Hayes School

Hayes School Hayes Road, Paignton, Devon, TQ4 5PJ

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Not previously inspected 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.  Pupils make good progress and achieve well during their time at Hayes School because teaching is good, and some is outstanding.  Children make good progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage, often from low starting points, thanks to the carefully planned activities which meet their needs. The vibrant and wide-ranging resources and activities provided in the Nursery make a strong contribution to the children’s overall development.  Pupils are making faster progress than in previous years in reading and mathematics, reaching standards which are broadly average at the end of Year 6. Progress in writing is not as good and attainment is not as high.  Leaders, including governors, improved the quality of teaching since the school opened by bringing in a new system to check pupils’ progress and ensure that all achieve well.  As a result, teachers’ lessons are closely matched to individual pupils’ needs and

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

interests. This has ensured that pupils with special educational needs and those who benefit from the pupil premium make similar progress to their peers.  A powerful moral code permeates the school, based upon respect between all members of the school community and insistence upon equal opportunities for all.  Pupils’ behaviour is good and well managed by staff. Pupils say they feel well cared for.  Music is an absolute strength of the school. Pupils show immense enthusiasm and engagement, and the combination of their singing and use of instruments is stunning.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because:

 Leaders do not always use the new systems for checking the school’s work well enough to bring about rapid improvement, especially in writing.  Achievement in writing is not as good as in reading or mathematics and pupils do not have enough opportunities for writing in different subjects.

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Information about this inspection

 The majority of pupils from Year 6 were away on a residential visit during the inspection.  The whole school was involved in Arts Week during the inspection, which meant that classes were not following their usual timetables.  Inspectors observed 21 lessons or parts of lessons, some of which were joint observations with senior leaders. It was not possible to see mathematics being taught during the two days of inspection. However, inspectors looked carefully at the pupils’ mathematics books, especially Year 6.  The inspectors also looked at pupils’ work in books in a range of other subjects as well as that displayed in classrooms and corridors.  Inspectors listened to pupils’ reading from Years 1 and 2 and held a meeting with a group of pupils to gather their thoughts about the school.  The inspectors held meetings with senior leaders to discuss many aspects of their work, including monitoring the quality of teaching, pupils’ progress in literacy and numeracy, the

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Information about this inspection

progress of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs, and provision and progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage. Portfolios of pupils' work provided by other staff were also examined.  Inspectors scrutinised school documentation, including monitoring records of the quality of teaching, the school’s data on pupils’ progress, the school improvement plan and minutes of governing body meetings. Inspectors also looked at the school’s records on behaviour, attendance and safeguarding.  A meeting was held with the Chair of the Governing Body.  Information from the 45 responses to Parent View was taken into account, as well as the opinions of many parents and carers spoken to, and one letter received.  In addition, inspectors took account of the 53 responses to the staff questionnaire.

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Inspection team

Anne Newall, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Robert Arnold Additional Inspector Marian Marks Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 Hayes School is a larger than average sized primary academy. The Early Years Foundation Stage includes nursery provision.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs supported through school action is well above the national average. The proportion supported at school action plus or with statement of special educational needs is twice the national average. These needs relate mainly to speech, language and communication, or to social, emotional or behavioural difficulties.  The vast majority of pupils are of White British background.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium, which is the funding provided by the government to support pupils eligible for free school meals, those in the care of the local authority and children of service families, is higher than average.  Hayes School converted to become an academy school on 1 April 2011. When its predecessor

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Information about this school

school, Hayes Primary School, was last inspected by Ofsted, it was judged to be good.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in English and mathematics in Year 6.  There is a pre-school on the school site, which is not managed by the governing body and is inspected separately.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Use the new systems for checking the effectiveness of the school’s work more effectively to bring about rapid improvement, especially in writing.  Raise achievement in writing by improving pupils’ presentation and providing them with more opportunities to develop their writing skills in different subjects.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Children often join the Early Years Foundation Stage Nursery with levels of development which are well below those expected for their age. Many have speech and language difficulties. They are well supported by skilled staff and as a result make good progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage, although overall children are still below the expected level of development on entry to Year 1.  The pupils’ knowledge of phonics (letters and the sounds they make) has improved and is now good in the Early Years Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 because of the implementation of a rigorous system for teaching it. This has also resulted in improved achievement in reading throughout the school.  Pupils’ good progress continues in Key Stage 1, and the standards reached have improved year on year since the school became an academy and are now broadly average in reading, writing and mathematics. There was a particular improvement in reading and mathematics in 2012.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 A similar picture was seen in Key Stage 2 in 2012, with an improvement seen in both the progress made and the standards achieved by pupils in English and mathematics compared to the previous year. Progress in mathematics was significantly above that found nationally.  Rates of progress in reading and mathematics have increased throughout the school due to the introduction of more accurate assessment systems which help teachers to identify which pupils need additional support and to put it in place.  Disabled pupils, those with special educational needs and those eligible for support from the pupil premium, are also benefiting from more rigorous assessment because teachers are more closely matching learning activities to their needs. As a consequence, they make at least as much progress as other pupils in the school. While there was a gap of approximately one year in attainment between those entitled to pupil premium support and other pupils as measured by

