Holycroft Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 23 February 2023

Holycroft Primary School is at the heart of the community that it serves. Leaders are aspirational for both pupils and their families. Through the school's hub, parents themselves can access a wide range of educational courses, such as English and mathematics skills. This enables them to support their children effectively at home. Parents speak positively about the support that they receive from the school. As a result of the strong relationships between home and school, pupils are happy and confident and many achieve well. Leaders have created a calm, purposeful atmosphere in the school. Pupils behave well. They show respect for each other and adults. Pupils say that bullying is not a problem in the school. They are confident that adults would deal with it quickly if it did happen. Pupils know that they can talk to a trusted adult if they have any worries. Alternatively, they can use the 'worry box' or 'anti-bullying box' to report their concerns. Pupils fully understand the school's behaviour policy and are aware of the consequences of not adhering to it. The personal development programme provides pupils with opportunities to engage with the community and local commercial partners. Initiatives such as working with a local supermarket to create a food bank help pupils develop empathy and compassion, as well as a wide range of academic skills. Leaders have recently introduced a programme that helps pupils to develop resilience, self-awareness and confidence through physical education lessons.

What the school should improve

• While leaders have taken action to address the disappointing outcomes in phonics and reading at key stage 1, the impact of this is yet to be seen. Some pupils still have gaps in their phonic knowledge because of historically weaker teaching. Leaders should continue to embed the new phonics programme and ensure it is delivered consistently to ensure that pupils achieve well in reading.
• In some subjects, the curriculum has not been broken down into small steps of learning. This means it is difficult for teachers to know precisely what to teach in each sequence of lessons. Leaders should ensure that all subjects are consistently planned to ensure pupils acquire the knowledge that has been identified on long- term overviews.

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