Mill Hill Community Primary School

Mill Hill Community Primary School Crosby Road, Northallerton, North Yorkshire, DL6 1AE

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Satisfactory 3 This inspection: Requires improvement 3 Achievement of pupils Requires improvement 3 Quality of teaching Requires improvement 3 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Leadership and management Requires improvement 3

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This is a school that requires improvement. It is not good because

 Standards in mathematics are not high enough. Pupils are not always given enough opportunities to practise their basic calculation skills and to move more quickly to more formal methods of calculation.  Pupils are not provided with sufficient opportunities in mathematics lessons to investigate and solve mathematical problems. Mathematical activities do not meet all pupils’ needs or provide sufficient challenge to take them to the next level in their understanding.  Teaching is not consistently good as teachers do not have high enough expectations of what pupils can achieve. Often, time is not used well in lessons for independent work and the pace of learning consequently slows down.  Pupils do not generally know how to be successful in their lessons and marking is not helpful in telling them how to improve sufficiently well.  Leaders do not sufficiently focus on checking on the rate of pupils’ progress, when looking at

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The school has the following strengths

 Children get a good start in the Early Years Foundation Stage as teaching is consistently good there. Children make good progress because the teacher meets their needs well and provides them with stimulating and creative opportunities to learn.  Standards in reading and writing are rising as the school has had a strong focus on improving writing. Pupils now write more fluently and pupils in Years 5 and 6 have good skills. Pupils’ phonics skills are good.  Behaviour is good, including at lunchtimes, as the school provides a range of activities to engage pupils in play. Pupils have a good understanding of how to keep safe and know about different types of bullying.  The determined actions of the headteacher and staff have had an impact on improving behaviour and raising standards in writing. Governors understand the school well and are challenging it to improve at a faster pace.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 22 lessons or parts of lessons, of which one was a joint observation with the headteacher and another with the deputy headteacher.  Inspectors observed groups of pupils working with teaching assistants and specifically listened to Year 2 pupils read, and pupils from other year groups in lessons.  Inspectors talked to a range of pupils, including the school council, about their work and play in school.  Meetings were held with three governors as well as teaching staff, including senior and subject leaders. Discussions were held with a representative from the local authority.  Inspectors took account of 13 responses to the on-line questionnaire (Parent View) when planning the inspection. They also considered staff questionnaires and parental surveys completed by the school.  Inspectors observed the overall work of the school and looked at a number of documents including the school’s data about pupils’ current progress. They also looked at documents

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Information about this inspection

relating to safeguarding, governance, behaviour and attendance.  Inspectors looked at a range of other evidence including school displays, its website, and work representing the school’s wider achievements beyond the classroom.

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Inspection team

David Shearsmith, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Mark Lovell Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is smaller than an average-sized primary school.  An above average proportion of pupils are known to be eligible for the pupil premium which is additional funding for those pupils eligible for free school meals, children in the care of the local authority and children of service families.  An above average proportion of pupils are supported at school action. An average proportion of pupils are supported at school action plus or have a statement of special educational needs.  The majority of pupils are of White British heritage.  The school has achieved the National Healthy School and Sports Mark awards.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics.  The Early Years Foundation Stage is taught in one Reception class.  The school is designated as an Enhanced Mainstream School (EMS) for Communication and

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Information about this school

