Setting

Miss K Wood Head of school All Saints Church of England Voluntary Controlled Infant School, Hessle Northolme Road Hessle HU13 9JD

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Voluntary Controlled Infant School, Hessle

Following my visit with Peter Jones, additional inspector to your school on 29 and 30 September 2010, I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to confirm the inspection findings.

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Voluntary Controlled Infant School, Hessle

The inspection was the first monitoring inspection since the school became subject to special measures following the inspection which took place in March 2010. The full list of the areas for improvement which were identified during that inspection is set out in the annex to this letter. The monitoring inspection report is attached and the main judgements are set out below.

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Voluntary Controlled Infant School, Hessle

Progress since being subject to special measures – satisfactory

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Voluntary Controlled Infant School, Hessle

Newly Qualified Teachers may not be appointed .

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Voluntary Controlled Infant School, Hessle

This letter and monitoring inspection report will be posted on the Ofsted website. I am copying this letter and the monitoring inspection report to the Secretary of State, the Chair of the Governing Body, the Director of Children, Family and Adult Services for East Riding of Yorkshire and the Diocese of Hull.

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Voluntary Controlled Infant School, Hessle

Fiona Gowers Additional Inspector Suite 22 West Lancs Investment Centre White Moss Business Park Maple Lane Skelmersdale WN8 9TG T 0300 123 1231 Text Phone: 0161 6188524 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk Direct T 01695 566937 Direct F 01695 729320 Direct email : jsimmons@cfbt.com

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place in March 2010

 Raise the attainment and improve the achievement of boys, average and more- able pupils by:  rigorously checking the quality of teaching and its impact on learning to improve its effectiveness and ensure consistency  raising teachers’ expectations of pupils’ capabilities  giving pupils more opportunities to learn actively and through discovery  using assessment and targets effectively to ensure that all pupils are suitably challenged and make progress at a faster rate  improving the curriculum so that it engages pupils and inspires them to learn.  Improve leadership and management by:  monitoring and evaluating the work of the school systematically and effectively to drive and secure improvement  developing the role of middle leaders by clarifying their roles and responsibilities.  Improve the provision and consistency of children’s learning in the Early Years Foundation Stage by:  ensuring that all children have access throughout the day to outdoor

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place in March 2010

learning  providing a wide range of indoor and outdoor learning activities to excite children’s curiosity and challenge them to think for themselves  increasing the opportunities for children to lead their own learning  using regular observations and assessments of children’s learning to ensure that activities take children’s needs and interests into account and help them to make the next steps in their learning  collating observations and assessments systematically to provide a clear step-by-step record of each child’s development in all areas of learning which can be shared and celebrated with parents and carers.  Ensure that all safeguarding arrangements are robust and effective systems are used to minimise risk.  Ensure that pupils’ attendance is above 94% by putting into place with immediate effect robust systems to monitor and promote good attendance.

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Evidence

Inspectors observed the school’s work, scrutinised documents and met with the executive headteacher, the head of the school, the senior leadership team, a group of subject and year group leaders, staff from the Early Years Foundation Stage, pupils, the Chair of the Governing Body and a representative from the local authority.

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Context

Since the inspection in March 2010, the school has entered into a collaboration with the junior school on the same site. The headteacher of the junior school took up the post of executive headteacher of the collaboration of the two schools. A head of school, presently seconded for 12 months, took up post in September 2010. Five teachers have been appointed on permanent contracts. There has been some staff absence, covered by one teacher on a temporary contract and a part-time teacher on a supply basis. In September 2010, the school moved to a single admission policy in the Early Years Foundation Stage, which replaces the previous system of termly admissions.

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Pupils’ achievement and the extent to which they enjoy their learning

The school’s own monitoring records confirm that pupils’ learning in lessons varies from good to inadequate and that too often progress is satisfactory or less than satisfactory. As a result, pupils’ previous underachievement has not been addressed. More accurate assessments of pupils’ work provide school leaders with a much clearer picture of levels of attainment reached by each individual pupil. The most recent Key Stage 1 results confirm attainment in reading is broadly average. However, attainment in mathematics and writing remain significantly below average. Attainment is particularly low among boys in writing. Senior leaders have a much clearer view of the areas of weakness that need addressing through more rigorous monitoring of pupils’ progress and teaching. Although there are signs of accelerated progress in some classes, it is too soon to see the full impact of recent initiatives focused on raising attainment and improving achievement.

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Other relevant pupil outcomes

Pupils say that they feel safe in school. Behaviour is improving and pupils enjoy becoming more actively involved in school life, such as when carrying out roles of responsibility on the school council. Nonetheless, many pupils remain passive during lessons as opportunities to learn actively and through discovery remain limited. This slows the progress they make. However, several new initiatives to improve the curriculum out of the classroom are beginning to have a positive impact on pupils’ levels of enjoyment, physical development and economic well-being. In particular, pupils say they enjoy working on the computers in the junior school, training with sports coaches and going on more school visits.

