Hauxton Primary School

Age group 4–11 Inspection date(s) 25–26 April 2012 Inspection number 378144 Hauxton Primary School Inspection report

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Unique reference number 110673 Local authority Cambridgeshire Inspection number 378144 Inspection dates 25–26 April 2012 Lead inspector Tricia Pritchard

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This inspection of the school was carried out under section 5 of the Education Act 2005.

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Type of school Primary School category Community Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 60 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Jayne Morgan Headteacher Julie Bateman Date of previous school inspection 16 July 2008 School address Jopling Way Hauxton Cambridge CB22 5HY Telephone number 01223 870364 Fax number 01223 870364 Email address office@hauxton.cambs.sch.uk achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked

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after children, safeguarding and child protection. Further copies of this report are obtainable from the school. Under the Education Act 2005, the school must provide a copy of this report free of charge to certain categories of people. A charge not exceeding the full cost of reproduction may be made for any other copies supplied. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk You can use Parent View to give Ofsted your opinion on your child’s school. Ofsted will use the information parents and carers provide when deciding which schools to inspect and when.

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You can also use Parent View to find out what other parents and carers think about schools in England. You can visit www.parentview.ofsted.gov.uk , or look for the link on the main Ofsted website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out with two days' notice. The inspector observed seven parts of lessons taught by three teachers, listened to pupils read, looked at a sample of pupils’ work from each year group, scrutinised school documentation, including action plans, safeguarding information and data about pupils’ progress. Meetings were held with the headteacher, the English and mathematics subject leaders, the special educational needs co-ordinator, inclusion teacher, a member of the governing body and groups of pupils. The inspector looked at questionnaires from 33 parents and carers, 12 staff and 18 pupils.

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Information about the school

Hauxton Primary School is much smaller than most primary schools. Space within the school is very limited but there are extensive grounds and a swimming pool. Since the previous inspection in 2008, a new headteacher was appointed in January 2011, the number of pupils on roll has increased from 37 to 60 and there is an extra class. Currently, pupils are taught in three mixed-age classes. There are 30 pupils in the Reception/Year 1 class, 19 pupils in the Year 2/3 class and 11 pupils in the Year 4/5/6 6 class. The proportion of pupils with special educational needs that receive help from beyond the school, and the proportion with a statement of special educational needs are in line with the national average. All pupils speak English as their first language and there are very few pupils from minority ethnic heritages. The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals is below the national

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Information about the school

average. The school meets the government’s minimum expectations for attainment and progress (floor standards). The school has received a healthy schools award and a level three horticultural award. Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Key findings

 This is a satisfactory school. It is not yet good because the provision for Early Years Foundation Stage children is not meeting all their needs, there is inconsistency in the quality of teaching and learning across the school, and subject leaders are insufficiently involved in the leadership and management of the school. Schools whose overall effectiveness is satisfactory may receive a monitoring visit by an Ofsted inspector before their next section 5 inspection.

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Key findings

 Pupils are confident and articulate speakers. Standards are above average in reading, writing and mathematics but are not so high in writing as the other two subjects. Some pupils are not spelling familiar words correctly and the presentation of many pupils’ work is often poor. Pupils make satisfactory progress overall but some are capable of making faster progress in English. Not all pupils know their targets and marking does not always help them to understand how they can improve their work.

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Key findings

 Teaching is satisfactory. It is good where pupils receive well-focused individual support to move their learning on and where teachers set appropriate tasks to meet pupils’ needs. However, pupils in all classes are given too many worksheets which lack challenge, particularly in topic work and science, and teachers plan too few opportunities for pupils to write independently. Provision for children in the Early Years Foundation Stage, including planning the curriculum, the deployment of other adults and the use of the outdoor learning environment is inconsistent.

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Key findings

 Behaviour is good. Pupils are well motivated to learn. They enjoy school. Relationships are very good and built upon mutual respect. Attendance is above the national average and pupils arrive punctually.

