Hanbury CofE First School

Hanbury CofE First School School Road, Hanbury, Bromsgrove, B60 4BS

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Good 2 This inspection: Good 2 Leadership and management Good 2 Behaviour and safety of pupils Good 2 Quality of teaching Good 2 Achievement of pupils Good 2 Early years provision Good 2

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

 Teaching is good. Lessons are interesting and challenging and teachers work closely with teaching assistants to ensure that pupils of all abilities enjoy school, work hard and learn well.  Pupils make good progress and achieve higher standards than typically expected for their age in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 4.  Provision for pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is good and pupils are well prepared for the next phase of their education.  Behaviour is good and pupils are very keen to learn. They feel safe in school and free from all forms of intimidation or discrimination.  Leadership and management are good. The headteacher leads by example and sets high expectations for the quality of teaching.  Working closely with middle leaders in the school, the headteacher ensures that teaching continues to improve and that standards continue to rise.  Governors know the school well and effectively hold

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

the headteacher to account for the quality of education provided.  Early years provision is good and prepares Reception children well for the National Curriculum in Year 1.  The overall effectiveness of science in the school is outstanding

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Pupils’ knowledge and understanding of shapes is not as secure as their knowledge and understanding of numbers.  Standards of presentation in writing are not yet as consistently high for boys as they are for girls.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector visited all classrooms to observe pupils’ learning, talked with the pupils about their work and looked through their books. Most of these activities were undertaken jointly with the headteacher.  The inspector heard some pupils read and observed pupils’ behaviour during playtimes, lunchtime and at the beginning and end of the school day.  Meetings were held with members of staff, groups of pupils, a representative of the local authority and six governors.  The responses of 50 parents to Ofsted's online survey were taken into account alongside comments made to the inspector by parents before and after school and a small number of written comments. The views of staff were also taken into account, including 14 completed staff questionnaire returns.  A range of documents were examined, including safeguarding policies and procedures, the school’s view of its own performance and records of the progress of past and current pupils.

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Information about this inspection

 As part of a pilot study, science was inspected by a specialist inspector .

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Inspection team

Peter Kerr, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Inspection team

Brian Cartwright Her Majesty’s Inspector

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Information about this school

 Hanbury First School is smaller than the average-sized primary school.  Most pupils are of White British heritage.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs supported through school action is two per cent. This is low compared to most primary schools. The proportion of pupils supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is five per cent. This is a lower proportion than in most primary schools.  The proportion of disadvantaged pupils eligible for the additional funding known as the pupil premium is less than one in ten. This is low compared with the national average for primary schools. In this school, the additional funding is allocated for looked after children and those pupils known to be eligible for free school meals.  The Reception class provides the early years curriculum for children aged four to five, all of whom attend

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve the pupils' knowledge and understanding of shapes by:  providing more regular and extended opportunities for pupils to learn about the properties of shapes and consolidate this knowledge in practical ways  Further reduce the gap in attainment in writing between boys and girls by:  ensuring that standards of presentation of boys’ writing continue to improve to a level that reflects the already strongly improved content.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school is well led and managed. The headteacher sets the tone in the school, encouraging the pupils to work hard, behave well and enjoy learning and the staff to play a full part in improving the school. As a result the pupils' attendance rates are very good. They learn and behave well and the staff feel well- supported and are highly motivated.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher leads teaching well. He teaches regularly himself, setting a good example and helping the teaching staff feel very much part of a team. He regularly checks teaching, offering constructive advice and feedback. The deputy headteacher and middle leaders are fully involved in this process. As a result, good practice is spread throughout the school, teaching continually improves and staff develop appropriate leadership skills to enhance their professional development.

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The leadership and management are good

 Literacy is led and managed well. Reading is strongly encouraged and the school has been used as a model of good practice for the way in which it structures the teaching of writing skills. As a result, standards have risen in writing, but leaders are aware that continuing work is needed to close the remaining gap in the quality of presentation of writing between boys and girls.

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The leadership and management are good

 Leadership and management of mathematics is also good. A focus on the teaching of number has been successful in increasing pupils’ enjoyment of and competence with numbers but leaders acknowledge that lessons do not yet ensure equally effective and secure learning about shapes.

