Timothy Hackworth Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Further improve the attendance of the small minority of pupils who are persistently absent by working closely with their families to make sure that they attend school as regularly as other pupils nationally.
• Further improve outcomes for pupils by providing even greater challenge for the most able pupils, including most-able disadvantaged pupils, so that they make even stronger progress across all subjects, especially in subjects other than mathematics and English.
• Further refine the ways leaders analyse and use information about pupils’ behaviour to inform their planning so that incidents of poor behaviour are reduced even further.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• The headteacher and deputy headteacher lead the school with determination and a real sense of purpose. As a result, the school has improved rapidly and is now good. They are both unwavering in their commitment and ambition for the school to be even better. They are well supported by governors and the local authority.
• Leaders have created a culture of high expectations. They have worked successfully to ensure that all members of staff feel valued and have opportunities to improve their skills. As a result, outcomes for pupils are improving rapidly.
• Middle leadership is a real strength of the school. Senior leaders have carefully and systematically supported middle leaders so that they, working together, play a vital role in improvements at the school. For example, the increasing strength in reading at the school has been the result of imaginatively planned approaches and training provided by middle leaders. Overall, leaders demonstrate good capacity to drive forward further improvement.
• Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural understanding is developed well through a broad curriculum which engages and excites them. They speak enthusiastically about their enjoyment of a range of subjects and opportunities such as visiting the local church as part of their religious education lessons.
• Leaders have ensured that the curriculum is successfully underpinned by a very wide range of extra-curricular activities. These give pupils opportunities to explore their understanding of themselves and the needs of others through, for example, extensive charity work such as the ‘1,000 cans’ food bank appeal with the local church. They also give pupils opportunities to take on roles of responsibility, such as being a playground ‘buddy’. Pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain.
• The school’s systems for monitoring the quality of teaching and its impact on pupils’ learning are meticulous and detailed. Leaders use the information they derive from this monitoring to shape and focus support and training for staff.
• The additional funding the school receives to support pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is used effectively. The recently appointed lead for this aspect of the school’s work has been very effective in ensuring that carefully focused actions are put in place to meet these pupils’ needs. She has also, through careful monitoring, assured the impact of these actions. As a result, these pupils make good progress from their starting points.
• The physical education and sport premium is used well to provide professional development for staff and to extend opportunities for pupils to attend additional coaching sessions and enrichment activities. As a result, participation in competitive activity has increased and pupils say that they enjoy the range of activities on offer.
• Most parents speak very positively about the school and the service it offers their children. A significant number spoke positively about the school’s leadership and the ‘journey’ the school has been on since its previous inspection. As one parent put it: ‘The school has come a long way since its last inspection’.
• Additional funding for disadvantaged children is used effectively to provide targeted work and guidance. As a result, these pupils make good progress across the school, and differences in progress are quickly diminishing. However, leaders, including governors, do not sufficiently evaluate the progress of the most able disadvantaged pupils to check that these pupils are making the progress of which they are capable.

