Hoddlesden St Paul's Church of England Primary School

Hoddlesden St. Paul’s Church of England Primary School Bayne Street, Hoddlesden, Darwen, Lancashire, BB3 3NH

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 This inspection: Outstanding 1 Achievement of pupils Outstanding 1 Quality of teaching Outstanding 1 Behaviour and safety of pupils Outstanding 1 Leadership and management Outstanding 1

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

This is an outstanding school.  Pupils acquire a love of learning at this happy school. Their achievement is outstanding throughout their time in school and they leave with standards of attainment that are well above average. Pupils’ exceptional progress in literacy and numeracy is excellent preparation for their future.  Teaching is outstanding. Classrooms buzz with excitement. Pupils say lessons are fun and they respond eagerly to the stimulating activities teachers provide. Teachers organise classrooms very well but outdoor facilities for children in the Reception class are limited and difficult to access.  Behaviour is outstanding. Pupils are exceptionally polite, helpful and always eager to do their very best.  The headteacher’s excellent leadership is unfaltering in expecting the very best for every pupil. All staff share this relentless drive for improvement and teamwork is excellent.  Leadership is outstanding at all levels. All

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

teachers are eager to lead and are highly committed in everything they do.  Methods for checking on the quality of teaching and pupils’ progress are exemplary. Teachers are helped to become even better through excellent training. Consequently, since the last inspection teaching has improved strongly.  There is excellent support and challenge from the governing body. Parents are highly supportive and say their children are well taught and safe. One summed it up by saying, ‘the school is brilliant’.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors observed teaching in all classes and saw 14 lessons.  The inspectors looked at the work in pupils’ books to get a view of their current achievement and progress over time. They did this jointly with the headteacher and senior leaders. Inspectors spoke to groups of pupils to get their view of, among other things, how teaching helps them to learn and what they think about behaviour in the school.  The inspectors took account of 29 responses from parents to the on-line questionnaire (Parent View).  Meetings were held with five members of the governing body, teaching and classroom support staff and a representative from the local authority.  The inspectors looked at a number of documents, including the school’s self-evaluation, records of the quality of teaching, the improvement plan, provisional results in 2012 of standardised assessment tasks, and the school’s tracking of pupils’ progress.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors listened to pupils read and checked the school’s records of reading progress.

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Inspection team

David Law, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Patricia Davies Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 This is a smaller than average sized primary school. The Early Years Foundation Stage consists of one Reception class.  Most pupils are from White British backgrounds. A small proportion of pupils are from other ethnic backgrounds. The percentage speaking English as an additional language is well-below average.  Staff have identified a smaller than average proportion of pupils who are supported through school action because they have a disability or special educational needs.  A below average proportion of pupils have a statement of special educational needs or are supported at school action plus.  The proportion of pupils supported through the pupil premium is smaller than average. The pupil premium is extra funding for pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals, are looked after by the local authority or are children of families in the services.  The school exceeds the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum

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Information about this school

expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve provision for outdoor learning for Reception class pupils by:  devising a strategy for outdoor learning that is consistent with the new Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum, and including it in the school improvement plan  making visits to other schools and early years providers to gather further ideas about what could be done  in the shorter term, investing in resources such as specific items of early learning equipment to support learning through play outdoors.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 All groups of pupils have equal opportunity to learn and all make outstanding progress through the school. Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs make excellent progress because work is set at the right level. Pupil premium funding is used well to provide extra teaching, and eligible pupils reach higher standards than similar pupils nationally and make the same excellent progress as others in the school. Pupils who speak English as an additional language also make outstanding progress, particularly in reading.  Most children join the Reception class with skills, knowledge and understanding below those typical for their age. Excellent induction helps them to settle quickly and make rapid progress. Giggles of excitement were heard when children were learning ‘tricky words’ and the teacher handed out fancy hats to ‘the very best learners’.  Pupils enter Year 1 having reached at least expected levels for their age and many exceed this.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

Excellent progress continues throughout Key Stage 1. By the end of Year 2, standards of attainment are well-above average in reading, writing and mathematics. The proportion reaching the higher level is above that seen nationally.  Pupils at Key Stage 1 make very brisk progress in learning to read and write, showing an excellent knowledge of letters and sounds. They love to read and eagerly talk about stories they enjoy, like one pupil who happily recalled the adventures of ‘The Jolly Postman’.  Pupils progress exceptionally well in mathematics. In one Year 2 lesson, pupils showed an excellent ability to solve challenging problems involving place value, and they persistently thought through their answers.  Outstanding progress continues at Key Stage 2. Pupils apply their reading, writing and mathematical skills very well. In one geography lesson, pupils read the atlas to locate major oceans and then accessed the internet to find out why the sea is warmer at the equator.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 Pupils across Key Stage 2 read widely and enthusiastically. They show a thorough understanding of what they read. One pupil gave a telling analysis of how Dr Jekyll was appalled at the actions of his other-self, Mr Hyde.  Writing skills are acquired at a brisk rate. By the end of Year 6, most pupils can draft interesting work in a range of styles. For example, pupils used their writing skills exceptionally well to record science experiments and describe how to make an Egyptian death mask.  By the end of Year 6, standards of attainment in reading, writing and mathematics are well above those seen nationally. In the 2012 Year 6 tests and assessments, all pupils reached at least the expected level in both English and mathematics and the majority went beyond this. Year 6 test results in English rose strongly in 2012, reflecting the school’s successful efforts to improve pupils’ writing.  Mathematics is particularly strong. Pupils do exceptionally well because they can solve problems

