Sir Francis Hill Community Primary School

What Ofsted said

From the inspection on 8 July 2025

Pupils at Sir Francis Hill school can talk with enthusiasm about the school's values of wisdom, community and kindness. They are proud to demonstrate these values and represent the school at a range of musical and sporting events. These events help them to develop their talents and interests. The school has recently undergone a period of change. Leaders have quickly established the priorities for improvement and have begun to ensure that the school is ambitious about what pupils can achieve. In some subjects, pupils benefit from a high-quality curriculum. This is not consistently the case. In other subjects, the development of the curriculum is still in the early stages. This means that teaching is not consistently good across all subject areas. The school does not provide some pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) with the right adaptations they need to access their learning. Pupils do not achieve as well as they should. In most lessons, particularly in the early years, behaviour is calm and orderly. Most pupils feel safe and know who they can talk to if they have any worries or concerns. Staff do not routinely use the school's systems to ensure that the high expectations of pupils' behaviour are upheld.

What the school should improve

• The school does not check closely enough how well pupils are learning the curriculum. In some subjects, there is little assessment of what pupils know and do not know. Teachers do not consistently pick up pupils' misconceptions in lessons, or in their written work. As a result, pupils do not always have a secure understanding of the important curriculum content that they need to remember. The school must ensure that any gaps in pupils' learning are identified and addressed swiftly.
• Staff do not make adaptations to tasks and activities to ensure that pupils with SEND can access the curriculum consistently well. As a result, pupils with SEND can become confused and do not develop their knowledge and understanding as well as they should. The school must support teachers to make appropriate adaptations to learning so that pupils with SEND develop the knowledge and skills they need.
• The school has not ensured that all staff have a clear understanding of how to apply the behaviour systems, particularly during social times. This means that some pupils are not able to regulate their behaviour effectively. The school should ensure that all staff and pupils understand and apply high expectations for behaviour at all times during the school day.
• The school's strategic oversight of some aspects of its work is not sufficiently robust. As a result, the school does not have a strong enough understanding of aspects of its work or check whether strategies have the intended impact. The school needs to put effective systems in place to ensure successful school improvement.

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