Governance of the school

• Governors share leaders’ ambitions and high expectations. They know the strengths and weaknesses of the school through the information provided by leaders and through their rapidly improving links with curriculum leaders. As a result, governors provide robust challenge to school leaders about the progress of all groups of pupils from their starting points.
• With the effective support of the local authority, governors ensure that performance management procedures are effective in securing improvements to teaching and learning.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• Staff at all levels are trained in safer recruitment and strategies to reduce the risk of radicalisation. Leaders maintain a culture in the school where staff show a clear understanding of their responsibilities and of the processes to keep pupils safe. As a result, staff promptly identify, and appropriately support, potentially vulnerable pupils. They also tenaciously engage with outside agencies to ensure that pupils get the support they need.
• Procedures for checking the suitability of visitors and staff recruitment are secure. Leaders check staff’s suitability to work with children appropriately.
• Pupils have many opportunities to learn how to stay safe, both through the subjects they study, class time and through assemblies. Pupils told inspectors that they regularly learn about how to stay safe online. All parents who responded to the Ofsted online survey, Parent View, agree that their children are safe at this school.
• Those pupils who inspectors spoke with said that they have staff they can go to if they have any concerns. They are confident that adults would listen to their concerns and take prompt and appropriate action.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Staff at the school have strong subject knowledge and they know their pupils well. They plan learning which builds on what pupils already know, can do and understand. As a result, those at risk of falling behind are given additional support quickly. Detailed use of assessment ensures that learning is typically well matched to pupils’ needs.
• Staff use questioning effectively to deepen pupils’ understanding and encourage learning. On a number of occasions during the inspection, teachers’ questioning was particularly skilled. For example, staff used deft techniques such as saying, ‘Can anyone help him with this?’ to involve other pupils in the learning. These and similar techniques encouraged pupils to extend their learning and raised their confidence. They are increasingly less fearful of making mistakes.
• Additional adults are well deployed and have a positive impact on learning. They too question skilfully and provide very effective support to pupils who have additional needs, enabling them to participate more fully in lessons.
• Relationships across the school between pupils and adults are relaxed and respectful. As a result, the classroom environment for learning is effective and pupils have very positive attitudes to learning. They want to do well and are encouraged to do so. The classrooms are attractive, uncluttered places to learn in.
• Staff provide feedback to pupils about their work that is in line with the school’s policy. Pupils show real pride in the presentation and neatness of their work. They, generally, respond promptly to teachers’ comments and advice.
• The teaching of phonics is structured and effective. Pupils in Year 1 apply their knowledge of letters and sounds well to sentence writing. As a result, their progress in reading and writing is strong.
• Reading is a growing strength at the school. Pupils read widely and often and they use the well-stocked library regularly. The particular focus on reading in key stage 2 to reverse the legacy of weaker outcomes in reading in the past has been successful. Pupils enjoy reading for a range of purposes and, as a result of expert teaching, are developing inference skills and widening their vocabulary.
• Science is well taught at the school. Pupils are encouraged to develop the distinctive skills, knowledge and understanding that scientists need to engage and interrogate the world. For example, in a Year 2 lesson, pupils were challenged to explore a range of materials from wool to silk and to speculate, using a magnifying glass, on what cotton wool was derived from. The teacher and teaching assistant used careful questioning to draw out a range of responses which furthered pupils’ scientific skills.
• Parents receive regular information about how well their child is doing. The school offers a wide range of opportunities for parents and families to visit the school to discuss progress and the ways in which parents can help their children, for example with their reading.
• In mathematics, number and calculation skills are taught well across the school. This ensures that pupils are well placed to solve more complex problems and to reason mathematically. However, opportunities for this deeper thinking are variable across classes. Leaders are aware of this inconsistency and are addressing it.
• Pupils’ writing skills are developed effectively across the school. Teachers plan a range of contexts for writing, and the quality of handwriting, sentence structure and vocabulary is typically of a good standard. However, most-able pupils do not get sufficient opportunities to extend and deepen their writing skills in subjects other than English.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• Pupils are polite, confident and aware of the needs of others. They relate well to each other and to staff. They spoke with real pleasure about how much they enjoyed school and how well the staff care for them. They know that staff at the school would be there for them if they ever had a problem.
• Pupils wear their uniforms with pride. They care for their school. There is no litter.
• As a result of the carefully planned actions of the school, pupils are very clear about what bullying is and the various forms it can take. Pupils said that bullying is very rare and that, when it does occur, it is dealt with promptly and well by staff.
• Pupils have a good understanding and knowledge of how to stay safe, including when using the internet and on the roads. Pupils were very complimentary about the work the school does to alert them to risks and keep them safe.
• Pupils who, for one reason or another or from time to time, need additional care are very well supported by the school. The school is very skilled in engaging with these pupils and discerning where best to deploy detailed, focused support.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• All staff have high expectations of children’s behaviour. Pupils told inspectors that behaviour has improved. They say that the behaviour system works well and has made a positive difference. As a result, disruption to learning is rare and when it does occur it is swiftly and consistently dealt with.
• The school’s own records of behaviour are detailed. However, leaders do not analyse these records in sufficient depth or with sufficient frequency to help them discern patterns of poorer behaviour so that they can be tackled before they occur.
• As a result of leaders’ efforts, attendance is broadly in line with the national average, although it remains too low for a small minority of pupils. Records show that the school works effectively with families to improve rates of attendance, and as a result, it is rising steadily. Pupils are very clear about why it is important to attend school regularly. They spoke very animatedly about how important it is for their class to catch the gold attendance train (and to receive the resultant rewards!)