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

and apply thinking skills. Year 6 pupils showed excellent reasoning when working out algebraic equations.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 Outstanding teaching helps pupils to make excellent progress over time. All classrooms are alive with the sound of eager pupils learning at a brisk pace.  Talented teachers enable pupils to acquire a very positive attitude to learning. Consequently, pupils try their very best, cooperate exceptionally well and are resilient, independent learners.  Pupils describe their teachers as ‘fantastic’ and ‘inspiring’ and they say that they learn ‘lots of fun things’. They say teachers’ marking helps them to learn and, if work is difficult, teachers always sort out the problem.  Teachers foster excellent relations between pupils. This contributes well to pupils’ social and personal development: one pupil voiced the view of others by saying, ‘they look after us like we are their own children.’  Both literacy and mathematics are exceptionally well taught and the teaching of reading is excellent. This explains why all pupils make such strong progress in their reading.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 Lessons cater for all abilities and everyone has an equal chance to learn. Teachers are adept at pitching work at the right level, skilful in explaining what pupils should do and astute in assessing their progress. The excellent marking of books shows pupils how to improve.  Lessons are efficiently organised so learning proceeds smoothly. Teaching assistants are deployed well. In one excellent Year 1 lesson, the teaching assistant helped pupils with special educational needs to make rapid progress in solving number problems.  Access to outdoor learning for children in the Reception class is restricted due to the configuration of the building and limited outdoor space. Staff manage things as well as they can on a day-to-day basis but the movement of children from activities indoors to those outside is difficult and space outside is too confined.  Teachers make sure that more-able pupils are challenged and consequently they make rapid

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

progress. In one Year 6 lesson, more-able pupils, skilfully challenged by the teacher’s questions, went on to confidently solve decimal multiplication and division problems.  Teachers devise interesting ways for pupils to apply their reading, writing and mathematical skills. For example, Year 6 pupils used their writing skills to explain a scientific investigation involving salt crystals. Computers are frequently deployed to research topics and pupils are very capable users, for example when they wrote a short report with star ratings after a visit to a museum.  Teaching has improved since the last inspection. Training to improve the use of assessment means this is now excellent. All teachers have a secure grasp of what pupils can do and what they need to improve, and pupils are fully aware of their personal targets.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 The school has a welcoming ambience and pupils feel entirely safe. All groups of pupils get on exceedingly well together and the atmosphere is friendly and harmonious. School records show that bullying is extremely rare but pupils have a strong grasp of different types of bullying and how to keep safe because the school has a programme to teach them about this.  Behaviour in lessons and around the school is excellent and pupils are courteous, friendly and eager to help each other. This supports strong progress in learning. Pupils know the rules, understand why they are there and take pride in following them.  Pupils enjoy taking responsibility and have many chances to do so, as members of the school council, play leaders at break times or in doing important jobs around the school such as organising the music during assembly.  Attendance is well above average and there is no persistent absence. Pupils are eager to get into

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

lessons after break because learning is such fun.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 Expectations and morale are both high and everybody supports the clear vision of the headteacher. She has led a relentless drive to improve teaching and achievement and both are now better than at the last inspection. This has been achieved because of the headteacher’s ability to lead in a clear, well-thought-through manner yet be decisive and tenacious in the interest of all pupils.  The headteacher’s outstanding leadership is complemented by excellent support from the deputy headteacher and special needs coordinator. Their outstanding teaching is a model for others. All teachers are keen to lead aspects of the school’s work and they do this extremely well.  There are excellent methods for checking the quality of teaching, managing the performance of teachers and reviewing the progress of pupils. Lessons are observed, pupils’ work is regularly looked at and their progress is carefully checked. All this underpins the outstanding achievement

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The leadership and management are outstanding

attained by all groups of pupils. One parent captured it well by saying, ‘children make great progress’.  A comprehensive training programme links to teachers’ individual needs and school priorities. The focus is to sustain and improve pupils’ achievement. Consequently, teaching is refreshed by new practice and innovative ideas.  All leaders and governors are highly ambitious to sustain high achievement and make learning exciting. Visits to museums, sports coaching and music-making enliven learning and capture the imagination of pupils and teachers alike.  Excellent provision is made for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, particularly through strong links with the church and local community. Pupils learn and play in harmony because leaders nurture excellent relationships and make sure discrimination is tackled and there is equal opportunity for all pupils to flourish.  Leaders and governors manage the budget well. Pupil premium funding provides additional

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The leadership and management are outstanding

teaching and pupils in receipt of this achieve as well as others in the school. However, leaders and governors alike recognise the need to further improve facilities for outdoor learning in the Early Years Foundation Stage.  Leaders and governors value the support of the local authority and are particularly grateful for the way in which this enables links to be made with other schools.  The governance of the school:  governors are proud of their school. Since the last inspection, they have improved how they check on teaching and have developed a good knowledge of how well teachers do their work  they have put robust systems in place to make sure decisions about pay and performance are well informed  they support the headteacher well in managing staff performance and are able to challenge if they think achievement needs to improve because they are knowledgeable about how well pupils are doing  they make sure that safeguarding requirements are met.

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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 119455 Local authority Blackburn with Darwen Inspection number 403389

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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 Voluntary aided Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 173 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Steve Collinson Headteacher Bernadette Bickerton Date of previous school inspection 13 November 2007 Telephone number 01254 701940 Fax number 01254 707390 Email address st.pauls.hoddlesden@blackburn.gov.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

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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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