Hunters Hall Primary School

Hunters Hall Primary School Alibon Road, Dagenham, Essex, RM108DE

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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.  Achievement is good throughout the school. Teachers plan effectively for pupils’ needs and, as a result, pupils make good progress.  Children make good progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage. They are well equipped to make a good start in Year 1.  The corridors and classrooms are very attractive and pupils become quickly absorbed into a learning culture.  Good progress is made by those pupils who are disabled or who have special educational needs including those pupils who access the specialist base provision.  Spiritual, moral, cultural and social education is a key feature of the curriculum and the wider work of the school. It is promoted very well.  Pupils have very good attitudes to learning and each other. Their behaviour in lessons and around the school is good. They are passionate about school and their teachers. They feel very safe.  Pupil premium funding is well used to ensure

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

their achievement is similar to that of other pupils.  The headteacher, senior team and governing body are rigorously driving standards and checking teaching scrupulously. As a result teaching is continuing to improve.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because:

 Marking which informs pupils of how to improve is not yet consistently effective throughout the school.  Middle leaders are not yet consistent in their use of information about how well pupils are progressing.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed 32 lessons, seven of which were seen together with the headteacher or members of the senior leadership team.  Inspectors carried out a series of short visits to classes across the school, observed assemblies and listened to pupils read.  Meetings were held with groups of pupils, school staff, members of the governing body including the Chair of the Governing Body, and a representative from the local authority.  Inspectors took account of 18 responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, and held informal discussions with parents and carers in the playground.  Inspectors observed the school’s work and looked at a number of documents, including the school’s own information on pupils’ current progress, planning and monitoring documentation, and records relating to safeguarding, behaviour and attendance. Inspectors also took account of the 66 responses to the staff questionnaire.

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Inspection team

Emma Merva, Lead inspector Additional Inspector Michael Buist Additional Inspector Tom Canning Additional Inspector Michelle Thomas Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is larger than the average sized primary school.  The largest majority of pupils are from White British and Black African heritages. The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is above average.  The proportion of pupils who are eligible for pupil premium funding is above the national average. This is additional funding for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals, those in local authority care and those from service families. There are currently no pupils from service families in the school.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported at school action is below the national average. The proportion of pupils supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is average.  The school provides a breakfast club each morning.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations

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Information about this school

for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics.  The school has a Speech and Language Additional Resources Provision for up to 10 pupils.  The headteacher took up her post in April 2013.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the quality of teaching to outstanding by developing more consistent marking in pupils’ books so they know how to improve their work.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Ensure that all middle leaders use the information they have about pupils’ performance effectively to further accelerate pupils’ progress.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils from all groups, including the most able, achieve well in reading, writing and mathematics. From their starting points they all make good progress including those from White British and Black African heritages and those that speak English as an additional language. By the end of Year 6, pupils’ attainment is broadly average in reading, writing and mathematics.  Children enter the Early Years Foundation Stage with skills which are below the levels typically expected for their age. They make good progress because adults plan effective learning opportunities. The children have good attitudes to learning and this has a positive impact on their progress. For example, in a Nursery lesson, a small group of children made good progress working on their own learning how to share the play dough, cutting it up, shaping it to look like a chocolate and counting out how many they needed to fill their chocolate trays.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils are given plentiful opportunities to practise and enjoy their reading. Phonics (the sounds letters make) is well taught throughout the school. They are encouraged to read in lessons and at home. For example in a Year 5 reading lesson pupils were able to effectively make predictions about the characters. They were able to use the information they already had from previous chapters and understanding of the text. Consequently pupils rapidly gained confidence and made good progress.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs including those in the special resource provision make good progress. Pupils are encouraged to do as well as they can, for example, in a Year 1 numeracy lesson a small group of pupils were well guided and highly engaged through a fun activity. They made good progress practising their adding and subtracting with plastic animals.  The school makes valuable use of the pupil premium funding to ensure that the pupils in receipt

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The achievement of pupils is good

of this funding make good progress. The gap in attainment between eligible pupils and others at the end of Year 6 in 2013 was three terms in mathematics and writing and two terms in reading. However, throughout the school these pupils make good progress and the gap in school is narrowing.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The quality of teaching is consistently good. There are some examples of outstanding teaching. As a result pupils make good progress and learn well.  Teachers plan lessons effectively across the range of subjects so that they challenge and support pupils’ learning effectively. For example, in a Year 2 lesson on rewriting a famous story, all pupils were able to put the story pictures in order and write in their own words about what had happened, and as a result, they made good progress.  Pupils’ books are marked effectively and inform pupils of what they are doing well. However what is less consistent is letting the pupils know how to improve their work so they can make outstanding progress.  Classrooms are imaginative, engaging and welcoming. They have pupils’ work on the walls, spellings of key words to help them and important symbols for mathematics work to guide them. In a Year 5 classroom, for example, pupils were proud of their displayed artwork of willow-

