Hazel Grove Primary School

Hazel Grove Primary School Chapel Street, Hazel Grove, Stockport, Cheshire SK7 4JH

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 This inspection: Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is a good school.  Attainment in reading, writing and mathematics is above average. Pupils make good progress in these subjects because staff provide stimulating learning activities and emphasise the importance of developing skills.  Teaching is good overall and teachers use resources effectively to support learning. The additional support for pupils who require extra help with their learning is well focused to ensure their progress.  Pupils’ behaviour is good and they feel safe. They say that incidents of bullying are rare and are dealt with quickly. They are happy, enjoy school, display positive attitudes and good relationships exist between staff and pupils.  Leaders have improved systems for tracking pupils’ progress and have correctly identified areas which require further improvement.  The school works well as a united community and is highly regarded by parents and carers.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 The governing body does not consistently check the school’s progress in sufficient detail.  Plans for the school’s development are ambitious but systems to check and measure the school’s progress lack clarity in places.  The curriculum offered across the school does not consistently take into account the interests of pupils.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 18 lessons taught by ten teachers.  Meetings were held with groups of pupils, representatives from the governing body, members of staff and representatives from the local authority.  Inspectors took account of the 12 responses to the on-line questionnaire (Parent View). They spoke to parents and carers informally when they brought their children to school.  A range of documentation was scrutinised, including the school development plan, pupils’ work, progress data, minutes of governing body meetings, attendance data and safeguarding records.

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Inspection team

Jane Millward, Lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector Allan Torr Her Majesty’s Inspector Mary Lanovy-Taylor Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Hazel Grove is larger than other schools of the same type. The proportion of pupils supported through school action and school action plus or with a statement of educational needs is above average.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium is similar to that found in most schools.  The proportions of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds and of those learning English as an additional language are below average.  The school exceeds the current floor standard, which sets the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.  Since the last inspection the governing body has appointed a new headteacher who has been in post since September 2012.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Further develop the ways in which the governing body holds the school to account and monitors the work of all leaders.  Take more account of pupils’ interests and needs to enhance the breadth and balance of the school’s planned curriculum.  Further improve the capacity of leaders at all levels by:  developing methods for monitoring and evaluation so that the school’s improvements can be tracked and measured more accurately.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Parents and carers agree that pupils make good progress at Hazel Grove. ‘The school is just filled with fun and laughter.’ ‘I don’t think the school can be improved, from the smiling faces of the children, to the welcoming office staff or indeed any adult that walks past.’ These are some of the common views held by parents and carers from a recent school parental survey. This positive view of the school was also held by pupils who said they enjoyed school and make good progress.  Children enter the school with skills expected for their age. They make good progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage because they consolidate their understanding and build on their skills and knowledge. For example, in an exciting ‘making marks’ session, children chose from a variety of paint, chalk and pom-poms. Children’s independence and social development are promoted particularly well.  Pupils in Key Stage 1 progressively build on their prior knowledge. Children read with fluency

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The achievement of pupils is good

and expression and they read widely and regularly. For example, pupils enthusiastically learnt about books and authors with parents and carers during the exciting weekly reading workshop.  When pupils leave the school at the end of Year 6, standards are above average in reading, writing and mathematics. This represents good achievement given their starting points.  Disabled pupils, those who have special educational needs and those for whom the pupil premium provides support, make good progress. This is because teachers identify pupils’ needs quickly and construct well-focused individualised support. Teachers and support staff work effectively together to ensure the needs of pupils in these groups are well met.  Overall, pupils attain above average standards at Hazel Grove because teachers build pupils’ confidence, self-esteem and increase their knowledge and understanding in reading, writing and

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The quality of teaching is good

 The overall quality of teaching over time is good and as a result pupils make good progress. As one pupil told an inspector, ‘Everything is great around the school!’ This view was echoed by almost all parents and carers through surveys and when asked by inspectors. Parents believe that their children are taught well.  Performance management is focused on improving teaching and learning and is informed by lesson observations and monitoring. From September this year monitoring of teachers’ work is linked to the published Teachers’ Standards.  Generally, lessons meet the pupils’ needs. However, due to some variability in the quality of teaching, pupils’ progress is uneven between year groups and subjects.  Teaching assistants are usually well deployed and make a positive difference to pupils’ learning but there is some variation in their practice. Most ask pertinent questions to guide and support

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The quality of teaching is good

pupils and as a result the pupils are successful in their learning. Successful support is most noticeable for the pupils who are in receipt of the pupil premium or have particular educational needs. As one pupil said, ‘work is not too easy and not too hard.’  Some teachers aim to make learning fun, lively and interesting, to capture pupils’ interest, imagination and enthusiasm for learning. For example, in a nursery lesson, children made outstanding progress and learnt about numbers to ten by ‘feeding’ a piece of play equipment known as the ‘crazy counting caterpillar.’  In the better lessons, teachers question pupils well to extend their learning. Pupils are active learners and teachers’ good use of resources enable pupils to make good progress. Pupils in these lessons are motivated, interested and respond well to activities. However, in some lessons during the inspection, opportunities were missed to extend pupils’ thinking because activities did

