By sharing these reports we hope to ensure that stakeholders are of the understanding that we continue to strive for the very best for all our children and community. Commissioning reviews into aspects of school life gives us further confidence around our achievements and successes. In addition to these comments, we have been given some suggested areas of refinement. Having specialists in areas of teaching and learning, SEND and safeguarding visit school allows us to receive advice and suggestions on what is statutory practice, it also allows us to implement aspects that are seen as best practice.

We have another Safeguarding review commissioned for January 2024, following our review in 2022. 

What our Safeguarding Partners have to say about our School family!

School Safeguarding Consultants had the pleasure of visiting St Paul's Primary School to undertake an audit of the safeguarding provision at the request of the Local Authority.

"I spent the day with the Headteacher, Deputy headteacher and the School Business Manager. I would like to say thank you for how warmly I was welcomed and looked after particularly in light of the COVID restrictions. I spent the day looking at policies, procedures and practice relating to all aspects of safeguarding. I had the opportunity to speak with a number of staff and pupils who were a credit to the school. Please see attached my report and action plan and a summary of my findings below: 

Areas of Strength: 

There is a strong culture of safeguarding that is embedded across the school. It was evident that all staff had a commitment and were dedicated to ensuring that all the children in school were safe.  Senior Leaders ensure that all staff are educated, confident, and effective at not only identifying children who may benefit from Early Help, but also ensuring that Safeguarding is at the forefront of everything they do. DSLs ensure that effective interventions are undertaken for children who need any additional support, and they are fully confident in implementing escalation procedures to ensure appropriate actions are taken swiftly. 

There appears to be a robust and supportive approach from governors, with the safeguarding governor having extensive knowledge and experience of safeguarding, this approach is then transmitted throughout the staff team. Supervision is offered to all staff, offering a safe and confidential space for them to discuss and offload any concerns they may have.   

Fundamental British Values are embedded throughout the curriculum in a contextual, age-appropriate manner ensuring that the children not only understand them but also practise them in their daily life in and out of school. The children spoke about their experiences in school in such a positive manner, they feel safe, supported, and valued. This culture not only provides a positive learning environment, but supports the development of friendships, care and respect and it was evident that this is displayed effortlessly to all members of staff, their peers, and visitors into school.  

What our SEND Partners have to say about our School family!

Overall the SEND provision in school is highly effective. Children with SEND receive individualised support and the school is appropriately staffed and resourced to ensure high quality provision. 

Whole school SEND is a priority. The SENDCO has developed highly effective structures to ensure the needs of pupils are met and staff are skilled in meeting the needs of pupils with SEND. 

The school keeps up to date with any changes to research and developments within educational guidance. Staff have opportunities to develop their careers within the school and a number of teaching assistants have gone onto train to teach or take on wider roles within school. 

A wide range of external agencies are used to support the provision in school and the school have bought in support from specialist advisory teachers to support the identification and provision for individual pupils.  

The Head / SENDCO has a strategic overview of the provision required and has plans in place for improvement. SEND is a focus area on the whole school improvement plan and the SENDCO produces an annual SEF to identify areas for development.  

The school is outward facing and utilises support from local clusters effectively. The SLT and wider staff work together to ensure the provision for SEND is not just the responsibility of the SENDCO. Many staff and governors have extensive experience in a wide range of areas of expertise and this is utilised to t he schools’ advantage. 

The Headteacher supports the SENDCO. He has previously undertaken the role of SENDCO and has a full understanding of the role. The school has effective working relationships with their partners. The school has high expectations for all… children and staff. Staff work effectively to ensure children have the best possible start in their education, preparing them for the next stage in their education. 

Staff across the whole school are passionate about meeting the needs of children and creating an ethos and culture where children feel safe, nurtured and valued. This is evident when visiting classes, speaking to children and speaking to parents.  

What our Teaching and Learning Partners have to say about our School family!

All of the evidence seen during this visit supported the view of the headteacher and senior leaders that provision is extremely strong in school and that the school is well-placed to fare well in any future Ofsted inspection.

In 2022, KS2 attainment in reading, writing and EGPS were all significantly above average and in the top 20% of schools nationally. Both the Good Level of Development figures at the end of Reception and the Y1 phonics data were above national figures in 2022.

Attendance is higher than nationally. Absence in 2021/22 was in the lowest 20% of schools nationally and also in the lowest 20% when compared with schools with a similar level of deprivation.

Improving the outdoor learning areas in EYFS was identified as an area for development at the last Ofsted inspection. Since then, extensive work has been undertaken and the areas are now well-resourced and used well to support learning. Both indoors and outside, children in EYFS were fully engaged in a good range of interesting activities, both adult-led and child-initiated.

Great care has been taken to ensure an attractive, stimulating environment. There is a clear purpose to areas of continuous provision. There is a consistent approach to phonics in school, starting in the Nursery. Reading books are organised to match children’s level of phonic development.

