Hatch Warren Infant School

Hatch Warren Infant School Gershwin Road, Basingstoke, RG22 4PQ

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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.  Pupils make good progress and reach above average standards.  Teaching is consistently good and at times outstanding. This is because teachers are skilled in using a range of teaching methods that engage and excite the pupils.  Pupils behave well. They feel entirely safe because they are taught how to respect and help one another. They enjoy school, are keen to learn and willingly cooperate when working in groups.  An extensive range of clubs and other activities very effectively supports pupils’ learning and their spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.  School leaders keep a sharp eye on the quality of teaching and carefully track pupils’ progress. They are quick to spot things that need improving. They arrange further training for staff when necessary and provide additional support for any pupils who are falling behind.  Governors know the school and its context well. They are fully involved in reviewing the

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

school’s performance and provide insightful guidance and support.  Parents and carers hold the school in high regard. Typical of their comments was, ‘I would highly recommend this school’ and ‘It’s a great place for children to learn.’

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It is not yet an outstanding school because:

 Pupils in Reception and Year 1 make better progress and reach higher standards in reading and mathematics than in writing.  There are inconsistencies in the quality of the teaching of writing in Year 1.  In Reception, opportunities are missed for children to use their growing phonic skills to try writing things down.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 31 lessons, six of which were joint observations with the headteacher or an deputy headteacher. They listened to pupils read and discussed their reading habits and preferences with them.  Inspectors discussed various aspects of the school with pupils and looked at a range of their work. They took account of the school’s data on pupils’ attainment and progress.  Meetings were held with school leaders, members of the governing body and a representative from the local authority.  During the inspection, inspectors took account of the 57 responses to the online Parent View survey. They had informal discussions with parents and carers, and took account of the 18 questionnaires returned by staff.  Inspectors looked at a number of documents, including plans for improvement, teachers’ plans, safeguarding arrangements, records relating to behaviour and attendance, minutes of meetings

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Information about this inspection

of the governing body and records of the school leaders’ monitoring of lessons.

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Inspection team

Rob Crompton Lead inspector Additional Inspector Shelley Davies Additional Inspector Susan Gadd Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is larger than the average sized infant school. Most pupils are White British, with around 10% from a range of minority ethnic groups. Very few pupils speak English as an additional language.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals, for whom the school receives additional funding through the pupil premium, is well below average. The pupil premium provides additional funding for children in the care of the local authority, children with a parent or carer serving in the armed forces and for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported through school action is broadly average. The proportion supported through school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is well below average. These needs relate mainly to moderate learning difficulties and emotional or behavioural problems.

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Information about this school

 The school has received a number of awards including: Sing up Gold; Activemark; Eco-school bronze; Basic Skills Quality Mark; ICT Mark; and has Healthy Schools Status.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Accelerate pupils’ progress in writing in Reception and Year 1, so that it more closely matches that made in reading and mathematics, by ensuring that:  children in Reception have more opportunities to use their phonic skills when learning to write  the writing tasks challenge pupils of all abilities  there is sufficient time for pupils to work independently  the good quality marking and feedback in Year 2 are shared more widely across the school.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 When children enter the Reception class, their social, language and number skills are generally as expected for their age. They make good progress so, by the end of Reception, levels of attainment are generally above average. Children develop confidence in their use of spoken English and communicate well with one another and with adults. They make a good start in reading and number. Although their writing skills are at least as expected, their progress through Reception in this aspect of English is not as rapid as in other areas of learning.  In Years 1 and 2, pupils reading skills develop quickly. Daily phonics (letters and the sounds they make) teaching means they tackle new words with increased confidence. Results of the recent Year 1 phonics check were above average. Pupils gain a secure grasp of how sounds are blended together to make words. They delighted in spotting real and made up words as they

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The achievement of pupils is good

sounded out, for example, ‘shout’, ‘gloud’, ‘out’ and ‘gloudest’.  Although pupils’ progress in writing through Year 1 is generally at least as expected, their skills in writing develop at a slower rate than those in reading and mathematics. That said, the proportion of pupils reaching the higher levels in their writing by the end of Year 2 has risen sharply. Some show great flair. For example, commenting on his reading, one boy wrote, ‘I’m unsympathetic at this point for the crocodile because he was the one who caused the issue.’ Not all pupils are as skilled in their use of language, as they use a more limited range of sentence structure and vocabulary.  Pupils gain a solid grounding in basic number facts and most confidently draw on them when tackling problems set in real contexts. They gain good numerical skills across the board, including measuring length and time, using fractions and identifying the properties of solid

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The achievement of pupils is good

shapes. The more able pupils are adept at mental addition, for example 326+142, and tackle problems systematically. One pupil explained, ‘You do it in an order that makes it simpler to follow.’  The rate of progress made by pupils eligible for free school meals broadly matches that of other pupils. Although their attainment in 2011 and 2012 was similar to that of pupils in this group nationally, there was a gap equivalent to two terms between their attainment and that of other pupils in the school. However, of the very few pupils eligible for free school meals in Year 2 over the last two years, most made expected progress in both English and mathematics. This reflects the school’s effective use of the pupil premium in narrowing previous gaps.  Due to effective support, both within lessons and during small-group sessions, pupils with special educational needs make good progress.  The school’s determination to ensure all pupils do as well as they can indicates an unswerving