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The quality of teaching is good

not provide enough challenge and were sometimes too reliant on the completion of low-level worksheets.  Teachers’ marking of pupils’ work supports them making progress. Teachers provide pupils with guidance of how to improve their work as well as celebrating what they have done well.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils’ attitudes to learning are positive. They work hard and are keen to learn. Pupils behave well in lessons and around school. They cooperate well together and are polite and courteous. They are proud of their school and treat school property with respect.  The caring attitude shown by all staff is a strong feature and is promoted effectively through positive relationships between staff and pupils. A few pupils find good behaviour difficult but these occasions are well managed by all staff. Individual support for pupils’ personal needs help pupils to understand and control their emotional responses. They enjoy the safe and caring haven of the ‘rainbow room.’  Pupils told the inspectors that they feel safe and well cared for. ‘We have two big gates and lots of people who help us,’ was a response from one pupil. They show a good awareness of the different types of bullying; including cyber bullying and they know how to keep themselves safe.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

The school responds quickly and effectively in tackling all forms of bullying such as racism and the occasional instances of homophobic language. As one pupil told an inspector, ‘No-one gets away with it!’  Attendance is average and improving. Leaders have also reduced the number of pupils who are persistently absent. The school is closing the gap of attendance levels re is a gap, between the attendance of pupils who receive the pupil premium, and those with a disability or have special educational needs with their peers, which the school is closing.

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The leadership and management are good

 The recently appointed headteacher has quickly gained an accurate view of the school and has shown high levels of ambition and drive to improve outcomes for all pupils. She has gained the confidence of the staff and has astute plans to support school development. Roles and responsibilities have been allocated and the headteacher is improving the way leadership is spread throughout the school.  The headteacher has improved pupil tracking procedures and as a result, those who need extra help are quickly identified and receive targeted support. This level of scrutiny is having a positive effect on the achievement of pupils who are falling behind and on pupils who receive support through the pupil premium.  Leaders ensure that pupils’ social, moral, spiritual and cultural development, their behaviour and the development of their wider personal skills, continue to be positive features of the school.

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The leadership and management are good

Pupils cooperate well and show respect for each other, reflecting the particular strengths in their social and moral development.  The school development plan identifies an agenda for improvement, based on accurate self- evaluation. However, the ways in which this work is monitored and evaluated are not as clear as they might be.  Leaders work hard to reduce any variations in the quality of teaching. Plans have been developed by the headteacher to introduce a new system for managing teachers’ performance to bring about further improvements.  The school has been a ‘light touch’ for the local authority. Its limited involvement has been due to the school’s success in getting pupils’ attainment to above average at the end of Key Stage 2. A range of partnerships support the school, for example, working with the local authority to improve attendance rates.  The curriculum ensures that pupils build their skills of reading, writing and mathematics. There

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The leadership and management are good

are some good additional elements to the curriculum such as theme days and weeks which enhance the pupils’ experiences, for example European Day where each class studies a different European country and a week looking at the school and the community over the past 100 years. However, the school acknowledges further work is needed to ensure the curriculum takes more account of pupils’ interests over a range of subjects.  Middle leaders monitor their subjects and take an active role in evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of key areas. For example, in science the subject leader has monitored lessons, examined pupils’ work and has worked alongside teachers to improve the quality of science teaching. However, in some cases subject leaders have not been able to monitor in as much depth and therefore have not had a strong impact on improving teaching and outcomes.  All safeguarding procedures meet statutory requirements. Leaders promote equality within the

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The leadership and management are good

school community and are proactive in tackling all forms of discrimination.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  Governors are enthusiastic, supportive and offer practical advice to the school. However, governors do not have the means to measure accurately the effectiveness of the school’s improvements over time.

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding An outstanding school is highly effective in delivering outcomes that provide exceptionally well for all its pupils’ needs. This ensures that pupils are very well equipped for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 2 Good A good school is effective in delivering outcomes that provide well for all its pupils’ needs. Pupils are well prepared for the next stage of their education, training or employment. Grade 3 Requires improvement A school that requires improvement is not yet a good school, but it is not inadequate. This school will receive a full inspection within 24 months from the date of this inspection. Grade 4 Inadequate A school that has serious weaknesses is inadequate overall and requires significant improvement but leadership and management are judged to be Grade 3 or better. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors. A school that requires special measures is one where the school is

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Grade Judgement Description

failing to give its pupils an acceptable standard of education and the school’s leaders, managers or governors have not demonstrated that they have the capacity to secure the necessary improvement in the school. This school will receive regular monitoring by Ofsted inspectors.

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School details

Unique reference number 106099 Local authority Stockport Inspection number 403000

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School details

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

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School details

Type of school Primary School category Community Age range of pupils 3 - 11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 288 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Dr Keith Harrington Headteacher Ms Anna Roche Date of previous school inspection 10 – 11 October 2007 Telephone number 0161 483 3699 Fax number 0161 483 3699 Email address headteacher@hazelgrove-pri.stockport.sch.uk guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', 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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School details

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 and as part of the inspection.

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School details

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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School details

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 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

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School details

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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School details

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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