Holsworthy Church of England Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• Continue to improve the achievement of disadvantaged pupils so that they make as much progress as other pupils in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Further develop pupils’ writing so that they plan and write more effectively for different purposes and audiences.
• Continue to improve the attendance of the small number of pupils who do not attend school as regularly as they should.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Good

• Leaders, including governors, are highly ambitious for the performance of both pupils and staff. Their actions have created high expectations which are resulting in improved outcomes for pupils.
• Leaders check and evaluate the quality of teaching, learning and assessment effectively. This evaluation informs the training teachers receive. Teachers value, and feel involved in, decisions about their development. They work together to trial, evaluate and implement different approaches to teaching, learning and assessment.
• Leaders have put in place a broad and balanced curriculum across each key stage. Four core values underpin the curriculum: reflectiveness, resourcefulness, resilience and reciprocity. These are visible throughout the curriculum and in the ways in which adults work with pupils and pupils, in turn, approach their work. For example, pupils are taught to be resourceful when they get stuck. They look for support independently before asking an adult. Pupils frequently work together, help each other and peer-assess their work.
• The curriculum is further enriched by the outdoor education provision, ‘Wild Tribe’. This gives pupils an experience of plant and animal husbandry, creative and physical activity, and a rich understanding of the natural world and environmental issues. The curriculum is well planned and links to the core and foundation subjects well. For example, pupils learn about mathematics, science and geography concepts in real contexts.
• Middle leaders are effective in improving standards across their areas of responsibility. The leader for mathematics has implemented a revised approach to teaching mathematics. Teachers apply this approach consistently. As a result, standards in mathematics have improved. The leader for English has driven the school’s approach to developing pupils’ vocabulary. This has had a positive impact on pupils’ writing.
• Leaders make good use of the funding available to support pupils who have special educational needs (SEN) and/or disabilities. The SEN coordinator tracks the progress of pupils effectively. She works with teachers to plan and revise individual support plans. The large team of teaching assistants is well trained. Teaching assistants provide effective support in lessons. As a result, pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities make good progress.
• Leaders have, rightly, focused their improvement work on reading, writing and mathematics. However, this focus of attention has resulted in progression and assessment that are less well developed in the remaining foundation subjects.
• Leaders have a comprehensive plan for the use of pupil premium funding. They have identified barriers to disadvantaged pupils’ progress and used the funding to address these. They evaluate the impact of their actions effectively. As a result, there is sustained improvement in the progress that disadvantaged pupils make. Leaders use the physical education (PE) and sport premium to increase the amount of physical activity that pupils experience. Participation in extra-curricular sport has increased significantly and the school ensures that pupils take part in a number of sports events throughout the year. In addition, pupils’ access to the outdoor education facility and to a range of sports equipment at break times increases their level of physical activity greatly.
• Leaders provide well for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural (SMSC) development. In religious education lessons, pupils reflect on their emotions, thoughts and beliefs. The school’s work on SMSC reflects its religious character. For example, an assembly was presented by a local Christian drama group. Pupils show a good understanding of other faiths and are aware of religious differences. Pupils communicate a strong sense of moral responsibility for their environment. This comes partly from their outdoor education. It is also developed in the personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education programme. This allows pupils to explore well a wide range of issues about the society and culture around them and in the wider world.

Governance of the school

• Governors know the school well. They have a good understanding of the improvement journey on which it has been. They are proud to be governors and convey a passion and commitment to the school’s continued improvement.
• Governors challenge leaders effectively. Governors make sure that they understand the assessment information that is presented to them so that they can ask appropriate questions and hold leaders to account for pupils’ outcomes effectively.
• Governors welcome and encourage the school’s recent outward-looking approach. They encourage leaders’ greater collaboration with other schools, such as in the sharing of best practice in mathematics teaching. Governors have a good understanding of the benefits of this, both to their school and to other schools.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• A strong culture of safeguarding permeates the school. Staff demonstrate a strong working knowledge of the school’s safeguarding systems. They say that pupils are safe. Feedback from parents, both at the school gate and in Ofsted’s online survey, Parent View, confirm this. Pupils spoken to report that they feel safe in school and know which adults they would go to if they had any concerns.
• Those responsible for leading safeguarding act quickly on any concerns about pupils’ safety or welfare. They keep accurate records of all concerns raised. When cases are referred to other agencies, staff are persistent in their follow-up to make sure that appropriate support is secured.
• Governors maintain close oversight of safeguarding, including in their monitoring of the school’s key safeguarding systems, such as the checks on recruiting staff. They ensure that staff training is up to date.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Good