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The quality of teaching is good

patterned plates.  Pupils’ current progress is effectively checked and the senior team holds teachers to account through regular meetings and collection of information on current achievement. As a result no pupils fall behind.  Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage learn well because of the consistently good teaching, simulating learning environment and the skilful use of adults to guide learning when appropriate. For example, in a Nursery lesson, children made good progress taking part in an obstacle course. Children were able to take turns, apply their concentration skills and maturely help to put the equipment away at the end of the activity.  Disabled pupils and those with special educational needs, including those in the specialist resource provision, make good progress in their learning. As a result of a highly inclusive atmosphere, well-trained additional adults skilfully helped to guide pupils. This was done through

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The quality of teaching is good

good planning and well-thought-out resources and activities. In a Year 5 art lesson, pupils had made ‘modrock’ dragon heads and were progressing well in small groups painting and decorating their models with adult support as and when needed.  The teaching of reading is good and homework is effectively set to support the learning in class. For example, in the newly resourced library, pupils in a Year 2 lesson worked in pairs choosing a new library book and reading the story together. They made good progress and were able to read to each other with confidence.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Pupils are very warm, friendly and welcoming. They have very positive attitudes to learning and are proud of their achievements. They contribute well in lessons and in group work activities and as a result they make consistently good progress.  The school is a very inclusive environment where all pupils, including those from the resource base, move quietly and sensibly around the school. In the upper school celebration assembly behaviour was exemplary and they sang the school song with gusto and pride.  Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage get on well together. They play considerately and have many opportunities to develop their social skills taking turns and sharing the equipment and toys.  The breakfast club provides a healthy and effective start to the day. There are good opportunities to play together and socialise with other pupils from different year groups.

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The behaviour and safety of pupils are good

 School records show that behaviour is good overtime and disruption is very rare. Parents, carers and staff also feel that behaviour is good.  The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Pupils know how to keep themselves safe, for example, in the playground or when using the internet. Parents, carers and staff also feel that pupils are kept safe and secure in school.  Pupils understand about bullying and name calling; they say they are rare, but if they do occur they know who to go and speak to.  Pupils enjoy school and this is reflected is their regular attendance at school.  Behaviour and safety are not outstanding because in a minority of lessons, not all pupils are fully engaged and display a thirst for learning. Consequently they do not always engage fully in their learning.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher, teachers and the governing body are all equally ambitious for the school. The headteacher provides focused and determined leadership.  The leadership of teaching is good and the school has a purposeful training strategy to further improve teaching. Teachers are set targets and their performance is checked in relation to pupils’ achievement and progress. Teachers’ pay and promotions are related to the impact on pupils’ progress.  Leaders know the strengths and areas for development well. They have been working well together as a new team providing rigorous support and challenging leadership. However, middle leaders are not yet able to make use of information about pupils’ achievement in order to provide leadership in accelerating pupils’ progress.  The Early Years Foundation Stage and the specialist provision are well led and managed as a result of clear expectations and a very inclusive environment.

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The leadership and management are good

 Pupils are all given the appropriate support and interventions to succeed as a result of the schools’ commitment to providing equal opportunities.  Pupil premium funding is well used to create extra support, such as individual lessons and extra mathematics and English sessions. The school ensures that pupils are making similar good progress to their classmates’ through collecting in and analysing information about how well they are doing.  The curriculum is wide, varied and balanced. For example, many topics and themes are covered in school. For example, in Year 5 this term pupils are enjoying the topic ‘dragons’ and in Year 2 the theme of ‘The Fire of London’ is stimulating learning. These themes permeate the curriculum and engage pupils in becoming active learners. Extra-curricular activities are well developed, for example, the Years 5 and 6 choir.  Spiritual, moral, social and cultural education is well developed as a result of well-planned

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The leadership and management are good

assemblies, themes within the curriculum and engaging displays.  Effective use is being made of the primary school sports funding to expand the range of activities and sports offered in the school. For example, teachers have received additional training.  Safeguarding meets statutory requirements.  The local authority knows the school well. As a result, it provides effective and challenging support.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  Governors are proud of the school and have a good understanding of the achievements of pupils in relation to national expectations. They are aware of the school’s strengths and areas for development through very clear reports from the headteacher and their regular visits to the school. They are fully informed of teachers’ performance, how this is managed and how it links to pay progression. They have an effective understanding of the school’s finances and how they are spent strategically. This includes the impact of the pupil premium funding and how this is used. They have also provided insightful input into how the sports funding provided by the government is used. Governors are well trained and very knowledgeable about safeguarding. They ensure that the pupils are kept safe and safeguarding meets the statutory requirements.

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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 131844 Local authority Barking and Dagenham Inspection number 431265

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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 3–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 700 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Gillian Stringer Headteacher Selina Frazer Date of previous school inspection 7–8 May 2009 Telephone number 020 8270 4768 Fax number 020 8270 4771 Email address office@hunters-hall.bardaglea.org.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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