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The achievement of pupils is good

their average points scores in English and mathematics at the end of Key Stage 2 in 2011, the gap had virtually disappeared in 2012.  However, pupils' achievement in writing lags behind their achievement in reading and mathematics in Key Stage 2. Although the school has developed initiatives aimed at improving this situation they have yet to be implemented. There are presently missed opportunities in the curriculum to develop pupils’ writing skills in other subject areas and, while the presentation of their written work in English is very good, this is not the case in other subjects.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching is typically good, and some is outstanding. The strengths in teaching include teachers’ good subject knowledge, and clear explanations to pupils about what they will be learning.  In the best teaching, for example an outstanding phonics lesson in Year 2, pupils of all abilities were enthused by the activities, which were carefully matched to give them just enough challenge so that they could achieve the task. Skilful monitoring by the teacher and the help of additional adults ensured all pupils made excellent progress.  The teaching of music is outstanding, with all pupils in the school benefiting from specialist teaching. As a result, pupils become skilful musicians and singers, with their own Marimba band which performs regularly to the local and wider community. The self-esteem and confidence they display in their music lessons transfers into other lessons, developing confident and

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The quality of teaching is good

articulate young people.  There is, in addition, a strong focus on collaborative learning which helps pupils to enjoy their lessons and achieve in partnership with others. Pupils said that they enjoy collaborative learning, because: ‘We get to work with people that we usually wouldn’t be with’ and ‘We learn from each other because some people are better at things than others.’  This approach has developed pupils’ ability to talk about their learning. In an outstanding Year 4 English lesson on poetry, pupils were challenged to identify phrases that they liked and explain their thinking to the class. They were highly motivated and achieved well.  The work of a visiting artist, supported by the class teacher, enabled pupils in a Year 3 class to develop their skills in a range of artistic techniques at the same time as reflecting on the story ‘The Rainbow Fish’ where sharing and friendship lead to happiness. This is just one example of

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The quality of teaching is good

many in the school where pupils are given opportunities to deepen their spiritual and cultural understanding.  Teachers’ subject knowledge is good and the work in pupils’ books shows that they build pupils’ skills steadily. Although there is a range of marking styles in use in different classes, marking of pupils’ work is usually of high quality, giving pupils clear advice on how to improve.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The pupils are courteous and well-mannered towards each other and adults in school. The powerful moral code and culture of respect and courtesy which permeates the school ensures that there is no discrimination, and all pupils have equal opportunity to participate in all activities.  Pupils behave extremely well in lessons which fully engage them. On occasion, when the pace of learning slows, a few pupils show some off-task behaviour.  Pupils say they feel very safe and secure. They know about different types of bullying, including racist and cyber bullying. Pupils spoken to said there was no bullying in school, but if there was it would quickly be sorted out. A small minority of parents who responded to Parent View were concerned about behaviour and bullying, but the vast majority, including those spoken to during the inspection, felt that behaviour was good and well managed, and were unaware of any

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

bullying.  The school’s behaviour log shows that incidents are carefully managed, with support given to the small minority of pupils whose behaviour causes concern to enable them to deal with their emotions.  Friendship benches are a successful way for fostering good relationships between pupils. They encourage pupils to let others know that they would like some company, and pupils say they like having the benches ‘just in case’: ‘If ever you’re sad or upset, someone will come and talk to you.’  Attendance has improved in recent years and is now average.  The site manager carries out a daily site inspection to ensure the school is always safe and secure.

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The leadership and management are good

 The senior leaders know their school well and have established a culture where every pupil is valued and has the opportunity to succeed.  Leaders have introduced a thorough procedure for assessing the progress that pupils make. It is this which has been the major improvement factor enabling teachers to target groups of pupils and individuals for additional interventions. It has also enabled teachers to be more precise in what they teach their pupils, so that gaps in learning are eliminated.  There are clear systems in place for monitoring and evaluating the work of the school. However, there are occasions when they are not always sufficiently rigorous enough to ensure that every opportunity which could be taken to improve the school's performance is taken quickly enough to result in even better achievement for the pupils; for example, improving pupils' achievement in writing in Key Stage 2.  Leaders use performance management and professional development well, matching individual

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The leadership and management are good

teachers’ needs with the school’s needs so that appropriate training can be given. The school’s monitoring records show that this has resulted in more good and outstanding teaching.  The vast majority of parents and carers are highly supportive of the school and believe it is well led and managed.  The curriculum is broad and balanced, and makes excellent use of musical and artistic opportunities for the pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.  The improvements made since the academy opened are clear indications of the school's capacity for further improvement.  The governance of the school: The governing body supports the school well and governors have an accurate idea of the school's strengths and also of those areas in need of further development. The performance of the headteacher and staff is checked regularly against challenging targets for pupils’ progress. Governors also make regular checks to ensure that the pupil premium funding is used to best

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The leadership and management are good

effect and what difference it is making to the achievement of those pupils entitled to receive it. Governors receive regular reports from the headteacher about the quality of teaching and pupils' achievement and these ensure that governors have an accurate understanding of how the school's performance compares to that of other similar schools nationally. These reports also help to ensure that governors are able to ask searching questions if the school's actions to improve its effectiveness are not as successful as they should be. Governors understand the performance management cycle within the school and its impact upon improving the quality of teaching, especially how teachers' pay is aligned to their performance in the classroom. Individual governors visit the school regularly and understand how the school operates day to day and, as a consequence, are well informed about all the school’s activities. In addition,

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The leadership and management are good

governors undertake appropriate training to ensure they are kept up to date about the requirements of their role.

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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 136648 Local authority Devon Inspection number 412334

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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 Academy converter School category Maintained Age range of pupils 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 442 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Colin Peters Headteacher Malcolm Wright Date of previous school inspection Not previously inspected Telephone number 01803 557336 Fax number 01803 664829 Email address admin@hayes.torbay.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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