• Teachers have high expectations of their pupils, both for their learning and their behaviour. As a result, pupils show strong commitment to their work and learning time is very rarely lost.
• Teachers and teaching assistants use questioning skilfully to assess individual learning. They adapt learning activities to address any gaps or misconceptions.
• Teachers have secure subject knowledge. They are skilled in sequencing learning steps so that pupils build their knowledge and understanding well from their individual starting points.
• Teachers’ focus on developing pupils’ vocabulary is effective. It is a school priority to address historical weaknesses in spelling. The approach is having a markedly positive impact on pupils’ writing standards. The English leader has identified that the next step for teachers to develop is pupils’ ability to plan and structure their writing more effectively for different purposes and audiences.
• Teachers follow the school’s agreed approach to mathematics teaching consistently. They plan activities that strengthen pupils’ number fluency. They connect mathematics concepts to real-world situations so that pupils can solve problems in different contexts. Teachers and teaching assistants model the use of mathematical language in full sentences. As a result, pupils answer questions and talk to each other using correct mathematical terminology. Teachers adapt learning to the needs of pupils and provide challenging tasks to stretch the most able. Consequently, pupils make good progress in mathematics.
• Pupils commit to improving their work. They say that teachers’ feedback helps them to improve. They are able to identify their own errors and make their own corrections, often using resources independently to do so.
• Teaching assistants make a strong contribution to the quality of teaching, learning and assessment. They are good at asking pupils questions to stretch their thinking rather than simply giving them answers. They respond flexibly to pupils’ misconceptions by adapting how they provide support.
• Teachers in the outdoor learning programme plan learning carefully so that it is matched to pupils’ different interests and needs. Teachers manage risks well so that pupils can take part in a range of exciting activities that develop their self-confidence and self-esteem. Examples of this are campfire building, using tools and developing outdoor crafts. Teaching and learning in the ‘Wild Tribe’ area make a strong contribution to developing pupil’s SMSC understanding.

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 confident and happy. They feel comfortable in their school and are able to demonstrate independence and resourcefulness in their learning. For example, if they are stuck, before asking their teacher, they try to find things out for themselves in the classroom.
• Pupils have opportunities to lead and take responsibility. Year 6 pupils worked as sports leaders during the school sports day, which took place during the inspection. Other pupils take responsibility for watering the many plant boxes in the playground.
• Pupils demonstrate resilience in their learning. They remain on-task in lessons with minimal supervision or adult intervention because they have developed a love of learning and are keen to succeed. They take pride in their work.
• Leaders promote physical well-being effectively, through the PE curriculum and an extensive range of extra-curricular activities. The outdoor education programme supports pupils’ physical and mental well-being.
• Pupils report that they feel safe in school. They show a good understanding of how to keep themselves safe, including online. They report that bullying is very rare and, if it does occur, staff deal with it quickly and effectively. Parents concurred with this in their responses to inspectors during the inspection and in the online parent survey.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good. Leaders’ actions have had a positive impact on behaviour over the last two years.
• Pupils behave well in lessons. Transitions between activities are calm and well ordered.
• Pupils get on well with each other. They work together productively, both in the classroom and in the less formal outdoor learning environment. At break times, pupils play together well. Pupils enjoy good relationships with adults in the school. As a result, the school is a calm and harmonious place and pupils feel safe and well looked after.
• Leaders’ actions to tackle poor attendance have brought about a rapid improvement. Attendance has improved in the current year and is close to the national average overall. The attendance of disadvantaged pupils and pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities has improved significantly.
• The proportion of pupils who are persistently absent has fallen and is close to the national average. Moreover, the proportion of disadvantaged pupils who are persistently absent has almost halved. It is below the national average for this group now. Leaders acknowledge, however, that they need to continue to improve attendance so that it is in line with, or better than, the national average.