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Key findings

 Leadership and management are satisfactory. Pupils’ progress is tracked regularly and the management of provision for pupils with special educational needs is good. The headteacher has a clear vision for the school but monitoring Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Key findings

the quality of teaching and learning is not fully embedded.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Focus on meeting fully the needs of all pupils in the Early Years Foundation Stage by:  ensuring that the planned curriculum and activities enable children to gain experience and develop confidence in all areas of learning  ensuring that teaching assistants are well briefed about expectations in relation to questioning and moving children’s learning forward  making full use of the outdoor environment to promote learning.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Gain more consistency in the quality of teaching and learning, and accelerate pupils’ progress in writing by:  ensuring that teachers use assessment information to plan activities which provide challenge and are well matched to pupils’ abilities  reducing the number of worksheets and providing more opportunities for pupils to write independently and at length in subjects other than English  targeting marking at showing pupils how they can improve the quality of their work  ensuring that all pupils have a good knowledge and understanding of their targets  paying greater attention to correcting pupils’ spelling and improving their presentational skills.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Strengthen the leadership and management of the school at all levels by:  equipping staff with the skills to provide a strong lead in their subject areas  enabling subject leaders to take more responsibility for monitoring standards and the quality of teaching and learning.

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Achievement of pupils

Parents and carers believe that their children achieve well and the data indicates that pupils’ attainment at the end of Year 2 and Year 6 in reading, mathematics and writing is usually above the national average. However, inspection evidence, gained from lesson observations and the scrutiny of a sample of pupils’ work from each year group, shows that some pupils are not making as good progress as they could in writing. Overall, pupils’ progress is satisfactory. There are no significant differences between the rates of progress of different groups of pupils.

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Achievement of pupils

Children start school with skills which are broadly in line with expectations for their Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Achievement of pupils

age. Their language, reading and mathematical skills are stronger than their written skills. By the end of the Early Years Foundation Stage, most children have made satisfactory progress to reach average attainment and are ready to access the Year 1 curriculum.

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Achievement of pupils

Pupils are articulate and reflective but their written communication skills are not so strong. This judgement is reinforced by the data on the attainment of pupils at the end of Year 2 and Year 6, which confirms a trend over time for pupils to attain higher levels in reading and mathematics than in writing. While pupils show their ability to use a range of vocabulary to make their writing interesting, not all pay sufficient attention to spelling familiar words correctly and to writing neatly.

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Achievement of pupils

Pupils make good progress in reading. By the end of Year 2 and the end of year 6, pupils’ attainment in reading is above the national average. Pupils read fluently and with expression. They draw upon their knowledge of linking sounds and letters (phonics) to read unfamiliar words, although not all are confident in working out the meaning of unfamiliar words by using the context of the storyline to help them.

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Achievement of pupils

Most pupils make at least satisfactory progress in mathematics and the oldest pupils make good progress in applying their mathematical knowledge in problem-solving situations. Pupils’ progress is slowed down when they are set too many numerical calculations which are too easy.

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Achievement of pupils

Key Stage 2 pupils are currently making better progress than pupils in Year 1 and the Early Years Foundation Stage because they are taught in small classes where they receive high-quality individual support. Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs make consistently satisfactory progress in reading, writing and mathematics because they are well guided and supported.

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Quality of teaching

Parents and carers say that their children are well taught. However, the inspection evidence confirms the school’s self-evaluation that teaching is satisfactory but not consistently good across the school. Key strengths are the relationships between staff and pupils, teachers’ knowledge of the needs of pupils in their classes, their use of the interactive whiteboard to support teaching and learning, and the way they promote a love of reading. Group guided reading is taught well and teachers pay good attention to teaching a systematic phonics programme. Teachers communicate clear expectations in relation to tasks to be undertaken. Pupils are encouraged to reflect on their learning. For example, the youngest pupils talked enthusiastically about their wedding topic and the older pupils talked very knowledgably about the contamination issues of the brown-field building site in the village. Pupils like their

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Quality of teaching

teachers. They are keen to contribute to class discussions because their teachers create an atmosphere where it is safe for them to express their opinions and to learn from their mistakes. Homework is well planned to consolidate learning and parents and carers are well informed about how they can support their children’s learning. Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Quality of teaching

Weaknesses that prevent teaching being good include the quality of teachers’ planning and marking, both of which are too variable. Marking is not consistently focused upon offering pupils guidance on how to improve their work. Teachers do not always make full use of assessment information to plan tasks which are well matched to pupils’ age and ability. All teaching is in mixed-age and ability group classes, but sometimes all pupils are set the same tasks, with the result that some are insufficiently challenged and others find the tasks too difficult. There are too many worksheets in use which are too easy, and insufficient opportunities for pupils to write independently in topic work and science. As a result, middle and higher attaining pupils are not always enabled to complete an extended piece of writing and achieve as highly as they could. The best planning incorporates specific learning objectives for the different age and ability groups and clear guidance for teaching

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Quality of teaching

assistants, particularly in relation to questioning pupils and using the right subject specific vocabulary.

