Hingham Primary School

Hingham Primary School Hardingham Street, Hingham, Norwich, NR9 4JB

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Overall effectiveness

Previous inspection: Requires improvement 3 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 check pupils’ learning and progress carefully to ensure that they receive the support they need. This and training for some staff have improved teaching significantly and has successfully raised pupils’ achievement in reading, writing and mathematics.  Most pupils achieve well from their starting points and progress is accelerating rapidly. In 2014, pupils in Year 6 gained broadly average standards in reading, writing and mathematics.  Teachers mostly use their knowledge of what pupils have already learned to plan work that stretches their thinking.  Pupils show interest and enthusiasm in their work. They concentrate and persevere in order to complete their tasks.  Leaders have established effective procedures and training for all staff to keep pupils safe. Pupils say that they feel safe in school because they trust staff to protect them.  Staff work hard to engage parents in school life and

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Summary of key findings for parents and pupils

invite them to share in many activities in school. Most parents are highly satisfied with the work of the school and say that their children are happy and doing well.  Pupils’ good behaviour in lessons and around the school contributes well to their learning. Most pupils are polite, well mannered and respectful to everyone.  Governors hold staff accountable for the success of pupils in school. They have undertaken considerable training to ensure that they understand the many sources of information about pupils’ progress, and use these to plan for further improvement.  Provision in the early years is good. Children make good progress in all areas of learning because staff are well trained and teach well. They use assessment of children’s skills to plan exciting activities that motivate children to work hard.

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It is not yet an outstanding school because

 Some pupils, including some of the most able, are not always stretched sufficiently in lessons.  Pupils’ spelling is weaker than their reading and writing, particularly when writing in subjects other than English.  The school has not yet built upon the good relationships made with parents to engage them sufficiently in their children’s learning.

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Information about this inspection

 Inspectors observed learning in 15 lessons, two of which were jointly observed with the headteacher. They also visited an assembly and examined the quality of work in pupils’ books.  Inspectors observed pupils’ behaviour in lessons, around the school, and at break and lunchtimes. They had informal discussions with pupils and met with the school council.  Inspectors took account of the 59 responses to the online questionnaire, Parent View, as well as the schools’ own survey of parents’ views. Inspectors also took account of the 22 responses to a staff questionnaire.  Inspectors met with some parents and carers, the headteacher, other school leaders, a group of governors, and a representative of the local authority.  Inspectors looked at school documents, including information about pupils’ achievement, records of behaviour and attendance, records of monitoring, school self-evaluation, plans for improvement, and

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Inspection team

Lynne Bradbury, Lead inspector Additional Inspector

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Information about this school

 The school is smaller than the average-sized primary school.  Children attend full-time in the Reception class.  Almost all pupils are from White British backgrounds and very few speak English as an additional language.  The proportion of pupils supported through the pupil premium is average. The pupil premium is extra government funding to support the education of those pupils who are known to be eligible for free school meals or who are looked after by the local authority.  The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs is above average.  The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of Year 6.  The current headteacher was appointed as headteacher shortly before the last inspection.  A review of governance took place in November 2013.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Accelerate pupils’ achievement by:  providing work which stretches pupils of all abilities throughout lessons, particularly the most able pupils  ensuring that the progress in phonics and the regular spelling practice undertaken transfers into pupils’ written work.

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What does the school need to do to improve further?

 Build upon the good relationships made with parents to engage them more fully in their children’s learning.

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The leadership and management are good

 The headteacher and governors have worked together successfully to ensure that teaching is good and to raise pupils’ achievement in reading, writing and mathematics. The headteacher’s drive to improve teaching is shared by all staff and governors, and this has been effective in establishing good, and sometimes outstanding, teaching in all year groups.

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The leadership and management are good

 Leaders have established a positive, warm and caring atmosphere in the school that has enabled pupils to thrive. As a result, pupils are well motivated and do their best in their lessons. Leaders have been successful in building effective relationships with parents and carers to support their children’s personal development, although they have not yet engaged them sufficiently in their children’s learning.

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The leadership and management are good

 Safeguarding policies and procedures meet statutory requirements and are effective in keeping pupils safe.

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The leadership and management are good

 Discrimination in any form is not tolerated in school. All pupils are provided with the same good opportunities to succeed. The school welcomes pupils from all backgrounds and ensures they are fully included all the school does. It works effectively with pupils who experience very challenging circumstances.

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The leadership and management are good

 Pupils show care and respect for others because leaders and teachers successfully develop their spiritual, moral, social and cultural awareness, and their understanding of other cultures and faiths. Topics across the curriculum help pupils to demonstrate British values of fairness and tolerance, and a growing understanding of life in Britain.

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The leadership and management are good

 Leaders check the quality of teaching, pupils’ attendance and pupils’ progress regularly. They give careful consideration to areas which need improvement and devise well-focused plans so that decisive and timely actions lead to rapid improvement. The current focus has successfully improved the way in which teachers use assessment data to plan work that stretches pupils appropriately. While there are times when this leads to outstanding teaching and achievement, this is not yet consistent across all lessons.