Outcomes for pupils Good

• Pupils make good progress from their starting points. The starting points for some pupils were low as a result of weak teaching when they were younger. The school’s drive to improve standards means that currently many more of these pupils reach expected standards in reading, writing and mathematics.
• Pupils make good progress in phonics. The proportion of pupils who succeed in the phonics screening check in Year 1 is above the national average. Most pupils who do not succeed in the phonics screening check at the end of Year 1 catch up by the end of Year 2.
• Pupils read regularly and say that they enjoy reading. The school’s work to improve reading has had a marked impact on disadvantaged pupils. Their reading scores have increased significantly, as a result of the careful tracking and support of the librarian. However, some of the most able readers do not choose books that stretch and challenge them sufficiently.
• Pupils’ attainment in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of key stage 1 has risen since 2015. The proportion of current pupils working at the expected and higher levels is in line with national figures.
• The school’s assessment information, and work in pupils’ books, show that pupils in Year 6 are making good progress. Consequently, the proportions on track to reach expected standards are in line with national averages.
• Disadvantaged pupils make good progress given their starting points. In 2017, disadvantaged pupils in key stage 2 made progress in line with national figures. This trend is continuing for current Year 6 pupils. However, not enough of them reach expected standards. Leaders acknowledge that these pupils need to make accelerated progress to bring their attainment up to expected standards.

Early years provision Good

• Leaders provide a rich and stimulating environment in the early years provision. It is well run and well planned so that children are always engaged in purposeful activity. As a result, children make strong progress in their learning and development from very low starting points. Current pupils’ progress represents a significant improvement compared to recent years.
• The needs of children are carefully assessed when they start. Consequently, staff know the children well and plan activities that meet their needs.
• The rich curriculum is demanding and interesting. It links different aspects of children’s learning and development together. This means that children make good progress across the full range of early learning goals.
• Leaders carry out highly accurate self-evaluation of the provision. They use information from this to plan innovative training for staff, such as filming each other’s practice. Consequently, staff reflect on their teaching. One result of this is that the adults who work in Reception are skilled in communicating with children.
• Teaching is good. The adults have high expectations of children. They give strong guidance to children in their learning activities. Adults’ good questioning and reinforcement of new words lead to children’s good language development.
• Children make strong progress in reading, writing and number. Teachers track and record children’s progress in learning journals and use this information effectively to target further learning activities and interventions where children are falling behind. However, the journals have less evidence for writing than for other aspects of the curriculum. Further, while they make good progress from their starting points, disadvantaged children do not attain their early learning goals in line with other children.
• Behaviour is good. Adults’ skilful modelling and coaching set high behaviour standards. Children are independent, confident and have strong self-regulation; they work well without direct supervision and share ideas together happily.
• Children are happy and feel safe. Systems to keep them safe are very thorough. Proportionate risk assessments mean that children can take part in a wide range of activities that develop their coordination and fine motor skills. Children are starting to assess risks and make choices for themselves in a safe environment.
• Children are prepared well for Year 1. Leaders have ensured that strong progression planning helps them to settle quickly into Year 1 and that their new teachers know their strengths and needs well.

School details

Unique reference number Local authority Inspection number 113379 Devon 10048967 This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005. Type of school Primary School category Age range of pupils Gender of pupils Maintained 3 to 11 Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 293 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Headteacher Lisa Young Timothy Salvadori Telephone number 01409 253700 Website Email address www.holsworthyprimary.co.uk admin@holsworthy-primary.devon.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 8 February 2018

Information about this school

• This is an average sized primary.
• The proportion of pupils supported by the pupil premium is in the highest 20% nationally.
• The proportion of pupils who have SEN and/or disabilities is above average.
• The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is well below the national average.
• The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds is well below the national average.
• The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of Year 6.

Information about this inspection

• Inspectors observed learning across the range of subjects and age groups and scrutinised a wide range of pupils’ written work. Some of the observations were conducted jointly with senior leaders.
• Inspectors looked at a range of documentation, including minutes of governors’ meetings, development plans, analysis of pupils’ progress, attendance and behaviour data, safeguarding documents and the school’s review of its own performance.
• Meetings were held with governors, the headteacher, senior and middle leaders and groups of pupils.
• Inspectors took account of 44 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View. They also took into account 30 responses to the staff questionnaire.

Inspection team

Jeremy Law, lead inspector Claire Fortey Liz Wilson-Chalon

Her Majesty’s Inspector Ofsted Inspector Ofsted Inspector