Hamsey Community Primary School

School report Hamsey Community Primary School Cooksbridge, Lewes, BN8 4SJ

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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

 School leaders have high expectations of everyone. Good teamwork among the staff has led to higher levels of achievement by pupils.  Governors know the school well and have supported school leaders in their drive to raise standards.  Pupils feel safe and behave very well at school. Their attendance rates are improving because they enjoy the learning activities, including sports, art and drama, which their teachers organise.  Teaching is typically good. Teachers know their pupils very well. They plan lessons which capture their interest and help them to make good progress.  Pupils achieve well. By the time they leave Year 6, many have made progress which is above the national average. From their different starting points, their rates of progress have improved recently.  Disadvantaged pupils make particularly good progress in reading, writing and mathematics. These pupils participate eagerly in the after-school

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

clubs.  Good leadership and teaching in the early years foundation stage mean that children settle quickly to learning and are well prepared for the move into Year 1.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Not enough teaching is outstanding. The quality of marking of pupils’ work is inconsistent.  Subject leaders do not regularly monitor the quality of teaching and pupils’ progress in curriculum areas other than English and mathematics

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector observed the quality of teaching in seven lessons. On four of these occasions he was joined by the headteacher. The inspector made further visit to classrooms with the headteacher, to look at pupils’ workbooks and files. He spent time looking at displays of pupils’ work, including photographs and art work.  Meetings were held with school leaders, teachers, members of the governing body and with pupils. As well as meeting parents in the playground, the inspector took into account the views of the 28 parents who completed the online Parent View survey. Nine members of staff provided their views by returning the staff questionnaire.  The inspector scrutinised school documents and policies, including those which provide information about how staff and governors make checks on the quality of teaching and pupils’ progress.  The inspector joined pupils in an assembly and at lunchtime. He heard pupils reading stories they had

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Information about this inspection

written as well as from library books.  A telephone conversation was held with a representative of the local authority to gain its views.

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Inspection team

Bob Pugh, Lead inspector Additional inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is smaller than the average-sized primary school. It has grown in size by 20% since the previous inspection.  Most of the children in the Reception class attend full-time.  There is a daily breakfast club, and a number of after-school activities are offered.  The proportion of pupils who have disabilities and special educational needs is well below average.  At around 16%, the proportion of pupils eligible to receive the pupil premium, which provides additional support for pupils known to be eligible for free school meals, is below the national average.  Almost all pupils are of White British heritage. The vast majority of pupils have English as their first language at home.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics.  Some more able pupils in Year 6 attend alternative provision for English and mathematics at Chailey

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Information about this school

School.  The headteacher has been in post for almost three years.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Improve teaching so that a higher proportion is outstanding by:  providing opportunities for all subject leaders to monitor the quality of teaching of their subject and to give feedback and support to teachers  providing consistently high-quality feedback to pupils when their books and work files are marked.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher provides strong leadership which has led to improvements in the quality of teaching and pupils’ achievement. The number of pupils who make good or better progress in reading, writing and mathematics has risen sharply in the past year.  School leaders know the school well. They have created a purposeful atmosphere with a strong sense of teamwork. Middle leaders contribute to planning the new curriculum, but not all have yet had the opportunity to monitor the quality of teaching and learning in their subjects.  School leaders rigorously monitor attendance. They act swiftly to address persistent absence. As a result, pupils’ attendance has improved, although it is still marginally below the national average. On the inspection days, attendance was high.  Pupils of all abilities have their needs met well through the learning opportunities which school leaders and teachers organise. Their spiritual, moral, cultural and social needs development is good because they have

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The leadership and management are good

many opportunities for learning about differences and similarities of faiths and lifestyles. Their creative work in arts and drama is appreciated by parents and others in the community and they enjoy participating in sports. All of this helps them to prepare well for life in modern Britain.  Additional funding to support pupils who are disadvantaged is used effectively. Pupils who are eligible to receive it often make better progress than others. School leaders ensure that there is no discrimination in the school and that all resources are equally available to everyone.  Good use is made of funding for physical education and sports. Sports coaches visit every week. This has led to better achievement and higher participation levels during the school day and in after-school clubs.  Good leadership of the Early Years Foundation Stage means that the youngest children settle quickly, make good progress and are well prepared for the move to the next stage.

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The leadership and management are good

 The local authority has recently provided good support to the school by helping leaders to improve the quality of teaching and by supporting actions to improve pupils’ attendance.  School leaders provide opportunities for the most able to attend the local secondary school for additional teaching in English and mathematics. This helps these pupils to make even better progress.  The governance of the school:  The governing body works effectively to challenge and support school leaders. Because they visit frequently, governors are well aware that the quality of teaching has improved, which has led to better achievement by pupils. They ensure that there is a close link between teachers’ pay and pupils’ progress.  Governors have undertaken suitable training to help them interpret the data they receive. They use their child protection training to good effect to monitor records and procedures for keeping pupils safe.