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Quality of teaching

The youngest pupils are taught in a large class of 30 pupils and this poses challenges for teaching and learning. At times, noise levels are too high and this hinders learning. The outside learning environment has been recently been developed and Reception children have satisfactory opportunities to engage in free play outside. However, the objectives for child-led and teacher-led activities are not always clear and the deployment of other adults to support groups when the teacher is with one group is not always well planned.

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Quality of teaching

The needs of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs are well catered for, both in class and in withdrawal groups. Pupils working with the inclusion teacher receive particularly good support to forward their learning.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Pupils are well-behaved and feel safe in school. Parents and carers agree that behaviour in the school is good and that their children are safe. Pupils respect one another and enjoy working with a partner. Behaviour was good at the previous inspection and it remains so. Pupils play happily together in the playground and the vast majority say that they feel safe and that behaviour is good. They make good friendships and care for one another well.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

In class, there is usually a calm working environment. Pupils are on task and demonstrate good attitudes to learning. On the rare occasions where there is low level noise which disrupts learning, it is usually attributable to pupils either finishing work quickly or groups moving from one activity to another.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

No evidence of bullying was found during the inspection. When asked, all the pupils said there was no bullying but, if there was, they would know who to tell. Pupils have a good awareness of different types of bullying, including the risks of cyber bullying, because they are taught about the dangers.

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Behaviour and safety of pupils

Attendance is above the national average and pupils arrive punctually. There have Inspection grades: 1 is outstanding, 2 is good, 3 is satisfactory, and 4 is inadequate Please turn to the glossary for a description of the grades and inspection terms

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Leadership and management

The headteacher possesses a clear vision and high expectations for the future development of the school. Recent improvements include the introduction of procedures to track pupils’ progress more systematically. However, leadership is satisfactory rather than good because the monitoring of teaching and learning has not been rigorous enough to identify all areas where they could be improved. Too much responsibility rests on the headteacher alone to monitor quality. Work has started on developing the role of subject leaders but, currently, staff are not sufficiently involved in monitoring standards or the quality of teaching and learning. The school is satisfactorily placed to improve in the future.

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Leadership and management

Self-evaluation is satisfactory. Action plans are well focused upon improving pupils’ outcomes. The governing body, parents and carers are very supportive although they are not sufficiently aware of where improvements could be made to ensure that pupils achieve the best possible outcomes. The governing body ensures that the school’s arrangements for safeguarding meet requirements.

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Leadership and management

Good progress has been made on extending pupils’ understanding of the richness and diversity of the world, which was an area for improvement in the last inspection. The curriculum is broad and balanced, and is effective at promoting pupils’ spiritual, social, moral and cultural development. Good links have been established with schools in Birmingham and in Uganda. The issue of marking which was raised at the last inspection, however, has not been sufficiently addressed. Promoting equality is satisfactory rather than good because of the inequalities in teaching and learning. The school’s approach to tackling discrimination is good.

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Leadership and management

The professional development and performance management of teachers have a high profile. Both have had a positive impact on improving teachers’ knowledge of teaching phonics and on pupils’ reading standards. There are plans to ensure that all teaching assistants have the same opportunities to further their professional development.

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Leadership and management

The management of special educational needs throughout the school is good. Consequently, the needs of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs are met adequately. Links with neighbouring schools are well established. A good initiative is the joint employment of a group of counsellors to support pupils across the cluster.

