Setting

Ms Pauline Rogers Headteacher St Margaret’s at Hasbury CofE Primary School Hagley Road Hasbury Halesowen B63 4QD

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Short inspection of St Margaret’s at Hasbury CofE Primary School

Following my visit to the school on 6 October 2015 I write on behalf of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills to report the inspection findings. The visit was the first short inspection carried out since the school was judged to be good in September 2010.

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This school continues to be good

The leadership team has maintained the good quality of education in the school since the last inspection. You and your leaders have maintained a culture of continuous improvement in a school that lives up to its belief in every child being nurtured, valued and cared for.

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This school continues to be good

Test results for 2015 suggest that standards by the end of Year 6 have continued to rise since the last inspection. The improvements are down to consistently good teaching and rigorous tracking of pupils’ progress by leaders.

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This school continues to be good

You, and your leadership team, know the staff and individual pupils well and are quick to identify any variation in performance. You all have an accurate view of the school’s strengths and weaknesses. Previously identified issues have been addressed and this has led to rapid improvements.

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This school continues to be good

You and your leaders have high expectations that pupils and staff show respect and tolerance for each other. This goes hand in hand with the challenge to pupils to do as well as they can. Pupils enjoy coming to school, and parents value highly not only their children’s progress but the experience the school gives their children of life in the wider world. This is reflected in :

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This school continues to be good

 the enthusiasm pupils have for their lessons Ofsted

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This school continues to be good

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk www.ofsted.gov.uk  the absence of any bullying or racist language among pupils  the rich experience pupils get of the diversity of life in modern Britain as they work closely alongside others from different backgrounds and beliefs. Inspectors judged at the last inspection that your leadership was outstanding in turning the school round from its previous inadequate judgement for overall effectiveness. You have clearly continued to drive forward improvements. The inspectors also noted that the support provided in lessons by teaching assistants was variable and not always effective. You have now made sure that the quality of support that teaching assistants give to pupils, especially those needing additional help, has improved and is now consistently good to enable these pupils to make rapid progress. This was seen in improved outcomes for disadvantaged pupils in

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This school continues to be good

2015, with the attainment gap with all pupils nationally closing.

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This school continues to be good

You have identified that, overall, pupils do not make as much progress in mathematics as they do in reading and writing and you have rightly made this a key priority for your action plan for this year.

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Safeguarding is effective

Leaders have continued to make sure that pupils are safe. The building is very secure and pupils are always closely supervised when travelling between sites.

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Safeguarding is effective

The school is rightly proud of the way it successfully integrates pupils with special educational needs from the local authority’s on-site speech and language unit. New arrivals, mainly from Yemen, who are at an early stage of learning English as an additional language, settle in well. Parents confirmed how well pupils from different backgrounds get on with each other.

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Safeguarding is effective

The well-trained leadership team has made sure that all safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose, and that records are detailed and of high quality. Governors play an active part in ensuring the school is meeting all its duties and that all staff are aware of the latest guidance.

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Inspection findings

 Leaders analyse the progress of pupils and pupil groups in great depth across subjects and, where issues are identified, they respond quickly. They hold teachers fully to account by checking pupils’ progress regularly. Leaders have identified where teaching, or pupils’ progress, in any year group is not as strong as elsewhere and have put measures in place to address this.  Leaders know that not enough girls did as well as they should have done in mathematics at the end of Year 6 in 2014. By developing teaching strategies that engaged girls, the attainment gap with boys was considerably narrowed in 2015. For example, groups are organised to avoid boys dominating discussions of work, and teachers direct their questioning more to draw girls into those discussions.  You are building capacity for the future by making sure other leaders are able to take on additional responsibilities as you carry out your role as a local leader of

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Inspection findings

education, supporting other schools.  Parents spoken to on the gate and those who completed the recent school survey were overwhelmingly positive about the school’s values, leadership and staff, and the way in which their children had made rapid progress.  Leaders have had a significant impact in improving outcomes for pupils, which rose considerably in the recent test results in Year 6. The proportion of pupils gaining at least the expected level of attainment in reading, writing and mathematics was well above previous years in the school and nationally. Similarly, the proportion of most-able pupils exceeding the expected level for their age was above the previous national average.  While test results in Year 6 fell in 2014, they recovered strongly in 2015. Test results showed attainment and progress was above the national average, especially in reading and writing, but less strong in mathematics. Achievement

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Inspection findings

continues to be good for pupils currently in the school, though progress in mathematics continues to lag behind that in reading and writing.  Disadvantaged pupils in school have made more than expected progress in almost all year groups, as have disabled pupils and those with special educational needs. The school uses resources such as the pupil premium well to provide high-quality additional support, for example extra teachers and well- trained teaching assistants who work effectively with groups of pupils who need to catch up.  Pupils are making more than expected progress in the early years and Key Stage 1 and in almost all year groups in Key Stage 2, as a result of consistently good teaching. Progress is more rapid in upper Key Stage 2 compared to lower Key Stage 2.  The proportion of children reaching a good level of development by the end of Reception, and the proportion of pupils achieving the expected standard in

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Inspection findings

phonics at the end of Year 1, also rose in 2015. These proportions continue to be above the 2014 national averages.  Teachers adapt their teaching well for the different starting points of their pupils. They are successful in engaging girls in mathematics and encouraging them to do well. Teaching assistants use their time well to support and challenge pupils in lessons.  Teachers continually check pupils’ understanding of subject terms and concepts. They provide challenge for the most-able pupils, but this is not as consistent in mathematics as it is in other subjects. A small number of pupils said that at times they find their work in mathematics too easy. Pupils behave very well in lessons and get on well with adults and each other. Pupils told the inspector that they really enjoyed their learning and lessons.

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Next steps for the school

Leaders and governors should ensure that:

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Next steps for the school

 the percentage of pupils who make more than expected progress in mathematics from Key Stage 1 to Key Stage 2 is increased to be at least in line with that found nationally  pupils make as much rapid progress in lower Key Stage 2 as they do in other year groups in the school  mathematics lessons are always sufficiently challenging for the most-able pupils.

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Information about the inspection

During the inspection I met you and your deputy headteacher, who is also the mathematics coordinator. A meeting was held with five members of the governing body including the vice-chair. Your deputy headteacher joined me in four observations of mathematics lessons. I observed pupils as they moved around the school, met separately with a group of ten pupils and spoke to six parents at the school gate. There were insufficient reponses recorded on Parent View to be able to see the results, so I took account of the 74 responses to the school’s recent parental survey and one email from a parent. I considered the school’s analysis of recent pupil performance and evaluated other records including those concerning keeping pupils safe.

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