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The achievement of pupils is good

commitment to promoting equality of opportunity, fostering good relations and tackling discrimination.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Children in Reception respond enthusiastically to the good range of activities on offer both indoors and outside. Adults frequently engage children in conversation about their learning and successfully promote their communication skills. However, opportunities are sometimes missed to encourage children to use their growing phonic skills to try writing things down.  In almost all lessons, teachers skilfully engage pupils and adopt a lively pace. They ensure a good balance between explaining things and questioning pupils, and allowing them time to get on with their work. Occasionally, in Year 1, pupils spend too much time listening to the teacher and planning their written work before getting down to the main task.  In the most effective lessons, teachers set tasks which challenge all ability groups from the outset. They use lesson introductions to gauge pupils’ understanding and draw on their previous

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The quality of teaching is good

learning. During a Year 2 English lesson, for example, the teacher skilfully referred to pupils’ previous contributions to the ‘working wall’ and encouraged further ideas. This brief but highly effective introduction provided an excellent grounding for their subsequent task and pupils of all abilities were rightly proud of their achievements.  Across the school, work is almost always pitched at different levels so that pupils of all abilities are suitably challenged. Occasionally, in English lessons in Year 1, the work does not include sufficient challenge for the more able pupils and less confident pupils find tasks too difficult to complete on their own.  Classroom displays include many prompts, such as lists of key words, to support pupils as they work. Pupils are familiar with the acronym WAGOLL (What a good one looks like) and teachers often provide them with an exemplar before they start a task, successfully encouraging pupils to

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The quality of teaching is good

aim high.  When marking work, teachers in Year 2 consistently use symbols, such as stars for good work and a thought bubble for next steps. This approach is also evident in Year 1 but is not used as consistently and pupils are not always aware of their individual targets.  Pupils benefit from the effective support of well-qualified, skilled and experienced teaching assistants. They work closely with class teachers to provide additional help for individual pupils and small groups. They are particularly successful in helping less confident pupils develop their reading skills.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 Relationships are strong and these underpin pupils’ good behaviour in lessons and around the school. Pupils are treated with respect and respond positively to opportunities to take on roles of responsibility, such as being members of the school council and the eco group, or acting as lunch monitors.  Pupils are very proud of their school. They are welcoming, polite and warmly greet visitors. They are keen to learn. In lessons, they are almost always attentive because teachers skilfully engage them. Occasionally their interest wanes when lesson introductions are too long.  Staff manage behaviour well and from the start promote moral values. Reception children learn that ‘warm fuzzy’ behaviour is better than ‘cold prickly’ behaviour. A strong focus on rights and responsibilities helps older pupils to develop their understanding of social expectations and citizenship.  There are very few instances of bullying and pupils are fully confident that the staff take any

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

such occurrences seriously. Pupils therefore feel safe, secure and well cared for. Pupils’ safety is given a high priority. For example, frequent reference to e-safety as they work with computers means pupils know that they should ‘click the dolphin’ (a permanent on-screen symbol) if they come across something unsuitable.  A specially trained learning assistant provides sensitive support for emotionally vulnerable pupils. This was evident as she took small groups on a tour of their new classes, within the school and in the neighbouring junior school, to help reduce any anxieties about moving up next term.

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The leadership and management are good

 Senior leaders have an accurate view of the school’s performance which, coupled with effective planning, has maintained the school’s overall effectiveness. The headteacher and deputy work in close partnership. They provide strong direction and have a good understanding of the school’s strengths and those areas which need to be better.  Rigorous performance management ensures that teachers only move up the pay scale when they can clearly demonstrate that their teaching is good enough to secure good achievement.  The curriculum is designed to meet pupils’ needs. A themed approach to learning provides ample opportunities for pupils to practise, consolidate and extend their basic skills. This is evident, for example, in pupils’ writing about forces, in their descriptions of Brunel’s railways and in their use of computers to generate pictograms following their visit to a local zoo.  There are many opportunities for pupils to be involved in sporting and cultural activities. During

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The leadership and management are good

the inspection, singing and recorder practices were in full swing and children were preparing an end of term concert. Their work in art is influenced by, for example, Van Gogh, Hockney and Monet. ‘Around the World’ topics and strong links with a school in Uganda promote their global awareness.  The local authority provides effective light touch support for this good school. Additionally, the school engages a number of improvement consultants and is a member of a local cluster of schools providing support for one another.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school: − Governors have a clear understanding of how the school is performing and ask school leaders probing questions about how well pupils are doing. They gain first-hand insights through visiting school and from membership of the various ‘excellence teams’ where governors and staff undertake reviews and plan developments in different subjects. School finances are well managed and the governors seek assurances that pupil premium funds are used effectively. Governors are actively involved in checking the performance of teachers and that this is reflected in the pay scales awarded. They ensure that all statutory 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 116137 Local authority Hampshire Inspection number 412681

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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 Infant School category Community Age range of pupils 4–7 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 265 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Jerry Ludlow Headteacher Michelle Moore Date of previous school inspection 28–29 June 2010 Telephone number 01256 350313 Fax number 01256 869638 Email address paula.fisk@hatchwarren-inf.hants.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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