Interaction. It is a local authority service attached to the school that provides support across the local authority.  The school currently provides before-and-after-school care that is managed by the governing body.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve teaching so that it is at least all good by: - improving the pace and use of time in lessons to accelerate pupils’ progress - providing more opportunities for pupils to learn independently in all lessons so they can work at a faster pace - improving marking so that pupils are given clear points on how to improve their work and given time to correct it - ensuring pupils know how to be successful in lessons so they can check on their own learning and progress - ensuring teachers have higher expectations of what pupils can achieve and provide activities that better match pupils’ individual needs and challenge pupils to do even better in their work.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve standards in mathematics by: - creating more opportunities for pupils to develop their mathematical understanding through investigations and problem solving - promoting more opportunities for pupils to practise their basic mathematical skills of adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing - revising how the school teaches mathematical calculations so that pupils move more rapidly to more formal methods - ensuring the needs of pupils, particularly the more able, are more accurately met in all lessons.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve leadership and management by ensuring that, when leaders at all levels look at lessons and check in books, they have a stronger focus on measuring the rate of pupils’ progress to ensure it is at least good and so they can respond swiftly when it slows.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Standards in mathematics are not high enough and are lower than in reading and writing. Pupils do not have sufficient opportunities to practise their basic mathematical skills regularly or to develop their mathematical understanding through problem solving and investigations. The school’s teaching of mathematics does not ensure that pupils move on to formal calculation methods soon enough. Consequently, they do not reach high enough standards.  Pupils’ mathematical needs are not sufficiently met in all lessons, and this is particularly so for the more-able pupils. Consequently, pupils do not make the same rate of progress as they do in English.  Pupils make expected progress in Key Stage 1 to reach standards that are below average by the end of Year 2. Standards in reading and writing are improving as the school has had a focus on these areas and some pupils are now making good progress. This is not the case in mathematics.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils continue to make only expected progress in Years 3 and 4 because there are inconsistencies in the quality of teaching. By the time pupils leave at the end of Year 6, standards in mathematics are still below average overall. Standards in reading and writing are improving and are closer to the national average.  Children get a good start in the Reception class. They enter with skills below those that are typical for their age. Children have relatively weaker mathematical, as well as reading and writing skills. Children make good progress because teaching is consistently good and their needs are well met.  The school has adopted a systematic approach to teaching reading and the sounds that letters make (phonics). This is being taught well and standards are closer to the national average. In the Year 1 phonics screening check, pupils reached standards that were above the national average. This is due to improved teaching.

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The achievement of pupils requires improvement

 Pupils entitled to the pupil premium, including those known to be eligible for free school meals, also make expected progress. Standards are below what are expected of similar pupils nationally. There is only a small gap in attainment in both English and mathematics between pupils known to be eligible for free school meals and those who are not. The school’s use of support for these pupils is having a positive effect on their attainment and progress.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs also make expected progress and some make good progress. They reach standards that are below what is typical for their age. Some pupils have a wide range of needs and are making good progress from their individual starting points.

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

 Teachers do not have high enough expectations of what pupils can achieve. They do not use time effectively in lessons to ensure that the pace of pupils’ learning and progress is good. Consequently, teaching requires improvement.  Less successful lessons keep pupils listening to the teacher for too long instead of letting them go ahead with their work and learn for themselves. The rate of progress is not fast enough in these lessons.  Where teachers use time well and have high expectations, as seen in a Years 5 and 6 writing lesson, pupils made good progress. The teacher’s lesson was carefully structured. Expectations of what pupils could achieve and the time allowed was challenging for all pupils.  Where pupils do not know how to be successful in lessons they do not make sufficient progress. In a Year 2 writing lesson, more-able pupils were unable to make fast enough progress. They did not have adequate guidance readily available on how to be successful in their lesson so they could

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

work more independently. As a result, they found it difficult to check on their own learning and progress. This hindered them working at a faster pace and to a higher level.  Teachers usually mark pupils work regularly. Marking is most successful where teachers make a very specific point for improvement and give pupils time to improve. This was seen to good effect in some Year 5 and Year 6 writing books. In other work, particularly mathematics, points for improvement were not sufficiently challenging to enable pupils to improve. Time was not given to improve and, as a result, pupils’ progress was slower.  Where work is not sufficiently linked to pupils’ needs or is not suitably challenging, pupils’ rate of progress slows. In a Year 3/4 mathematics lesson on adding money, pupils did not make good progress because work was not sufficiently matched to their needs. The less able found success difficult to achieve as the work was too difficult and so their progress slowed. Conversely, more-

