Setting

CfBT Inspection Services Suite 22 West Lancs Investment Centre Maple View Skelmersdale WN8 9TG T 0300 1231231 Text Phone: 0161 6188524 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk Direct T 01695 566 937 Direct F 01695 729320 Direct email: jsimmons@cfbt.com

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Miss K Wood Headteacher 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 Eithne Proffitt, additional inspector, to your school on 22 and 23 November 2011, 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 fourth 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 - good

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Voluntary Controlled Infant School, Hessle

Progress since previous monitoring inspection - good

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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.

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Voluntary Controlled Infant School, Hessle

I am copying this letter and the monitoring inspection report to the Secretary of State, the Chair of the Governing Body and the Director of Children's Services for East Riding of Yorkshire and the Diocese of Hull.

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Voluntary Controlled Infant School, Hessle

Fiona Gowers Lead inspector September 2011

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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.

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March 2010

 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.

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March 2010

 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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March 2010

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

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March 2010

 Ensure that pupils’ attendance is above 94% by putting into place with immediate effect robust systems to monitor and promote good attendance. September 2011

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Evidence

Inspectors observed the school's work, scrutinised documents and met with the headteacher, the senior leadership team, a group of middle leaders, pupils, the Chair of the Governing Body and a representative from the local authority.

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Context

The collaboration with the junior school on the same site ended in July 2011, following the retirement of the executive headteacher. There has been some staff absence covered by one teacher on a temporary contract and two teachers on a supply basis. In September 2011, the school started to offer parents and carers more flexible extended provision arrangements for children in the Nursery.

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

Levels of attainment have risen in mathematics, writing and reading to broadly average overall. Most boys are now making as much progress as girls in lessons, as many learning activities are being tailored to meet their needs and interests more effectively. As a result the gap in the relative attainment between boys and girls is closing. The most marked improvement for both boys and girls has been in reading. Pupils enjoy a wider range of books and reading areas in school and many pupils are developing into more enthusiastic readers. Their growing interest in reading is evident in most classrooms as well as in pupils’ keen participation in whole-school events, such as when they were asked to provide a photograph of themselves reading in their favourite places at home. Pupils are working harder in lessons and are keen to do well. More pupils are making the expected levels of progress because the quality of teaching is improving. However, the proportion of pupils

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

attaining levels above those expected has not risen to the same extent and progress is not fast enough in all classes to enable all pupils to catch up fully from the legacy of underachievement.

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

Progress since the last monitoring inspection on the area for improvement:  Raise the attainment and improve the achievement of boys, average and more-able pupils - Good

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Other relevant pupil outcomes

The school is becoming increasingly successful in improving pupils’ basic literacy and numeracy skills. In particular, systems to improve pupils’ knowledge and understanding of letters and sounds are becoming better established and implemented more consistently. September 2011

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Other relevant pupil outcomes

Page4 This is helping to prepare pupils more effectively for their future economic well-being. The school is keeping a much more rigorous and regular check on pupils’ attendance.

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Other relevant pupil outcomes

Although there has been some minor fluctuation, levels of attendance have risen rapidly. The more robust systems ensure that pupils whose attendance falls below the target set are followed up rigorously. Recently adopted initiatives to encourage regular attendance have been more successful, because they were proposed by the pupils themselves. In addition, pupils’ increased enthusiasm for learning is evident in most classrooms as a group of pupils explained: ‘We learn more quickly if we come to school every day. We try new things at school and if we are not here we miss out on the fun!’

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Other relevant pupil outcomes

Progress since the last monitoring inspection on the area for improvement:  Ensure pupils’ attendance is above 94% by putting into place immediate and robust systems to monitor and improve attendance - Good

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The effectiveness of provision

The quality of teaching continues to improve. All teaching observed during the inspection was of satisfactory or better quality. Support programmes to improve the quality of teaching, where there was previously weaker practice, have had a marked degree of success. Teachers are planning in teams and this is providing more opportunities to share the best practice in school. There is a more consistent approach to marking and the setting of targets for improvement. As a result pupils in most classes receive more regular guidance on how to improve further. However, the quality of guidance is variable and this can depress progress. Teachers’ expectations of pupils’ capabilities are rising. However, the school is aware of the need to make learning activities in some classrooms more challenging to accelerate pupils’ rate of progress. Expectations are not consistently high enough in all classes for the more-able pupils, in particular, to reach their full potential. Opportunities to

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The effectiveness of provision

learn actively and through discovery are steadily increasing. For example, the curriculum in Year 1 is being developed to this end.

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The effectiveness of provision

Provision for the older children in the Early Years Foundation Stage continues to improve. Refined assessment procedures ensure that learning activities are becoming more effectively tailored to the needs of each individual child. As a result accelerated rates of progress are evident in many adult-led sessions, as well as during periods of child-initiated learning. Staff are increasingly working with a common sense of purpose and demonstrating a concerted drive to move learning and provision forward.

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The effectiveness of provision

The provision in the Nursery has been developed to provide more flexible arrangements for parents and a better use of space. There is a wider range of activities provided, enabling more regular assessment of children’s achievements. The provision is in receipt of internal support to use assessments more effectively to help children build on their prior learning.

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The effectiveness of provision

Progress since the last monitoring inspection on the area for improvement: September 2011

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The effectiveness of provision

Page5  Improve the provision and consistency of learning in the Early Years Foundation Stage - Good

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The effectiveness of leadership and management

Under the strong leadership of the headteacher and deputy headteacher, leaders at all levels are developing a more accurate understanding of the school’s effectiveness. Middle leaders are growing in confidence and taking the lead on initiatives to increase the level of challenge in the curriculum and to improve provision in reading. In addition, the governing body is better able to provide support and challenge, and the school is increasingly benefiting from governors’ professional expertise in areas such as: safeguarding; health and safety; and finance. The significant improvements made since the last monitoring inspection, such as the rising attainment and attendance trends and enhanced provision, indicate the school’s internal capacity is strengthening. However, it is too soon to see the full impact of recent developments or accelerated progress in all classes. School leaders are now focused on the longer-term strategic view of school improvement and becoming less reliant

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The effectiveness of leadership and management

The leadership of safeguarding and child protection arrangements has been transferred to infant school personnel successfully, from the previous dual arrangements with the junior school. A local authority safeguarding review in October 2011 confirmed the growing effectiveness of the procedures.

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The effectiveness of leadership and management

Progress since the last monitoring inspection on areas for improvement:  Improve leadership and management – Good

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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 - Good

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External support

The school have been very appreciative of the high quality support provided by the local authority. Programmes to improve the quality of teaching have been sharply tailored to individual need and have led to significant improvements in provision. School staff are developing a greater awareness of how to improve their practice further. The impact of the support has been evaluated carefully and the level of support is being reduced significantly, as school leaders are developing the capacity to take the lead in the school improvement drive.

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