Hangleton Primary School

Hangleton Infant School Dale View, Hove, BN3 8AF

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Outstanding 1 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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This is an outstanding school

 Since the time of the last inspection the school has gone from strength to strength. Typical of parents’ comments were, ‘The school is amazing’ and ‘It’s nurturing, warm and approachable, there’s always a hand to be held.’  Achievement is outstanding and all pupils, regardless of their background, age or ability, flourish in this exceptionally caring school.  From starting points that are generally below those typically expected, pupils leave Year 2 having attained above, and often well above, the national average in reading, writing and mathematics. This represents outstanding progress.  Teaching is typically outstanding and hardly ever less than good. Lessons are characterised by excellent relationships, carefully planned activities to meet the needs and interests of pupils, and highly effective support staff.  Pupils behave exceptionally well and are respectful towards one another as well as to their teachers. Their very positive attitudes to

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This is an outstanding school

learning are a significant factor in their excellent progress.  The executive headteacher and head of school work closely together and have a very clear vision. Their relentless drive to improve the quality of teaching from the time of the last inspection has been very effective.  All leaders and staff share the ambition that this school can become better still, and work exceptionally well to ensure pupils achieve their best.  A well-trained, experienced and highly effective governing body carries out its duties extremely effectively. They are sharply focused in helping to ensure that pupils are always improving on their previous best.  Governors keep a sharp eye on how effectively additional funds are spent. Having allocated the new sports funding wisely, they are aware of the need to evaluate the impact on pupils’ participation in and enjoyment of physical activities.  The local authority uses the school as a model

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This is an outstanding school

of best practice and senior leaders are seconded from time to time to offer first-hand support, guidance and training.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspectors saw teaching in every class. They observed 26 lessons, of which six were observed jointly with the headteacher or other senior leaders. One assembly and pupils’ behaviour in the playground and at lunchtime were also evaluated.  Discussions were held with pupils, four members of the governing body, the headteacher, staff, and a representative from the local authority.  The inspectors observed many aspects of the school’s work, including the support for pupils who need extra help. They examined pupils’ work in their books and on classroom and corridor wall displays, and heard groups of pupils read.  The inspectors looked at a number of documents, including plans for the school’s future development, lesson plans, the school’s arrangements for keeping pupils safe, pupils’ attendance records, minutes of governing body meetings, records of how pupils’ learning is monitored and records of how the quality of teaching is checked.

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Information about this inspection

 The views of parents and carers were taken into account, including those expressed in the 45 responses to the online Parent View survey and in discussions with the inspectors at the beginning of the school day.  Staff views were taken into consideration by looking at 31 returned questionnaires and discussions with several members of staff.

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Inspection team

Rob Crompton Lead inspector Additional inspector Christine Dickens Additional inspector Jill Thewis Additional inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is larger than average. Around 15% of pupils are from minority ethnic groups and about 8% of all pupils speak English as an additional language. Both these proportions are below average.  The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for free school meals, for whom the school receives additional funding through the pupil premium, is broadly average. (The pupil premium provides additional funding for children who are looked after, children of parents serving in the armed forces and for those 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 around twice the national average. These needs relate mainly to behavioural, emotional and social difficulties, or speech, language and

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Information about this school

communication problems.  Extended services are provided through a breakfast and after-school club, which were evaluated as part of this inspection.  The executive headteacher also leads another local school, and the head of school is in charge of the day-to-day running of Hangleton Infant School.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Devise and implement a way of evaluating the impact of the new sports funding on pupils’ participation in and enjoyment of physical activities.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 The majority of children start school with skills that are below levels typically expected. Many have difficulty in communicating and have a limited vocabulary.  As a result of effective teaching, children make very good headway in the Reception classes. They are helped to settle quickly and develop very positive attitudes to learning. They speak with increasing confidence and learn to listen carefully. They make excellent progress in learning how to sound out letters and combine them to read whole words, and quickly learn to count, to make simple calculations and to identify the properties of shapes.  Pupils make excellent gains in their learning through Years 1 and 2, and the school’s performance compared with the national picture is typically above average. Most pupils use their phonics knowledge well, making a good try at reading unfamiliar words and becoming confident in blending sounds together when they come across a new word. The results of the

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

Year 1 phonics check improved significantly in 2013 and were a little above the national average.  The most able pupils in Year 2 are very confident and read widely. One boy said, ‘I read every single night when I go to bed’, as he outlined the story in his book before reading fluently and expressively.  Most pupils write with increasingly neat joined handwriting and accurate spelling. The most able pupils in Year 2 are already writing at levels expected much later. For example, successfully using the correct punctuation and including adjectives to build tension, one pupil wrote, ‘One frightening morning Mia woke up with a sudden shock!’ Another used an ellipse appropriately: ‘It was so misty, they couldn’t see a thing… but they heard a whiny whisper.’  A strong emphasis on practical work enables pupils to make excellent progress in mathematics. Year 2 pupils, for example, showed a very secure grasp of multiplication as they solved

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

problems related to their everyday life, such as calculating the number of wheels on the Reception children’s bicycles. Others showed their good understanding of place value as they sorted numbers up to three digits.  The school’s clear commitment to promoting equality of opportunity, fostering good relations and tackling discrimination is evident in its success in supporting pupils with different needs and starting points.  Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make excellent progress as a result of effective support, both within lessons and during small-group sessions. This is evident, for example, in the success of the specialist speech and language therapy.  Pupils with English as an additional language benefit, not only from additional help, but also from the visual prompts for language that are evident in every classroom. These pupils are often among those who achieve particularly well.

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The achievement of pupils is outstanding

 The previous attainment gap between pupils entitled to free school meals and all pupils closed significantly in 2012 and again 2013. From being around a year behind other pupils, the gap in attainment between these groups was around a term, with current pupils on course to narrow this further.  The most able pupils build well on their starting points, particularly in writing and mathematics.