During a learning walk, it was clear that there is a good level of consistency between classes in terms of implementing agreed approaches, for example, the implementation of the marking policy, with pupils responding appropriately in purple pen to teachers’ marking.

Work in books is very well-presented, indicating pupils having positive attitudes to their work. In the books seen, handwriting was excellent with pupils using a neat, cursive style from an early age. In maths books, it is clear that there are many opportunities for pupils to develop their reasoning and complete problem-solving questions.

Displays around school are of a high standard and showcase pupils’ work well. Subject leaders are given time to carry out their leadership role and through their monitoring have a good understanding of what provision is like in their area of responsibility. 

The SENCO provides a good level of expertise and is able to provide support to staff to ensure best provision for pupils with SEND.

The school curriculum is enhanced by a wide range of enrichment opportunities. Pupils are very positive about the many extra-curricular activities on offer, such as poetry club, ukelele and bushcraft. Subject specialists are well-used in some subjects to work alongside class teachers and  provide expert support. All pupils spoken with had positive views about school. They said that ‘teachers are kind’ and that ‘learning is fun.’

Nearly all said that the work set for them in English and maths was at the right level of difficulty for them.

What our LA Effectiveness Partners have to say about our School family!

The geography and history subject leaders:

Are very thorough, enthusiastic and know their subject well. They are strong advocates for the importance of their curriculum area.

Have worked conscientiously to ensure that thorough and comprehensive planning guidance for staff (including for skills) has been put into place so that staff are clear on what to teach - and when - in these curriculum areas.

Are working to ensure that a clear and consistent rationale is in place behind how geography and history are taught – with a particular emphasis on the importance of the subject discipline.

Have provided detailed guidance, ideas and suggestions for individual lessons which are helpful in supporting subject knowledge.

Have ensured secure systems are in place to re-visit and reinforce learning in history and geography in different contexts and to check what pupils are able to recall over time.

Have made sensible and rational choices in identifying the content to be taught in line with the school’s personalised CUBE curriculum.

Have ensured that geography and history has been mapped against the national curriculum and EYFS curriculum to ensure that statutory requirements are being met.

Have ensured that relevant links are made between different subjects under the whole school topic areas and that these were tied into books that pupils were reading.

Have ensured that the school is well-resourced, providing every chance for staff to deliver and pupils to learn the content of the curriculum in geography and history.

Have been provided with opportunities to monitor. Both were confident in identifying the strengths and CPD needs of colleagues, they had already impacted on colleagues’ teaching and knew what they wanted to do next to further improve pupil outcomes.

Both subject leaders have articulated clear end points for units, year groups and key stages to clarify what the expected standard ‘looks like’. 

What our Diocese Partners have to say about our School family!

The distinctiveness and effectiveness of Hoddlesden St Paul’s as a Church of England school are outstanding

The school is seen as a Christian family by parents, children, staff and governors. They are strongly committed to the distinctively Christian ethos and the Christian values which guide all aspect of school life.

The headteacher’s strong Christian vision and leadership provide a cornerstone for the success and excellence of the school. As a result, pupils make very good progress both academically and spiritually.

The pupils’ excellent behaviour and attitudes to life and learning are strongly influenced by the positive contribution of core Christian values which permeate the entire the curriculum.

RE teaching is of a very high standard and a highly appropriate balance of the study of Christianity and other world faiths is very successfully achieved. Consequently, pupils have excellent understanding of other faiths, beliefs, practises and value systems.

Collective worship is firmly rooted in Christian values. There is a clearly understood message that this time of the school day is of central importance and significance in the life of the school and its pupils.

What our External Consultant Partners have to say about our School family!

Leaders are passionate about their school and have a very clear vision for their curriculum and have the highest of aspirations for all children. There is a very strong and positive ethos which permeates across the school.

Leaders have ensured that staff at all levels are well trained in their new phonics programme (Red Rose Letters and Sounds) which is currently being piloted in conjunction with LCC. Staff speak very positively about the support provided by the school and the LA.

There is a clear sequence and progression for the teaching of phonics and helpful planning which maps out individual sessions progressively week by week, day by day (the long-term plan should start from pre-school). During lesson visits, the agreed cycle is being followed and children engage well with the sessions.

There are planned interventions (using phonics) for those children who are currently in the lowest 20% and the impact of these sessions is closely monitored.

Children in the lowest 20%, are building fluency, particularly when reading books that are familiar to them. Leaders report that they have ensured that all the books the children read (which come from a range of publishers) closely match the child’s current phonic phase. Children in key stage 2 have positive attitudes to reading and generally read confidently with good expression. 

The history subject leader has a good awareness of the current strengths and weaknesses in the subject and is accessing appropriate CPD to support her with curriculum planning from EYFS to Year 6.

During lesson visits, the planned curriculum is being taught and children are engaged in their learning. During pupil interviews, all report that they enjoy history, and some children can talk about recent learning in history. They have a good understanding of chronology. 

Louise McArdle (ECM)