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The leadership and management are good

 Provision for disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is managed well. The leader keeps good records of the pupils’ progress and ensures that each child has appropriately planned programmes of support. The responsibility for day to day support for each pupil is effectively delegated to class teachers and teaching assistants. As a result, the staff working with these pupils know their needs well and adjust the support as needed to ensure optimum progress.

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The leadership and management are good

 Good professional development opportunities have enabled teaching assistants to make an increasing contribution to leadership and management, particularly in English, mathematics, the forest school and provision for special educational needs.

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The leadership and management are good

 The pupil premium is used well. The extra support is tailored closely to individual needs so that pupils who are behind academically catch up and those facing any kind of disadvantages or barriers to learning or enjoyment are enabled to overcome them.

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The leadership and management are good

 The primary physical education and sports funding is used well. Teaches observe and learn from the specialist coaches who take their classes. They say they feel much more confident about teaching physical education, particularly gymnastics. As a result the pupils are more highly motivated to learn and their skills are improving.

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The leadership and management are good

 Equality of opportunity is strongly promoted. The school ensures that all pupils can participate fully in all activities regardless of their backgrounds or any barriers to learning that they may experience. Relations are good throughout the school. Bullying, racism and discriminatory language or actions of any kind are not tolerated and the very rare minor incidents that do happen are swiftly and effectively dealt with.

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The leadership and management are good

 All safeguarding requirements are met. The school’s systems for vetting staff and visitors and keeping the pupils safe in school are robust and records kept of all incidents relating to safeguarding and child- protection. Responsible staff and governors have appropriate safeguarding training which is kept up to date and all staff are trained in first aid to an appropriate level.

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The leadership and management are good

 The local authority regards this as a good school, capable of continuing to improve under its own steam. It has advised the school on improving induction for new staff and this has helped to ensure continuity and momentum in school improvement.

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The leadership and management are good

 The school provides a rich and varied curriculum that prepares the pupils well for the next stage of their education and for their future life in modern Britain. Good provision for pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development helps them to develop a positive attitude to different ways of life they might encounter and an appreciation of the equal value of each individual. The school works effectively with other first and middle schools and, as a result, pupils find transition to other settings easy.

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The leadership and management are good

 The forest school provision makes an outstanding contribution to the pupils' learning and personal development. Its location makes it feel remote and it provides life-enhancing experiences of the world of nature for the pupils. It is used particularly well to support pupils' learning in science.

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The leadership and management are good

 Leadership is not yet outstanding because the drive of leaders to ensure excellence has not yet resulted in a high enough proportion of outstanding teaching. Consequently, although pupils’ progress is good, too few make rapid progress across all year groups and subjects over time for achievement to be judged outstanding.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  Governors know the school well and effectively hold the headteacher to account for quality of education it provides. They know about the quality of teaching and how school improvement measures are being implemented through regular visits to the school and feedback from the headteacher and middle leaders.  The governors’ knowledge of the school is strengthened by the links individual governors have with each class as it moves through the school and by the oversight by a governor of each curriculum subject and of aspects of provision such as safeguarding and support for disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs.  Governors have had appropriate training in the interpretation of pupil performance data. This helps them to check whether all groups of pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, are doing equally well and to make sure that any groups falling behind are supported to make up lost ground.

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The leadership and management are good

 This information contributes to the governors’ effective oversight of performance management. They ensure that any underperfomance is eliminated and that salaries and promotions reflect contributions that members of staff make to school improvement.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Nearly all the parents who responded to parent view agree that their children are happy in school and many of those spoken to emphasised how enthusiastic their children are about their lessons.

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Behaviour

 Attendance and punctuality are extremely good because the pupils are interested in what they are doing. One parent illustrated this by quoting her child as having said ‘I can’t wait to go to school tomorrow’ when this was to be just a routine day and said that ‘as a parent I can ask for nothing more’.

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Behaviour

 The pupils’ positive attitudes to learning strongly support their progress. The pupils are usually eager to learn and to successfully accomplish all the tasks they are set. When the teacher is talking they listen attentively, and when working individually or in small groups they typically sustain concentration and effort well.

