joined Hertford Infant School to form Hertford Primary School. The infant school was previously inspected in February 2019 and judged to be good overall. The junior school was previously inspected in June 2020 and found to require improvement overall.  The school runs a before- and after-school club.  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. 25 and 26 March 2025

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 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.  The inspectors carried out activities to gather evidence about reading, mathematics, modern foreign languages and science. They discussed the curriculum with subject leaders, visited a sample of lessons, spoke to teachers, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. Inspectors also looked at documents from a sample of wider curriculum subjects.  During the inspection, the inspectors met with the headteacher, the senior leadership team and representatives from the local authority. The team inspector also met with members of the school’s governing body.

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 The inspectors met with groups of pupils to talk about their learning.  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’ interest first.  The inspectors considered parents’ views expressed through the online survey, Ofsted Parent View.  Throughout the inspection, the inspectors met with groups of staff. They also considered the opinions expressed through the online staff survey.

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Inspection team

Jo Brinkley, lead inspector His Majesty's Inspector

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Inspection team

Tash Hurtado His Majesty's Inspector 25 and 26 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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