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Other relevant pupil outcomes

Refined systems to monitor attendance have enabled school leaders to identify and support more effectively pupils whose attendance is of concern. As a result, levels of attendance have risen and the school has met and at times exceeded the target set at the time of the previous inspection. The school is now exploring how pupils themselves can be more involved in the promotion of good attendance to ensure this more positive trend is maintained.

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Other relevant pupil outcomes

Progress since the last section 5 inspection on the area for improvement:  Ensure that pupils’ attendance is above 94% by putting into place with immediate effect robust systems to monitor and promote good attendance –

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The effectiveness of provision

Significant improvements have been made to the school building and classrooms, which have helped create a more positive learning environment. School leaders have started to undertake more rigorous checking of the quality of teaching and its impact on pupils’ learning. This is leading to some improved teaching practice. In the more effective lessons, some pupils are beginning to make faster progress, because learning activities are matched to their interests and learning needs more effectively. However, too much inadequate teaching remains. In such lessons adults talk for lengthy periods and the pace of learning is much too slow. In addition, pupils are not as actively involved in their learning because activities lack interest and challenge and are not adapted well enough to meet their individual needs. Inadequate teaching continues to have a significant impact on pupils’ progress, particularly in some year groups.

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The effectiveness of provision

Progress since the last section 5 inspection on the area for improvement:  Raise the attainment and improve the achievement of boys, and average and more-able pupils by: - rigorously checking the quality of teaching and its impact on learning to improve its effectiveness and ensure consistency - raising teachers’ expectations of pupils’ capabilities - giving pupils more opportunities to learn actively and through discovery - using assessment and targets effectively to ensure that all pupils are suitably challenged and make progress at a faster rate - improving the curriculum so that it engages pupils and inspires them to learn – inadequate Children now enjoy a wider range of learning activities, both indoors and outdoors in the Early Years Foundation Stage. There are increased opportunities for children to learn by exploring things for themselves. Although some inconsistencies in the quality of provision remain, a greater degree of teamwork is evident among the

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The effectiveness of provision

staff. Staff are working hard to develop a more cohesive setting and have started to make more regular assessments of children’s learning and to record their achievements in the recently established ‘Learning Journeys’. It is a mark of the growing success of recent improvements that children are settling readily into school, even though they have only very recently started attending on a full-time basis.

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The effectiveness of provision

Progress since the last section 5 inspection on the area for improvement:  Improve the provision and consistency of children’s learning in the Early Years Foundation Stage by: - ensuring that all children have access throughout the day to outdoor learning - providing a wide range of indoor and outdoor learning activities to excite children’s curiosity and challenge them to think for themselves - increasing the opportunities for children to lead their own learning - using regular observations and assessments of children’s learning to ensure that activities take children’s needs and interests into account and help them to make the next steps in their learning - collating observations and assessments systematically to provide a clear step-by-step record of each child’s development in all areas of learning which can be shared and celebrated with parents and carers.–

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The effectiveness of leadership and management

School leaders have developed a more rigorous evaluation of the school’s work and are robust in their approach to identifying and addressing areas of weakness. Although it is too soon to see significant improvement in pupils’ achievement, some positive impact is evident in several key areas: procedures for safeguarding are now secure and meet requirements; attendance levels have risen; staff morale has improved; and there is now a more accurate assessment of pupils’ attainment. Senior leaders are in the process of thoroughly reviewing the leadership structure within the school to ensure it meets the school’s needs and accelerates the pace of school improvement. To this end, the roles of middle leaders are being clarified and reviewed. Some middle leaders are growing in confidence and are beginning to develop a clearer view of their roles and responsibilities under the guidance of the senior leadership team. Consequently, while internal capacity remains fragile, it is

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The effectiveness of leadership and management

Progress since the last section 5 inspection on the area for improvement:  Improve leadership and management by: - monitoring and evaluating the work of the school systematically and effectively to drive and secure improvement - developing the role of middle leaders by clarifying their roles and responsibilities – satisfactory

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The effectiveness of leadership and management

 Ensure that all safeguarding arrangements are robust and effective systems are used to minimise risk – satisfactory

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External support

The school has received sound support from the local authority. After the March 2010 inspection, the local authority submitted a statement of action that was judged to meet requirements. Following the resignation of the substantive headteacher at the time of the last inspection, the local authority acted swiftly to initiate the collaboration with the neighbouring junior school and appoint the executive headteacher. The local authority was instrumental in the subsequent appointment of the head of school in September 2010. The work of the school is regularly reviewed and the scope for more intensive coaching and modelling of best teaching practice is currently being explored.

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