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The leadership and management are good

All statutory requirements for keeping children safe are in place. They have reviewed their own performance recently by completing a survey of their own skills.  Governors know that additional funding is used well to support disadvantaged pupils in improving their achievement and to increase progress and participation in sport.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. They enjoy coming to school and attendance has improved. However, despite recent improvements, attendance rates remain below the national average.  Pupils show positive attitudes towards learning. This has helped them to make better progress in recent terms. For example, they are keen to take up the challenges which teachers offer for working out problems for themselves in mathematics, and for helping each other. On their work tables, they choose appropriate resources and ask each other questions to arrive at the right answer. This helps them to develop confidence as learners and pride in their achievements.  More able pupils behave well when they participate in alternative provision at Chailey School. They are taught by teachers from that school, who ensure that they are kept safe.  Pupils understand systems for rewarding good behaviour. They enjoy receiving praise in class and in

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Behaviour

assembly. They know what will happen when their behaviour is not so good.  Pupils are polite, show great respect for each other, for staff and visitors and for their school environment, including their forest school area. Pupils take pride in the responsibilities they are given, such as playground leaders or buddies for new pupils.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good. A calm environment for learning is provided. Parents are right to believe that their children are kept safe at school.  Staff are trained in child protection procedures. When necessary, school leaders work well with other professionals to ensure that pupils are safe. This has included rigorous checks on pupils who are absent, which has resulted in an increase in rates of attendance.  Pupils understand that there are different kinds of bullying. They say that it very rarely occurs at school. Pupils know who will help them if they have concerns.  Pupils remember the good teaching they have received about safe use of the internet and about road and rail safety.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching is typically good, with some that is outstanding. School leaders have addressed weaknesses so that no teaching is less than good. As a result, pupils make better progress in reading, writing and mathematics.  When books are marked regularly, pupils receive good feedback and advice about how much they have achieved and what they need to do next. Some books are not marked regularly and comments on progress are either missing or not sufficiently detailed. This means that pupils do not always receive the very best advice on how to do better.  Teachers have shaped their teaching to meet the requirements of the new curriculum. Most have made good use of training opportunities for improving their subject knowledge, though not all have had the chance to monitor work across the school in the subjects they lead.  Teachers ensure that pupils use the skills they have learned in previous lessons to help them with new

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The quality of teaching is good

learning. For example, pupils learned how to solve a problem in mathematics because the teacher carefully showed them how to break the problem into smaller parts and to work on each one. Pupils showed good understanding of the different methods they need to use to arrive at the answer. The teacher and assistant offered suitably effective levels of support to individuals and groups because they know their pupils so well.  Sports coaches make a good contribution to raising achievement in physical education because they organise their teaching well and provide opportunities for everyone to participate. They take care to teach other important skills, such as good listening and tolerance of the needs of others. In a particularly vigorous gymnastics activity, pupils were delighted to see their teachers trying hard to bend and stretch, alongside their own efforts.

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is good

 Achievement has improved in 2014 following a dip in 2013. This is because teaching is better and school leaders know exactly how much everyone is achieving because they rigorously track the attendance and progress of every pupil.  In reading, writing and mathematics, pupils’ achievements and progress in both key stages were above the national average in 2014. Tracking systems show that all groups of pupils continue to make good progress in reading, writing and mathematics this year.  All of those eligible to receive the additional funding make at least good progress. A few have made outstanding progress by the time they are ready to leave Year 6. As a result, they often exceed the attainment of their peers both in school and nationally.  For the third successive year, this year’s check on Year 1 pupils’ phonics skills (sounds that letters make) showed that all disadvantaged pupils and over 80% of others at the school met national requirements.

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is good

Pupils read widely and often. One younger pupil read to the inspector from her workbook completed the previous year. She was able to tell the inspector how her reading, writing and spelling have improved.  The most able pupils receive specialist teaching at Chailey School, which helps them to make even better progress in mathematics, reading and writing. The proportion of pupils who attain higher levels has grown steadily over time.  Pupils who have disabilities or special educational needs make good progress from their starting points. This is because teachers know them so well and plan activities which help them achieve their personal learning targets. The extent to which these pupils join in all activities demonstrates the priority which staff give to closing the gap in performance of pupils.  Parents are delighted with their children’s progress. In particular, they welcome the school’s work which

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is good

helps them support learning at home. One parent commented that it was useful ‘to know how they are taught with number lines so that when they come home we know what they are talking about and can support them’.  Pupils’ art work is often displayed at village events and they enjoy competing in sporting events with other schools in the area. Their thoughtful display about remembrance brought together information about war and stories of local people who took part.

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is good

 From their starting points which are often lower than the national average, children make good progress from the time they join the Reception class. This helps them to prepare well for the next stage of their learning at school.  Additional support is made available to those who need it to make faster progress. This takes the form of extra teaching in class and through play, and advice to parents about work which can be carried out at home.  School leaders organise good training for teachers and their assistants who work in the Early Years Foundation Stage. This includes regular meetings with teachers in similar settings and attendance at helpful courses organised by the local authority.  As a result, teaching is good and support is effective. Opportunities for play are carefully blended with more formal learning, for example about letter sounds. There are very good relationships between adults

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is good

and children.  Links with parents are strong. They visit school regularly and they help to complete their children’s learning journals. Children behave well because they are so captivated by the good teaching and activities which are organised for them. They are well cared for and all 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 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 114394 Local authority East Sussex Inspection number 444330

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School details

Type of school Primary School category Maintained Age range of pupils 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 96 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Derek Bastide Headteacher Helen Smith Date of previous school inspection 24–25 November 2010 Telephone number 01273 400370 Fax number 01273 400 370 Email address office@hamsey.e-sussex.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

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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