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

 From a child’s view, the Reception classrooms offer an exciting world of stimulating and purposeful activities that they are keen to explore. Adults take every opportunity to exploit children’s curiosity, to engage them in conversation and develop their language and understanding. For example, children delighted in using the finger puppets and houses they had constructed to tell the story of The Big Bad Wolf. Others were highly amused as they listened to the story of The Big Bad Pig!  Adults provide ample opportunities for Reception children to choose from a wealth of resources in the well-equipped outdoor area. During one ‘free-flow’ lesson, for example, children demonstrated a good degree of independence and cooperated well as they made ‘designs’ on clipboards and constructed houses from straw and sticks.  Alongside activities which children choose for themselves, adults teach specific things at timely

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

intervals, using their comprehensive knowledge of where children are in developing their skills and understanding.  Warm relationships and teachers’ skilful management of behaviour underpin the high-quality teaching across the school. Classrooms are welcoming and very well resourced. Attractive displays provide prompts for learning and celebrate pupils’ achievements.  Teachers are skilled in using what they know of pupils’ attainment to provide work at just the right level. The quality of guidance during lessons is focused and individually tailored for each pupil. Teachers are adept at using questions to draw on pupils’ existing understanding and extend it. This means pupils receive the challenge and encouragement that are required to help them make the best possible use of time.  The highly effective support staff make a significant contribution to pupils’ learning. At almost every turn, specialist teachers, support staff, student teachers and volunteer parents can be

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The quality of teaching is outstanding

seen helping individuals and small groups.  The quality of marking is excellent. Increasingly, teachers elicit pupils’ own suggestions about what makes good work. This means pupils develop skills in reviewing their own and one another’s work against specific criteria. This is a significant factor in the pride pupils show in their work and the rapid progress they make.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

 Pupils have very positive attitudes to school and strive to do well. They respond very positively to challenges and, for their age, they persevere with sustained concentration. As they work cooperatively in small groups, pupils support and encourage one another well.  Pupils are extremely polite and courteous. This was evident in the warm welcome they gave to inspectors and the mature way in which they discussed their work. They are developing inquisitive minds and appreciate what the school is doing to make learning ‘fun and exciting’. Pupils’ love of school explains why overall attendance is above average.  Lunchtimes are well-organised social occasions. The food on offer is nutritious and pupils happily eat alongside one another and their friends and older siblings in the junior school who share the dining room.  Pupils say that they get on well together and feel very safe in this caring school. They are

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are outstanding

developing mature attitudes to assessing risks for themselves, for example, when using the climbing apparatus or thinking about road safety.  A group of Year 2 pupils found it difficult, understandably, to articulate their ideas about different types of bullying. However, they were confident that teachers dealt with any incidents swiftly and fairly. School records show that incidents of bullying are exceptionally rare and always managed effectively.  The school has highly effective strategies for supporting pupils who find it difficult to behave. This ensures that they are, for the most part, fully included in lessons. Indeed, during the inspection, these pupils worked alongside their classmates without fuss because of the skilled and seamless behaviour management by teachers and support staff.  All parents who spoke to inspectors and those who responded to the Parent View survey were extremely happy with the care provided by the school.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 Leaders and managers at all levels work exceptionally well as a team in the continuous drive to ensure that all pupils do as well as they can. Underpinned by the meticulous tracking of pupils’ progress and detailed review of all aspects of provision, the self-evaluation process is sharp, focused and accurate. This leads to the setting of appropriate priorities in school development plans.  The skilled, insightful and determined leadership of the executive headteacher in close collaboration with the head of school has helped teaching to become outstanding since the time of the last inspection. Leaders regularly check the robustness of the quality of teaching. Senior leaders train and support school staff to become outstanding practitioners, and arrangements to support colleagues new to the profession are exemplary.  A comprehensive performance management process is firmly established and regular meetings

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The leadership and management are outstanding

to check on pupils’ progress enable leaders to hold teachers to account for achievement in each class.  English and mathematics are a given a high priority, but time is also given to develop pupils’ interests across a wide range of subjects. The curriculum is enhanced by a variety of visits and visitors, and promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development very effectively. Visits by members of the local Chinese community, for example, extend pupils’ understanding appreciation of cultures outside their immediate experience. The school and eco councils provide opportunities for pupils to learn about democracy. Much attention is given to creative arts where pupils gain insights into how art, music and drama can enhance their lives.  The local authority provides light-touch support for this outstanding school. Indeed, the school is so successful that it regularly supports improvement in other schools within the local authority.

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The leadership and management are outstanding

 The governance of the school:  The governing body is highly effective and members are passionate about ensuring that pupils’ achievement is outstanding. Governors are very well informed and bring a wide range of experience to their work. They have a very good understanding of the quality of teaching and an extremely good grasp of how to interpret assessment data in order to keep a sharp eye on the school’s performance. Governors strike an effective balance of support and challenge for all leaders. They are fully involved in the decision making about how pupil premium funds are used and are developing robust skills to monitor its impact. In considering how to spend extra funding for sports, they were keen to ensure sustained long-term benefits when the funding ceases. Alongside school leaders, they are aware that a systematic review of the impact of this funding would help them ensure where extra provision is most effective. Governors ensure

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The leadership and management are outstanding

safeguarding requirements are met fully and that pupils are kept safe.

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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 114399 Local authority Brighton and Hove Inspection number 426659

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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 Lesley Walker Executive headteacher Emma Lake Head of School Lizzie Mullarky Date of previous school inspection 27–28 January 2010 Telephone number 01273 294874 Fax number 01273 834872 Email address emmalake@hangletoninf.brighton-hove.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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