Holne Chase Primary is a ‘Good’ school

Holne Chase was graded ‘good’ during an Ofsted inspection in November 2023. A summary of findings as well as a link to the inspector’s full report are below.

• Pupils love attending Holne Chase Primary.
• Leaders have established high expectations and standards.
• The school’s bright and welcoming environment is carefully considered to capture pupils’ interests.
• Adults are passionate that all pupils receive high-quality provision that gives them the skills they need for the future. The provision for children with additional needs has been transformed.
• A deep moral purpose underpins all that happens at this school.
• Pupils are well-prepared for life beyond the school.

Thoughts from the Principal, David Killick

I want to congratulate and thank the staff, children, wider school and Trust community who have worked tirelessly to help us improve the school. Since I started in September 2022, there has been a rapid transformation and this was seen and acknowledged by the inspectors during their visit.

When writing their report, the inspectors are limited to the number of words they can include, therefore this summary adds context, with more details of what the inspectors saw and identified over their two days with us.

As part of the inspection we were graded in five areas and I am pleased to confirm the grading was consistently ‘good’ in all.

• Quality of Education
• Attitudes and Behaviours
• Personal Development
• Early Years
• Leadership & Management

Quality of Education

As part of this element, we had ‘deep dives’ in Early Reading, Maths, History and Science. Inspectors observed lessons, looked at books and spoke to leaders, children and staff about these curriculum areas.

During their deep dives, the inspectors felt:

• We have built a comprehensive and highly ambitious curriculum for all pupils, including for children with Special Educational Needs
• We have a broad and balanced curriculum, covering the National Curriculum, which is well sequenced and adapted to meet the needs of the pupils and our school community
• Our curriculum builds a rich language with the children
• Routines for learning and structures of lessons have a consistent approach across school
• Teaching Assistants are used effectively to support and challenge pupils
• Reading is a high priority and therefore strong across school as a culture of reading is being embedded successfully, with children confidently talking about the books they read
• The learning environments are unique and have been created with the children in mind, creating amazing learning spaces for the children
• Retrieval and assessment strategies in the core curriculum are strong and the children have good recall of the knowledge they have learnt
• The provision for children with additional needs has been transformed
• Outcomes in all statutory assessments is inline or above national

Attitudes and Behaviour

In this area of the Ofsted framework inspectors look at the children’s attendance, behaviour, and attitudes to learning. One thing that stood out was how lovely and respectful the children were during the inspection with the inspectors commenting on the children waving to them and holding doors open throughout their time at school.

The inspectors identified that:

• Attendance had improved significantly and robust systems are in place to monitor and improve attendance accordingly
• There have been dramatic improvements in behaviour and there are strong systems for reporting behaviour incidents
• Leaders have extremely high expectations for behaviour and the new behaviour and reward system has had huge, positive impact
• There are strong relationships between the children and the adults in school, with adults modelling positive behaviours
• Children are kept busy at lunchtimes with a range of activities and equipment for the children to play with
• There are clear established routines that the majority of children follow
• Pupils attitudes towards their learning is strong
• Children felt that any incidents of unkindness are dealt with immediately by staff

Personal Development

This element of the framework focuses on children’s character, their understanding of different cultures, religions and families and the opportunities they are provided beyond the curriculum.

The inspectors identified:

• Leaders have a strong intent for what we want to achieve and our ambition for children’s personal development
• Both the PSHE and Religious Education curriculum is well planned and well taught across the school
• Pupils are confident in talking about different religions, cultures and families and how we demonstrate the value of respect to people who are different to themselves
• Children are confident in talking about the Protected Characteristics; discussing equality and how to tackle discrimination
• Children can talk about how to keep themselves safe both offline and online and can talk about their trusted adults both in and out of school
• A range of visitors come into school to teach children about different aspects of the community
• There are a wide range of clubs and school trips on offer for our pupils, which are well planned, extending children’s understanding across the curriculum

Early Years

During this element of the inspection inspectors observe in Early Years and speak to leaders about the provision for our youngest children.

During the inspection, they felt:

• The curriculum is really strong and ambitious, linking to key themes engaging the children
• The classroom environment is a real strength, ensuring all elements of the Early Years curriculum are met
• The provision allows children to focus on learning through play and to regulate their own emotions and learning independently
• Early reading and maths is strong, building those early foundations to support children as they move into Year 1
• Children understand their routines (e.g. lining up, coats on, moving around the provision etc.)
• Outcomes at the end of Early Years are strong
• Staff are modelling the vocabulary being used throughout the provision

Leadership and Management

This element of the framework is based on discussions with different leaders within the school and Trust. During the inspection, the inspectors also spoke to Paul Watson (CEO) and a selection of Preston Hedges Trust Trustees.

The inspectors felt:

• Leaders have ensured rapid and significant improvement of the school
• The provision for children with Special Educational Needs has transformed
• The environment within the school has been overhauled
• The school has an inclusive culture where all children and staff are supported
• Trustees are highly ambitious for their vision for the school and care deeply about the school community

As part of Leadership and Management, the inspectors also take a deep dive into our safeguarding procedures. They identified that there has been huge support provided for our children and our families. The children feel incredibly safe and all staff are confident in dealing with any safeguarding concerns accordingly.