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The leadership and management are good

 Leaders and governors set challenging targets for pupils and use these in the performance management system to check teachers’ effectiveness. A relentless focus on accelerating pupils’ progress has brought about improvements in the quality of teaching.

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The leadership and management are good

 Subject leaders are effective in checking teaching in their areas, identifying where improvement is needed and ensuring that staff have appropriate training and development. Senior leaders give great encouragement to their professional development through partnership with the local cluster of schools.

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The leadership and management are good

 The curriculum is broad and promotes high achievement and pupils’ personal and social development through the interesting topics, visits and experiences offered. Pupils are enthusiastic about the sport and music opportunities offered in lesson time and in after school clubs.

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The leadership and management are good

 Pupils supported through pupil premium funding benefit from contributions towards visits and clubs and extra tuition organised by the school. This extra support ensures that these pupils have full access to school life. While published data do not reflect the effectiveness of this spending, this is because a significant proportion of these pupils have complex needs or are admitted to the school after very turbulent times. Most of these pupils make good progress against this background in a broad range of areas.

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The leadership and management are good

 The primary physical education (PE) and sport grant is used effectively to offer a wide range of enhanced opportunities in PE. Staff training and the provision of additional coaching enable pupils to enjoy tennis, cross-country running, football, cricket and rounders, often competing against other schools in the local cluster of schools. Pupils talk excitedly about taking part in these exciting sports.  The local authority has a very good understanding of the school’s strengths and areas to improve and has organised a great deal of training and development for leaders, governors and staff. This has been highly effective in supporting the improvement, aspirations and ambitions of the school.

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The leadership and management are good

 The governance of the school:  Following the review of governance that took place in November 2013, the improvement in governance has been rapid and highly effective in supporting and challenging the school’s leaders. Governors have undertaken a wide range of training, and now use pupils’ assessment data well to understand the performance of the school and set improvement priorities and targets. Individual governors linked to subjects check their areas closely so that the full governing body can take account of identified priorities.  The governing body regularly receives reports on the quality of teaching and how it links with pupils’ achievement. It supports leaders in dealing decisively and urgently with any teaching which does not lead to good progress for pupils. The governing body manages staff performance well and awards pay increases only when pupils are making good progress.  The governing body has a clear oversight of the school’s finances and ensures that all resources have a

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The leadership and management are good

positive impact on pupils’ achievements. It makes sure that additional funding, such as the pupil premium is used effectively, and they check how well it is supporting the progress of the eligible pupils. It also ensures that all the required procedures are in place to safeguard children.

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Behaviour

 The behaviour of pupils is good. Their positive attitudes make an important contribution to their good progress. Pupils’ workbooks generally reflect hard work and concentration in all subjects.

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Behaviour

 Most pupils behave well in their lessons, around the school and in the playground. They show respect and tolerance for each other’s views and a high level of care for those who experience any kind of difficulty. They demonstrate a good understanding of different cultures through their topic work and assemblies.

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Behaviour

 Records of behavioural incidents in school show that any problems are dealt with firmly and effectively, including giving support within the nurture group. This was reflected in what inspectors saw during the inspection. Pupils are attentive, keen to respond to questions, and they cooperate well when they work in teams or groups.

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Behaviour

 Pupils and the majority of parents expressed high levels of satisfaction with the work of the school and they way in which behaviour is managed.

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Behaviour

 Pupils are keen to help others through the responsibilities they take on. They act as learning mentors, team captains and prefects. They enjoy exploring British life and values as they apply to become school councillors or vote for those who will represent them.

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Behaviour

 Pupils are welcoming to new pupils and visitors and are proud of their work and of their school. They appreciate the rewards for working hard and the celebrations of work and attitudes in assemblies.

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Behaviour

 Attendance is in line with the national average. The attendance policy is followed rigorously so that individual pupils who experience difficulties in coming to school are well supported.

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Safety

 The school’s work to keep pupils safe and secure is good.

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Safety

 All members of staff and appropriate governors have had recent training in child protection and safeguarding. All appropriate checks on visitors and new members of staff are in place, and there are effective processes for recording and dealing with any safety concerns which arise. Work in school to identify and protect vulnerable pupils is effective so that they are well cared for through the nurture group.  Pupils say that they feel safe at school and know how to get help if they need it. They show an understanding of the various forms of bullying, including name calling, and the risks concerned with using the internet and new technologies. They say that bullying is rare and is dealt with urgently and successfully if it happens.

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Safety

 Leaders assess and record risks within school and on activities outside in activities or visits. They ensure that good systems are in place to make these aspects of school life safe.