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Leadership and management

The school’s ethos is very good. It is a happy school. Parents and carers say that their children enjoy coming to school and pupils say the same.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding These features are highly effective. An outstanding school provides exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. Grade 2 Good These are very positive features of a school. A school that is good is serving its pupils well. Grade 3 Satisfactory These features are of reasonable quality. A satisfactory school is providing adequately for its pupils. Grade 4 Inadequate These features are not of an acceptable standard. An inadequate school needs to make significant improvement in order to meet the needs of its pupils. Ofsted inspectors will make further visits until it improves.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Nursery schools 54 42 2 2 Primary schools 14 49 32 6 Secondary schools 20 39 34 7 Special schools 33 45 20 3 Pupil referral units 9 55 28 8 All schools 16 47 31 6

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

New school inspection arrangements have been introduced from 1 January 2012. This means that inspectors make judgements that were not made previously. The data in the table above are for the period 1 September to 31 December 2011 and represent judgements that were made under the school inspection arrangements that were introduced on 1 September 2009. These data are consistent with the latest published official statistics about maintained school inspection outcomes (see www.ofsted.gov.uk ). The sample of schools inspected during 2010/11 was not representative of all schools nationally, as weaker schools are inspected more frequently than good or outstanding schools. Primary schools include primary academy converters. Secondary schools include secondary academy converters, sponsor-led academies and city technology colleges. Special schools include special academy converters and non-maintained special schools.

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Type of school Outstanding Good Satisfactory Inadequate

Percentages are rounded and do not always add exactly to 100.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Achievement: the progress and success of a pupil in their learning and development taking account of their attainment.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Attainment: the standard of the pupils’ work shown by test and examination results and in lessons.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Attendance: the regular attendance of pupils at school and in lessons, taking into account the school’s efforts to encourage good attendance.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Behaviour: how well pupils behave in lessons, with emphasis on their attitude to learning. Pupils’ punctuality to lessons and their conduct around the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Capacity to improve: the proven ability of the school to continue improving based on its self-evaluation and what the school has accomplished so far and on the quality of its systems to maintain improvement.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Floor standards: the national minimum expectation of attainment and progression measures.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Leadership and management: the contribution of all the staff with responsibilities, not just the governors and headteacher, to identifying priorities, directing and motivating staff and running the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Learning: how well pupils acquire knowledge, develop their understanding, learn and practise skills and are developing their competence as learners.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Overall effectiveness: inspectors form a judgement on a school’s overall effectiveness based on the findings from their inspection of the school.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Progress: the rate at which pupils are learning in lessons and over longer periods of time. It is often measured by comparing the pupils’ attainment at the end of a key stage with their attainment when they started.

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Common terminology used by inspectors

Safety: how safe pupils are in school, including in lessons; and their understanding of risks. Pupils’ freedom from bullying and harassment. How well the school promotes safety, for example e-learning.

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carers to share with their children. It describes Ofsted’s

main findings from the inspection of their school.

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Inspection of Hauxton Primary School, Cambridge CB22 5HY

Thank you for welcoming me when I came to visit your school recently. I enjoyed talking to you and coming into your classrooms. I particularly enjoyed hearing some of you read because you obviously love reading and you read well. Your teachers are good at teaching you to become good readers.

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Inspection of Hauxton Primary School, Cambridge CB22 5HY

Your school provides a satisfactory education and is a happy school. I could tell that you really enjoy working with a partner and was particularly impressed to listen to some of the oldest pupils having a really good discussion about square numbers and factors. I hope, now, that you will focus on writing so that you do as well in writing as in reading. I have suggested to your teachers that they give you more opportunities to practise your writing skills in subjects such as science, history and geography. Please don’t forget to check your spelling too and to ensure that your work is neat and well presented. Some of you said that you did not know your targets, so I have suggested that your teachers check them with you and that they give you lots of advice on how to improve your work when they mark it. You have such good opportunities to join clubs and I especially loved hearing about the young film-makers club.

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Inspection of Hauxton Primary School, Cambridge CB22 5HY

All of you are making at least satisfactory progress but some of you could make even faster progress if you were given more challenges. Those of you who find learning a bit more difficult receive lots of good help from the adults who work with you.

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Inspection of Hauxton Primary School, Cambridge CB22 5HY

Pupils in the Reception/Year 1 class have a lovely new outside area and it was good to see you enjoying playing on the new apparatus and equipment. I hope you will have lots of opportunities to use the outside area for learning.

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Inspection of Hauxton Primary School, Cambridge CB22 5HY

Tricia Pritchard Lead inspector procedures set out in the guidance 'Complaining about inspections', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234 , or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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