Ewyas Harold Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 17 October 2023

Children get off to a strong start when they join the school. They settle in quickly because of the care and support they receive. Children quickly learn the classroom routines and the importance of sharing and taking turns. Pupils are respectful and behave well. They know and follow the school's behaviour policy. Carefully chosen routines and high expectations are established right from the early years. Pupils settle to work quickly and concentrate well in lessons. Learning is not disrupted by inappropriate behaviour. Pupils are happy and engaged at school. They enjoy learning and they like their teachers. Pupils know they can talk to an adult in school if they are worried about anything and that they will be listened to. The school has thought carefully about how to ensure that all pupils achieve well and are successful. Pupils are now taught in single year group classes in the early years and key stage 1. As a result, class sizes are small. Pupils benefit from the increased staff support that they receive. This ensures that they secure the early knowledge and skills they need. This model is also applied to teaching mathematics in key stage 2. Consequently, pupils attain well across the school.

What the school should improve

• Curriculum implementation and its assessment in the foundation subjects is at an early stage of development. It is too early to gauge how successfully pupils are learning the new content and how well they understand and remember it. The school should review and evaluate how effectively the intended curriculum is being delivered and assess its impact on pupil achievement.
• Most subject leaders are new to their roles and are inexperienced. They do not yet have the expertise to evaluate the curriculum or identify where greater support is needed for staff and pupils in their subject. The school should ensure that subject leaders have the skills needed to monitor their curriculum areas and make improvements where needed.
• Pupils with SEND are not always identified early enough when they join the school. This leads to a delay in providing the specific individual support needed. The school should use all resources available to identify and manage the needs of pupils who have additional needs so that they achieve as well as they should.
• Pupils' cultural understanding and their knowledge of fundamental British values are limited. They are not well informed about religious beliefs and how other people live. Some pupils also have limited opportunities to extend their skills and interests beyond the academic. This impacts on their personal development. The school should ensure that pupils are well prepared for life in modern Britain and there is an equal offer for all age groups to participate in enrichment activities.
• Those responsible for governance have not held the school to account well enough. This has resulted in some previous weaknesses, for example in the quality of education not being picked up quickly enough. Those responsible for governance should check that the information they receive is accurate in order to provide the effective support and challenge needed to improve the school.

Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)