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Safety

 Pupils display a good understanding of the kind of dangers which may arise outside school and have clear views on how to keep themselves safe in such situations.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching is good and rapidly improving. It is enabling pupils to make much better progress than in the past, particularly in reading, writing and mathematics.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers have high expectations of themselves and their pupils. They build good relationships and a warm and caring atmosphere in class. Pupils understand what is expected of their learning and behaviour, and respond well to teachers’ instructions. This helps them to focus on their work and supports their progress well.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers and teaching assistants use skilful questioning to check what pupils understand. They then amend the level of support or challenge that pupils are given in most lessons to match the stage they have reached.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Staff teach phonics (letters and the sounds they make) well at the early stages so that pupils develop confidence and competence in their early reading and writing skills. For most pupils, these skills are developed well through research and recording topic work across a wide range of subjects. However, occasionally teachers do not insist that pupils transfer their skills in phonics, and spelling when they write independently in other subjects.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers focus carefully on number and mathematical skills, and then set work which enables pupils to apply these skills effectively in investigations and problem-solving situations, deepening their understanding.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers ensure that disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs receive extra tuition within classes and outside lessons. This good-quality support helps them to make good progress.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teaching assistants make a good contribution to pupils’ learning because they break tasks down for those who need extra support or ask probing questions of those who are working at higher levels.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers give feedback during lessons and mark pupils’ work effectively, so that pupils know where progress has been made and how their work could be improved.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers use homework effectively so that pupils practise basic reading and mathematical skills, and also have the opportunity to investigate their topic work further.

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The quality of teaching is good

 Teachers mostly use their good knowledge of what pupils already know to set work which stretches pupils of all abilities. This is not yet consistent across all lessons, however, especially among the most able pupils.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils achieve well from their starting points. In 2014, the attainment of pupils in Year 6 was broadly in line with the national averages in reading, writing and mathematics. Their attainment was below average in spelling, punctuation and grammar.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Progress of pupils currently in the school is accelerating rapidly. Recent data and the work in pupils’ books show that most pupils are now attaining higher standards than in previous years, sometimes above those found nationally.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 The proportion of pupils in Year 6 attaining the higher levels in 2014 was in line with the average in reading, writing and mathematics, but not in spelling, punctuation and grammar. Improvements have meant that the most able pupils are now making good progress in each year group, but in some lessons they are not sufficiently stretched.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs make good progress because their needs are identified at an early stage in school and they receive good support to meet their specific needs.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Disadvantaged pupils who left the school in 2014 made good progress from their starting points. Some of these pupils joined the school during the year of the tests and some had complex needs. There were too few disadvantaged pupils leaving Year 6 in 2014 to report on their attainment when compared with other pupils in the school and nationally without risk of identification.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils enjoy their reading and make good progress. In the phonics screening check in 2014, pupils in Year 1 reached standards in line with those nationally. Reading skills are applied well in pupils’ work. For example, pupils in Year 2 used an extensive internet search to find information about the moon landings. They interpreted and recorded their findings well.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Progress in writing is good, and pupils have interesting opportunities to write independently for a wide range of purposes in their topic work. A great deal of attention is being given to developing spelling, grammar and punctuation, but their skills in spelling are not yet transferring to their extended writing in all classes.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 In mathematics, pupils make rapid progress in developing basic number skills, and have a wide range of opportunities to apply these in problem-solving situations and investigations. For example, pupils in Years 4 and 5 investigated how many different amounts of money could be made from a set number of coins.

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The achievement of pupils is good

 Pupils enjoy the challenge and creativity of the wider subjects of the curriculum. For example, pupils in Years 5 and 6 were very excited as they undertook extensive investigations to prepare presentations to explain to pupils in Year 1 how we know that the earth moves and the sun is still. They showed great respect for the views and opinions of others as they worked in groups.

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The early years provision is good

 Most children join the Reception class with knowledge, skills and understanding which are typical for their age. Some join the school with weaknesses in speech, language, reading and writing.

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The early years provision is good

 Children make good progress in all the areas of learning because they are taught well. Teachers take account of their current skills to plan new and exciting learning activities indoors and outside. They pay close attention to the development of pupils’ speaking and listening skills in all these activities.

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The early years provision is good

 Leaders check children’s progress closely to identify areas where improvement is needed and provide effective training for staff. As a result of this good leadership, children’ attainment at the end of the Reception year has improved to be broadly in line with that found nationally. This means that most pupils enter Year 1 with a good level of skills and knowledge and are well prepared for the next stage of their education.

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The early years provision is good

 Children are kept safe and are well cared for, with systems in place to ensure that all staff maintain high standards in these areas. Children develop the ability to share and take turns, and to show respect and tolerance for others around them.  Parents are welcomed as partners in their children’s learning, and these relationships support the children’s good progress.

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The early years provision is good

 Children are exuberant and excited about their learning. They build trusting relationships with adults and other children. Their good behaviour and attitudes contribute well to their learning and progress.

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The early years provision is good

 Children make good progress in phonics and quickly transfer these skills to their early reading and writing. In mathematics, children explore number through many creative experiences, like counting the number of laps they manage on their bicycles, and counting in the natural settings in their grounds.

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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 120818 Local authority Norfolk Inspection number 462075

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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 4–11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 162 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Phil Robinson Headteacher Victoria Newrick Date of previous school inspection 16 May 2013 Telephone number 01953 850304 Fax number 01953 850304 Email address office@hingham.norfolk.sch.uk guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted . 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.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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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.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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