Outcomes for pupils Good

• The progress that pupils make has improved significantly because of good teaching.
• The percentage of pupils meeting the required standard for the phonics screening check is rising year on year. Provisional, unvalidated results for 2017’s Year 1 pupils showed a further improvement. Current Year 1 pupils, building on their Reception experience, are already showing strong progress. They apply their developing phonics skills well. Pupils who took the phonics check again at the end of Year 2 in 2017 all made gains on their previous outcomes.
• Provisional, unvalidated results of 2017’s end of key stage 1 tests, moderated by officers of the local authority, show rapid progress compared with previous years. The percentage of pupils achieving at greater depth in reading, writing and mathematics also improved, especially for disadvantaged pupils.
• Similarly, provisional, unvalidated results for 2017’s end of key stage 2 tests, while below what might be expected to be the national figure, show a 15% improvement in outcomes from the previous year for pupils in reading, writing and mathematics. This constitutes good progress.
• Evidence gathered during the inspection of current pupils’ progress shows similar, rapid improvements across the school, in particular in key stage 2. The school’s own assessment information, checked by the local authority, indicates that throughout Year 5 pupils who are now in Year 6 made very rapid progress. Inspection evidence gathered about this Year 6 cohort supports this view.
• Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities make good progress as a result of the staff’s very detailed knowledge of their needs and teaching that breaks down tasks into manageable steps. The recently appointed leader for this vital area of the school’s work has also identified key areas for next steps in further improving the provision for these pupils.
• Across the school, disadvantaged pupils make good progress from their starting points in all subjects. This is because, as a result of leaders’ actions, all staff are fully aware of the needs and barriers to learning for the disadvantaged pupils in their care and teaching is more focused on supporting them.
• As a result of good teaching and the careful monitoring of progress, most-able pupils make good progress. However, they do not have sufficient opportunities to extend their skills even further in subjects other than English and mathematics.
• Overall, the actions of leaders in eradicating weak teaching and introducing more focused and effective assessment practices have significantly improved pupils’ outcomes across the school in a wide range of subjects, including English and mathematics.

Early years provision Good

• Leadership of the early years is good. Staff assess children accurately on entry and they know them well. There are strong links with other local providers. As a result, staff plan accurately for children’s development. Staff develop a stimulating learning environment, which provides a wide range of interesting activities to support learning both inside and outside.
• Staff establish a good balance between adult-led and child-initiated activities. This encourages children to take control of their own learning. It also means that children learn to take turns and work collaboratively.
• Relationships between children and adults are strong. As a result of this, children are happy and develop positive attitudes to learning. They gain in confidence and independence. Children were very keen to tell inspectors all about their learning and the exciting things they had been doing. They were also keen to involve inspectors in their mathematics work involving using water pistols to shoot at the right answer.
• The separate inside and outside provision for two-year-olds at the school offers a secure and happy environment which supports the development of these children well.
• Many children enter Nursery with skills and knowledge below those typical for their age. Through high expectations and strong teaching, they make good progress. Their speaking, listening and number skills are particularly well developed. Adults model language effectively and question well. For example, a child was able to speak with real enthusiasm about the octopus she had made with biscuits.
• As a result of the improvements at the school, children make good progress in the Reception class. The majority attain a good level of development by the end of the year. Unvalidated outcomes for summer 2017 suggest another increase in the percentage of children reaching a good level of development.
• Phonics is taught effectively and systematically in the early years. This is beginning to have a positive impact on the quality of writing and the writing of simple sentences.
• Children feel safe. Staff carefully monitor children and they know what to do if they have any concerns about a child’s safety. Staff receive good-quality training in all aspects of keeping children safe, including child protection and paediatric first aid.
• Parents reported that they really value the service they and their children receive from the early years team. They welcome the recent emphasis on reading and the ways in which staff make themselves available to talk about their children.
• The provision for those children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is effective.

School details

Unique reference number 114113 Local authority Durham Inspection number 10036557 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Primary School category Community Age range of pupils 2 to 11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 444 Appropriate authority Local authority Chair Val Dowson Headteacher Lynn Boulton Telephone number 01388 772959 Website www.timothyhackworthschool.co.uk Email address timothyhackworth@durhamlearning.net Date of previous inspection 17 November 2015

Information about this school

• Timothy Hackworth Primary is larger than the average-sized primary school.
• The vast majority of pupils are White British and most speak English as their first language.
• The proportion of disadvantaged pupils eligible for the pupil premium is significantly higher than the national average.
• The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is above the national average.
• The school has a nursery that offers morning and afternoon sessions. It also has provision for two-year-olds.
• The school does not meet requirements on the publication of information about the impact of pupil premium funding on its website.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed learning in all classes across the school. Some lessons were jointly observed with the headteacher and deputy headteacher. Inspectors listened to pupils read and talked with them about their reading experiences.
• Inspectors held meetings with the headteacher, other senior leaders, middle leaders and members of the governing body, including the chair and vice chair of governors. The lead inspector met with an officer of the local authority. Inspectors reviewed a range of the school’s documentation, including that related to safeguarding, achievement, attendance and behaviour.
• Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour and conduct at breaks and lunchtimes.
• A wide sample of pupils’ work from all year groups and a range of subjects was scrutinised.
• Inspectors took into account the 36 responses to a survey of staff, the 39 responses from a survey of pupils’ views and the 34 online responses from parents to Ofsted’s questionnaire, Parent View. Inspectors also spoke with parents and carers at the start and end of the school day to seek their opinions of the school’s work and care for their children.
• Throughout the two days of the inspection, inspectors spoke with pupils, both formally and informally, about their learning, safety and well-being.

Inspection team

Mark Evans, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Darren Stewart Her Majesty’s Inspector Anne Humble Ofsted Inspector