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The quality of teaching requires improvement

able pupils were insufficiently challenged.  Teaching assistants provide good support to pupils with specific needs both in and out of lessons. They are well deployed by teachers and make a positive contribution to the school.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils behave well in this caring school. Relationships are strong and pupils get on well with each other, both in lessons and at playtimes. Pupils work well together in lessons or in groups as well as with partners and say they enjoy learning.  The school manages any challenging behaviour well. The learning mentor provides good support to pupils who, from time to time, need help with relationships and their own behaviour.  Pupils take responsibility at playtime and lunchtime as playground leaders. The school council is also proactive. It has supported improvements to the everyday life of the school.  Lunchtime behaviour has significantly improved. Good support is given at lunchtimes through a wide range of play activities that enables pupils to play together well. Pupils also have access to a before-and-after-school club that gives them a good start to their day in school.  Children get a good start to their time in the Early Years Foundation Stage. In the Reception class,

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

staff members know each child’s personal needs. This ensures that children settle into school quickly. They work and play together harmoniously.  The school’s curriculum gives good support to pupils’ personal development. Regular lessons about this topic and how to relate well to each other underpin the good behaviour in the school.  Although attendance is below average, the school has a range of strategies to improve it further. Pupils say they do enjoy coming to school because of all the interesting things they do. Absences are due to a minority of pupils who do not attend regularly despite the school’s best efforts.  Pupils have a good understanding of what constitutes bullying and say that it does not happen very often. They commented that they do sometimes fall out with each other but, if bullying did occur, they were confident that staff members would help them to sort it out appropriately.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Pupils know how to keep safe in a number of different situations including fire safety and water safety. Some pupils attend an annual special event that promotes and develops pupils’ understanding of acting responsibly in a wide variety of unsafe scenarios.

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The leadership and management requires improvement

 Efforts to improve teaching have not been swift enough. However, the headteacher is determined to ensure pupils achieve well. He works in partnership with, and is supported by, a skilful deputy headteacher and a dedicated staff. They have been successful in improving behaviour and raising standards in writing, although standards in mathematics are still not high enough.  The school regularly checks on its progress and how well it is improving standards. This includes meetings to look at information about pupils’ progress each term. Although leaders in the school check on the quality of lessons and work in books, this does not sufficiently focus on measuring pupils’ progress to ensure the rate is fast enough.  The school has a strong commitment to ensuring pupils have equality of opportunity but is aware that not all pupils are achieving as well as they might.  The school knows itself well and is aware of what it needs to do to improve. Consequently, it has

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The leadership and management requires improvement

identified mathematics and teaching as key areas for improvement. It already has plans in place to improve these areas. The school checks on teachers’ performance in the classroom regularly and all staff receive appropriate training and support.  The curriculum has been evolving over time to meet pupils’ needs, although the mathematics curriculum is still developing. The school has developed opportunities for pupils to write for a purpose in other subjects and this has had a positive impact on pupils’ attitudes to writing.  Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is a growing strength of the school. Pupils relate well to each other and have a developing understanding of other cultures. During an assembly that considered pupils’ attitudes to learning, pupils listened carefully and responded well.  The school has a number of good partnerships. Its partnership with local schools is strong as are

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The leadership and management requires improvement

its links with the service for speech and communication that shares the same building. This has had a very positive impact on the school, particularly in supporting pupils with these specific needs.  The school works hard to encourage parents to engage with the school. The learning mentor supports this well. ‘Family Friday’ and parent drop-in sessions enable parents to link up with the school to support their child’s learning.  The school’s safeguarding procedures meet requirements.  The local authority has provided some good support to this improving school.  The governance of the school:  Governors provide support and challenge. They know the school’s strengths and areas for development as they understand the school’s data. They are appropriately trained and meet their statutory requirements. They hold the headteacher to account and he is appropriately rewarded based on the school’s performance, as are all staff. Governors have been involved in

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The leadership and management requires improvement

checking on how well the school is performing, including knowing about the quality of teaching. They appreciate that the school requires improvement and are ambitious for the school, although they are aware that this improvement is not happening at a fast enough pace. The school budget is managed well and governors know about the pupil premium funding and understand how the money has been used to improve pupils’ progress.

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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 121330 Local authority North Yorkshire Inspection number 406020

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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 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 182 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Sheila Sutton Headteacher Stephen Hanscombe Date of previous school inspection 14 June 2011 Telephone number 01609 772382 Fax number 01609 777617 Email address admin@millhill.n-yorks.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

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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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