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Behaviour

 Sometimes, when the tasks they are given do not interest or challenge the pupils sufficiently, their level of effort and engagement wanes and they do not therefore learn as rapidly and securely as they could.

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Behaviour

 The impact of the extra physical education and sports funding is enhanced because the pupils are so keen to learn new skills. This was observed in a gymnastics lessons in which Year 3 pupils strived to execute a neat headstand.

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Behaviour

 Behaviour is good around the school at playtimes, lunchtimes and between lessons. Pupils obey school rules, are courteous to adults and supportive of one another. They say they take pride in their work and enjoy all aspects of school life, particularly their friendships.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. Pupils are confident that the school cares for them and keeps them safe. They have a good understanding about how to reduce risk to themselves in a range of situations both within and beyond school, including road safety and safe use of the internet. The overwhelming majority of respondents to the Parent View questionnaire agreed that their children feel safe in school.

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Safety

 Trips to the forest school area are used well to develop the pupils' sense of responsibility for managing risks for themselves. The impact of this experience on the pupils was evident during the inspection when Year 1 pupils confidently explored the woodland area and participated in a wide range of practical outdoor activities knowing the risks involved and how to stay safe.

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Safety

 Pupils have a good understanding of the different forms that bullying can take and say that bullying is very rare in the school. Those spoken to could not think of any examples of bullying since they had been at the school.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers set high expectations for behaviour and attainment. They use assessment information well to deliver lessons that build on pupils' prior knowledge and skills and use a good variety of methods to teach new information and provide interesting and challenging activities that motivate pupils to learn.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers’ assessment of pupils' progress is good. Through regular checks on pupils’ attainment in reading, writing and mathematics teachers ensure that all pupils are making good progress. If any pupils are seen to be falling behind, effective measures are put in place to help them to catch up.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The teaching of English is good. Assessment of pupils’ literacy skills has improved strongly since the last inspection and has been effectively used to identify and begin to close an attainment gap that had developed between boys and girls in writing. A wider range of reading books was introduced which have increased boys’ motivation to write as well as to read, with a resulting improvement in the content of their writing. There are still some differences in standards of presentation, but these are steadily diminishing.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching is good in mathematics, particularly in number. Lessons build steadily on pupils' computational skills and provide a wide range of opportunities for pupils to solve practical problems. Pupils are strongly encouraged to use their own methods of solving problems and to explain these to the teachers and the class. This helps to make their learning secure.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching of the shapes aspect of mathematics is not so effective in ensuring that pupils acquire a secure and lasting knowledge because they have fewer opportunities to consolidate and extend their understanding through practical tasks.

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The quality of teaching is good

 The teaching of science is highly effective. Assessments check pupils' investigative skills as well as their knowledge and identifies how these can be developed in lessons in other subjects as well as in science so that pupils' knowledge and skills are extensive and secure.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Pupils' joining the school from other schools at different times are assessed soon after arrival and appropriate steps taken to make sure that any gaps in their knowledge and skills are filled and that they make similar progress to their peers. Some parents commented on the positive effect this has had on their children’s confidence, enjoyment and achievements when they moved to the school.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers adapt the support they give to disadvantaged pupils well. In cases where the attainment of disadvantaged pupils is lower than for other pupils of the same age, extra support succeeds in reducing the gaps. In some year-groups, disadvantaged pupils are level with or ahead of their peers academically so the support is used to enrich their learning experience or provide opportunities to develop additional skills, for example in music and sport.  The teaching of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is good. Staff accurately identify individual needs and provide appropriate support. Pupils supported at school action are helped to catch up academically. Outside specialist help is enlisted to identify the specific learning needs for pupils supported at school action plus and appropriate individual plans drawn up to accelerate their progress. Pupils with a statement of special educational needs receive their full entitlement and are fully included in

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The quality of teaching is good

