Holywell Primary School

Highlights from Latest Inspection

Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is an outstanding school.

Pupils' achievement is outstanding throughout the school. All staff work hard to maximise pupils' individual progress. Because of this, standards at the end of Year 6 have been well above average for the last five years.

Teaching is consistently good or better, with an increasing amount that is outstanding. Teachers have very high expectations for what pupils can achieve, and match lesson activities closely to their needs. Teachers skilfully and regularly assess pupils' learning in lessons, and adjust their teaching to make sure pupils are challenged to reach the highest levels.

The comments made in marking give pupils g...ood advice on how to improve their work. This is better developed in English than in mathematics. Behaviour is outstanding.

Pupils' attitudes to learning and respect for others are exemplary. Older pupils relish taking on responsibilities and are very proud of their school; this contributes considerably to the productive learning environment where pupils feel very safe. The wide and varied range of taught subjects meets the needs of pupils extremely well.

The school promotes pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development outstandingly well. It recognises and celebrates the diverse cultural make-up of the school population. The headteacher is committed and highly successful in driving the school forward.

She is well supported by her leadership team and a strong, highly informed and knowledgeable governing body. Regular and accurate checking of the quality of teaching by the headteacher and other senior leaders has led to considerable improvements in the quality of teaching and pupils' achievement.

Information about this school

This school is larger than the average primary school.

The school converted to an academy in November 2012. When the predecessor school of the same name was last inspected by Ofsted, its overall effectiveness was good. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium (which in this school provides additional funding for children in local authority care and pupils known to be eligible for free school meals) is well below average.

The proportion of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds is above average, with as many as 29 different languages being represented. Very few pupils are at an early stage of learning English as an additional language. The school meets the government's current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils' achievement and progress.

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