 Homework is used well to support pupils' learning. The homework programme is linked to what pupils have been learning in lessons and includes an element of choice. The work pupils do at home is used effectively to enrich their learning in school. For example, Year 1 pupils showed a high level of enthusiasm and knowledge when they talked about the model dinosaurs they had made at home and brought into school.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Progress is good across years 1 to 4. Most pupils enter Year 1 with good levels of development and attainment is typically average or above in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 2. Progress is good throughout Years 3 and 4 and standards are higher than those typically seen in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of Year 4.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The school identified a gap in attainment in favour of girls in writing and has taken effective steps to close it. The content of pupils' writing is now of a similar standards for boys and girls by the end of Year 4 because boys are now highly motivated to write. The quality of presentation of boys’ writing has also improved but the school recognises that a little more work is needed to close this remaining gap.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The most-able pupils achieve well in literacy and numeracy. They read widely for pleasure and information, their writing is varied and interesting and of a high standard and they have excellent number skills. By the end of Year 4, attainment for these pupils is well above what is typical for their age.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Conversations with pupils of different attainment levels indicate that their knowledge and understanding of shape is not as secure as their number skills. The work in their books confirms that they cover the required ground in shapes but no not consolidate their knowledge in this aspect of mathematics as securely as they do in number.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make good progress because the work they are given is pitched at just the right level. They do not always reach the age-related expectations by the end of Year 4, but those capable of it greatly reduce any gaps between their attainment and that of their peers. Pupils supported through a statement of special educational needs learn well relative to their starting points because of the well-planned one-to-one support they receive.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Disadvantaged pupils make good progress relative to their starting points during the time at the school and most reach at least age-related expectations by the end of Year 4. Some disadvantaged pupils joining the school part-way through their primary education do not have enough time to catch up but make good progress during the time they are at the school.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils’ achievements are outstanding in science because it is taught and led exceptionally well and opportunities are planned for them to extend and consolidate their scientific knowledge and understanding in other subjects.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils learn well in the Forest School area because the activities are well planned to develop their curiosity about the environment. These sessions make a powerful contribution to the pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development by encouraging them to be independent and collaborative and instilling in them a sense of awe and wonder at nature.

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The early years provision is good

 The Reception class provides a well-organised, safe and stimulating environment which enables the children to make rapid progress in their personal and physical development, communication skills and all other aspects of the early years curriculum.

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The early years provision is good

 The leadership and management of the early years are good. The teacher and teaching assistants work closely and effectively together to plan stimulating lessons and activities, organise resources and support the children’s learning in all areas of the early years curriculum.

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The early years provision is good

 Assessment procedures are very secure. Notes taken by all staff of pupils' responses while playing and working feed into assessments which are used to plan further activities. All this information is shared fully with parents so that they have a clear record of their children’s progress.

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The early years provision is good

 The children know and follow all the class rules confidently and are interested in all that they do. As a result their behaviour is consistently good and staff can fully concentrate on supporting their learning. The site is secure and the children feel very safe. They know how to keep themselves healthy and safe, for example through following simple hygiene rules.

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The early years provision is good

 The children arrive from a number of nursery settings with differing levels of development but most are within the expected range. They make good progress so that by the end of Reception, most children have reached a good level of development across the areas of learning and are well prepared for Year 1.

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The early years provision is good

 The children learn well because teaching is good. New knowledge is introduced in brisk, lively teacher-led sessions and a good range of interesting equipment supports play activities in the classroom and outdoor area. These are chosen to relate to the current topics and staff skilfully listen to and question children as they play to assess and support their learning.

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The early years provision is good

 Disabled children and those who have special educational needs learn well because their needs are quickly and accurately identified and appropriate individual support provided. The most-able children are supported to learn by discovering things for themselves and they make rapid progress.

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The early years provision is good

 The outdoor area is used well to stimulate the children’s imagination and encourage them to co-operate with each other and enjoy learning about the world around them. For example, when a rain storm threatened during the inspection, the children went outside to make storm music with the percussion instruments, while they waited for the rain to arrive, giving them a memorable experience and deepening their understanding of the natural sequence of weather events.

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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 failing

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Grade Judgement Description

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 116816 Local authority Worcestershire Inspection number 448492

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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 First School category Voluntary controlled Age range of pupils 4–9 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 122 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair David Plummer Headteacher Andrew Payne Date of previous school inspection 23 September 2009 Telephone number 01527 821298 Fax number 01527 821751 Email address office@hanbury.worcs.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 and 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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